vacation

Hawaii day 3

Yesterday we spent the morning in a rented “cabana” overlooking the ocean; a joined pair of recliners with a shade canopy:

View of the pool area behind the cabana:

It came with a bag of snacks and water bottles:

View of the ocean from the cabana:

A mai tai, our preferred drink of Hawaii:

Then in the afternoon, we headed down the coast for a dinner cruise from Kailua Kona to Kealakekua Bay:

More mai tais:

The face of Pele in the cliff face, from lava tubes:

The Captain Cook memorial, near the spot where he died, and apparently a small patch of British soil:

Buffet dinner:

Windy selfie:

Flags:

Setting sun:

Jenn watching the sun:

Lower:

Almost gone:

Next, a road trip around the island on day 4.

Hawaii day 2

Yesterday was our first full day in Hawaii.

We started the day with the buffet breakfast. There is a nice koi pond outside:

There is a decent buffet selection, with various cooked, pastry, cereal, fruit, etc options. Something for everyone:

Someone having an early game of golf at the course next door:

Mowing:

We spent much of the day relaxing under a tree at the edge of the resort:

Palm trees above the loungers:

View from the lounger:

Picnic lunch:

Hopeful birds:

Dipping my toes in the ocean:

Looking out:

Looking back:

A hidden hot tub (too hot for us):

Part of the heated pool:

More of the pool:

We were warned that there was going to be a corporate event that evening behind our building. They spent all day setting it up. The view from our lanai:

In the evening, we headed out to the local shopping area to buy some stuff and have dinner. Here’s our rental Jeep:

The nearby outdoor shopping mall:

A sculpture at the mall:

Hawaiian Island Creations:

We had some dim sum at Pele’s Wok for dinner:

And a tasty red ginger cake with mango sorbet for dessert:

Back at the room, the corporate event was underway. After some boring management speeches, they had a dance and music performance. We watched some of it from our lanai:

I’m always fascinated by the behind-the-scenes stuff:

They even had some Maori performances:

Stay tuned for day 3 tomorrow.

Hawaii day 1

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.

Anniversary trip to the Oregon coast

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:

Arch Cape Inn & Retreat

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

Back

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

Common area

Common area fireplace:

Common area fireplace

Common area nook in the pointy bit:

Common area nook

Our room:

Room

The reverse angle of the room:

Room

A dollhouse in the corner:

Dollhouse

A glimpse of the ocean from our window:

View of water from window

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

Sunset at Mo's

I had chicken strips, Jenn had clam chowder:

Dinner at Mo's

Sunset after dinner:

Sunset

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

Breakfast

Breakfast

Breakfast

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

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:

Hug Point beach

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

Manzanita beach

Manzanita beach

Manzanita 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:

Drinking wine by the fire

Drinking wine 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:

Pizza 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):

Breakfast

Breakfast

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.