Cabin View Photos

Sorry I haven't mentioned anything more about the cabin lot before now, but I was waiting to get the pictures from the guy that sold us the lot. We took another trip up to the site this past weekend. We don't close on the property until around December 5th, so we can't say it is officially ours yet, but here are some of the pictures we took of some of the views we will have. Some of them may be hard to see at first, but imagine most of the trees in the forefront gone and just seeing the mountains in the background.

Our lot is 1.5 acres in a community called Forest Heights just outside Marion, NC (about two hours from where we live). It is only 4 miles from Lake James - a fairly large man-made lake - which was an added bonus we didn't realize until after we decided to buy. It will still be quite a while before we actually have the cabin on the lot, but we are excited about it just the same.

Link to more pictures...

Here is the link to view the rest of the photos. There are a lot, so be warned.

http://www1.snapfish.com/share/p=911261164591435816/l=223365964/g=22525412/otsc=SYE/otsi=SALB

Let me know if you have problems seeing them and I will send you the link directly via email.

Some of my favorite vacation photos

We took over 450 pictures (gotta love digital!!)on our trip. These are some of my favorites and the reason we've fallen in love with Hawaii.

Anaeho'omalu Bay (this is where we got married five years ago)

Hawaiian Sunset

Molten lava at Kilauea (on our helicopter ride).

Pololu Valley

Waipio Valley

Later, I will post the link to all the other photos for all those who are interested.

Her peops are home and she is happy about it!!

Someone really missed us while we were gone. She has been very vocal and won't let us out of her sight.














Even though we hired someone to come in to check on her daily, I'm afraid Chalupa was a very lonely puddy the last couple of weeks.

(And look!!! I can upload pictures!)

Our journey has ended…

Well, we are sadly on our way home, waiting for our connecting flight in the Phoenix airport. The last few days in Hawaii were just as busy as the rest of the trip.

Monday, November 20: After Del let me sleep longer than originally planned since he knew I didn’t sleep well because of my sunburn, we drove back toward the Volcano Park. We stopped at Moana Loa for chocolate and macadamia nuts before moving on to the park. The weather was not cooperative, however, for us to hike the trail we wanted to (plus we were later than we wanted to and wasn’t sure we’d have enough time to finish the hike before dark). So we drove back to Kona for a little shopping.

Tuesday, November 21: After breakfast, we started our day on a kayaking tour. We kayaked to a sea cave first and waited for people to jump off a 40 foot cliff (neither Del or I did this!) We then continued on to another spot for some snorkling and a small picnic. It was a very nice excusion, other than my legs getting burnt again (and yes, I did remember the sunscreen this time, but my shorts just rode up in the kayak revealing parts of my legs that did not have sunscreen on them!). We then just did some souvenir shopping.

Wednesday, November 22: Our last day in Hawaii :o(!! Our day started early with a deep sea fishing excursion. We were on a boat with 7 other fellow fishermen (actually two of us were women) and not one of us snagged a fish - not even a bite. We did see some killer whales and several dolphins, however, so that was pretty cool. After our boat ride, we went back to the condo for a nap to try to prepare a little for our flight that was leaving a midnight. We then went on a 4 mile walk around the complex, ending up along the ocean to see our last Hawaiian sunset (it was the best one of the trip!) We then started the dreaded task of packing to come home. After that, we went out for a nice dinner before heading to the airport.

And now we wait…a few more hours before we get to see Chalupa and get to sleep in our own bed.

What a great trip we had!!!

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! Eat some turkey for us, since we won’t get any this year.

The adventure continues…

Sorry for no pictures - not enough time to really figure out what the problem is. But here is what we’ve been up to since last post…

Wednesday, November 15: We hiked the Kilauea Iki 4 mile loop trail at the Volcano Park. This trail took us directly across an old crater – very cool. We then went to the Volcano House to eat a small lunch before driving around the perimeter of the volcano and stopping at all the hot spots (no pun intended).

Thursday, November 16: We drove toPololu Valley – one of the prettiest sights in Hawaii (in my opinion), wanting to hike down it, only to find the trail was closed due to earthquake damage. It is still quite a sight to see, but we didn’t get to hike like we wanted to. (Kim – this is the same trail you and Del hiked on our wedding day!)

Later, we went on an excursion to the summit of Mauna Kea (13,776 feet). You would never have thought you would need parkas in Hawaii until you go up 13,000+ feet. We got to see the sunset up there and then came back down to 9000 feet to do some star gazing. You can see the entire Milky Way. It was absolutely gorgeous – cold and windy – but so worth it. It was nothing like anything I had ever seen before. Truly spectacular.

Friday, November 17: We drove to Waipio Valley and not only to the lookout this time, but hiked down into the valley and down by the seashore. This is another beautiful place in Hawaii that does not have words to describe it. The hike was only about 1 mile down and back, but it was straight down and straight back up. Only 4-wheel drive cars can go down. It took us about one hour to hike the one mile back out. Later that night we went into Kona to see the new James Bond movie - Casino Royale - we recommend the movie - the new James Bond is very good!

Saturday, Novemer 18: Our 5 year anniversary! The day started with a 2 hour helicopter ride around the island. I got a little queasy from looking down so much, but the ride was so worth it. We got to see the actual lava flowing in the volcano - so cool!! We then went back to the condo to see the all-important Ohio State, Michigan rivalry game. After that we went for a long walk around the condo complex ending up back at the bay we got married to see the sunset (isn’t that romantic enough to make you sick?!? :o)!!!) We then went to dinner at the same restaurant (named Pu i’a) that we did on our wedding day. All very nostalgic. I really wish I could upload some pictures, they are all spectacular - including those of the restaurant (it is an open air restaurant right on the beach - you can hear the waves breaking all through dinner).

Sunday, November 19 : Pretty uneventful day, really. Drove into Kona for breakfast before going to Waimea to play some tennis. We then just took a leisurely ride along the coast. I forgot to put sunscreen on today and am paying the price now - VERY sunburned today from driving in the convertible. Oh well…the price we pay…

I will eventually just upload the pictures to Snapfish or Kodak and provide the link for all who are interested.

That’s it for now - going to go make dinner and go to bed a little early tonight. We are planning a long day of hiking back at the volcano park tomorrow.

P.S. - Happy belated Birthday, Ben!! Hope you had a great day!!

Aloha!!!

We made it safe and sound and already have a fun-action-packed schedule planned. We arrived in Kona, HI at 3:00 p.m. Hawaii time (8:00 pm EST) but didn’t do much but buy provisions that day. Our clocks are still on EST time. We wake up at 4:00 am and are wiped out by 7:00 pm. That is slowly changing, though.

The first day started with an hour walk. (Tina and Kim - the resort we stayed in last time is completely in shambles. They are apparently doing major renovations - you can’t even get to it through the front door. We’re REALLY glad we aren’t staying there again!!) We visited the spot we got married - it seemed much smaller to us for some reason - but just a beautiful. (I will try to post pictures later, but I’m having some difficulty in figuring out how to do that. I’m very technically challenged - just ask Del, he’ll tell you!) We then laid by the pool at the condo complex for about an hour or so before we went to play a round of golf at the King’s Course.

Today, we woke up early and went to the Hilton resort for breakfast. We then booked all our excersions for our trip. We are planning hiking at the National Volcano Park, a night of sunset watching and star gazing at the Observatory, helicopter ride over the island, deep sea fishing, and kayaking the sea caves. As we made our way back to Kona, looking for hiking shoes for me because I forgot to pack them, we came across a scrapbooking store. Although I’m sure Del would much rather have passed on by, he did stop to humor me. Can you believe it? I’m shopping for scrapbooking supplies even in Hawaii!! :o) (Del says no one should be surprised by that!)

We will keep you posted (hopefully with pictures) as the week goes on.

By the way…we ended up putting a deposit down on one of the lots we saw on Saturday. We are on our way to having our dream cabin realized!

The time has come…

We are officially on vacation!! No more work for two whole weeks (although Del is still working from home right now). As anxious as I am in getting to Hawaii, I’m really glad we aren’t leaving until Sunday morning since I still haven’t done anything towards packing or even really figuring out what I’m going to pack. Del says that packing should be a 15 minute job. How is that possible?

I’m not even going to have the day tomorrow to get ready and pack. Del made an appointment to go look at some property in the mountains tomorrow. He has this plan (a pretty good one, I must admit, if all works out) for us to buy or build a cabin in the mountains within the next five years. There is a devleopment around Marion, NC (about 2 hours from us) that is having “first dibs,” if you will, on some lots. The only day they were scheduling appointments was tomorrow - the day before we leave for Hawaii.

Oh well…all you really need in Hawaii is a bathing suit and a grass skirt, right?? :o)

Why I’ve finally started a blog…

So why do people start blogs? Why would anyone be interested in what I have to say or what is going on in my life? These are the questions that I’ve pondered for a while. I haven’t started a blog before now because I didn’t feel like I’ve done anything of interest. So why start one now? A couple reasons…I’ve come to realize the blog isn’t necessarily for anyone else. Since I’m horrible at keeping a journal, I thought this would be a good way for me to keep a record of our daily activities (or weekly, or monthly…not sure how often I will be updating this); a record that I can refer back to when I’m scrapbooking our memories.

The other reason I thought now would be a good time to start our blog is we are 4 days away from leaving on a jet plane - going back to the place we exchanged our vows for our five year anniversary! We will be staying in a condo on the Big Island of Hawaii with a day (or two) trip to the island of Kauai. We aren’t looking forward to the long flight, but we are anxious to get our vacation started. Del and I have both had pretty stress-filled days at work lately and looking forward to some R & R.

So, anyway…I’ve finally jumped into the world of blogdom. We’ll see how well I keep up with this.