Sunday, March 11, 2012

A little getaway


Stud Muffin and I scheduled a last-minute escape to Hawaii. It kinda fell together all by itself, without his girl having to call my girl, which is the best way to travel. Low stress.

Okay, so we stayed at the Kahala, as we have for 27 years. There's more to the name, but since it keeps changing ever so slightly (first a Hilton, then a Mandarin Oriental, then who knows,) I just call it the Kahala.

Throughout it all, they have kept some of the classic features and I love them for it!

The lobby with original chandeliers from the 60's.

The waterfall where every wedding couple gets their picture taken.


The orchid wall is still on the stairwell, but I don't have a picture of it. I was already on Hawaiian Time (Do it today, do it tomorrow) and it never got done!

Our room was awesome. Literally. Check it out.


And the view! To. Die. For.


Jealous yet? Yeah, me too now that I'm home again!

We got in during the afternoon, so we went out to dinner and just chilled for the evening. The next morning, we were awake quite early and watched the sunrise as we ate breakfast.

Seriously? Could you ever get tired of this view??

From this patio?

The restaurant in the hotel is our favorite breakfast spot. They have a great buffet that only costs an-arm-and-a-leg, plus menu items like Eggs Benedict. (Warning: If you know me, food features prominently is any vacation!)

Juice and water.

Fruit and salad bar.

Okay, you see that fan over to the left? There were actually two of them to keep any flying critters from enjoying the fruit without paying for a full buffet. Just out of sight next to the strawberries was a big bowl of locally-grown lettuce. No matter what technique I tried, every morning as I "tonged" some greens, leaves would fly all over the restaurant in the fan breeze. It was embarrassing, I tell you! I'd try to shield my plate for the release (nope), tried to time the fan cycles (nope) and finally just died of humiliation and threw some on the floor hoping to appease the salad gods.


Papaya with a squeeze of lime is a must. A little fresh pineapple (for Clint) and a tasty little sugar-covered dough ball called a Portuguese Malasada. More about the malasadas later, but just to let my family know, these were Kahala-sadas dusted with a bit of Li Hing Mui powder. Ono!


Salad caught with a butterfly net, sticky rice and Portuguese sausage. Yum! No picture, but imagine steaming cups of Kona coffee...some of the best on the planet.

We took a walk on beach after breakfast and met a new friend.


We saw this sweetie every morning with his Dad, carrying his mini Frisbee and digging in the sand.


After the Frisbee was good and sandy, he'd plop down, dunk his head under the water and shake his toy clean. It really was too cute!


After a little clean-up of sandy feet, we headed out to enjoy the sights and do some shopping. But you'll have to wait for that.

Tuesday, March 6, 2012

I'm baccccckkkk!

Miss me? Didn't even notice I was gone? Well, how could you when I never post anything and didn't tell you I was leaving?

So, I'm back from an impromptu vacation with Stud Muffin. I won't say exactly where we went, but...


there was suntan lotion and fruity drinks with little umbrellas involved!

Got to get ready for work, but I'll fill you in on more of the trip soon!