We are spending the day in a quiet little spot at the edge of the resort in Hawaii. The beach is rocky here, but there are fewer people, plus a turtle swimming about. #dejus365

We are spending the day in a quiet little spot at the edge of the resort in Hawaii. The beach is rocky here, but there are fewer people, plus a turtle swimming about. #dejus365

I will turn 50 tomorrow. I usually don’t bother doing much to celebrate birthdays, but we felt it appropriate to mark this milestone with something special.
So, we headed to the Big Island of Hawaii for five nights.
Yesterday was the travel day. Here’s our plane:

The traditional PDX airport carpet shot:

Me and Jenn in the plane:

Pretty tasty plane food:

Hawaii coast:

Disembarking the plane:


Open-air terminal:

Old lava rocks by the side of the road:

We were early to the resort, and our room wasn’t ready. So we killed time by having lunch near the ocean:

Jenn:

Lunch:

A kid at a nearby table was feeding a family of birds:

Our room:


View from our room’s lanai, of the ocean and next-door golf course:

A water feature:

View from the main building:

Beach and lagoon:

Baby fishes:

Gazebo:

Black lava rocks and white coral:

Our wing of the resort in the background:

Flatbread and hummus platter for dinner:

Watching the sun set during dinner:




Post-sunset torches and palm trees:

I’m writing this post while relaxing by the lagoon. Stay tuned for day 2 tomorrow.
On the way to Hawaii to celebrate my 50th. #dejus365 ✈️

A trip to Wellington, NZ back in 1996. Photos of the cable car, Beehive parliament building, the city from a hill, and me and Jenn dressed up in Grandma’s house. #dejus365 #ThrowbackThursday




Jenn and I have a tradition of going away somewhere nice for our wedding anniversary. This year, for our 24th anniversary, we spent two nights at the Arch Cape Inn & Retreat, a bit south of Cannon Beach on the Oregon coast.
The inn has a rather nice building:

Here’s the back, with the dining room in the center:

The common area inside, where they serve wine & cheese in the evenings:

Common area fireplace:

Common area nook in the pointy bit:

Our room:

The reverse angle of the room:

A dollhouse in the corner:

A glimpse of the ocean from our window:

The first night, we went to Mo’s in Cannon Beach, a favorite eatery specializing in clam chowder and other seafood:

I had chicken strips, Jenn had clam chowder:

Sunset after dinner:

Saturday morning started with a tasty breakfast at the inn, with three courses:



Then we headed back to Cannon Beach to wander the shops. We got a bag of saltwater taffy:

Jenn got some yarn, but we resisted buying stuff from the several other arts & crafts stores. We had an unremarkable burger (or fish & chips for Jenn) for lunch.
We took a quick look at the Hug Point beach, but couldn’t check out the caves due to high tide:

We continued south to Manzanita, and wandered their shops down to the beach:



It’s a nice little town; we might stay there next time we go to the coast.
We ended our walk at a wine bar, and enjoyed a couple of glasses and some snacks sitting outdoors by the fire:


For dinner, we drove north to Seaside and got some takeout pizza, and ate it in the truck while watching the waves at a lookout:

An excellent day!
This morning, again a tasty three-course breakfast at the inn (though I forgot to take a picture of the dessert):


Then we headed home, via Costco.
It was a most enjoyable mini-vacation. The weather was rainy off-and-on, but held off while we were walking around, which made that more pleasant. We really should go to the coast more often; it’s been a decade since our last stay, and many years since the last day-trip.
I booked the tickets, resort, and airfare for my wife and I to attend the Release Notes conference in Cancun, Mexico in October. If you’re into the business of the Mac/iOS tech community, check it out. Looking forward to it!