Saturday, June 04, 2005
Random Thoughts
*sigh*
Back home after a two-week vacation. Can we go again, please?
Let's see...Jamie did a great job keeping up with the Hawaii stuff. I just want to add:
1) Regarding Maui and the time we got on the road for Hana, I really did want him to sleep in and get his rest :p
2) I think my first choice of where to live would be Kuaui, then the Big Island. Jamie likes Oahu, but it had too much traffic! He has a point, though: if we had to have jobs, we'd have to live on Oahu :( But if we win the lottery...! =D
3) All the people in Hawaii are fantastically friendly. Like, when we were in Hilo, I took a shuttle into town, and then needed a taxi to get to the airport for my (cancelled due to weather) helicopter excursion. The taxi driver was very helpful and friendly, and I ended up using him to go to Big Island Candies (mmmm Chocolate!), then to the airport, then from the airport to the ship. I just called, and he would be there. Later, when I got back on the ship, Jamie wanted to get out and do something (not letting his illness totally destroy his vacation, which I admire!), so I gave Joe (the taxi driver) a call, and arranged for him to take us on a little tour. We saw Rainbow Falls (very pretty!) and then went to the Mauna Loa Macadamia Nut Factory. What gets me is that you really don't get any deals on the macs even at the factory...I mean, come on--they aren't shipping them, there isn't a normal retailer mark-up...but the macs still weren't cheap by any stretch of the imagination. Joe told us lots of insider stuff too, so it was a kitschy trip (sp?).
4) No helmet...hard, solid pavement...would YOU want to scream around at 35 MPH on a moped?!? Yeah, I got more used to it, but it still bothered me a bit. But I didn't want to give into my fears, so I got better and went faster. As for the sunglass thing...well duh! You drive along on a moped at 35 MPH and the wind is really in your eyes...and my glasses don't begin to fully cover them. So I bought some cheap (in construction, not actual cost :p) sunglasses that were almost like goggles! Problem solved, no more tearing eyes.
5) Our luau in Maui sucked donkey eggs (I can say that on my own blog, right?) Even if the weather hadn't delayed it, it still would have sucked donkey eggs. I should have complained and gotten our full $$ back, not just the 30% we all got.
OK so after Hawaii, we flew into LAX and rented a car. We drove straight up to San Francisco for two days. Let me just say that the weather on our entire trip was fabulous! (except for the day in Hilo where it got my helicopter trip cancelled :p). San Francisco was 70-75 each day, blue skies, gorgeous. We went to Alcatraz, had italian one night at a real, family-owned for decades, small italian restaurant, had lunch at Boudin's Cafe (bakery famous for it's sourdough), went to Ghiradelli (sp?), had dinner at a restaurant in Chinatown, met my uncle Michael's girlfriend, Martina, who was a interesting and very animated french woman....just had a lot of fun!
We then drove back to LAX. We got in late, after midnight, and stayed two nights. That first morning we got up and drove down Sunset Blvd., then down through Beverly Hills ("Rodeo Drive, baby!"), stopping in Hollywood near the Chinese Theater. We had lunch there at Miceli's, which claims to be Hollywood's oldest italian restaurant (circa 1949), where, after tasting their rolls, Jamie declared me a genius (for selecting the restaurant).
We rushed from there to the Warner Bros. studios, where we took the VIP tour (meaning we got the privelege to pay ~$35/each to be shown their stuff :p). We saw sets for "The West Wing", "Gilmore Girls", the exterior set for "ER", which neither of us knew was filmed in LA (and saw the actual spot that the helicopter was dropped on Dr. Romano!). There is a museum there at the studios as well, and I got to sit and be sorted by the sorting hat from the Harry Potter movies! I was sorted as Gryffindor, and Jamie was Slytherin (hissssssssssssssssssss! :p) He could care less, though! :)
I'll let Jamie tell the rest, I'm done for now.
OH! PS! Jamie let me shop the last night at the Nortstrom Rack. I didn't buy anything, but he let me look and I could have bought something if I had found something!!
PPS: I think I'm getting sick now. I most definitely blame Jamie.
Back home after a two-week vacation. Can we go again, please?
Let's see...Jamie did a great job keeping up with the Hawaii stuff. I just want to add:
1) Regarding Maui and the time we got on the road for Hana, I really did want him to sleep in and get his rest :p
2) I think my first choice of where to live would be Kuaui, then the Big Island. Jamie likes Oahu, but it had too much traffic! He has a point, though: if we had to have jobs, we'd have to live on Oahu :( But if we win the lottery...! =D
3) All the people in Hawaii are fantastically friendly. Like, when we were in Hilo, I took a shuttle into town, and then needed a taxi to get to the airport for my (cancelled due to weather) helicopter excursion. The taxi driver was very helpful and friendly, and I ended up using him to go to Big Island Candies (mmmm Chocolate!), then to the airport, then from the airport to the ship. I just called, and he would be there. Later, when I got back on the ship, Jamie wanted to get out and do something (not letting his illness totally destroy his vacation, which I admire!), so I gave Joe (the taxi driver) a call, and arranged for him to take us on a little tour. We saw Rainbow Falls (very pretty!) and then went to the Mauna Loa Macadamia Nut Factory. What gets me is that you really don't get any deals on the macs even at the factory...I mean, come on--they aren't shipping them, there isn't a normal retailer mark-up...but the macs still weren't cheap by any stretch of the imagination. Joe told us lots of insider stuff too, so it was a kitschy trip (sp?).
4) No helmet...hard, solid pavement...would YOU want to scream around at 35 MPH on a moped?!? Yeah, I got more used to it, but it still bothered me a bit. But I didn't want to give into my fears, so I got better and went faster. As for the sunglass thing...well duh! You drive along on a moped at 35 MPH and the wind is really in your eyes...and my glasses don't begin to fully cover them. So I bought some cheap (in construction, not actual cost :p) sunglasses that were almost like goggles! Problem solved, no more tearing eyes.
5) Our luau in Maui sucked donkey eggs (I can say that on my own blog, right?) Even if the weather hadn't delayed it, it still would have sucked donkey eggs. I should have complained and gotten our full $$ back, not just the 30% we all got.
OK so after Hawaii, we flew into LAX and rented a car. We drove straight up to San Francisco for two days. Let me just say that the weather on our entire trip was fabulous! (except for the day in Hilo where it got my helicopter trip cancelled :p). San Francisco was 70-75 each day, blue skies, gorgeous. We went to Alcatraz, had italian one night at a real, family-owned for decades, small italian restaurant, had lunch at Boudin's Cafe (bakery famous for it's sourdough), went to Ghiradelli (sp?), had dinner at a restaurant in Chinatown, met my uncle Michael's girlfriend, Martina, who was a interesting and very animated french woman....just had a lot of fun!
We then drove back to LAX. We got in late, after midnight, and stayed two nights. That first morning we got up and drove down Sunset Blvd., then down through Beverly Hills ("Rodeo Drive, baby!"), stopping in Hollywood near the Chinese Theater. We had lunch there at Miceli's, which claims to be Hollywood's oldest italian restaurant (circa 1949), where, after tasting their rolls, Jamie declared me a genius (for selecting the restaurant).
We rushed from there to the Warner Bros. studios, where we took the VIP tour (meaning we got the privelege to pay ~$35/each to be shown their stuff :p). We saw sets for "The West Wing", "Gilmore Girls", the exterior set for "ER", which neither of us knew was filmed in LA (and saw the actual spot that the helicopter was dropped on Dr. Romano!). There is a museum there at the studios as well, and I got to sit and be sorted by the sorting hat from the Harry Potter movies! I was sorted as Gryffindor, and Jamie was Slytherin (hissssssssssssssssssss! :p) He could care less, though! :)
I'll let Jamie tell the rest, I'm done for now.
OH! PS! Jamie let me shop the last night at the Nortstrom Rack. I didn't buy anything, but he let me look and I could have bought something if I had found something!!
PPS: I think I'm getting sick now. I most definitely blame Jamie.
# posted by Anonymous @ 7:41 PM 
