Hawaii Day Two

The next morning we headed to the beach for some sun and snorkeling. Saw a few fish and Nate and Elizabeth got to try snorkeling for the first time. After lunch we drove to Iao Needle park and walked around there and at a strange nearby cultural park. We stopped at a fruit stand along the way for some local fruit. Then we drove back south and stopped at Maalaea Bay and hiked along a boardwalk and the beach. We spotted whales out in the bay. Then it was back to the condo for dinner with our tropical fruit,and hot tub time.

Hawaii Day One

I'm going to attempt telling about our trip to Hawaii - mostly for my benefit, since I tend to forget what we did when and this way I'll have a record of it. It may take a awhile to get it all down. . . .

We left Oregon on a cold day in December, the 13th to be exact. We had a direct flight to Maui from Portland. The flight was full but the free mai tais near arrival were nice. We picked up our rental car, which was "upgraded" to a Dodge Charger (we would have preferred the downgrade) and headed a few blocks to Costco, where we loaded up with groceries. Then we drove on down to Kihei to our condo at Kamaole Sands. The grounds were beautiful and our condo was nice. The beach was across the street so as soon as we were unpacked and ate our pizza from Costco, we headed to the beach. The water was warm! We walked around on some rocks nearby and spied our first turtle. He was huge! We explored some more and then made a run to a nearby grocery store for the rest of our supplies and then we were readyfor bed!

Happy Holidays!

Well, it's been awhile since I've been here. We'll start with a Christmas post and hopefully move on to our Hawaii trip. This first picture is one of us with our gifts from Aaron and Kim - mostly books, hurray! And here's the kids with gifts from Grandma and Grandpa--Benjamins!

In the afternoon we went over to our friends, John and Roz Hadley. We had a great dinner and games and enjoyed their dogs, Spicey and Ober! We had a nice day.

BVI reflections

Now that we're home again and have had time to process things, I can think of some of my personal favorite things from the trip.

For me, the best part was the snorkeling. I loved observing all the underwater life and the diversity of the fish. It was always amazing to be above the water and seeing all the wind, boats, people and chaos and then putting your head under the water and watching the calm underwater life going on. We were often surprised by a large fish swimming by, but I loved the small ones and the schools of fish swimming together.

I also liked the birds we saw, especially the pelicans we watched diving and the laughing gulls that came to our boat at mealtime and would grab any scraps we offered. They were very pretty and intelligent looking birds and great aviators.

It was great to spend time in warm water and be able to just climb in off of the boat. The salt water was so buoyant it was easy to swim around. We had some good sailing times and the constant breeze was nice.

We had some lovely meals, most fixed by Rachel and I on board the boat. We were able to improvise and put together some great food.

The things I didn't like were mostly the heat and humidity. It was hard to always be sticky, either from sweat, from sunscreen, or from salt water. It was sad to see that the main emphasis in the BVI is on beach bars and drinking. The cruising guides mainly told you where you could eat and drink. We felt like the San Juan Islands were just as beautiful and there were more things to do ashore. Also, things were quite expensive, from showers to mooring balls to groceries. The length of travel was also an issue and all the time going through immigration and customs. The people there are certainly on "island time" and nothing is done with much speed. While I am very glad we went and we got to experience a lot, I think we were all in agreement that we have no desire to return to the same area again.

Final BVI

Wednesday, July 28

Our last full day in the BVI we headed out of Soper's Hole and across the channel to the Indians, some large rocks sticking out of the water and known as a good snorkeling spot. We hopped in the water and enjoyed some more snorkle time. Back to the boat and it was a good day for sailing so we worked our way up the channel. We ended up on Peter Island, at Great Harbor. It was a pretty little bay and we found a good place to moor. Back in the water for more snorkeling, we saw some cute squid swimming in formation. Rachel and I explored on shore, checking out a resort that was closed for the season and picking some papayas from a tree. We enjoyed the papaya for dinner as well as a "use up the food" meal. We viewed our final sunset and night on the boat.

Thursday, July 29

We were up early to head across the channel and back to the base. Then it was time to clean out the boat and take a taxi to the ferry terminal. That was the beginning of our long journey home which involved taxis, ferries, planes, cars, and lots of standing in lines for customs and immigration and baggage screening. We made it back to the Nichols by 1:20 in the morning (4:20 island time) and crashed quickly. The next morning Jeff and I drove the rest of the way home to Dallas and tried to recover from "travel butt".

still more BVI

Monday July 26

Today we were up early to beat the crowds to a great snorkeling spot. We made it to Monkey Point before 8 am and the snorkeling was fantastic. We saw a lot of different fish, and rays, and other sea creatures. It was a lot of fun. We finally got tired and returned to the boat. We sailed over near Jost Van Dyke and anchored just off Sandy Spit. This a tiny little island with a couple of palm trees that you can walk around in about 5 minutes. We napped on the boat for awhile and then took the dinghy and explored the island and then over to a nearby spot we had watched pelicans diving. We thought we'd try snorkeling but weren't sure if there was much to see. At the first look we were surprised to see schools of thousands of tiny fish. There were also medium sized fish and then we spotted a huge fish, likely a tarpon, that was easily 6 feet in length! It was a great spot to snorkle. Up above, the pelicans kept diving, as well as some smaller birds. When we looked into the sea, it was easy to see why they had picked this spot. We finally wore out and retired to the boat and fixed a nice dinner. It was a rocky night with a lot of wind but we rode it out okay.

Tuesday, July 27

Today we were up very early after a rough night. We brought up the anchor and motored a short distance to a close harbor. Rachel and I took the dinhy ashore and hiked to a spot known as the Bubbly Pool. The tide was out so it wasn't too bubbly, but we had a good walk. Along the way we saw many small hermit crabs, scurrying across out path. When we got back to the boat we found that Richard had spotted some sea turtles surfacing nearby so we did some more snorkeling right off the boat and got to see the turtles, and Jeff spotted a baracuda. We could see a small shark circuling right next to our boat and waited until he swam off before we went in the water! Next we dried off and sailed up Jost Van Dyke to Great Harbor. We moored the boat and went ashore to have lunch at the famous Foxy's Bar. Lunch was great and afterward we even got to meet Foxy! We walked around Great Harbor a little but it was very hot. We headed back to the boat and sailed across to Tortola once again and went into the harbor on the west end, known as Soper's Hole. We found a mooring ball for the night and relaxed and tried to cool off. We got showers on shore and enjoyed a quiet evening.

And More BVI

Tonight I am sitting on the bow of the boat under a full moon and with a breeze to cool me, uploading pictures. I am quite a ways from land but the wonders of technology assist me. It's been another nice day in the Virgin Islands. We left Virgin Gorda and sailed over to Marina Cay. It's a cute little island with a small resort, restaurant and gift shop. We took the dinghy to a nearby reef to snorkle and had fun swimming around. Then back to the boat and over to the Cay for a drink before dinner. Dinner back on the boat and time to relax. Here's some pictures from today:

And one more thing. On Marina Cay on the dock they have this red phone booth that has a a webcam that takes pictures every 15 seconds. If you go here: www.pussers.com/redbox/ and search for today at 1:50 pm you can see us!

More BVI

Friday, July 23

Woke up to a nice morning at our mooring at Leverick Bay. We decided to make the run to Anegada, the farthest island in the BVIs and about 12 miles away. It was our first "open water" sail, meaning you can't see where you are going. The weather held and the sailing went well and we got there by about noon. Anegada is low and long and the only island in the Virgin Islands that is coral, as opposed to volcanic. We dinghyed ashore and explored a little but it was very HOT! We went back to the boat and jumped in the water to cool off. We relaxed the rest of the afternoon before heading to shore to enjoy a lobster dinner on the beach. Anegada is famous for this. We had a pleasant evening on the beach and then back to the boat for the night.

Saturday, July 24

We got a early start to make the run back to Virgin Gorda. The weather was rainy and we got hit with a few showers. We hit one bad squall just before coming into the Gorda Sound. We had some issues with one of our sails and took awhile to fix it. Unfortunately we moored just off a beach to fix the sail and the beach was full of partiers with load music pumping from their boats. Once we did the repair we moved to a quieter mooring at Saba Rock. Jeff and I went ashore and checked it out as well as the nearby Bitter End Yacht Club, a huge watersports resort. We had dinner back on the boat and then Rachel and I headed to shore to use the internet. We are all sunburned and bumped and bruised in various places and the weather continues to be very warm and humid but the water and islands are lovely and we are enjoying our time here.

BVI Adventure 2010

July 19, Sunday

Our trip began with horrid highway traffic and a five hour drive to Lacey. We connected with R and R and headed to SeaTac under more heavy traffic. A five hour flight to New York and 4 more hours to St. Thomas and we were in the Caribbean. We debarked to warm and humid weather. We explored around Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas and had lunch at a Jamaiican restaurant before taking a ferry to Tortola. That was followed by a cab to our hotel and then a cab to a local restaurant before returning to our rooms to crash after over 24 hours of travel! We were beat!

Tuesday, July 20
Once we drug ourselves out of bed, Rachel and I walked to Roadtown Bakery to pick up some goodies for breakfast, then we walked over to the Moorings base. The guys took a cab and brought the luggage. We sat through the morning briefing and then checked out our boat. We are on the 39 foot “Abbey”. We unloaded our stuff and learned about the boat and waited for some minor repairs. We had a couple of rain showers while at the base but nothing big. We left about one pm once the rain had stopped. We set out from Roadtown toward Norman Island. Not long after the rain began again and then the wind picked up some. We put the sails out but reefed them. I was “at the helm”, i.e. “driving the boat” and the wind and rain got stronger. Then we were hit with a squall- very strong wind, rain, and seas. It felt like “Deadliest Catch” meets “Pirates of the Caribbean”. We were soaked to the skin and tossed all about and visibility was about one yard. The lightning cracked nearby and the thunder rolled. We rode it out but it was SCARY. The rain continued but the major squall passed. We watched the lightning all around us. We finally figured out where we were and motored across the channel and found a mooring ball in “The Bight”, a protected anchorage off Norman Island. Normally it is known for the party scene but the pouring rain made for a quiet night. There were about 30 boats moored there. We fixed dinner and settled down from our big adventure. The rain continued most of the night but we stayed dry on the boat.

Wednesday, July 21
We woke up to a dry morning. We were up early and unmoored and motored over to the The Caves. After a quick breakfast we hopped in the water and got our first taste of snorkeling. The water is warm and full of life. We climbed back aboard and then headed out to the main channel and hoisted our sails and headed toward Cooper Island. The skies were overcast with some blue and the day was great for sailing. We sailed for several hours and then resorted to motoring to get to our final destination – Machioneel Bay. We got a mooring ball about 2 and fixed lunch and decided to relax a bit. Shortly after that another squall came through and the rain poured. We were glad to be safely moored this time. The weather is very warm and humid and water is warm as well. Late this afternoon we dinghyed over to a nearby spot to snorkel and then came back to the boat to fix dinner. It’s still rainy and very warm but pleasant. This evening (sunset is about 7) we took the dinghy to shore and had some "painkillers" at the Cooper Island Beach Resort. Back to the boat to crash!

Thursday, July 22
Another pleasant morning. We sailed over to an island called Fallen Jerusalam, part of Virgin Gorda, actually and near the famous "Baths". It had big boulders and a small beach. We took the dinghy to shore and did some snorkeling and exploring. Next we set sail again and went up the channel to the other end of Virgin Gorda. The sailing was good and the weather held. By about 5 we made it to Leverick Bay where we moored. Rachel and I quickly took the dinghy to shore for some very needed showers. Back to boat for dinner and then back to shore to do some laundry and use the wifi. Pictures to come later. We are having a good time and getting lots of sun!

Pictures from New York

If you want to see a whole bunch of pictures from our New York trip, click on the title and go to my facebook album.

New York Part Four

Here's another quick pictureless post. Maybe I'll add some once we're home. I think we completed all the things on our "must-do in New York" list so it must be time to head home.
Today we walked around mid-town and saw the Chrysler Building, the New York Public Libary (which is gorgeous), St. Patrick's Cathedral, and went the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA). It was really crowded and a 6 story building with many galleries. We saw some of it but it was hard with so many people milling around. Next we headed up Broadway and went to see a matinee of "The Lion King" -we enjoyed it a lot, especially the puppetry and costumes. After the show we headed to Greenwich Village again to do some shopping and have dinner at a Cuban restaurant. Elizabeth connected briefly with a couple of friends in the area and then we took the subway back to midtown and went to the Empire State Building and rode up to the top. The view was lovely but it was cold and windy. Now we are back at our hotel and getting ready for our early morning flight home. Goodbye New York, it's been fun.

New York Part Three

I don't seem to have the energy to post some pictures tonight or sort through them but for the benefit of those of you playing along at home, here's what we did today. Reluctantly drug ourselves out of bed, got some bagels at H&H Bagels ("the best bagels in new york" - well, maybe), took the subway, involving several wrong ways and wrong stops, met up with a food tour of Greenwich Village. Enjoyed hearing the history and eating the food along the way. Be glad you don't live in Greenwhich Village where a modest 300 sq. foot apartment rents for $2000 per month! Then we met up with Elizabeth's friend Nat. He took us to his Dad's apartment on Broadway, in the West Village. Elizabeth also knows his Dad, from IDEA. He has a PhD in Drama and has written books on Clowns. Their apartment was a riot, including built in ramps for the cats to climb around on. After that we headed to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. It is huge and extensive and has every kind of art from all over the world. After 2 hours we were exhausted and had only seen a small part of it. We took the subway back to our hotel and Elizabeth went to a comedy show with Nat and I enjoyed walking around and reading by myself. Tomorrow is our last day to see New York.

New York pt. 2

Another busy day today. Here's the short version. Took the subway to Battery Park, rode the ferry to the Statue of Liberty, walked around and climbed up to the base, ferry to Ellis Island and looking around, ferry back to Manhattan. Walked around the financial district, soup for lunch, walked some more through Chinatown. Went to the Lower Eastside Tennement Museum and had a tour (Great!), walked and ate and subwayed, walked through Times Square, saw the Broadway show "Next to Normal" (also Great!), subway to hotel. Beautiful sunny but cold day. Tired. Pictures tomorrow.

New York!! Part one

Elizabeth and I are in New York, on a grand adventure to see the big apple for the first time. We flew in last night from Eugene and got to our hotel at 1 am. Luckily for us it was only 10 pm on Oregon time. We did have trouble waking up early but managed to get going eventually. First stop was the American Museum of Natural History. The place was amazing and huge. I am a big diorama fan and this place had more dioramas than I have ever seen. We started in the "Hall of African Mammals" and kept going from there. We saw the planetarium show and walked around until our feet were sore, seeing lots of dioramas and displays and bones and a huge life size model of a sperm whale and enormous dinosaur skeletons. After 4 hours we were beat so crossed the street and there was Central Park. . We walked across the park which was nearly deserted and cold and beautiful, even in the winter. We found a small ornate Austrian restaurant for a late lunch. We were revived enough to tackle another museum but decided against the Metropolitan Museum of Art and will save it for another day. We headed to the Guggenheim, which is in a very cool Frank Lloyd Wright designed building. It was swarming with people inside. Most of the museum was taken up with a special exhibit on Kandinsky. While not much a fan of his, it was interesting to see the progression in his work. It was presented chronologically and the gallery winds up in a circle. Next we headed uptown to watch a taping of the Colbert Report TV show. We had gotten free tickets on the internet just the night before. We attempted to get a taxi but failing that, went to the subway. We took two subway trains and then walked quite a few blocks and made it to the studio just in time. Still had to wait in line awhile and make it through security and wait some more. We got nearly the last seats, in the back row of the studio. We enjoyed the warm-up comic and the then the shows taping. You can't see us on TV but maybe you'll hear us laughing! Then it was time for a 20 block walk back to our hotel and some dinner at a Greek diner. Whew! More adventures tomorrow!