Day 6 Wednesday 10/1

Is it really Day 6? Say it ain't so.....
Started out with breakfast.. Guess where? Yep, CJ's.. We told Nicola earlier in the week over breakfast about my story with T-Shirts and how I can't get rid of them, no matter how old. Each one has a story. And well... Now I have a new one... Nicola picked up a CJ's T-shirt for me!!! So now I have a story about how I told my story and got a new T-Shirt because of the story... Most excellent.... That sounded like Seinfeld... It's a show about nothing... lol

After that headed to Lahaina for a 10am appt with the Reef Dancer. A submarine looking vessel that actually does not go underwater. You are basically sitting in the glass hull of the boat so you can see all of the ocean life as you cruise the Lahaina harbor. It was nice although a little claustrophobic.. Went topside for air during the 2nd half of the tour and that was just as nice!!!



Had some time for a little bit of shopping in Lahaina before Dad took flight parasailing... Cathy got a nice Hawaiian flower (plumeria) charm and Mom was having a field day too... We had to drag her away from this jewelry stand.... Surprised there was anything left for this man to sell after Mom went through...Time for Dad to Parasail. Steve went as an observer just to catch all of the action on film... errr... on digital... whatever.. you get the picture.. We had just finished signing the waiver on the dock and then in no time at all we were in the tender boat to get us out to the Parasail boat. After the quick transfer, the operator said, ok sir, we are going to take you first.... Wow.. I so was not ready.. Not sure if Dad was either but no worries... He stepped up to the platform on the back of the boat, clipped him in, then he was off... Reeled out like a kite to a distance of 800ft.... Very cool.....!!!!!!! It was a 10 minute ride and he loved it. I think he would have stayed up there all day if they would have let him....
The ladies are at the Ulalena Hawaiian show tonight. Dad and I stayed back to watch the baseball. I did manage to see one more Hawaiian sunset and took a few pictures of the torch lighting ceremony here on Black Rock at the Sheraton.
Will soon be time for dinner when the ladies get back... Hope they enjoyed their show.... One more day to go. I saw all of the jackets at the baseball game on tv last night. Not wanting to come home.

Day 5 Tuesday 9/30

First, we wanted to thank you for the outpouring of support and feedback to our blogspot. We are glad that everyone is enjoying our day by day look into our vacation...

After Breakfast we set out on the Road to Hana (pictured above). This is a 50 mile trip that has been described as not about the destination, but about the journey... 600 turns and elevation changes through the lush rain forest of north and east Maui.

Although the drive was very scenic, many of the sights that are to be seen on the drive are actually off of the road. They involve hikes of 10, 20, and sometimes 30 minutes. I guess we thought there would be more to see along the actual road. If it were the rainy season there probably would be. River beds and would be waterfalls were reduced to a mere trickle with rocks replacing flowing streams
So, we did not make it all the way to Hana.... Actually we travelled about 16 miles of the winding road and figured that we were in for much more of the same along the drive. Maybe someday we will return to try the drive again. Perhaps in the rainy season, with mosquito repellent, sandals, and swim trunks.. Perhaps next time I can rent that dog to keep us company on the journey. Yes, there is actually a place that will let you take one of their dogs on the drive with you. Why you ask??? I say, why not???

On the way back from Hana, we ran into what is said to be one of the best windsurfing sites in the world, Ho'okipa Beach. I guess they have a tournament out there every year. I have never seen waves like these in my life. A check on the local surf report had the waves at 4ft +... That does not seem right, but anything seems big to this person from Illinois. There were so many surfers. Does anyone work around here? lol

Day 5 Tuesday Morning 9/30

Morning to all.....
Time for Breakfast...
No experiments with the webcam today.....
We are late for breakfast......
More later.....
Road to Hana here we come!!!!

Day 4 Monday 9/29

Woke up this morning and hit the beach. Mom and Dad planted themselves on the beach under an umbrella while Cathy, Nicola, and myself went snorkeling. Saw another turtle. That never gets old. Someone out there was saying that they saw a sting ray; but who knows....

Had lunch at our favorite place, CJ's.. and then went to the mall to plan the rest of the week's "things to do". After visiting Tom, a transplant from Hinsdale at the surf shop, we had plenty of ideas and decided that we needed another week.... Don't we wish!!!

Sooooo the rest of the week looks like this.... Tuesday driving the Road to Hana. We probably won't go all the way, but still have to experience it. Wednesday will be the Reef Dancer, a submarine looking thing that let's you experience the underwater without going scuba diving... After that... DAD IS GOING TO PARASAIL!!!!! Yep. Way, cool... Hope I get to go on the boat to capture that moment.. Wednesday night is "Ulalena" for the ladies.. Imagine a Cirque show with a Hawaiian history twist. Meanwhile, Dad and I will probably have a drink somewhere in Lahaina to celebrate the Cubs win... lol Thursday is Haleakala... The volcano... Wake up call for 2:30am in order to get up to the top (10,000ft) in time for the sunrise. Then Cathy and I come home, while Mom, Dad, and Nicola stay one more night.. Wow.. time is flying by.....

More beach/ocean time this afternoon followed by a quick photo shoot...


Then went to the Luau here at the Sheraton in the evening. Glad we did it... Very entertaining. The locals did dances from various Polynesian islands.. Survivor fans will be happy to know that the Cooks Islands were represented, but Vanuatu was not.

Steve thought his favorite part was going to be when the Haka was performed. The dance of the Maori from New Zealand. It was made famous by the Rugby team in a pregame ritual that is like no other.... If you have never seen a Haka, then you have to click this link, or copy and paste it to your browser. Whatever you need to do to view it.... I think we should introduce the Haka as part of our softball pregame.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cle20lQg0Qs&feature=related

Anyway, the Hawaiian Fire Dancer at the end stole the show. Rock Star!!!! The dude lit one end of his fire stick by taking the fire into his mouth and then lighting the stick... Who does that??? The Hawaiian Fire Dancer!!!! Very nice, he say's in his Borat accent..

OK, big day tomorrow... Home Depot, Bed Bath and Beyond.. lol Who doesn't love the movie, Old School?!?! Well....Everyone else is asleep here. I am having a hard time saying goodbye to these days as there is only a few more of them left..

To the boys at UCC.. I have found the Sheraton webcam, and the sighting spot by the bridge. If I get up early enough tomorrow, I will call you to do the experiment. This is going to be great!!!

More to come... PS... I have noticed that I am driving with the Aloha spirit while here on the island. That can be described as driving like I am from Wisconsin. Everything is a little slower.

Day 3 9/28

NFL Started at 7am this morning. Nice to wake up to some football. Although I thought I was dreaming when I saw Favre threw for 6TD's... wow..

Went back to the blow hole today to get a closer look. We actually climbed down 200ft of rocks to get these pictures. Very cool place.

After that, shopping in Lahaina... Steve found a piece of artwork at the Peter Max Gallery. The 1994 Soccer World Cup Painting... Only $8,000. He told Mom that Christmas was coming.. ha ha

Back to the hotel after that. Mom and Dad were upgraded to a Deluxe Ocean View. Here is the view from their room.

Sunset was spent with drinks poolside taking in the Sheraton's Torch Lighting ceremony.

Day 2 9/27

Woke up nice and early this morning.... got 10 hours of sleep and it is still only 6:30am local time... Very nice...
We woke up hungry so we proceeded to the hotel restaurant for breakfast... Continental was $20 per person.. $25 if you want a regular meal.. Welcome to Maui. We made a U turn and headed to a local Diner that we found. CJ's. I think this is going to be the spot for the week. Fresh fruit, All American Breakfast.. etc etc. The 3 of us ate for $27..

Spent the rest of the morning snorkeling in the area that you saw in the picture from yesterday. Great snorkeling there. Lots of tropical fish and 3 sea turtles!!! They are huge. So big you would think you could saddle them and ride them. I am pretty sure we have our first sunburn of the trip..

The afternoon was spent looking for the Nakalele Blowhole. Hard to describe this place. Imagine a hole in the rocks and when the waves come ashore, the water is forced about 70ft into the air.. Well almost got us killed tying to find the place. It is not marked and we kept on truckin'. So far that the state road actually ended. The road turned into 1 lane for traffic going both ways. The hardly anywhere to pull over. If you went over the white line to the right, you were welcomed with a 200 or 300 ft drop to the bottom of the cliff.. Straight down. Anyway, to make a long story short. We found it. An awesome site. Nature at it's best. Headed back tomorrow. Will show you pictures then.

So Mom and Dad arrived today. The looked so tired but so happy to be in Hawaii. I imgaine that we had the same looks. Nicola was waiting in the wings for the right moment to pop out for the big surprise. They had no idea that Nicola was coming along for the trip. After we got their bags, I gave Nicola the signal.. She came from around a telephone booth with 2 Lei's for Mom & Dad... What a moment. It was a "Can I believe my eyes" moment. Very cool.. Here are a few pics of the moment.

Day 1 Friday 9/26

Landed in Maui after a long 4 hours from Chicago to LA and then another 5 hours from LA to Maui. It was a tiring day but all that was forgotten when we reached Hawaii.. Nicola greeted us at the airport with Lei's. How Hawaiian. Very cool.. After a quick bite to eat at a nearby hotel grill by the beach, the long day caught up with us. We were in bed by 8pm.... but that's 1am in Chicago... Looking forward to having Mom and Dad here.... They arrive Saturday night.. Wish you were here.. It really is PARADISE... The picture is a view from the our hotel lanai.

Hawaii Here We Come!!

Aloha... Another year and we are fortunate enough to be taking another wonderful trip.

We cashed in all of our United miles and are taking Mom and Dad this time around. We couldn't be more happy that they decided to come along...

Maui is the destination..... Unlike other vacations, it looks like we may actually relax on this one. Just what we all wanted...

Hope you stop by each day for an update and a few pictures from Hawaii. Steve is looking forward to the NFL kicking off at 7am, and Cubs playoffs in the early afternoon too...

See you in a few days...

Day 7 & Day 8...
Bruges was just as great the 2nd time around. We went to the fish market, brought some lace and chocolate. I am constantly reminded of the movie Austin Powers when Dr Evil gives the chocolate to Mini MeWe.... "It's from Bruges.. That's in Belgium". ha ha

We spent the whole day walking around the canals, discovering the hidden treasures that this town has to offer. We finally bought a painting from a local artist and can't wait to get home and frame it.

Hard to believe that the trip is over. We had planned to take a car to the airport this afternoon but they said it was going to be £45. That is about $90. Wow!!!! Looks like to are back to the underground.

Dad, I will call you once we land and get through security. I believe that we land at about 6:20 or 6:40pm or so...

Thanks to all for sharing our trip with us. It has been a wonderful time. And, yes, now back to the reality of work, bills, and the traffic from Huntley. Ha ha

See you all soon.

DAY 6...
Belgium. We were up nice and early this morning to catch the Eurostar to Brussels. A nice smooth hours later we had arrived. From there it was off to the hotel to check in and drop our bags, then off to Bruges (Brugge). Pronounced with a Brooooo.

Anyway, this could be one of the most beautiful places on Earth. It is called the Venice of the north because of its many canals. The streets are narrow and all cobblestone. There are chocolatiers and lace makers everywhere. I wish I could upload pictures now but this PC here in the hotel will not allow it. Most likely I will be able to share them from London tomorrow night.

Tomorrow was supposed to be all day in Brussels before heading back to London in the evening. However we liked Bruges so much that we are headed back for another day there. Lots more to see.

Can't believe that we only have one more full day left before coming home. It has been a great trip. Thanks to those that have been visiting regularly. And also to those hundreds of you sending your e-mails. Sorry that we cannot get to them all during the trip. (Not really, but it did make this blog sound really popular).