Category — Travel

Well after 3 different flights from Vancouver to Toronto to Munich and Amsterdam we made it. All the flights were a little delayed and we had to hustle (run like scared rabbits) in Toronto to get to our Munich flight, but once on board we settled in and enjoyed the luxury of Business Class on an Airbus A330 with pod style seats.  Once in Munich we headed off the plane to be met by a very nice lady who escorted us through the maze and mayhem of Munich airport in true German efficiency; this was all due to the delayed arrival and heavy air traffic on approach. When I say escorted this included ground transportation to a special security check station and then escort through passport control and then finally delivery by van right to the doors of the aircraft which was parked half a kilometre from the main airport.

Once at Schipol Amsterdam airport we cleared baggage claim and headed to catch the train to Amsterdam Centraal Station. From there we walked to our accommodation at the Eelhouse B&B.

After that we headed off to explore and try to stay awake while working to get our body clocks adjusted to the 9 hour time difference.

So, we’re ready to go.

A couple days ago our suitcases and everything we were planning on taking on our trip was  laid out on the spare bed. It was generally organized chaos. However after much panicking and taking things out putting them back in we have finally finished packing. Anything we are missing we can buy somewhere along the way. In the end my suitcase ends up weighing more than Brenda’s, she is more concerned about getting on and off trains, buses, etc while traveling between and in the cities. I am just resorting to “brute strength and ignorance” 🙂

We have taken the pictures with our I-Pad just in case they go MIA along the way. That way can have really nice pictures of them as they travel from city to city. Just kidding, it’s in case we need pictures to identify them to the airlines or border security.

Well we are only a few days away from the start of our next big travel adventure.

We are headed to Holland, Belgium and France for almost 1 month. On Monday we drive to Vancouver where we stay for the night before flying to Toronto, Munich and finally into Amsterdam.

The first part of our trip we are doing another bike and barge similar to what we did in May 2010. This time we are going from Amsterdam down to Bruges in Belgium. So we have been busy training and getting time in the saddle for our posteriors and miles on the road.

Attached is a picture from today’s ride. From Bruges we are going to Ypres, Arras, Brussels and finally down to Paris.

So, stay tuned and keep watching for updates on our Weblog.

The past weekend was our Family Sun Peaks Ski Vacation.

Jeff, Lindsay, Zachary and Oliver arrived from Kelowna on Thursday night. So, on Friday afternoon we all headed up to Sun Peaks around 3 o’clock. Kevin, Tamara, Sage and Conrad left Princeton a little later on Friday afternoon and they all arrived around 7:00 p.m.

After everyone got settled in and fed dinner it was time for the kids “Treasure Hunt”.

This year instead of one large treasure hunt for all the kids we made up 3 different ones.

The first treasure hunt was for Conrad and Zachary. We started by giving them each a set of keys and a picture of an item somewhere in the condo; the pictures (clues) were cut of newspaper ads. At the first hidden location they found a small box that was locked with two locks.

Each of them had to use the keys we gave them to open the boxes we had hid around the condo; the picture inside the box revealed the location of the next clue. The final box sent them to where we had hidden their “Treasure”.

For Oliver we hid his “Treasure” behind a chair and tied a long piece of wool to it and the rest of the kids helped him find his “Treasure”.

Sage’s treasure hunt was much more difficult.

Each clue had a mathematics question and the correct answer to the question told her where she had to go in the condo to find her next  clue.

This continued until the final clue lead her to where her “Treasure” was located.

On Saturday morning Kevin, Jeff and Lindsay hit the slopes and then after lunch Tamara and Sage headed off for ski lessons. Meanwhile Brenda and I took Conrad, Zach and Oliver for a walk and some time with the snow sleds. Then it was time for Zach and Oliver to have a nap while Conrad and I went sledding on some steeper slopes.

Sunday morning was time for family visiting, bonding and pictures.

It was definitely a weekend that included lots of laughs, lots of food and lots of love.

Very special family times.

The days are flying by, as the last few days always do on any vacation. I attended my final ukulele lesson on Thursday and we played Aloha Oe‘ for all those who are leaving the island. It is such a beautiful and at the same time sad song that was written by Queen Lydia Liliuokalani.

Last night from our room we were lucky enough to see two humpback whales swimming by Waikiki beach. The thing that caught our eye at first was the spouting of the water and then you could clearly see the humpback as they surfaced. A couple sunset cruise boats were pretty near by so those folks would have had good stories to tell of their evening cruise.

Attached are some sunset photos from our lanai.

Then a panorama shot from Waikiki Beach this morning.

Finally, one of us having a Kona Coffee on the beach at Waikiki.

Well the days have been busy, they’re flying by and it’s time for another update from Waikiki.

Since the last post we have seen the Royal Hawaiian Band perform once again, this time at the Royal Hawaiian Shopping Center in the performance grove, what a great location for a concert.

Of course there has been the Tuesday and Thursday ukulele lessons, many walks and morning coffee on the beach.

Friday we did a walk right around the base of Diamond Head, we have done this walk in past years and it was always just the two of us walking for most of it, however it was definitely busier this year with a lot more people out hiking.

We have always gone clockwise around the base as you get the nicest views of the ocean coming around the back side of Diamond Head starting towards the west. The first part of the hike is through a residential and business district, then you walk through some park area, past the Diamond Head Park entrance, then past the Military Reserve Center, past some more residential areas on the hillside of Diamond Head and then the cliffs of the ocean heading back to Waikiki. Some pretty amazing views and homes. You definitely get a different view of Diamond  Head from walking around it and from all angles than the traditional one most folks see in he pictures from Waikiki Beach.

Many forget that during WWII Diamond Head Crater was a military observation post and so on both sides of the only road that goes around the crater are the two original stone guard houses.

It’s pretty good hike and with a couple stops for water and a snack it takes the better part of 2 1/2 hrs and at one point there is a sign warning of “Fallen Rocks”. Now, this got us to thinking, if the rocks had already fallen why did we need to be warned…….. shouldn’t the sign saying “Falling Rocks”????

Later that night there were the weekly Friday night fireworks at Hilton Hawaiian Village.

On Saturday we attended a free Concert/Jam Session in the International Market Food Court. The main performer was a lady by the name of Melveen Leed who was a back up singer to Frank Sinatra years ago. Accompanying her was Tito Bernibos on rhythm guitar. This lady is a professional and what a performer and a talent. She played and sang and the place was packed. we will definitely go back next Saturday.

At points throughout the show she has guests come up from the audience to jam with her and she accompanies them on her keyboard. One Japanese gentleman, who we met through ukulele lessons was a guest performer this week. He was hilarious and actually quite talented. He started by playing a Japanese Mandolin, then moved on to his Harmonica and finally played a song with his Ukulele. He wasn’t the strongest musician, but he was energetic and he was having fun; plus he had the audience in stitches with his facial expressions as did Melveen when he would change key in he middle of a song and she would have to adapt.

Finally we headed over to the Hyatt Regency Courtyard fountain area where they were wrapping up a 3 hr. Ukulele Contest. Performers of all ages and from a number of countries were in attendance. The second to last performers were a couple of local kids about age 12 and  15 years old and they were fantastic. They took Ukulele playing to a whole new level. Their final number was the theme song to Hawaii 5-0, it was amazing. What a great setting and a great crowd, pictures don’t do it justice.

So, lots of fun here and lots more fun to have.

Sunday morning we walked over to Kapiolani Park to see the Royal Hawaiian Band perform.

The band was formed in 1836 by King Kamehameha III and is the longest serving community band in the United States and they perform at 300 concerts, parades, etc. each year. The band consists of about 40 musicians and singers.

They opened the show with conch players and a traditional Hawaiian anthem. However, today’s performance was part of the Vietnamese New Year Celebration that is going on throughout Waikiki. This included an all day celebration in Kapiolani Park with food vendors, kids activities and entertainment.

Today’s band performance included a number of traditional Hawaiian songs, some newer age popular Hawaiian tourist type songs and then some Vietnamese traditional military songs or anthems. In fact the band claimed they were the only band in the United States who practiced and performed Vietnamese music.

As part of the show number of gentlemen from the audience came on stage to sing. Well let’s just say they would have trouble “carrying a tune in a paper bag”. In fact the Vietnamese Master of Ceremonies admitted that they had not practiced with the band prior to today; but they gave it their best and they tried. Definitely proud Vietnamese people.

The celebration also included a Lion Dance. Vietnamese custom and tradition is to give the Lion a gift and in return it will bring you good luck for the next year. The gift was a $1 from every person that was watching and I think the good luck today went to the Lion 😉

We are finally getting into a bit of pattern with our days here in Waikiki. Although each day is different and busy.

Wednesday I went golfing in the morning at the Ala Wai Golf Course. It’s a municipal golf course and claims to be the busiest golf course in the world. For example on Tuesday they recorded 360 rounds of 18 holes and another 24 rounds of 9 holes. Anyway, about the only way to get a reasonable morning tee time is to show up when the Starter’s window opens at 5:30 a.m.. Now, I didn’t do that but I did show up at 5:50 a.m. and I was already number 15 on the waiting list. I finally got to the tee box by about 7:50 and played 18 holes with a couple of guys from Vancouver and a Japanese gentleman who was 92 years old who had a push cart and walked the course.He didn’t hit it far, but it was in the fairway most times , but we did learn some Japanese swear words. 🙂

Friday we went for our morning walk, coffee on the beach and then came back for breakfast. Afterwards we headed off to see the Waikiki Community Gardens, these are Community owned plots of land which are located across the Ala Wai Canal from Waikiki. Each one is fenced and is about 12 ft.square. Many are very organized and neatly laid out growing a variety of produce and flowers. Unfortunately some have been left to the point of being overgrown with weeds, but we are sure the registered user does not want to give the spot up as there is about a one year wait list to get a spot. The picture of the fruit in the tree is of Papayas not quite ready to harvest.

Saturday we got up early and headed up to the Kapiolani Community College Farmers Market. It’s a pretty good walk from Waikiki through Kapiolani Park and then up the hill along the west side of Diamondhead.

Boy was it busy…………. much busier that when we were here 7 years ago. In fact Tour Companies run shuttle buses from Waikiki to the market every Saturday.

It is not your average Farmers Market.

About 60% are selling cooked and prepared food. For example a real variety of breakfasts, rice, eggs, spam, fish, etc. fried green tomatoes, abalone on a shell, etc. etc.

About 30% were selling fruits, vegetables, and general produce. We bought, Hawaiian baby apple bananas, papaya, pineapple and local tomatoes.

Finally about 10% are selling flowers; which include orchids of all species, anthurium, bird of paradise, etc. etc.

One last picture of the sunset we see each evening from our lanai and more adventures in the days ahead.

Yes, that’s correct, today we attended Ukulele Lessons that were put on by the Royal Hawaiian Shopping Center.

Now, I thought, how many people could possibly want to attend Ukulele lessons while on vacation in Hawaii. I’m thinking 8 to 10 people maybe 12 tops; so need to rush to get to the 10:00 a.m. lesson. Well thankfully Brenda was a little more realistic and we did arrive about a 1/2 hr  early……. well it was a good thing.

75 people signed in for today’s Ukulele Lesson. Most brought their own Ukulele which was a good thing because the instructor only has 24 Ukulele’s to loan out. In fact it would have been more attendees but they had to turn way about 10 people because they ran out of Ukulele’s.

As your name was called you went and picked up a Ukulele and a song/chord book.

The instructor was very good and the first part of the lesson was all about the 6 basic chords for the Ukulele and we practiced those for about a 1/2. Then we practiced different strumming of the chords.

Finally we put it all together and the entire 75 Ukulele players played a song about Diamondhead that they had been practicing for a while. Oh and the song was sung in Hawaiian so we went over the correct pronunciation of the words for the song as well. There were also 4 dancers that performed as the everyone played; they are also Ukulele players and attend a lot of the sessions……… it was a pretty neat experience.

The final song we learned and sang was Happy Birthday in English and Hawaiian 🙂 as there were a couple people celebrating their birthday’s today.

We definitely need more Ukulele practice but we had fun 😉

On Sunday we left Kona for Waikiki.

It was a little bitter sweet as we have really enjoyed our time in Kona. We actually enjoyed it more than we probably thought we would and we will definitely return to the Big island of Hawaii and the Kona area.

The Hawaiian Airlines flight was smooth and once we picked up our luggage we caught a Taxi cab to Waikiki. There are airport shuttles available that are a little cheaper, however trust us, spend the bit extra and take a cab.

On Monday after a morning walk and coffee we headed to The Royal Hawaiian Shopping Center for a free flower lei making class. The instructor was Naomi and she has been making flower leis since she was 4 1/2 years old; she is coming up to her seventieth birthday.

The shopping center pays her to put these classes on, she provides all the materials, the instruction and you end up with a flower lei. Tables are laid out, flowers and leaves are distributed and the class begins. There were about 20 participants of all ages and everyone received personal instruction.

In order to make the leis Naomi makes up cotton strings with needle like wires on the end and each person gets one of these. Then she demonstrates how to pierce the flower properly, add a bit of greenery and then finally transfer the flower from the needle to the cotton string. She was very exacting in her work and wanted to make sure we all knew how to make a proper flower lei.

We thought this class would take about 15 minutes to 1/2 an hour. Boy, were we wrong. By the time we were finished it was over 1 1/2 hrs and it was very informative about the culture, the tradition and the correct way to make a Hawaiian Flow Lei.

Attached are a few more pictures.

Us with Naomi and the finished products.