Showing posts with label Vacation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Vacation. Show all posts
Monday, June 18, 2018
!: Chicago vacation
ENCOURAGEMENT !!!: Chicago vacation: For a Summer vacation we decided to drive to Chicago staying overnight in Joliet, Illinois. In the morning we debated whether to take a com...
Thursday, May 17, 2018
Hawaii Vacation
ENCOURAGEMENT !!!: Hawaii / California Vacation Part 1: Once we took a wonderful vacation to Hawaii & California. On Waikiki we rode war canoes and experienced the thrill of the ocean waves, ...
Thursday, April 19, 2018
ENCOURAGEMENT !!!: Hawaii / California Vacation Part 1
ENCOURAGEMENT !!!: Hawaii / California Vacation Part 1: Once we took a wonderful vacation to Hawaii & California. On Waikiki we rode war canoes and experienced the thrill of the ocean waves, ...
ENCOURAGEMENT !!!: Hawaii / California Vacation Part 2
ENCOURAGEMENT !!!: Hawaii / California Vacation Part 2: Later our seventeen-minute flight to Honolulu where we caught a Boeing to San Francisco. Most people leave the islands around midnight so t...
Monday, October 6, 2014
The Black Hills
Awhile back Andy and I took a much needed mini-vacation to the Black Hills in southwestern South Dakota. We saw some lovely mountain homes in the Black Hills, and it would be nice to retire there someday. It wasn't tourist season yet so many attractions were closed, but we came for the peace and quiet. But we did see Mount Rushmore!
We heard about a vegan restaurant in Rapid City called “Veggies,” and ate dinner there - good food.
Andy selected a wonderful place to stay about 10 miles northwest of Rapid City. It was called Elk Creek Resort, we were the only guests (as it wasn’t tourist season yet) it was great! The place has camping, primitive cabins, and also 2 triplexes, and 2 four-plexes. We had a end unit of a triplex, very nice. It was situated half-way up a mountain with a commanding view, and at the foot of the Petrified Forest. So quiet and peaceful; it was great getting close to nature and God.
On April 30 we took a short drive south of Rapid to Hermosa, SD then up in the hills a few miles to a health resort called Black Hills Health & Education Center. We were given a tour - they have nice facilities, two doctors on staff also. They help people with diabetes, heart problems, etc. The campus is between some mountains on 400+ acres; a beautiful, clear stream runs through the middle of it. The only sounds we heard were birds and the stream! We saw 22 deer that day!
Would be nice to have mini-vacations all through the year, but that seems impossible. So much stress.
We heard about a vegan restaurant in Rapid City called “Veggies,” and ate dinner there - good food.
Andy selected a wonderful place to stay about 10 miles northwest of Rapid City. It was called Elk Creek Resort, we were the only guests (as it wasn’t tourist season yet) it was great! The place has camping, primitive cabins, and also 2 triplexes, and 2 four-plexes. We had a end unit of a triplex, very nice. It was situated half-way up a mountain with a commanding view, and at the foot of the Petrified Forest. So quiet and peaceful; it was great getting close to nature and God.
On April 30 we took a short drive south of Rapid to Hermosa, SD then up in the hills a few miles to a health resort called Black Hills Health & Education Center. We were given a tour - they have nice facilities, two doctors on staff also. They help people with diabetes, heart problems, etc. The campus is between some mountains on 400+ acres; a beautiful, clear stream runs through the middle of it. The only sounds we heard were birds and the stream! We saw 22 deer that day!
Would be nice to have mini-vacations all through the year, but that seems impossible. So much stress.
Wednesday, September 10, 2014
Hawaii / California Vacation Part 2
Later our seventeen-minute flight to Honolulu where we caught a Boeing to San Francisco. Most people leave the islands around midnight so they can sleep during the flight and arrive in California around 7 a.m.; but we left Honolulu about 2 p.m. and arrived in San Francisco at 11:30 p.m. The flight to San Francisco was virtually empty so we each took a row of seats and slept.
After securing a rental car in San Francisco we gladly anticipated the old, restored hotel I had selected for our lodging. Much to our dismay this hotel was in the heart of a rowdy prostitute district! We decided to go elsewhere, but due to a convention lodging in San Francisco was not to be found. At 1 a.m. we drove back to the airport and found a nice La Quinta Inn with two rooms left, we took one and it was quiet.
In the morning we went to the Science Museum where we enjoyed the Planetarium, gem and mineral collection, aquarium, and earthquake room! In the earthquake room one stands on a platform and a movie is shown of an earthquake as the platform shakes erratically from magnitude 5 to 6. Neglecting to hang onto the railing I fell off the platform, but did the "earthquake" five times!
In San Francisco’s China Town we found a charming restaurant, "The Lotus Garden." Members of the Taoist religion who are vegans own it and the waiter’s only means of pay are tips as this is their mission work. Above the restaurant they have their shrine and religious services. We had egg-less egg rolls, seaweed soup (actually shredded asparagus), vegetable soup with baby corn, and rice with sweet and sour “pork,” almond “chicken”, crisp vegetables, almond pudding and fortune cookies. The "pork" and "chicken" tasted too real so we asked about the ingredients, it was charming to hear the waiter say "gluten!"
We stayed at a church campground in Yosemite overnight to see the ancient Sequoia trees. Oh, how I love those trees and wished I could have one of my own!
The whole vacation was simply wonderful! It could not have been better! Thank you Heavenly Father!
After securing a rental car in San Francisco we gladly anticipated the old, restored hotel I had selected for our lodging. Much to our dismay this hotel was in the heart of a rowdy prostitute district! We decided to go elsewhere, but due to a convention lodging in San Francisco was not to be found. At 1 a.m. we drove back to the airport and found a nice La Quinta Inn with two rooms left, we took one and it was quiet.
In the morning we went to the Science Museum where we enjoyed the Planetarium, gem and mineral collection, aquarium, and earthquake room! In the earthquake room one stands on a platform and a movie is shown of an earthquake as the platform shakes erratically from magnitude 5 to 6. Neglecting to hang onto the railing I fell off the platform, but did the "earthquake" five times!
In San Francisco’s China Town we found a charming restaurant, "The Lotus Garden." Members of the Taoist religion who are vegans own it and the waiter’s only means of pay are tips as this is their mission work. Above the restaurant they have their shrine and religious services. We had egg-less egg rolls, seaweed soup (actually shredded asparagus), vegetable soup with baby corn, and rice with sweet and sour “pork,” almond “chicken”, crisp vegetables, almond pudding and fortune cookies. The "pork" and "chicken" tasted too real so we asked about the ingredients, it was charming to hear the waiter say "gluten!"
We stayed at a church campground in Yosemite overnight to see the ancient Sequoia trees. Oh, how I love those trees and wished I could have one of my own!
The whole vacation was simply wonderful! It could not have been better! Thank you Heavenly Father!
Hawaii / California Vacation Part 1
Once we took a wonderful vacation to Hawaii & California. On Waikiki we rode war canoes and experienced the thrill of the ocean waves, like surfers, going 35 miles per hour! Walking to the summit of Diamond Head and overlooking the ocean was super and we also found World War II bunkers with gun ports! Andy crawled in the bunkers and took fantastic photos. Visiting Pearl Harbor was gripping in its serenity and sorrow.
We learned of a wonderful, but seldom traveled road. This road rises sharply from the National Punch Bowl Cemetery entrance and winds for miles among the tops of extinct volcanic mountains. The mansions on this road are hard to see, but the scenery of God's natural, living green jungles are beautiful: large bamboo groves, twisted banyan trees, four foot long leaves.
On the Big Island we watched the International Iron Man Triathlon Parade of Flags from the outdoor balcony of a Thai restaurant. Later taking a cruise in search of whales and dolphin. Being naive about the ocean I turned green from hanging over the bow taking photographs of dolphin! That evening we ate sticky rice at a Filipino cafe. Sticky rice is rice blended with coconut milk and honey and then wrapped in banana leaves and steamed. Delicious!
An all day trip to see volcanoes and black sand beaches was great. Driving through the Kilauea area we saw steam coming from banks and craters, and tons of hardened, crusty, old lava covering the roads and mountainsides; later we walked through a twelve foot high hardened lava tube that is over one block in length.
Driving further down the mountain we parked and walked right up to the lava flow where a park ranger said the flow was moving twelve feet per twenty-four hours. The surface was hard but the interior was still moving. Many fool-hearty people were walking on this “hardened” lava; some were poking sticks into the flow and the stick would burst into flame, but the lava on the stick would become fragile like glass.
The following day our flight from the Big Island to Maui took fifteen minutes. Maui is the prettiest island we have seen and our hotel was on a beautiful white sand beach. For dinner we had pineapple boats filled with tropical fruit!
In the countryside we saw fields of pineapple and sugar cane and stopped at a botanical garden and sampled breadfruit, passion fruit, and tiny bananas. Later driving through lush green valleys to the Iao Needle which is a tall, skinny mountain that projects itself through the canyon floor. We enjoyed driving to an extinct volcano that rises from sea level to ten thousand feet; the crater is about seven miles across. Because of the iron and sulfur the colors of the crater and the cinder cones are beautiful shades of red, orange, yellow and brown. It was particularly remarkable to see clouds climbing ever higher only to drop inside the crater! Our color slide of this scene won third prize in state competition.
Later we played in the warm 85-degree ocean, took a tour of an old whaling ship and walked through shops of seashells, nautical goods and scrimshaw ivory.
Now on to California! [SEE PART 2]
We learned of a wonderful, but seldom traveled road. This road rises sharply from the National Punch Bowl Cemetery entrance and winds for miles among the tops of extinct volcanic mountains. The mansions on this road are hard to see, but the scenery of God's natural, living green jungles are beautiful: large bamboo groves, twisted banyan trees, four foot long leaves.
On the Big Island we watched the International Iron Man Triathlon Parade of Flags from the outdoor balcony of a Thai restaurant. Later taking a cruise in search of whales and dolphin. Being naive about the ocean I turned green from hanging over the bow taking photographs of dolphin! That evening we ate sticky rice at a Filipino cafe. Sticky rice is rice blended with coconut milk and honey and then wrapped in banana leaves and steamed. Delicious!
An all day trip to see volcanoes and black sand beaches was great. Driving through the Kilauea area we saw steam coming from banks and craters, and tons of hardened, crusty, old lava covering the roads and mountainsides; later we walked through a twelve foot high hardened lava tube that is over one block in length.
Driving further down the mountain we parked and walked right up to the lava flow where a park ranger said the flow was moving twelve feet per twenty-four hours. The surface was hard but the interior was still moving. Many fool-hearty people were walking on this “hardened” lava; some were poking sticks into the flow and the stick would burst into flame, but the lava on the stick would become fragile like glass.
The following day our flight from the Big Island to Maui took fifteen minutes. Maui is the prettiest island we have seen and our hotel was on a beautiful white sand beach. For dinner we had pineapple boats filled with tropical fruit!
In the countryside we saw fields of pineapple and sugar cane and stopped at a botanical garden and sampled breadfruit, passion fruit, and tiny bananas. Later driving through lush green valleys to the Iao Needle which is a tall, skinny mountain that projects itself through the canyon floor. We enjoyed driving to an extinct volcano that rises from sea level to ten thousand feet; the crater is about seven miles across. Because of the iron and sulfur the colors of the crater and the cinder cones are beautiful shades of red, orange, yellow and brown. It was particularly remarkable to see clouds climbing ever higher only to drop inside the crater! Our color slide of this scene won third prize in state competition.
Later we played in the warm 85-degree ocean, took a tour of an old whaling ship and walked through shops of seashells, nautical goods and scrimshaw ivory.
Now on to California! [SEE PART 2]
Tuesday, July 29, 2014
Oatmeal & Brown Sugar - a story
Andy and I ordered breakfast at a café, and I ordered “a large bowl of oatmeal and brown sugar,” the sugar was for sprinkling on top of the cereal. The waitress questioned my order twice, looked confused, and went to the kitchen to discuss it with the cook.
When my oatmeal was served the entire wait and kitchen staff stood around waiting to watch me eat.
I felt like an idiot!
I was given a small mixing bowl of oatmeal and an equal amount of brown sugar! After sprinkling some sugar on the cereal I said, “That’s all the sugar I wanted, thank you.” Then the staff looked disappointed and left us to eat in peace.
When my oatmeal was served the entire wait and kitchen staff stood around waiting to watch me eat.
I felt like an idiot!
I was given a small mixing bowl of oatmeal and an equal amount of brown sugar! After sprinkling some sugar on the cereal I said, “That’s all the sugar I wanted, thank you.” Then the staff looked disappointed and left us to eat in peace.
Wednesday, July 9, 2014
New Orleans Vacation
Years ago my husband, Andy, and I drove to New Orleans, Louisiana, USA for a vacation. Our hotel, The Clarion, was on the National Registry of Historic Places. Our room was quaint and very beautiful in shades of lavender, ivory and pale blue.
We went to beautiful Jackson Square where you can take guided tours via horse-drawn carriage, or watch artists, jugglers and musicians. At one end of the Square is the Saint Louis cathedral, the oldest cathedral in the United States. Then it was a half block to Madeline's, a French cafe where we purchased French pastries and quiche, much different from up North.
Our friends went for a swimming party by Biloxi, Mississippi. Instead Andy and I rode a steamboat up the Mississippi River to tour an 1812 battlefield and a restored 1800's Southern mansion. It was wonderful and along the way we watched boats unloading raw sugar at the C&H sugar mill. In the distance we saw an old mansion that was being restored, its staircase was solid rosewood!
The Battlefield guide explained that American soldiers had a bad reputation in fighting methods in the 1800's: they would fight after dark, which was considered ungentlemanly in those days; and they would hide behind bushes and rocks, which was considered cowardly. A soldier was on hand to show how time-consuming it was to load and fire a musket.
After the tour we went to Jax Brewery. At one time a real brewery, it is now a place of small shops and ethnic eateries. We enjoyed the Italian Ice and had a hard time choosing from all the flavors including hazelnut, almond, and kiwi.
While walking back to the hotel we witnessed mounted police converging on a bank directly across the street from us. Turned out the bank had just been robbed and there was some gunplay!
Back at the hotel our friends reported what a terrible time they had swimming in Biloxi! They said the water smelled nasty. After playing for an hour in the "nasty water" an official told them to get out as they were swimming in the sewer outlet!
Leaving on Sunday we stopped at one of the older New Orleans cemeteries where the deceased are buried above ground due to the high water table. Unfortunately people remove the coffins and use the crypts for sleeping and we saw evidence of this.
Traveling on to Dumas, Arkansas, we had a wonderful dinner at "Grady's Potato and Salad Bar - Where any other Spud is a Dud"!
God loves to bless!
We went to beautiful Jackson Square where you can take guided tours via horse-drawn carriage, or watch artists, jugglers and musicians. At one end of the Square is the Saint Louis cathedral, the oldest cathedral in the United States. Then it was a half block to Madeline's, a French cafe where we purchased French pastries and quiche, much different from up North.
Our friends went for a swimming party by Biloxi, Mississippi. Instead Andy and I rode a steamboat up the Mississippi River to tour an 1812 battlefield and a restored 1800's Southern mansion. It was wonderful and along the way we watched boats unloading raw sugar at the C&H sugar mill. In the distance we saw an old mansion that was being restored, its staircase was solid rosewood!
The Battlefield guide explained that American soldiers had a bad reputation in fighting methods in the 1800's: they would fight after dark, which was considered ungentlemanly in those days; and they would hide behind bushes and rocks, which was considered cowardly. A soldier was on hand to show how time-consuming it was to load and fire a musket.
After the tour we went to Jax Brewery. At one time a real brewery, it is now a place of small shops and ethnic eateries. We enjoyed the Italian Ice and had a hard time choosing from all the flavors including hazelnut, almond, and kiwi.
While walking back to the hotel we witnessed mounted police converging on a bank directly across the street from us. Turned out the bank had just been robbed and there was some gunplay!
Back at the hotel our friends reported what a terrible time they had swimming in Biloxi! They said the water smelled nasty. After playing for an hour in the "nasty water" an official told them to get out as they were swimming in the sewer outlet!
Leaving on Sunday we stopped at one of the older New Orleans cemeteries where the deceased are buried above ground due to the high water table. Unfortunately people remove the coffins and use the crypts for sleeping and we saw evidence of this.
Traveling on to Dumas, Arkansas, we had a wonderful dinner at "Grady's Potato and Salad Bar - Where any other Spud is a Dud"!
God loves to bless!
Thursday, January 9, 2014
Chicago vacation
For a Summer vacation we decided to drive to Chicago staying overnight in Joliet, Illinois. In the morning we debated whether to take a commuter train or Amtrak and after much debate and prayer chose Amtrak. After arriving in Chicago we learned the commuter had derailed!
While wandering around downtown Chicago we spotted several “Pompeii Exhibit” banners so walked to the museum and found a large crowd milling around. Being short I went closer to the front of the crowd to see what was going on, then started bouncing up and down to get a better view. Just then the museum guard said, “Everybody stand back! I can only let one more person in before the exhibit officially closes!” Just then Andy came over as the guard pointed at me saying, “I choose you to be the person to go in.” Squealing with delight I announced my husband was going in too and the guard agreed. The exhibit was well worth the time.
From there we walked to the Sears Tower, and went up to the observation deck on the 99th Floor. (The Sears Tower was once the world's tallest building!) From this height we saw the yellow smog below, and learned we had been in a smog alert all day! Just then the fire alarm went off!!! Women were screaming, but the security guard casually turned off the alarm. Seems a young boy pulled the fire alarm switch to see what would happen! Oh, my!
All this happened in one day! We were glad to take Amtrak back to Joliet and then back home.
While wandering around downtown Chicago we spotted several “Pompeii Exhibit” banners so walked to the museum and found a large crowd milling around. Being short I went closer to the front of the crowd to see what was going on, then started bouncing up and down to get a better view. Just then the museum guard said, “Everybody stand back! I can only let one more person in before the exhibit officially closes!” Just then Andy came over as the guard pointed at me saying, “I choose you to be the person to go in.” Squealing with delight I announced my husband was going in too and the guard agreed. The exhibit was well worth the time.
From there we walked to the Sears Tower, and went up to the observation deck on the 99th Floor. (The Sears Tower was once the world's tallest building!) From this height we saw the yellow smog below, and learned we had been in a smog alert all day! Just then the fire alarm went off!!! Women were screaming, but the security guard casually turned off the alarm. Seems a young boy pulled the fire alarm switch to see what would happen! Oh, my!
All this happened in one day! We were glad to take Amtrak back to Joliet and then back home.
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