Oahu 2023 Travel Day

 I don't have much to day about the plane rides. They were long. I ate a bucket of snack mix w. nuts, dried peas, etc. I listened to my book (The girl with all the gifts), I bought the wifi and the first plane trip it was worth it because I played my game. The 2nd ride was not. Luckily I sat next to a nice young man from Portland, OR and we talked for a bit. It was a really good conversation, actually. As I've heard before, if these kids are our future, we'll be in good shape. I did watch a movie on the first trip - The Come Up, based on the book of the same name, which I read a while ago. The book was better. Much better, actually. I also enjoyed a very long sunset. Big advantage of being on the west coast.

I put on another movie for the last part of the trip but I was going to say, I'm not remembering what it was, but I DO! I finished watching "Everything, Everywhere, All At Once". I stopped watching it after about 30 min the first try and couldn't get into it. I finished watching it on this flight and honestly, I thought it was ok. I get why they had so much fighting, but it was a lot of fighting. However, it made the time went by quicker, no puns intended.

I checked the price of Uber to the hotel, while on the plane and it was about $20. I decided not to take the bus, which would have been $3, but a half hour vs. 15 min. and it would be right to the door. When I got my luggage I checked again and it was now $28, but I was already committed and did it anyway. I'm glad I did. The driver told me about how she got to be living in Honolulu and her brother, who's an artist, and the different places she's lived. And she ended up dropping me at the main entrance to the Hilton Resort and I ended up walking to my hotel, which was farther in the back. As I was walking through, I was very tempted to stop for a drink. The whole place looked like a party! I ended up going to the room and amazing myself at how many things I got into my suitcase. Then I tried to sleep and got a few hours.

Las Vegas - Travel Day

We took logan express to the airport and good thing we left 1/2 hour early because we ended up waiting in line about 90 min. to check out bags. And also good thing the flight was delayed about 1/2 hour. That let us get something to eat at the airport in time to board. Shara had a chicken sandwich and fries from McDonalds and I had a "cuban" panini from Ufood. It was good we ate because Shara had a sushi roll I had picked up for her and I had an apple and cleaned out the refrigerator by having my last eggplant veggie wrap of the week.

At home, we had weighed the suitcase and it was very close, coming in at 42 lbs. But my scale isn't reliable so I took out a couple things and we went with it. At the check-in kiosk we weighted the case and it was 42 - i grabbed a couple of shara's shorts and said, put these in your backpack, put it on the scale, and it was just at 40. We get to the counter to check the bag and I said to the guy, it said 40 at the kiosk, it can't be over?! He said it's 40 but even if it were a couple pounds over, he would let it go. I wasn't sure how much authority they had to do that.

The flight was long and we sat next to a larger, stinky man. Shara and I had some fun talking about how scared she was to fly (not) and how she'd be so scared she'd have a heart attack, then grabs her right arm. We heard they were having a storm in Las Vegas and that the wind was 60 knots? Enough so they ended up having us circle and when we went in, it was quite bumpy. We then heard it was a really bad storm - and we had to go through a big intersection near the strip where the lights were out. I waited for another car to come and go with me - turned out it was a cab and i slide in next to him.  We got off the plane and were shocked that the airport was full and much because of delayed flights. Shara got her first taste of vegas - slots everywhere and the stores/restaurants were still open at 11 pm. There was so much energy, it was hard to be sleepy, and it was really 2 am eastern time. Got to the car rental place, got the car, and got directions to the hotel. It was interesting, aside from the sans lights intersection. There are lots of lights and lots to look at, I concentrated extra hard on driving, and people were just walking across the street - and not just on the strip! We got to the hotel and were told to park - we use the Miracle Mile parking garage. Then got checked in, got in the room and decided we were hungry to went to find something to eat - after much walking around and seeing several drunk people, decided we better get sbarro before it closed. Planet Hollywood was super loud and that whole end of the mall was a party. we got pizza and went to the room to eat and relax. We got to bed about 2/5 am. I woke and was up at 4:30/7:30 and Shara got up at 8/11. Seems like we're still on eastern time.

Berkshires Vacation - Day 7

Ah, our last day here in the mountains. We got a very late start - Shara didn't get up until close to 10:30, and I had to wake her. I guess this vacation schedule is getting a bit out of hand. Today we decided to take a hike and found the Ice Glen in Stockbridge. We grabbed some lunch at The Housatonic Cafe in Lee. The Yelp reviews sounded great and indeed it was. It was also slow, as stated, so best not to be there when you have somewhere to go. I had the Everything veggie - Lettuce, tomato, cukes, olives, roasted red peppers, onion and fresh basil with honey mustard on an herb-cheese ciabatta roll. Shara had the Brooklyn Bridge - First-cut pastrami shaved with Baby Swiss, sauerkraut and spicy mustard on sour dough bread. Grilled for the thrill! The bread was amazing as were the sandwiches. This was honestly one of the best sandwiches I've ever had. I think it was the combo of the calamata olives, peppers and onions. But tomorrow we're going to get more of this bread. I found it's Berkshire Mountain Bakery bread and it is incredible - chewy and perfect for sandwiches.

Once we got out of there we went to the car and helped someone out with a jump. I had to get the manual out, but refound how to open the hood of the car. He was most grateful. On to Stockbridge to find the Ice! And find it we did. I stopped at town hall to ask exactly where it was and the tax collector gave us the directions on getting to the trailhead. We were parked where we should be to get to it, so all was perfect. The weather was nice but we still put on bug spray. The trip into the woods was very nice - old growth forest with tons of knotty roots to climb over. We made the decision to go to the ice glen, rather than the fire tower and this was a great decision. Shara led the way up the boulders and down and through the narrow paths, It was a lot of fun and cool and cool - the boulders stored lots of the cold in between and made little caves that could hold ice through summer. We didn't see any ice but did get cooled off nicely. On the way out it started to rain and luckily we were in the forest so not a big downpour on us. Shara then took a look at the nearby playground and then we headed back to the resort. On the way back we stopped at Chocolate Springs for a treat. Shara chose the Coffee Mousse Cake and I got some dark chocolate basil discs to have at a later date because I was wanting to try that Wow Cow "ice cream" again.

Back at the resort, Shara hung out in the bedroom while I had a conference video call with church, then we went to dinner. You can see the Yelp review but one comment Shara made that didn't get into the review was, "the wings are like little bites of heaven." We had a fun time being girls on the town. and didn't get back until after 10 PM. That was bad enough but then it turns out she read for a while, slept for a bit and was then up for 45 min. around 12 AM. Obviously she's still sleeping so I will pack around her.

Today we'll head back and will stop at the Berkshire Mountain Bakery to get some of that amazing bread and try to recreate the sandwich experience we had yesterday. Also need to stop and get blueberries. The ones we had the first day tasted like what blueberry flavoring is modeled after! All in all, this was a great vacation, despite the sadness that reminds us to appreciate all of these times as much as possible because life is short. Not just the big vacations but the everyday events and the people we're fortunate enough to share them with.

Berkshires Vacation - Day 6

What a fun day! We got up early to drive the hour + to Charlmont, MA, where Crabapple Whitewater Rafting is located. We had the best time. Our guide Lily made it very comfortable for all of us. Shara "rode the bull" by sitting up at the front of the raft with her feet hung over the bow. She also took a bucket to soak the rafters in the other boats during the water fights. Her favorite part was the "Minefield - Out of the Lemon Squeezer and right into the Minefield - zig and zag through the exposed rocks that are everywhere in this rapid. Cut the rocks close and make the next move before it is too late." She also loved doing the wheelie - all of us sat at the back of the raft, tipped back and the guide, who was standing behind us, used a rope to get us all the way back and the raft almost vertical. I had trust issues and couldn't put myself all the way back but apparently it was good enough. My favorite part was when I fell in during the first rapid because I didn't have my feet tucked. It was great because I concurred one of my phobias - being thrown in the water! Shara says, "Umm... It was so fun!" Needless to say, we were soaked, tired, and exhilarated! Next time Shara will be old enough to go on the trip with the class 3 & 4 rapids! This was class 1-3. Still so much fun.

The kids take over the ship!

Through the rapids 

Berkshires Vacacation - Day 4

This was an emotional day for us. It started with learning Jidor passed away Sunday night. We know it's a blessing but still a great loss. I remember first meeting Eddie and Thea when Alan and I were dating. They came to Albany for a visit and I was so nervous. Alan had great manners and appeared very cultured and I wanted to be on my best behavior with his parents. We went to a German restaurant and had a lovely time but it took a year or so before I realized they were the most grounded people and there was no need to be careful with how I acted with them (not that I don't have manners anyway, but I didn't have to be concerned!).

Over the years Eddie and I had many very interesting conversations. He always wanted to hear what people thought and how they thought. We'd talk about death a lot and quality of life as his Parkinson's progressed. He seemed very accepting of the disease, though it obviously bothered him greatly that he couldn't do what he'd always been able to do, which was so much physical labor. He was used to doing household repairs on his house as well as the houses of friends and family.

He and Alan spent so many hours redecorating our first floor, from ripping down the ceiling loaded with mouse droppings to ripping up carpeting and laying down the Pergo floor. They repaired beams, installed lighting, and painted ceilings. Aside from saving us a ton of money, it was also a labor of love that I appreciate to this day. I'm glad Shara was getting so much bigger as he got weaker because it was sad to see him unable to pick her up when she was still smaller. Up until recently, he was able to give hugs and he was there in every sense for her last birthday.

We also talked about god and religion and how it fit into our lives. He was very curious about UUism and what I got out of it. One of the bigger themes we discussed was fear. He'd want to hear about my social insecurities and had a hard time believing that I consider myself a basically shy person because he labeled himself as shy and didn't see that we acted the same. He was very introspective and open and honest and I value the discussions we had. I feel very fortunate to have had the opportunity to spend so much time with Eddie during the years and will miss him greatly.

Photo taken by Shara - Mother's Day 2011?

So that was a sad overshadow for the day, however, nothing is just happy or sad and we did have a happy time with Bubbe and Aunt Jill. We went to visit Bubbe since she's only an hour + away from here. We got there later than expected but that didn't matter at all because we really just hung out, did a few chores, had a very nice time out to lunch at the Glenville Queen Diner - Shara was very hungry and had pancakes, bacon and sausage and cheesecake. She thinks she's spurting again. Could be! We also enjoyed joking with the cute waiter with the eyes as blue as Paul Newman's. Jill parted our company after lunch but then we went back to Bubbe's and then back out to the market, which is always fun. Got to check out the new Price Chopper and we were happy to be able to help Bubbe with the heavier groceries. We left at about 7 PM, and got back to the resort to get to the pool near 9 PM and did our evening tag & swim. Shara was a little miffed that I was making her leave the pool when there were still toddlers in it, but it's almost 10 AM and she's still sleeping!

Today we're going to the Clark Institute to see the Van Gogh exhibit and then maybe for a hike and then mini-golf (the compromise to the museum) and more swimming. Full day - better get started!

Berkshires Vacation - Day 3

We had another leisurely morning, having some of the breakfast supplies bought the day before. We discussed some ideas of what to do and decided to check out Mount Greylock. It's only about 8 miles away from the resort. We went to the visitor's center and got a map and some hints from listening to the ranger at the desk and decided to head to the summit because they were giving a tour at 1 PM. When we got there we listened for a few minutes but found it rather boring so decided to take a walk until 2 PM, when a scavenger hunt began. We found the Overlook Trail and walked in for about 10 min and then walked out. It was in the woods and very pretty, but rather moist, as the ranger had warned us about. Not a big deal though - down hill then back up. Went about 1/3 mile and on the way back to the map, which is by the parking lot and where the scavenger hunt was to begin, we got to walk on the Appalachian Trail. That was a real treat! We found a rock with a Thoreau quote saying basically learning about nature was just as important as a classical, college education.

We got the scavenger hunt list and set to work. It took us about an hour and a half and we were all over that summit! It was great and we learned about the subalpine trees that grow there - the only subalpine forest in the state and the war memorial, which to me looked like a chess piece. I mentioned that to Shara and wondered if it was the king or queen. She thought it looked like a pawn and that was a great observation and we discussed the use of the pawn in chess and how it could be related to the use of soldiers in the military and if that's what the designer of the monument may have been thinking. We also spent some time looking at the surrounding landscape, which was simply amazing. What an oxymoron! Here's what we saw:

Shara demonstrating her fear of heights:

Eventually she made it farther down to where you can see the people in the distance. It wasn't bad at all - just look at the few yards ahead and not out in the distance.

We also split a linner at the Bascome Lodge - a grilled ham & cheese which came with coleslaw and potato salad. It was good and the dining room took full advantage of the overlook. After eating we decided it was time to head back to the resort. Shara wanted to practice riding her bike. She fell the other day and skinned her knee and is still freaked out so the practice didn't go so well and she's wanting to give the bike away. We'll figure that out later. Since shopping cures all ills, we went to Pittsfield and checked out one store that was still open at 6 PM on a Sunday - Brits R' Us. A great store with a very nice owner who truly understands customer service. He was waiting for some people and if he's there, he's open. And not just open but also very nice and welcoming. We had a nice talk while Shara counted her change to see if she had enough for a Chocolate Frog. She was just short but of course I bought it for her and she'll "pay me back". We also found real Cadbury candy and got a couple bars to sample - flake and crumble (honeycomb). I think I'm trying to show Shara that less sweet is a good thing. It was fun looking around the town and reading the medallions in the street, marking the original buildings. Very cool, old town and certainly one that's being reinvented (gentrified). We did think it would be a good idea to get some dessert though and again went back to the resort to have a bit of healthy fruit and vegetable before doing so, We went to Krispy Cones, a traditional soft ice cream stand. Shara got a dipped cone and I had a sundae, which is the best way to have soft ice cream, in my opinion. It wasn't exactly ice cream though. I tried something new called "wow cow", an all natural, water based frozen dessert. I wouldn't want to have it on its own but as a texture in the sundae it was great, and only 60 calories per serving!

To end the evening, we went to the indoor pool again. There were kids in the outdoor pool but it's not heated and there's no way I was going to go swimming in 66 degree weather. It was hard enough walking to the indoor pool, not to mention walking back dripping wet! So another very late night and fun-filled day for both of us!

Berkshires Vacation - Day 2

Today we both slept pretty late, as mentioned in yesterday's post. Today the windmills have turned towards the west. We had a great time at the Hancock Shaker Village. Here are some pics of cutie Shara.

picking sage for the biscuits

We both enjoyed learning about Shaker life. Shara's favorite part was the baking. She thought the information was interesting and it was interactive. Totally understandable. We all went in the kitchen and learned about their cooking method of using huge iron kettles for soups, stews, etc. but then they'd put a grate in the bottom and turn it into an oven. The gardens are amazing. We picked and tasted elderberry and were allowed to try an early apple called Yellow ? Whatever it was called, it tasted wonderful. After baking we went to a barn by the school and saw how they used horsepower to churn butter and then to the school to see what it was like to be a shaker student writing with a turkey quill and ink.

Baking biscuits for the animals - barnyard biscuits

When we were done in the school we headed back to the kitchen to see how the biscuits were doing. They were done so the kids put them into a basket and we all headed to the barn to feed the animals. Yes, they did bake for their animals because in the winter they weren't able to go out and graze. The animals were plenty happy!

School lessons

The tour ended after the barn and then Shara and I made our way to the apple orchard to find a couple of the apples that were suggested we try. We agreed it would be good to have something healthy before eating an ice cream lunch. SoCo Creamery has a stand and we each got an ice cream - espresso cookie.

One of the demos/talks that was kid friendly was about the worship and dancing. Dancing was a big part of their worship and came to find out the endorphin rush was one of the reasons. We sang and heard some song Simple Gifts and danced to another. It was fun! Then we exited through the gift shop.

Shara feeding biscuits to the animals

We didn't have a plan at this point so I thought it would be good to get some food to have at the resort. We found a farm stand and got blueberries, apricots, a cantaloupe, a couple apples, beans, corn, and potatoes. Shara ate the blueberries while we drove around and for dinner I made a salad with the beans, corn, potatoes, mushrooms and lettuce (brought from home) and dressing that we got on our next stop, Target. We both need water shoes for the rafting trip. I forgot mine at home but Shara's grown out of hers. Though I don't like the idea of going shopping to a big box store on vacation, it did prove a good choice because we got the dressing but also cereal, milk, yogurt, ice cream (necessary) and other provisions (coffee anyone?). 

Back at the resort we changed into swim suits and headed to the pool to play some ping pong and swim. Thunder drove everyone out of the pool so we had an early-ish dinner, watched Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire and then checked out the indoor pool because it was already chilly at 8:30 pm. The indoor pool was fun and a bit heated so we played tag and swam around for an hour before going back to the room for much needed sleep. Fun day and Shara's still sleeping!

Not sure what we're going to do today but my vote is for hiking with a picnic lunch. Yesterday it sounded good to Shara but we'll "discuss" and figure something out.

Berkshires Vacation - Day 1

It's been a long time since I've written about a vacation and am a little rusty, but here it goes!
We left yesterday, much later than I thought we would but we're on vacation so not that big a deal. Always found just one more thing to do and in all that we realized last night that I forgot my water shoes, but we'd planned on going to a store and getting Shara a pair anyway, so no biggie. We got here when it was time for check-in anyway, which was 4 pm. We stopped along the way for a food break - no sense calling it breakfast, lunch and dinner while on vacation!  Shara wanted me to make her a fluffernutter and she helped me balance the plate, etc. because a working surface wasn't an option with the van loaded with bikes, bags and such. We then went the rest of the way, Shara occasionally reading Harry Potter to me and then just to herself while I had a relaxing drive.

The resort is lovely - not where I thought it was going to be, but perfect. Drinking my coffee on the deck and I'm looking to the left and seeing the fog rise up towards one peek and at about 1 o'clock I see this:


This photo of Vacation Village in the Berkshires is courtesy of TripAdvisor

I'm not sure the problem people have with wind turbines. I'm finding them so calming, at least at the pace these are spinning - maybe a 1/3 of a turn / second, so a full rotation is a 4/4 beat. And they're so far away we can't hear anything. I actually have 7 in my view right now. The room is also more than expected. We got a C rather than the promised B room, which means we have a jacuzzi and full kitchen - oven and dishwasher. So we'll be able to cook in at least one night.

Shara trying out the hot tub

After check-in and finding our room, we had to call maintenance to fix our lock - the battery died on the lock, and they came and fixed it within 15 min. We unpacked, got settled and went to find the pool, which wasn't hard because I can also see it from our balcony. Stayed in it, playing tag for about 1/2 hour, then changed and got Divergent to have dinner and a movie. We were going to go out for Chinese and then see the movie but that would be too much so we found a compromise and got takeout instead. Not Chinese but a Tuscan Chicken (grilled chicken w/ mozzarella and roasted peppers) sub for me and fried calamari dinner for Shara from Gino's Pizzeria, recommended by by the front desk and he seemed honest. Not the best choices. Shara's cole slaw wasn't good at all, but the fries and calamari were tasty. My sub wasn't a grilled chicken breast as I expected but chopped up, seasoned (salty) chicken. The rest of the sub was good, but of course I had to pull off 1/2 the cheese 1/2 way after I realized how much of it there was and that could be part of the salty issue. While we were driving to get the food the sky darkened. I told Shara that back home I wouldn't worry that it would turn into anything but in these parts, we're in for a big one! And it was. I luckily didn't start hard until we were on our way out of the pizza place and continued 1/2 way to the resort, which was only 20 min away but with that rain felt a bit longer. Let's just say when Shara asked if she could put the light on in the back so she could read, I said no. Then another crisis averted when we got back to the room and found the DVD player didn't seem to be connected properly to the TV? Not sure what was going on - I couldn't see behind the TV enough to figure it out, but then realized we could use my laptop to watch the movie and then there was all smiles. Thank goodness! It was getting scary for a minute!

We ended up not getting ready for bed until 11 PM but fell asleep pretty quickly. Scary movies are fine choices since we're sharing the bed anyway. And it's 8:22 with Shara still sleeping. I got up about an hour ago, so great sleep for both of us. No waking in the middle of the night either. Today's plan is to get to the Hancock Shaker Village at opening so we can get on their Young Shaker Tour - "Don a Shaker hat or bonnet and experience the historic Village through the daily work and play of a Shaker child!  Guided by a special interpreter, you’ll engage in a variety of  interactive activities that include picking herbs from the Village garden, ringing the Dwelling House bell, using a quill pen and/or baking a treat in the Shaker Kitchen!" This got Shara's approval and she's very discriminating about how she spends her time.

2014 Disney Vacation - Day 3

This was the day we were waiting for - the AFY performance! But before then, we had other parks to take on. We had reservations at the Kilimanjaro Safaris® for about 10 AM. We also had to get Shara's props and clothes ready for the performance and did a great job getting it all together. We started by getting a pretzel for Alan and Shara had a bite or so. FastPass worked great and we got right on the bus and out to see the animals.

They were quite amazing and our guide was also wonderful. His name was Billy and he seemed to be doing more than just playing the role of the laid back guide. He seemed to really enjoy sharing the animals and talking about them with us. We saw; Black Rhinos, Cheetahs laying in the shade, Crocodiles, Elephants - one was carrying a big mouthful of hay to a shady area, Flamingos, Giraffes - 2 kinds; reticulated and Masai, Hippopotamus in the water, a sunning Lioness, Warthogs, Wildebeest, Zebras, and an Ostrich that came right up to the truck and gave us all the funniest look! We also got a look at a pile of Ostrich eggs. There were other animals too and one that was our drivers favorite but I can't remember the name. The cool thing were the animal's horns, which were long and twisty, but the animal didn't ever need to drink water its entire life!

After the safari we had brunch at the Kusafiri Coffee Shop & Bakery. Shara & I each had a breakfast wrap; scrambled eggs, goat cheese and spinach. They were really hot and really good. Shara ate about 1/2 but I managed to finish most of mine, though it was really big. Alan continued on the sweet road and had a caramel brownie and finished Shara's wrap.

On to the Kali River Rapids! We had another fastpass and got there close to 11:30 AM. We still had to stand in line but only about 15 minutes or so. We did get soaked! It was so much fun but too short! We would have all been happy to go again. Shara and I were in the front so didn't see anything that was coming at us. Lots of fun and Shara's favorite thing in the Animal Kingdom.

I thought we'd next go to the Finding Nemo musical but Shara had no interest so we wandered a bit towards our next fastpass - the Festival of the Lion King. The show was at 1 PM and we were told to get there between 12:30 and 12:50. We easily could have gotten there much closer to 1 PM and not have to wait as long, but live and learn. The show was good. Shara said, "it was pretty cool". Alan liked the monkeys the best. I liked the singing but it didn't have the magic it had for me the first time I saw it. The show ended and we ran over to Asia because Shara wanted to see what she thought was a Kimono. It turned out to be an expensive nightgown but we did need to look for a shirt for Auntie Chrissy so ran around to a couple of places and did find a good one. I got the same but in blue.

Then it was time to get back to the car and on to Port Orleans and the French Quarter to meet up with the rest of the AFY kids and get Shara on the bus to Downtown Disney for the performance!

The parents were meeting the kids after the show at Cirque du Soleil but until then, we were without Shara. We got a couple of drinks and looked in a shop or two then headed to the stage. The kids did a great job! Here is one of the videos:


It took a while for Shara to reappear after her performance but when she did, she was wired! They gave all the kids special cast member bags and they also get to keep the cool AFY Disney t-shirt. We took way to long to get pretzels at the Wentzels but they were good and we were hungry. We walked to the Lego store at the other side of Downtown Disney and thought about seeking shelter because it looked like a storm was coming. We then went to the Disney store and Shara looked for a shirt. We had to get moving because we had 7:15 dinner reservations at Sanaa. We had to call and say we'd be late because it took us forever to walk back to our car and then there was a backup leaving the area. But we got there and while we waited, go to view more giraffes and ostriches and other really cool animals. I didn't think there'd be so many to view, but there were!

Dinner was good. We split the Indian-style Bread Service - Traditional Naan, Garlic-Ginger Naan, Spiced Naan, with Cucumber Raita, Spicy Jalapeño-Lime Pickle, and Tamarind Chutney. Shara got the Butter Chicken and Beef Short Ribs combo, served with rice. Alan had Chicken Vindaloo and Spicy Durban Shrimp served with rice and I had the Paneer Tikka and Seasonal Vegetable Wat (ratatouille) with the 5-grain pilaf. It was good but not awesome. It was very nice to sit down and be waited on and the service was great!

Since this was our last day/night in the parks, it was our last chance to go to Fantasmic at Hollywood Studios. Alan wanted no part of it - he was far too tired, but Shara and I ventured out and had a terrific time. We parked pretty close and while we were going in, saw the Frozen fireworks spectacular. We hopped on the tram and the person running it questioned if we meant to get on it or missed our stop, since it was so late, I assume, walked right in and over to the amphitheater. We got perfect seats and only had about a 15 minute wait before the show started. Shara loved it! 100 thumbs up! So glad we didn't miss it. On our way out we decided to see if there was a shirt for her to buy and she did find a cool one in one of the stores. It's an extra small adult shirt but the adult designs are so neat and she'll be able to wear it for a while. It does have "Walt Disney World 2014" on it so it's also a souvenir. Another very full, fun day!

2014 Disney Vacation - Day 2

It's hard to remember the days but the second day was Wednesday. We went to Hollywood Studios in the morning and then Epcot in the afternoon. We got a fairly early start because time was short - packing 2 parks in one day. We wanted to join in the Frozen revelries and got to the park in time to get a couple of bagels at Starring Rolls and find a spot for the 11 am welcome parade. Alan found a spot for us and Shara & I went for the bagel run. We managed to get the bagels, cream cheese them, and find Alan in time for the parade to start. It was cute - they had snow made from soap foam coming down and the stars on their floats. Loud music, dancing and costumes that must have been pretty hot for the dancers on a very hot day like this one. After the parade and a cute comedy skit and sing-along with Olaf and the princesses, it was off to Beauty and the Beast. Shara enjoyed it but didn't seem blown away. We also went to the Little Mermaid, which wasn't quite as good as we remembered. The mic on Ariel needed to be turned up and it really seemed shorted that we remembered. Shara did love the Great Hollywood Movie Ride. I was happy about that because it introduced her to several of the classics and she even knew some of them already. Her favorite part was when our driver switched places with one of the live actors in a scene and she also liked the fire.

We ended up not seeing that much but did get a couple of cups of ice water for Alan to make good on his ALS ice bucket challenge. He did it outside the park, in front of Olaf, which was cute - Alan got frozen with Frozen.

Post by Alan Yabroudy.

We took the Friendship Boat to Epcot and left the car at Hollywood Studios. While waiting for the boat, we saw two kinds of turtles in the water, many fish (poisson, as the young French speaking boy noted), and ducks (one even pooped a lot!). We got a nice tour of some of the resorts - Swan & Dolphin, Boardwalk, a couple others. and a break from walking. It was quite a hot day - very humid, and we made good use of the Olaf fan.

Studying the map - on the boat

We got to Epcot via the back entrance near the International Gateway. Of course we were all turned around, but figured out we were in the UK pretty quickly. Shara decided not to do the Phineaus & Ferb scavenger hunt so we went to France to, what else, eat! The place was so busy we decided to get a bite at Les Halles Boulangerie & Patisserie. Alan had a turkey BLT, Shara had the Creme Brulee and I had a Salad Nicoise. I was planning on having ice cream and needed to have something healthy before all that sugar. The salad was good but we could only find a stand up table. There were several birds flying around and I believe they were nesting at the top of the walls near the dining area. A couple of feathers floated down. Bubbe would have loved it (sarcasm)! Alan & Shara went outside and sat at a table but I decided to finish inside, since it was still really hot out. After the salad, I did go into L'Artisan des Glace. As others have mentioned in various food blogs, it was a very difficult decision to make. I settled on the White Chocolate Coconut in a waffle cone, but the Salted Caramel, Profiterole, and all the other flavors, sounded equally delicious. I don't think there was a bad choice and I enjoyed the cone all the way to Future World.

We had fast passes for Soarin', The Seas w/ Nemo & Friends, and Mission Space. The first was Soarin' and it was phenomenal. I thought it was going to be a simulator that made us feel like we were hang gliding, where we'd lay in an aparatus, stomach down. It wasn't anything like that. We were strapped into chairs, in rows of about 10. There was a huge, emersive screen that started a movie that made it feel we were flying over California. It also had some smells, like oranges when going over an orange grove being harvested, but the main thing was the video and the moving of the chairs we were sitting in. It was really neat. The Nemo ride was not. It was pretty lame, actually, but it didn't take too much time out of the day. Our last fast pass for the day was at Mission SPACE. We had to decide if we wanted to go on the Orange or Green level. We opted for Green (tame) and Shara & I felt it was good enough for us. Alan wanted more so he went on the Orange one after. He said there wasn't much difference between the two. While Alan went on the Mission SPACE orange ride, Shara & I went to find something else to do. We ended up going in Spaceship Earth - the big sphere. She loved it - viewing the history was cool and having the ride customize our future vacation was even cooler. On our trip, Shara will have an android along to play games with her, such as chess, and we'll get to fly in personal flying cars. She also liked riding in the dark car.

We had 8:40 dinner reservations at Tokyo Sushi and were hoping to get seats close to the window so we could see IllumiNations in comfort. We didn't get seats by the window but we did get to see the fireworks and hear the music. Shara's getting pretty jaded by now with the fireworks so it wasn't as spectacular as her sushi. While waiting for dinner, we did try the shaved ice - I got the rainbow - tangerine, melon and strawberry. As recommended by others, I got the sweet milk but we all agreed it wasn't very good. I seemed to be the only one who liked the flavors so was the one to eat most of it. Dinner was good. Alan got a spicy roll, salmon w/ truffle oil and he raved about it. Shara really liked it too. Alan also got an order of the  tempura calamari with a spicy sauce. Shara had miso soup, a rainbow roll and we split edamame for the table. I had a salad w/ ginger dressing and this combo roll - 2 spicy rolls with lots of tempura flakes. Everything was good. The place was very loud but they did pipe in the music for Illuminations, which was cool. We skipped dessert, already had it, and made our way through the closed park to find a bus to take us back to Hollywood Studios and our car. The park's a really neat place to be when it's mostly empty and rather dark. Thank you Alan for driving us back to the resort so we could crash after yet another busy day!

Very tired, waiting for the bus to Hollywood Studios

2014 Disney Vacation - Travel Day

I'm not going to give a detailed account of our plane ride here or the experience at the airport because it was rather mundane. We got to the airport, parked, took the elevator, got something to eat, waited, waited, waited, found watching the luggage removal and loading from the plane was interesting and Shara really wanted the hot pink suitcases, learned the fuel is stored in the wings, like Jet Blue because they have in-flight TVs, enjoyed watching the food channel and learned how to make beef bourguignon and baked Alaska, shared headphones - lucky we have the style where we can each take a bud (first world problem), got off the plane, got our luggage, got our car, got to the resort, got unpacked, and got to bed.

Goodbye Hoffman's

Yesterday after picking Shara up after almost a week with Aunt Jill, we made a stop at the beautiful Clifton Park Public Library before meeting Bubbe at Starbucks for a short visit. The plan was to then grab a quick lunch but we got a little sidetracked trying to find where we wanted to eat. Shara kept saying, me should just go to Chipotle because we're going to end up there anyway", but I wanted to see what else was at Clifton Commons. We found an interesting salad place and a cupcake bakery that was on Cupcake Wars. We figured we'd go back and get cupcakes after lunch, but didn't find anywhere better than Chipotle, so ended up there. It was just as good as the last time we had it, and basically had the same thing as last time too. We then walked back to the cupcake place (Coccadotts), stopping at Marshals to look at the shoes and use their facilities. Then big decisions had to be made. We couldn't figure out what 2 cupcakes to get, there were so many interesting flavors. After getting a recommendation from the sales girl, we decided on the Cannoli -

Cannoli

"A delicious almond cupcake iced with cannoli buttercream. Garnished with crumbled cannoli shells, chocolate chips, and a rich chocolate shaving." and the Double Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough -

Double Chocolate Chip

A chocolate cupcake with chocolate chip cookie dough mousse filling. Topped with cookie dough buttercream and a chocolate chip garnish. Eating these in the car was interesting. I'd have been much happier with a plate and fork but I carefully ate just 1/2 of each - Shara was keeping a close watch on me that I didn't go over the line. She needn't have worried. I wasn't a big fan of the Cannoli but the cookie one was very, very good.

After sugaring up we were on to our next stop - Hoffman's Playland. I had heard they were closing for good so had to show it to Shara, since it was a big memory of my childhood. My aunt Susie took me there a couple of times, I think, with my cousin Ev. So much fun - I liked the bumper cars the best. But this was a totally different experience with Shara. She's not one for the tall rides and I'm not one for the spinny ones, but we made it work. We went on the hot air balloons, then the merry-go-round, then the hot air balloons, then the train. We couldn't finish on the train because that would have been fairly depressing, so Shara went by herself on the teacups, which were more like sparkly hot tubs.

Happy to pose with the sign

Happy to pose with the weird clown trash

Selfies w/ mommy on the merry-go-round

Fun balloons!

Posing w/ creepy humpty dumpty

Last Play Day

Yesterday Shara went with me to my MLA meeting and sat very quietly while the rest of us planned and discussed. Then the fun began. We went to lunch at Franks, then onward to Tougas Farms for peaches. But not to pick because that's not what we wanted to do. We were just there to buy a few and of course had to get the day old doughnuts because they were such a good deal, and then had to feed the goats because they were so cute, and had to swing on the tire swing because that's what tire swings are there for!

Then we went down the road to the other farm and had ice cream, walked around the lovely area for the animals - saw a couple of llamas, goats, sheep, and this lovely butterfly!

Then went on the swings here and tried climbing up the "rock" wall using the rope. When we were finished, we got in the car and got on the road because by then, we were risking getting caught in traffic. It wasn't too bad. The ride to the meeting was - caught traffic from an accident, but home was the normal construction traffic. We got home and put away the dishes, the peaches, etc. and got on our suits and headed to the pool. I know it needs to rain but boy these sun-filled days are lovely!

Summer NH Vacation - Day 4

The last day - much too short. We did more touristy things, but they were popular (very) places in nature. The first stop after a relaxing morning was to Diana's Baths. It was only about 10 minutes from our resort, to the West of the Saco River. The reviews warned of it being crowded and they weren't kidding. We got to the parking lot, which both Google Maps and my GPS got wrong, and waited a few minutes for a parking spot. Had we gotten there a bit later, I would have seen that everyone was parking on the road as well. We wore our water shoes, sprayed up (bug & sun), I put the new hat I got from the five & dime (similar to this one) and we were off down the 1/2 mile or so path through the woods to the "baths". We came out and found the crowd. Some people were in the water, but it was freezing! We went in, looked around, then back to the path and up a little more to see what it was like higher up. It was just as crowded but we hopped around on the rocks a bit, after navigating our way through the woods. We got in about calf deep and that was nice and refreshing but anything more would be numbing. It was fun walking on the rocks. I was a little nervous and kept annoying Shara by reminding her to pay attention and think before she went. It was slippery in areas and I didn't want the day ruined by scrapes and bruises. There were none and we both enjoyed the baths.

We left and when we got back to the lot realized we came at a good time. The place was packed - like they let the busses out! We got in the car and moved on to our next stop - lunch. We agreed that we'd just get some pizza or subs to take to Echo Lake for our picnic. The easiest place to go was Elvio's in North Conway. It was very good. Shara got the eggplant parm sub, I got the Italian Sub (fried eggplant, roasted peppers, tomatoes, garlic, basil, mozzarella), and we "split" a piece of white pizza. Back to the car and down the road a few miles, past Cathedral Ledge and onto Echo Lake. We got there, found parking on the road, loaded up and went in. We ate and Shara gave me a bite of the pizza. The crust was really good. She said she started eating it and forgot we were going to share. I was happy she was enjoying it so much she forgot. My sandwich was excellent - homemade bread too. When we were done with our picnic at a table under the pines, we found a spot on the beach. Not the part that was roped off with the lifeguard, but a little ways down. It was great. We swam, played catch in the water, swam, played catch in the water, and stayed in the water for over two hours, surrounded by a spectacular view of cliffs, similar to this. When it was time to move on, we realized how tired we were and decided to go "home" and relax a bit before deciding what to do for the evening. Shara was hungry at that point so we had an early dinner of various leftover, including the eggplant sub, which survived a day out. Health inspectors would be upset but no one got sick!

Showered and feeling much better I found Tuesday movies at Settler's Green. They put out a blow-up screen and have people come and set up chairs and show a free kids movie. Homeward Bound was the movie for the night and we headed over. There was a pretty good sized crowd by the time the film started. We set up our chairs, got a cupcake from White Mountain Cupcakery (Boston Cream) and a banana peanut sundae from the ice cream shop there. Aside from my having to be a pain and ask the guy for a larger cup/bowl to put the ice cream in, because it was overflowing and would be impossible to eat, it was a fun night. The bugs weren't too bad, we had sprayed up a little, and the movie was good. Neither of us had seen it before and I'd recommend it. A little girl in front of us got upset near the end, but all turned out fine, of course. When we left, Shara had to find a bathroom so we went in and "borrowed" the one at Applebee's before coming back to the room and going to bed Really Late!

Summer NH Vacation - Day 3

Shara woke up herself at about 8:30 am and we had a bite at the apartment and I talked her into going to take a look at the Saco River Trail behind the resort. We got dressed and headed over. There were already people in the pool - a very popular place! The trail started by the tennis courts and had fitness challenges every so often. The first we found was stepping up with one foot onto poles a number of times, then the other foot. We bug sprayed ourselves and didn't find the bugs too bad even though this was mostly through the woods. Before we sprayed they were already becoming annoying though. We went past a pond and followed the cross country ski trail a bit and finally got to the river. It was really low. The first stop we made was by a rock beach where we found some nice rocks to bring home.

the sand feels great

we stumbled upon this

Shara at the river

After exploring for a while we continued down the path and found a group taking a tour from the resort. They were leaving a picnic/swim area as we were arriving. We looked around there a bit and did another obstacle from the fitness course (parallel bars) and went further. We learned from the group that the trail was a one way, so we went a bit further and turned around. It was about the 1/2 mile mark and ended up walking back most of the way with the group until we got to the pond we saw at the beginning of the trail. We went to the waters edge and saw what we think were frog eggs. We also saw minnows and lots of teeny frogs. Very cool and we were glad we took the time to explore a bit more there. Shara thought daddy would have really liked to have seen the pond.

When we got back to the apartment, we showered and realized we were pretty hungry. At that point it was almost noon. The original plan was to go to Attitash after 3 pm to get a 1/2 day pass for the water raft ride and trampoline. We figured it would work to go to North Conway, have lunch and look around the town a bit before coming back to go to Attitash. We got to N. Conway and Shara was really hungry and then really hot so we went to the first place that had sandwiches. Shara had been craving a reuben but none were on this menu. That was fine, this place is fine, let's just go here. I try to go to places that are on my researched list of "good choices". This wasn't on the list but I didn't care because I wanted to get us fed and back to happy. Let's say this place was interesting. Here's my yelp review on the Courtyard Cafe. Not a good review, but honest.

After we were fed, things were actually looking up, though the lunch experience wasn't the best. We headed out and started looking in the cute shops. We spent a ton of time at Penguin, Zeb's and the 5 & dime. Somewhere during that time my phone died and I had no idea what time it was. I asked Shara if she wanted to continue shopping and maybe skip Attitash or if we wanted to find out the time and see if we could get to Attitash. She was enjoying shopping so much we skipped it. Before we left town, we stopped at 18 degrees Celsius. Loved the salted caramel balsamic creation and was extremely impressed with the salted caramel pretzel frappe. We saw an artist at work. The balsamic was the salted caramel ice cream, topped with a balsamic deduction drizzle, the dusted with chili pepper flakes, cumin and something else I can't remember, but gave it a citrus flavor. The frappe was incredible. A huge scoop of ice cream, milk and 2? pretzel rods, pulverized. Then he added another scoop of ice cream and garnished with 2 more rods. Highly recommend making the stop.

We got back to the resort and headed to the pool to try and work up an appetite for dinner. We played around there until close to 7 pm then came back, dried off, redressed and figured out where to go. By then, Shara was really tired so we decided on somewhere easy, but I didn't want to go to Maddy-B's, on the resort property. We went close to N. Conway, but not all the way to it, to Moat Mountain Smokehouse and Brewery. That was a good choice, though a 1/2 hour wait. Surprised for a Monday night and also that there were so many young kids there. Made me feel like not such a bad parent! It was hard deciding so the wait was well worth it. Shara got the smoked pork sliders with fries and a small caesar salad. The salad needed extra dressing and then was very good, though the pieces of lettuce were a little large. I had the smoked pork burrito w/ black beans, rice, salsa, and shredded lettuce. It was good but needed hot sauce for more flavor. The pork itself wasn't flavorful enough on its own and I didn't see any sauce in the burrito. We have almost enough for dinner tonight.

Summer NH Vacation - Day 2

We had a leisurely, but not too leisurely, morning. Shara slept until 8:30 am (I woke her up) and we got showered and dressed and headed out for our late breakfast at the Sunrise Shack. A place that has good Yelp reviews. You can view mine there as well. We played hangman & tic tac toe while we waited for our wonderful brunch. Then we were off for our full day at Storyland. Today it was a little drizzly, and not very warm, however that didn't stop us from getting soaked! Shara wanted to go on the Dr. Geyser's raft ride again (and again and again). There weren't any lines so we pretty much got right on. We did that once, then moved to parts more unknown. Up the hill, past the Polar Coaster (looked and Shara didn't want to try it), but did agree to a photo by the North Pole:

Then to the Cuckoo Clockenspiel. Seabands on! But it wasn't too bad and actually we had great fun.

Then we went down and around and to the Swan Boats. These are similar to the Antique Cars, but on water and they're swans! Shara was in the front, doing the driving. We only bumped into a couple of other swans during our 10 minute ride.

We grabbed a coach ride up to Cinderella's Castle, but Cinderella wasn't there to visit. No worries, we still got to see her glass slipper and Shara sat in the throne.

Then we went to see Butterfly Island on the Storyland Queen. It was a lovely trip and Shara thought the little baby on it was really cute. We all clapped when he rang the Fairy Godmother's bell to give us a safe journey.

To finish off this area, we both went on a cool carousel. There are only two in the world like this one. It's from Germany and turns clockwise and the horses are on springs that you rock back and forth, not up and down.

At this point, the sun was out and it was pretty warm so back to Dr. Geyser's! Then Shara needed to try the shaved ice. If you've never seen one before, this is an idea of what it is. She got the rainbow. I had cone - orange/vanilla. Then it started drizzling again but nothing major. It was over in no time and we finished our snack and went to get soaked again.

But this time we went to Splash Battle: Pharaoh's Reign. And we did get soaked. It was fun squirting everyone and getting squirted. Shara really got into it and wanted to go back and squirt the people on the boats from the outside of the ride. Then she got really brave and wanted to go on the Great Balloon Chase - a mini ferris wheel, the all enclosed kind. Back for a last trip on Dr. Geyser's raft and over to finish up at the Antique Cars. Shara got out her driver's license and did a much better job driving than yesterday.

So we were soaked and freezing at this point. The sun was back in and it was about 72 degrees. We went through the candy story - Shara spent her own money on a sour baby bottle thing, and under the road to the parking lot. The car was nice and warm and we loved it! Back to the resort where we changed clothes and had some dinner - leftovers. Gave daddy a call, then made the quick trip to the market to get coffee and some breakfast food. Then Shara talked me into going to the outdoor, heated pool. It wasn't really warm, but once we got in (Shara got in really fast), it was fine. We had fun racing, especially our running races. Were there for about a 1/2 hour, then back to the room for a quick change, throw in a load of laundry, then out for ice cream, because we're on vacation. We went to Trails End Ice Cream just up the road. It was pretty good but I'd like to try someplace else next time.

Summer NH Vacation - Day 1

Shara and Laurie's Big Adventure started well. We hit the expected Saturday traffic to New Hampshire and arrived at Storyland after about a 4 1/2 hour drive. We stopped along the way at a Chipotle, where Shara got a great taco kit kid's meal with a side of guac to share. I can't remember the name of the town we went to but my first attempt was to find a local diner so we headed to the historic section, as indicated by the signs. We found a couple of old farms, the library and very new town hall. Not very business-friendly though. Then we went the opposite way and got to the malls. Oh well, at least Chipotle is fast, eco-friendlier, quality food.

Storyland after 3 pm lets you get 1 1/2 days at the park for just one day admission, which is a great deal. We planned on going on the new Roarasaurus, a brand new wooden roller coaster. This is preparation for Disney because we're signed up for fastpasses for the big rides. Well those passes will be traded in for littler attractions, so this was good information to learn. We didn't start at the Roarasaurus though. We got there, headed to the bathroom, then let the path lead us. It lead us to water - Dr. Geyser's Remarkable Raft Ride (This churn of the century soaking is just what the doctor ordered on a warm summer day.). The picture looks like it's a bright sunny day, but it was in the high 70's and overcast. However, it didn't hurt the fun we had on this ride.

Soaked Shara

We got on the ride fairly quickly - about a 20 min. wait, and were picked to go on quicker because it was just the two of us and we went on with another family. They had two girls, one younger and one about Shara's age. The older girl seemed quite nervous and the dad was funny. Good group to ride with.

Desperado Plunge

Bamboo Chutes

We then headed over, across the railroad tracks to the Bamboo Chutes. I remembered the Desperado Plunge from Storytown, when I was a kid and this looked a little smaller but it's hard to say. We paid the $10 for a keychain with the photo of us coming down the chute. We'll share later.

After all that we needed a snack and got a cone (Laurie) and a refillable slush (Shara). Then followed our path to the Roar-o-Saurus. Shara wanted nothing to do with it. She saw how high it was (not very) and fast (yes, pretty fast) and said, "no". Wandered around some more and then headed to the Turtle Twirl. Got out the sea-bands for that one! Here's a video, which looks pretty slow, but it is not. Shara said she closes her eyes on these if she feels dizzy and I tried it. That really works and we had a great time on it.

We then hopped on the train and went to the entrance where we found the antique cars, "Guided, guest-operated mini cars that put the wind in your hair and the road at your back!" After waiting about 1/2 hour in line, which went by pretty fast, Shara got a pink car to drive. The older men at the start and end of the ride were so nice. I think Don gave her instructions to hold the pedal down all the way. I can't wait until she's 16. Shara is not a natural behind the wheel but she had fun and needed to get her driver's license when we were done. I think she may want to go back today and do it again!

concentrating hard

Here are a couple more photos.

Our first day at Storyland ended happily and off we went to the resort. Alan was right about cell service and the GPS wasn't the best in the car so we had to rely on the old fashioned method and I finally gave in to Shara's wish that we stop and ask someone. No biggie - took a left at the intersection instead of a right. We found the resort and got a big surprise when we checked in. I verified we had a mini-fridge and microwave in the room and found out we had a one bedroom townhouse! 2 bathrooms, one bedroom, full, but small, kitchen. And I believe it's a new unit. Little, but perfect for us! We found the building, which is off in the back, over the train tracks, in front of the Saco River trail, which we'll check out later. We got unpacked then decided where to go for dinner. The restaurant on the property was pretty attractive, since it was easy, so we started walking there, didn't find the path that looked like it cut through from our side of the grounds to the entrance, so came back around, ended up at our car and I convinced Shara to go to the place that I had found on Travelocity. I wouldn't have saved it if there weren't good reviews, so we went, and again, took a left instead of a right. That really blew her confidence in my sense of direction around here - but I just need to find out which way is west and which is east - today's task. Turned around and headed the correct way, with Shara in the back saying, "ok, prove it. If we don't find it, we're going to the restaurant at the resort." That was fine and we did find it and had a good meal. My Yelp review.

We didn't get back until late and it's 8:20 AM. Shara's still sleeping. I'll let her sleep another 10 minutes but if I don't wake her up, she'll be upset at me. We haven't decided if we're going out for brunch and have leftovers for dinner or what the plan is, other than going back to Storyland. We'll let you know!

Long Weekend

Making thank you notes for the RE teachers

Alan & Shara closing the pool

Busy weekend - lots of planting - flowers, cucumbers, beans, peas! Shara wanted to plant cucumbers and ended up covered in dirt from head to toe! It was good to have a couple of days of normalcy. No major places to be or tasks to take care of.

It was also nice that Alan and Shara got some time together recently while I was away at conferences. I think they bonded nicely and were able to continue with it yesterday while I was at Zumba - Alan's famous cheesy eggs baked in a toast hole, then off to Lowe's for supplies. And it makes up for Alan not being able to go with us on a short vacation to New Hampshire. We were going to lose timeshare points and the only places left at this late date were NH and VT - both with spotty cell coverage. So Shara and I will have a chance to bond! I'm really looking forward to it.

Other exciting events at this time of year, and Shara's so excited for all of it - recital, Mary Poppins, birthday! So much.

Patriots Day

Shara and I went to Moose Hill today to see if there was any activity left in the Vernal Pools. We didn't see much but had a nice hike anyway!

Shara on the Vernal Pool trail

After we went to Crescent Ridge for ice cream before heading home for me to finish upgrade activities for work and Shara to put away some stuff. Then we played hide and go seek tag before she left for dance and I made dinner.

In the evening Alan made a fire and we roasted peeps! It's going to be our "Easter" tradition. Then we laid out all the candy we received on the dining room table and traded what we didn't want and others did and threw out what no one wanted. Way too much candy, as usual.

Peep on a stick at night