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Sunday Snippet: The Moments of Blessing Edition
Thanksgiving week is a time for gratitude. To look back on the year and count my blessings because oh, how I am blessed. This past year has been such a busy one. Between writing and book releases and editing gigs and promotion, I’ve barely had time to simply breathe. But even amidst all that scurrying and time spent at my computer, writing and working, I’ve had moments. Too many to list them all here and too many people in my life to mention them all here, although they are always in my heart, but here a few moments from this year. Moments with Husband: Dancing in a vineyard in Oregon…
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Monday (& Sunday) Snippet: The Vacation is Winding Down Edition
Right off, here is my breakfast view this morning–our hotel is at Berkeley Marina. Pretty. I didn’t post last night because really, all we did yesterday was fly from Kona to San Francisco. A long plane ride during which I slept a lot and Son worked, and then we played some Trivia together on the screen in front of his seat. We did walk down to a lovely al fresco breakfast in Kona before we packed up and headed to the airport. The Kona airport is… interesting. Everything’s outside, even the gates, you get to your plane by walking across the tarmac and climbing up a rolling flight of stairs.…
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Saturday Snippet: The Last Day in Hawaii Edition
Yes, it’s true. Today was our last full day in Hawaii and we decided that it would be a chill day and it was. We walked down into Kona for breakfast with a view. Then we wandered back up the hill and spent the rest of the morning hanging out, doing laundry, Son caught up on some work stuff, and I read (I’m reading Lisa Lin’s The Year of Cecily and it’s charming.) When he got done, he said, “Let’s go see the chocolate guy.” What intelligent person would say no to that? The chocolate guy is Kona Magic Chocolate, a roadside stand that sells absolutely the smoothest chocolate I’ve…
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Friday Snippet: The Let’s Explore The Big Island Edition
And so we did! It’s our first full day on the Big Island of Hawaii–a much different place from Honolulu and Waikiki. Right off, it’s more laid back, not the hustle and bustle of a big city or a tourist destination like Waikiki. And maybe a little bit wilder, more natural, more of a small-town vibe. No less expensive, though, and that needs to be said. Son asked if I thought I could live here. Although it is gorgeous and amazing, if I lived here, I’d be on the street with a tin cup and shopping cart. There’s no place in Hawaii I could ever afford to live. I’m not…
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Thursday Snippet: The We’ve Changed Islands Edition
Big day today. We checked out of our lovely Marriott Resort and Spa around 8:00 a.m. and piled into Ruby’s rental car–four of Son’s colleagues and moi. The kids (they’re all Sons age, so kids definitely applies) dropped me at Pearl Harbor and then they went on to one last meeting, this time in Pearl City. I gotta tell you, Pearl Harbor was fascinating, sobering, touching, extraordinary–all the things you would imagine it to be. I started at the submarine exhibit and the anchor memorial that honors the men who perished on the Arizona–The boats out the to Arizona weren’t running this morning, so I opted to take the shuttle…
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Wednesday Snippet: The Another Day In Paradise Edition
It was a lazy day today–much like yesterday, although different in that Son and I walked down the Strip for breakfast. It was lovely to start the morning with him. Then he went to his conference and I came up to the room to write. Got about 1K words in–not bad. I’ll take it. After I got to a writing stopping place, I wandered down to the beach to walk along the shore and out on the pier. No whales but lots of surfers and tourists. I had an appointment to get my hair washed and blown out at noon (this is Liz’s and my travel thing–we don’t do our…
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Tuesday Snippet: More Hawaii Stuff…
I’m being completely and utterly self-absorbed this week, which is what vacation is supposed to be, yes? I think I buzz-posted enough about last night’s luau except to say that the Royal Hawaiian is a spectacular place. Full of history and just gorgeous. Son and I wandered a bit before the luau and oohed and ahhed appropriately at all the lovely frescos and high ceilings and the garden where there was a giant banyan tree. Today’s been a me day–a true one. I wrote in the morning–got in about 2K words, then went down to the beach for a little ramble, however I didn’t see any whales. After that I…
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Monday Night Snippet: The I’m a Little Buzzed Edition
You know what’s great about Son? He’s always up for an adventure and he makes me want to be up for adventure, too. The number of firsts on this trip is lengthy–some are silly, like I’ve never used the Lyft app before, some are awesome, like I’ve never hade a Mai Tai before… but the firsts are racking up like cordwood. #1 first? I’ve never blogged after four (yes, 4!) cute drinks at the Royal Hawaiian… two mai tais, and two blue Hawaiians. I’ve never worn a pink kuikui-nut lei before (no pic of that–not sure why), I’ve never been to a luau before and did I mention I’ve never…
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Monday Snippet: Day 1 in Hawaii
Well, not quite a whole day 1, but I’m posting now because I’m writing this morning and this view is so knock-my-socks-off (if I were wearing socks) gorgeous, I just can’t resist sharing this with you. The trip here to Waikiki was pretty uneventful except for typical airline silliness, which we bore well because Son is a seasoned traveler and I always look at travel days as lost days. I never worry about delays or other such nonsense because traveling is an opportunity to people-watch and this time, it was a chance to be with Son, so a little flight delay was no big issue. The 9-hour flight cross-country, cross-ocean…
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Sunday Snippet: The Travelogue Edition
Okay, the start of a travelogue. As you’re waking up and reading this, I’m on a plane with Son headed to Hawaii. Seriously. He’s going for a work thing, I’m tagging along because when your 40-something kid invites you to go along with him to Hawaii for a week, you get the okay from your cardiologist and then you say, “you betcha!” (I actually did that the other way around, but our secret, okay?) Darling Husband (who is no traveler by choice) will stay home and hold down the fort, and DIL and Grandboy have work and school, plus they’ve already been to Hawaii, so this was a perfect opportunity…