Tomorrow, we leave for a few days to go to what has been called “the happiest place on earth”. While I have my doubts concerning this description of Disneyland, I am looking forward to getting away for a few days with my family. Our children are teenagers and have never been to Disney before, so we’re looking forward to this. I’ll try to take pictures and post when I can.
We will be leaving in about 40 minutes to head to the airport for a trip to New York. We had no idea when this day began that we would be flying out of state, but my husband’s mom who is 81 and in the hospital is not doing very well. You know what? Nothing ever takes God by surprise, and we’re praying for His will to be done in all of this.
This is going to be a pretty random post. I just wanted to share some things that have happened over the past few days.
Our church website has been updated. If you click here,you should be able to view some pictures of the renovation done on the building and what it looks like now. I feel so thankful when I see these photos. God blessed us with a lot of good help, and the building (I’m referring to the physical structure and the people) has come a long way in a short time. Thank you Jesus!
My brother-in-law Dean flew in for a visit on Wednesday. We are really enjoying having him out here. On Friday, we were able to spend some time in San Francisco. We went to Fort Funston in hopes that we would get to see some hang gliding. It didn’t look like that was going to happen, but as we were getting ready to leave, the wind started picking up a little, and my husband talked this man named Eric into doing a flight so we could take some pictures. It was really neat to watch him, and it looks like a lot of fun, but I still don’t think I could bring myself to do it. Do you?
Of course, no trip to San Francisco is quite complete without a visit to Pier 39 and Fisherman’s Wharf. We always enjoy seeing the well known “Bush Man”.
If you’re not familiar with the “Bush Man” , he is a busker who makes his living by hiding behind some eucalyptus branches and scaring unsuspecting passers by. He’s selective about whom he chooses to scare and avoids elderly folks . Many people who know where he hangs out will stand across the street and watch as he looks for victims to startle. It’s really quite amusing to watch. We did a little online research later and found out that in a good year, the Bush Man makes about $60,000. Have I missed my calling? LOL
Below are some more pics from our San Francisco trip. Dean will be with us until Thursday, and while he heads to Phoenix, we’ll be traveling up to Ontario, Oregon where my husband will be preaching for our friends, the Savalas. I may not post again until we get back.
The Kidz having fun at Funston
Some poochies having fun at Funston
Alcatraz Island – We’ve been here almost 20 years, and I’ve never gone there.
Uncle Dean and Jen looking for fun at Funston.
Why do I make a big deal over Fort Funston? We didn’t even know the place existed until Martin Luther King Jr. Day this year. We have some friends that live in the Bay Area, and they thought it might be fun to go to Fort Funston and see some hang gliding. Well, we picked a terrible day to go. We had a real late start that day, and by the time we got there, it was almost sunset. It was extremely windy, and us ladies at least, we’re freezing. There were only a few other people there and not a single hang glider. We stayed a few minutes and left. We made a joke about it and started calling it “Fort Funless.” I’m glad we gave it a second chance, because it was fun this time.
One of the things we had definitely planned to do when we were in Oahu was to visit Pearl Harbor and see the Arizona memorial. We were able to do this on August 14th. Before visiting the Arizona memorial, we were ushered into a big theatre with those in our group where we saw a 30 minute film that dealt with the events leading up to World War II and what happened on the day (December 7, 1941)when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. We then made our way onto a boat which took us a short distance across the harbor to where the Arizona memorial stands. We walked around inside the memorial, taking pictures and reading some information. At the far end of the building is the room that has the wall with all the names engraved on it of those that died on the S.S. Arizona(over 1000) It was a very solemn experience seeing all the names of those that perished on that sad day. We got back on the boat, returned to shore and walked around the grounds some more. We came across some displays of torpedos, which were the type that my father-in-law worked with when he was stationed at Pearl Harbor, after the bombing incident. It was special for my husband to be in a place of which his dad had talked about and had spent much time. We were going to tour the Missouri, but upon counting the cost and both feeling tired, we decided against it. We got in the car and drove for about an hour and came to the beautiful Waimea Valley in Hale ‘iwa. The botanical gardens there were beckoning to us, and we answered the call. Cameras were pulled out, and we took our time walking through the garden, trying to capture on film some of God’s beautiful creations. Pete went ever so slightly off the path to try and get a shot of this unique purple flower. He stopped on a stone which was a little wobbly and stretched out his left hand against a tree to steady himself. Immediately, he yelled, “Ow!” and moved his hand away from the tree. Upon looking closer, we could see that this tree was covered with short, razor-like needles. We read a placard nearby the tree which informed us that the fruit on this tree was poisonous. I’m glad we didn’t eat any of it(not that we were planning to), and that Pete was not seriously hurt from touching that treacherous tree. On the way back to the hotel, we ate a nice place called Jameson’s By The Sea. We both ate light, because neither one of us felt real well, but the salad I had and clam chowder were both excellent. After dinner, we headed back to our hotel to freshen up and then began walking the crazy streets of Waikiki. The streets were crowded with people, and we saw breakdancers, the silver man(looked a lot like the guy we see in San Francisco, all painted in silver) steel drum players, guitar players and a man that was all clad in newspapers. Interesting. This walk was a reality check for us to wake us up to the fact that we’re not in our 20′s anymore. We should have hailed a cab on the way back, because Pete’s knee was killing him and my hip was aching, but we were trying to be young and tough. Ibuprofen was consumed upon the return to our hotel. Below are some pictures from this day.
The white structure in the water is the Arizona Memorial.
A remnant of the U.S.S. Arizona.
A section of the memorial wall.
This is part of that treacherous tree that Pete touched. Ouch!
This is Waihi Falls at the end of the garden path.
Waikiki night life.
We had a fun day on August 13th, our 25th wedding anniversary. After sleeping in we had a wonderful lunch at the Kona Brewing Company. The coffee was outstanding. We then headed over to Hanouma Bay, which is about 15 minutes from our hotel. It was very beautiful, and we spent a couple of hours there walking around, taking pictures, dipping our toes in the water and playing hide and seek with some sea turtles. Afterwards, we took a long drive and ended up at the Dole Pineapple Plantation. We were able to tour their lovely gardens, ride the pineapple train which takes you all around the plantation and visit their large gift shop. For our anniversary dinner, we went to Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse. I have heard a lot about this place from people who have eaten their in San Francisco, but we had never gone to one. The food was outstanding, and the steaks were almost as good as my husband’s, but I would still have to give his steaks first place. I know I’ve gained some weight on this trip, but what a way to go!!
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Up until yesterday, we had had just a perfect vacation with not one thing going wrong. That was soon to change. On the morning of the 12th, we ate breakfast at Don The Beachcomber restaurant inside the Royal Kona hotel. We were able to sit outdoors and enjoy the beautiful ocean view as we feasted on the breakfast buffet. After breakfast, we headed to the airport in Kona where we would catch a flight to Maui, have about a 2 hour layover and then fly to Oahu. Unbeknown to us, the flight had been changed to a later time, and we were never notified of this change. It was getting close to our flight time, with no plane in sight when my husband noticed a discrepancy between our boarding passes and our original flight information. He went back out to security to check it out. Indeed our flight was delayed for 2 more hours, and I noticed on the boarding pass for our plane in Oahu that we wouldn’t be leaving until 7 p.m. which was also a couple of hours later. My husband was mad, because the people at Island Air told him one thing, and then when he called United, they gave him a different story. He felt that both companies had been dishonest. Anyhow, we did finally make it to Oahu, and we headed to a bed and breakfast place in Honolulu where we had reservations. Upon our arrival, we were stunned to find out that this place was not what we expected at all. The room where we were going to be staying had no curtains or blinds, which made us uncomfortable, even though we were assured that nobody could see inside. (My husband noticed that he could look outside and see things.) As we were leaving the room to go down and get our luggage, I noticed a big cockroach crawling down the hallway and pointed it out to Pete. It just made my flesh crawl. We ended up thanking the owner for her kindness to us, but we had to tell her that we just didn’t think we’d be happy staying there. We were able to get a hotel about a mile a way, which cost more but was not the kind of place where you would find crawling critters. As we sat in our room eating pizza at 11 p.m., we just had to laugh about the day’s calamities, and I knew this would be a fun thing to post.
Today was much better, but right now I’m too tired to go on, so it will have to wait until another time. We’re having fun, but are looking forward to coming back and seeing the kiddos. I miss them!
On Saturday, my husband and I decided to splurge and do a 45 minute helicopter tour over parts of the big island. The day before we arrived in Hawaii, the lava flows had stopped, and we prayed that they would start up again. (My husband really wanted me to be able to see this.) Our tour was at 2 p.m., and the pilot told us that at noon, the lava had started flowing again. It was pretty cool to be able to see this from up in the air. Pete thoroughly enjoyed the helicopter ride, and I enjoyed it too, until about halfway through the trip when I started getting nauseaous. Fortunately, I didn’t throw up. I had to stop taking pictures and just sit there calmly. Anyhow, here are a few pictures from our flight.
On Tuesday, we fly to Oahu!
On Thursday, our plane landed on the big island of Hawaii at approximately 11:20 a.m. Hawaiian Standard time. So far, I would have to say that our time here has been absolutely glorious! We’ve done a lot already, and this is only our third day here. We’ve spent a good bit of time in Hawaiian Volcanoes National Park yesterday look at various old lava flows, craters and calderas. Unfortunately, there are no current lava flows, but it could start up again at any time, so we can check to get any updated information. Yesterday, we spent a few hours at the Botanical Gardens near Hilo. It was spectacular, and both of us just took our time shooting pictures as we walked through this lush garden. I’m going to share a few that my husband took. Mine will be uploaded later.
A lovely pond inside the garden
delicate orchids
A very unique pink quill flower
pristine waterfalls
Forgot the name of this one, but it is stunning.
More to follow!
We returned to California last night(April 3) from our trip to New York. We had a great time just being together with my husband’s family. I hope to post more about it in the next few days after I get some pictures downloaded. I just want to say thank you for everyone who prayed for me. On the first leg of the flight, I tried letting my husband sit on the aisle with me next to him, but I decided after a few minutes that I really didn’t want to do it. This was a full flight with high seatbacks that are really hard to see over, and it felt like things were closing in on me, so we switched seats, and I was fine. Red eye flights might be cheaper, but they can sure mess you up sleepwise. When we got to New York we had a snack, talked for a few minutes, and then we all went to bed. Anyhow, I thank the Lord for a fun and safe trip, and I will post more as soon as I can.
We’ll be heading out to New York on Tuesday night to visit my husband’s family. My mother-in-law will be turning 80 on the 28th, and she is so happy that we will be there to celebrate with her. If anyone would like to pray for a safe flight, I would greatly appreciate it. Also, I must confess that flying puts me a little on edge. I’m somewhat claustrophobic, and I have a hard time on full flights. I don’t know how full this one will be, because it’s a red eye, but if you would, pray that I can keep my mind focused on good things or better yet, sleep for most of the trip.
I really appreciate all my blogging friends. 
