In Lieu of a Cruise...

Until the year of crazy began, our entire clan had been slated to enjoy an Alaskan cruise this summer. But hey, when you've already got seven days of work off, you use it! And what do you use it on? A food-related trip, of course!  Zac never had any idea we were going on a cruise, so when we said we wanted to take a trip close to home this summer, his one request was that we eat at Braum's.  For the uninitiated, I will genuinely pray for you. For the rest, you know this was a worthy cause.  How many times did we eat at Braum's while within range of their farms? Just five! It would have been more, but other priorities arose. So let's see how the trip went, shall we?

Day One - Head south to Bartlesville, OK

We began by giving Zac a Dramamine...which turns out may actually make him have problems on long drives because he threw up about an hour into the trip. Luckily we had a bag and after that, he felt great! No more Dramamine for him. Once we reached Independence, KS, we made stop #1 at Braum's for a shake. Woohoo! It was glorious. No kidding. From there we headed south just a bit to one of the 'Little House on the Prairie' home sites. They have built this place up a bit and added a gift shop and visitor center. The person who was working is actually a history teacher in the area, so she was very enthusiastic.

Heading in to Bartlesville, we checked in to our room at the Candlewood Suites, only to find the A/C had been leaking and the carpet was completely soaked. As they didn't have any other rooms that could sleep three, we did a quick pivot (Pivot!) and went to the Hampton Inn. We spent a bit of time driving around town, showing Zac where I went to school, seeing all the places I lived in town and driving through some beautiful neighborhoods. Bartlesville has a lot of these. The town was built on oil money, but has always been affordable and has a good sense of style. Dinner would have been Braum's, but no visit to Bartlesville is complete without a trip to my favorite place to eat in college, Dink's. Oh...Dink's.  I used to have two t-shirts from Dink's, one red and one black. The black one died about 10 years ago but the red one has survived, just a lot worse for wear. I remedied that on this trip, buying new versions of each along with a few bottles of sauce, one to share with my brother.

Days Two/Three - Head West (Woolaroc, Pawhuska, Ponca City, Enid)

Saturday morning we woke up to a thunderstorm close by. Sweet! Haven't seen one in quite a while, so we headed to the new Braum's on the south end of town and ate breakfast while watching it roll in. Finished up in time to be dry before the sky fell out. We had plans to visit Ree Drummond's Mercantile in Pawhuska but didn't want to get there before lunch (big mistake, by the way, waiting so long), so we looked for something fun to do that morning. A quick search of museum options reminded me of a place I'd never been, Woolaroc. Woolaroc was the retreat of Frank Phillips, who started Phillips Petroleum. It's 3700 acres of nature and animal preserve, full of amazing beauty, zebras, longhorns, ostriches...pretty incredible place. From the entrance off the highway, it's two miles to the lodge and other buildings. The lodge sits about 100 feet above a lake and has quite the view.  The museum was something else.  This is a pic of Zac sitting on one of the chairs made using longhorns for the arm rests.

We then headed north and then west to Pawhuska, home of the Pioneer Woman. The line outside the Mercantile this time was impressive, so we tried going across the street to P-Town Pizza. But that wait was 40 minutes, which would have been a very late lunch, so we headed next door to Charlie's Sweet Shop and had ice cream. Not a great lunch, but good ice cream. That killed enough time so we could go into the Mercantile and look around. While there we were approached by a worker who let us know that day was one of the ones when the Drummonds opened up the Lodge to visitors and asked if we'd like to go. Um, yes?  So, heading west out of Pawhuska and then north on dirt/gravel country roads, we made it to the Lodge. It's just a pretty as it looks on TV. We spoke with a friend of the Drummonds (their kids have played sports together for years) for about 30 minutes. It was a fun stop and we really enjoyed the opportunity to see the place up close and in person.

From there we headed west to Ponca City, where my friends Mark and Terri Busch live. Mark is pastor of Connect Church there, and I hadn't seen them since 1998! They graciously invited us to spend the night with them on this trip and even made us dinner, then took us out to lunch Sunday after church to boot. So generous!  After showing us the city a bit Saturday night, we stayed up talking until almost 1 a.m. Time sure gets away from you when you are with people you love, you know?

The pic above of us all was taken after church, a neat building that had a very warm, welcoming feel. Of course that has a lot to do with the people and they have some great people in that church. Super friendly and, the best part was, no restrictions on numbers in church. It was so relaxing and enjoyable to be in a physical church service for the first time in months and be able to sing and worship without limits.  The pic to the left is a nod to our Animaniacs obsession while in school, and is a variation on a Yakko handshake. Before you judge, just remember, us guys never really grow up.  :)  After church they took us to a local restaurant, El Patio, where we had a very good lunch and continued talking. 


Then about three we realized we needed to get heading west to Enid to check in to our hotel and do our next Braum's meal, though not before doing a little driving around to see the church dad pastored, the house they lived in, and two of the homes my sister-in-law grew up in. It was also nice to get to go swimming for the first time this year at their indoor pool. Zac and I had a good time doing that.

Day Four - Back North (Enid, Salt Plains, Red Cloud)

Monday started with a Braum's breakfast and the restaurant was, conveniently enough, almost right next to our hotel. Are we smart or what? We then headed north to the Salt Plains National Wildlife Refuge, about 40 minutes north of Enid. The entire purpose was to stop at the salt flats and dig for crystals. When my brother Dan and I were there summer 1995, the flats were bright white and smooth.  For some reason they now look like sand and the drive to get to a digging area is challenging, for sure, but we did enjoy getting to see it and dig for some crystals in the process.  

We then headed north through Kansas, which is always an adventure, because a Kansas highway mile is the equivalent of about 1.2 actual miles. I think they lie to you to try to make you feel like it's not really taking as long as it is to go these distances. It is seriously the longest state to drive through. The scenery was actually interesting and quite pretty, but the drive...I could skip that next time. We made sure to stop at the last Braum's we could, in Great Bend, KS, ate a late lunch and picked up some ice cream and frozen yogurt to take to Red Cloud with us. We arrived in Red Cloud a little after five, our destination for the next few days.

Days Five/Six - Red Cloud, Grand Island, Hastings

Monday night through Thursday morning we stayed in Red Cloud with my brother and his wife, Stacy. Oh and of course, their little, joyful one, Matthew. That boy is just super cute and he sure does think his Uncle Scott is cool!

Red Cloud is a place we visit several times a year to see my family and it's nice to have the option to stay somewhere and not have to pay for lodging every time (unless we want to) and to have my brother grill out for us most nights. It was a fun time and I took like no pics other than the one you see, which is typical of me. What's worse is Wednesday was mom's birthday, and I still managed to take no pics of anyone that whole day!  Despite that, it was great to settle in a bit and relax a little after a few days of more driving.  We didn't stay still, however.  

On Tuesday Katy and I headed up to Grand Island (about an hour north) to visit the Stuhr Museum of the Prairie.  It has some living history shops (hats, tin shop, etc.) and an entire pioneer town to walk through. That was pretty neat. One thing the Stuhr museum has is a building full of old cars and farm equipment. The old cars are fascinating to me and this pic is of a 1926 Star, which is not one I had seen or heard of before. So many of these companies made small runs when cars were in their infancy and just couldn't end up making it.  Zac had been pretty exhausted that morning so we let him sleep in. Not sure he would have enjoyed this museum as much, even though he loves history. We finished up with one of the few meals eaten at a national chain, Qdoba, then headed back to Red Cloud.

Wednesday was mom's birthday, which we were excited to be able to celebrate with her. Mom collects a number of things, including spoons, so we had gotten her one from our visit to Woolaroc, knowing there was no way she'd have one of those. We also headed up to Hastings (about 40 minutes north) in hopes of visiting the Hastings Museum. Specifically, for Zac anyway, this museum has a very large gun collection he was excited to see. As you can see from this pic, it also hosts information on Kool Aid, a Nebraska-born product.  Sadly, the museum was requiring masks for anyone who entered, so we will have to visit another time.  That night my brother grilled burgers (mom's favorite) and made her a butter cake with strawberries between the layers. It was really, really good. We were then able to end the night with a game of Five Crowns, one of our favorite card games. Mom said it was one of the best days she has had in a long time (think, pandemic), so that was nice to be able to be there with her.

Day Seven - Red Cloud to McCook

We had one reason for visiting McCook. Well, OK, maybe two. The primary reason was to visit Sehnert's Bieroc Cafe, which is a James Beard award winner and had been highlighted in the Omaha paper last year, I recalled. It's their version of a Runza, and around just as long if not longer. If you don't know, that's seasoned ground beef and cabbage, plus cheese ideally, wrapped inside a bread dough. This one from Sehnert's tasted homemade and was so, so good! And their pastries? Wow. Just out of this world awesome. I had a cherry turnover that was amazing, and I'm not even a real fan of turnovers. But this one looked so good in the case, I had to get one. This place may win the award for the friendliest restaurant staff I have ever seen. I mean seriously. If you ever have a chance to visit McCook, NE, do NOT miss this place.

The second reason for visiting was simply that we had never been there before. I love seeing the varied geography of my home state, and that part of Nebraska is really beautiful. The people we met in all the shops and restaurants were incredibly nice as well. Overall, it was a very pleasant place to visit for a night. The staff at our hotel was extremely friendly also. After Katy and I spent part of the afternoon shopping in an antique store that was going out of business (it was HUGE and had so many cool things!), we finished that night eating supper at a McCook staple, Mac's Drive-In. Good burgers and onion rings. Nothing fancy or special, but as you can see from the pic, if you eat inside, you have to pick up this phone and call in your order. Nice place, good food, very nice people yet again. It was in McCook Zac and I got to swim for the second time, and the pool was all ours, which was great!

Day Eight - North Platte, Kearney

Friday morning saw us drive about an hour north to North Platte to begin our shift toward heading home the following day. McCook to North Platte is a very, very pretty drive. The rolling hills, which seem to be part Sandhills, are just gorgeous. Really just a view that needs to be seen and enjoyed if you are ever in the southwestern part of Nebraska. Katy's business has a location in North Platte, and the new parts manager there had not been given some training he needed that deals with the financial aspect, so she had let him know we would stop by during our trip to help him out.  We spent about an hour there with him and his new puppy. I'm not sure if the dog's name is Cruz or Cruise, but he is the CUTEST and just 11 weeks old.

We did lunch in North Platte at a place called Good Life on the Bricks in downtown. They do a number of things but their focus seems to be smoked meats. Zac and I each had a smoked burger. It was extremely good, super tender and very flavorful. I'd post a pic but I have precious little space here left and have a museum pic to post next, so I'll save it, but if you are in North Platte, just north of the courthouse is this gem of a restaurant you must try.  After lunch we went to the Lincoln County Historical Museum. Some of the museum is indoors, which is good because it was HOT. Lots of neat history in the museum, especially military, and then another village out back. One of the neatest things was seeing a Sears & Robuck house that cost $2300 way back when. The quality of the wood, the detail in the finishes...it was something to see, as you can note here from something as simple as the stairs to the second floor. Very impressive stuff.

After the museum, we headed east to Kearney for our final stop before going home Saturday morning. We stayed at a Holiday Inn that had a very small waterpark, which was kind of cute and Zac and I were able to enjoy a pool for the third time during our trip. Kearney is a nice little town we enjoy and Zac likes it as well, having done church camp here on the University of Nebraska-Kearney campus before. He has been craving pasta lately, so we committed to eating at Valentino's, another Nebraska staple. Then, as we had realized during this trip just how many of Zac's clothes no longer fit (he has had a bit of a growth spurt the past few months), we went to the mall next door and hit up JC Penney for some things he can wear. I'm sure going back to school with things that fit is always a good thing.  All in all, this was a fun, very relaxing trip for us. Our days in Oklahoma were my favorite, as the entire time it felt like things were completely normal, and I found that eased my mind and helped me relax from the past few months. I leave you with a final pic of Braum's. Again, this will mean more to those who understand than those who don't, but it WAS the entire reason we went where we did this time, so it's only fitting to end this way.  :)

A Second Honeymoon

Katy and I just returned from a 10-day trip to the Black Hills for an early second honeymoon. In November, we will have been married 12 years, and we wanted a chance to experience all the Hills have to offer that we didn't necessarily get to do the first time, as we only had a couple of days after our wedding left in the area.

This pic on the left is at Sylvan Lake, and doesn't do any justice to just how pretty the setting is for this place. We chose to revisit some of the places from our first two trips to the Black Hills, some that have special meaning for us or are just plain fun to do. 

The next pic is Carhenge in Alliance, NE. Yes, it is meant to be a car replica of Stonehenge and is just something you have to see at least once, or twice in our case. It's unique and interesting and a nice little stop on the way up.

We made sure to stretch out our drive up to Hill City, where we stayed, so we could spend time and not rush along the way. After this we stopped in Hot Springs to visit the Mammoth Site. Pics of that and many other are on my Facebook page, so if you haven't seen them yet, you can pop over there and view the rest of the photos I have shared so far.

Next I'd like to share a pic and some information about the place we stayed for the whole of our trip, the Holly House B&B in Hill City, SD. (http://www.hollyhouse.com)  Trust me when I say this is the place you should stay when you visit the Black Hills! Let me give you a little info on how we chose this place and why you should as well. This pic is a view off the back deck. Yes, those are three bucks coming to see if anyone has left them corn that day (Katy later did). They know the innkeeper and her husband and trust them. It's fascinating to see them up close like this. 

Rather than move around every few days, we settled on staying in Hill City as it's right in the middle of everything you want to see and do while in the Black Hills. Next was finding something reasonable in price because during tourist season up there, everything is jacked up well beyond what it should be. And to make it more fun, because it is such a popular destination, you have to book months in advance. I booked our B&B the last week of December, 2017 and booked it for nine days. As I checked motels and hotels and cabins in the area, the lowest price I was finding was $150/night. Off-season these same places go for even less than half that, but in-season? Well, this is how they survive the year and that's why the prices are so much higher and I'm OK with that, but it doesn't mean I can't try to find something better.

Katy and I wanted someplace that would provide a breakfast so we could save on food costs each day. After finding prices for hotels I didn't like, I decided to check B&Bs. I should have started there! I found Holly House and couldn't believe the pricing. Her rates, in season, at the high end (we paid for the Bridal Suite), are far lower than anything else around. We paid $135/night, again in season, and the other rooms were all far less. I know one of the rooms we had looked into was $105 and another was under $100, even. You can't beat that price in the Black Hills. You just can't, unless you want to tent camp, which we do not.  :)

Dawna, the innkeeper, and her husband David, are super sweet, super down-to-earth people. If you go, you'll really enjoy getting to know them during your stay. Staying at a B&B is interesting, because each morning you get to share breakfast with other travelers around the table. We had many very enjoyable mornings getting to meet so many other people come through, finding things in common, simply getting to have real conversations instead of being just by ourselves each day. It is a much more personal way to travel, and I highly recommend it, and I highly recommend Holly House if you go to the Black Hills. Feel free to reach out to me for more info or one of her business cards.  One thing to think of as well is that Dawna cooks absolutely AMAZING breakfasts for you each morning. The pic above is not great, but it shows a bacon, egg and cheese breakfast casserole, blueberry cobbler and hash browns. This is a normal breakfast. Oh my gosh was the food good. She is known for it in the area and with good reason. You will be so pleased with your decision if you stay with her.

While we were there, we did many, many things. Among them was a trip on the 1880 Train, which takes you from Hill City to Keystone and back. We booked a morning trip up with an afternoon return so we could spend a few hours shopping and getting lunch in Keystone. You can choose either a steam or diesel train to ride (based on day, they change). We wanted a steam engine and this pic here is of that engine arriving back in Keystone to pick everyone back up.

Another interesting thing to do is a visit to Bear Country, which we had never done before. While I was disappointed in the number of animals and the overall experience for the money (it's definitely overpriced), we did get to see a number of fun animals and this bear in particular cracked us up! You can see he is just sitting back in the water, like you'd expect one of us to be doing in the pool, trying to cool off on a hot day.  :)

One neat thing that was new to us was the Founding Fathers Museum. Katy saw the sign indicating you could shoot a musket and she was ready to go! Having never shot a firearm of any kind before, this was quite a new experience for her. The gun itself is not an actual musket, but a black powder rifle in the style of a musket, with a 49-inch barrel. They use a lighter load so they don't knock people off their feet (these aren't typical hunters paying for this experience, I bet).  Katy loved it so much she's now wanting to go to a shooting range to shoot more guns.  Woohoo!  I managed to catch this one pic of the smoke coming out of the rifle as she shot. She had targets to shoot at and managed to take out a couple of redcoats. Victory is ours!

A visit to the Black Hills really isn't a visit without stopping at Mount Rushmore. I've been there several times now and it's still interesting to do so. I even managed to catch several pictures this time from different angles, and this one was on a trail off to the right as you look at the monument, one I'd never walked before (heads toward the sculptor's studio). Apparently, Thomas Jefferson is credited with creating the first ice cream recipe in the U.S., so they even sell his specific vanilla ice cream in the restaurant. Was it worth it? Unequivocally, yes. It was very, very, very good ice cream. :)

This trip we decided, since we hadn't seen enough animals on the Wildlife Loop in Custer State Park, to stop at Old MacDonald's Farm, a petting zoo of sorts just south of Rapid City. Yes, it's made for the kids but aren't we all kids at heart? Among the many animals Katy and I got to pet and play with, this pic of her holding the baby goat was just super cute. Those things are so friendly. On my Facebook page I even have a video in my photo album of two baby goats head-butting one another as they played. We also got to hold baby chicks, just a few days old, and see one chick breaking its way out of its shell in the incubator. A worker even pulled the shell out as it was working on it. Overall just a real cute place to spend some time, and very good for little ones.

I think our favorite place to visit this trip was the Reptile Gardens. You can see a Snake Show, a Bird Show, numerous other reptiles and birds and, our favorite, watch a Gator Show. The pic I'm sharing here is the handler "wrestling" one of the alligators. How many were in there with him? Oh, about 20 or 30. And did they just sit by nicely and watch the entire time he did the show? Um, no. They were very interested in him, especially when he brought out raw chicken for a feeding portion. We saw the show twice, on separate days, with two different handlers. This guy was the funniest and our favorite, and I'd go see the show a dozen more times. Lots of fun and an absolutely beautiful park, too. If you are interested in beautiful gardens, this place rivals some of the best I've seen.  Just gorgeous.  Aside from the gator show, Katy got to scratch the head and neck of one of the giant tortoises a few times, which they apparently just love. So funny to see these huge things walk around and get loved on by all the visitors.

That's it for the pics, and like I said, many more are over on my Facebook page, so if you are on my friend list, you can see them there. We had a great time and will go back again, to be sure. And we will stay at Holly House again, to be sure. :)

Potato Salad

Potato Salad. Seems simple enough, but if you are like me, you don't like the crunchies. I'm not interested in diced onion or celery or anything else in the salads I eat.  And yes, that means I don't eat regular, or more traditional salads, either.  I'm not a rabbit, or at least that's always been my response.

I made this for a small group gathering last night and again was asked for the recipe, so I thought I would just post it here on the blog so it's always available.  :)  This recipe is adapted from my mom's, with a few minor changes.  For one, I use either regular mayonnaise or mayo with olive oil (usually this) instead of salad dressing, which results in a slightly less tangy flavor profile.  The other adjustment I've made is one I made a few years ago, and that is to boil the potatoes in water seasoned with dried, minced onions and lots of salt.  This infuses the potatoes with the flavors I want to be most prominent, without having to worry about seasoning them after they are done cooking, which is always more of a challenge with potatoes as they absorb things better when hot.  So without further ado, here you go.

Ingredients

5 lbs of red potatoes
6 hard boiled eggs
2/3 to 3/4 of a jar of mayo, any kind, as long as it's mayo (I prefer w/ olive oil)
1/8 cup dried, minced onion
2-3 Tbsp. Sea Salt
2-3 tsp. Mustard, traditional prepared
1/8 tsp. Mustard powder
1/8 tsp. Garlic powder
1/16 tsp. Black pepper
Paprika, smoked or regular is fine, and this will be used at the very end to top it

Instructions

1. Put the 6 eggs in a saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil, then turn the heat off and put a lid on. Leave pan on the burner with the lid on for 10 minutes (12 if you have a gas stove), then take the lid off, place the pan in the sink and let cool water run over it for the next 5 minutes or so. While all this is happening...
2. Peel potatoes and dice into about 1/2" squares. They don't have to be exact, but these will be the bites you are eating, and this helps them cook faster and absorb the flavors better.
3. Place potatoes into a large pot, covered with about 2" of water. Add in the minced onion and sea salt and turn on high. Once this comes to a boil, the potatoes will take 12-14 minutes to cook. 
4. While the potatoes are boiling, you should now be able to peel the eggs as they should be completely cool. Slice them into the size you want in the salad. I slice mine into thirds lengthwise, then once or twice across the middle. I often will take one or two of the eggs and just slice them across the width so there are a few larger slices in the salad, plus they make a nice accent.
5. Once the potatoes are done, drain them in a colander and place them in a large bowl for prep (can also be your serving bowl).  Immediately add in the mayo. The amount you need will depend a bit on how well things absorb, but you should use at least 2/3 of the jar and perhaps more.  Top with 2-3 teaspoons of mustard (this is the squeeze bottle or jar) and stir gently with a spatula until well-mixed.
6. Now add the mustard powder, garlic powder and black pepper and stir again.  Taste it at this point.  If you feel it should be a little more tangy, add a little more prepared mustard or mustard powder.  This is entirely up to your tastes.
7. Once you have the flavor profile you like, dust the top, very lightly, with either some paprika or smoked paprika.  If you used smoked, use a little less.
8. Chill at least 3-4 hours before serving, preferably overnight.

Enjoy!

Black Sand and Big Volcanoes

Today was a day of many sites, largely involving volcanoes, but others as well on the Big Island of Hawai'i.  We left Honolulu mid-morning for Hilo and upon landing noticed a military detail waiting on the tarmac. Pretty soon we saw the casket they were waiting for as a soldier was returning home. This was emotional and a sober start to the day, but I was honored to be on a plane that was transporting this brave soldier, whoever it was. We were then picked up by our tour guide, James, who spent the day taking us on a tour of different sites and sharing a vast encyclopedia of knowledge he apparently keeps in his head. Really good guide and full of very cool information. 

Our first stop was to a black sand beach, as apparently many of the beaches on the island are. That was a unique thing to see in person. The view was also amazing, as you can see here with Mauna Loa, a rather large volcano, off in the distance. The peak of that one (there are five on the island, four of which are active) has snow on it right now. Pretty incredible view.

We then worked our way to Rainbow Falls, which is in Hilo and on a river. Pretty unique site in that you can walk a trail that takes you above the falls, and then people just walk right out into the river there as there are many large rocky areas.

No railings or anything. They just do it. Didn't look terribly safe to me but we were content with the pics we got.











After that we headed to lunch at a buffet, where one of the office staff saw my Huskers shirt and told me Nebraska is his favorite college team. Why? Because, and I think I have this right, his former roommate's sister used to be engaged to Eric Crouch (apparently that's not who Eric married) and during that time he became a big Huskers fan and still is. That was unexpected.  :)

We left the buffet and headed to the Mauna Loa Macadamia nut factory. So to recap, this week we have visited the Dole Plantation and this place. Good stuff. Had a few samples, had an ice cream bar coated in macadamia nuts, grabbed some pics, walked around the grounds a bit and then headed off to the Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park.  

Interestingly, the park became a U.S. National Parks Service park in 1916, 43 years before Hawai'i even became a state. This is because it became a territory in the late 1890s and they were already working toward becoming a state. Our tour guide drove us on the Chain of Craters Drive all the way down to the ocean, which was 8 or 9 miles. Take a look at this pic below. What I thought was all sky turned out to be the outline of Mauna Loa. Wow.

We stopped at several spots along the way to see the lava and what it creates. It was especially interesting and beautiful walking along the lava close to the ocean and the scenery there was just breathtaking. This first pic is us against a protective wall (to protect the people) so you could look upon the ocean. There is a sheer cliff below this about 50 feet high, I guess. It is also VERY windy, as I think you can see from Katy's hair and my shorts.  Katy also had me take a pic of our feet on the lava so you can see just how dark it is. Seeing things like this on TV is interesting, but it doesn't match being there.  This stuff is really fascinating to see and experience, and I'd highly recommend it for anyone who can make the trip out here. Also, they regularly have to re-do the roads or even re-route them when lava flows take them out. I have a pic of that here covering an area down at the coast. Fascinating to see, really. The light grey? That's the original road we would have driven on before the lava flowed over it.

After the lava flow to the ocean we stopped at a few other spots along the way back up to see some unique things, like formations the lava created, which you see here to the left with Katy and Zac in an open cave, and a lava tube, off to the right. The lava apparently flows over a span of 26 miles, enabling it to help create more land, as it turns out.

We eventually worked our way back up to where we could see the steam vents from Kilauea and even feel how warm the ground was in spots. Our driver told us it was a good possibility that eventually the area we were standing on would become a crater just like the area to our south (I think south) in another 20 years or so. Just part of the intrigue of living around volcanoes, from what we heard. 




After the steam vents we went to the viewing area for Kilauea to see the active lava flow in the crater. I know the pic isn't the greatest, but it was hard to get in good spots to take a pic as so many seemed intent on camping out in front with their cameras and not moving. They do offer viewing telescopes of sorts, though, and they gave you a great view of the lava moving and "dancing", so to speak. Very powerful to see.

Our night ended with a flight back to Honolulu, which was delayed for almost an hour by mechanical issues with the plane that was supposed to be headed our way. This has made for a very long, very late day, and as I am very tired, this is the end of this post for Wednesday. Thursday promises to be very relaxing for me, not so sure about everyone else, but an update will be provided. Take care everyone!  :)

Driving Around Oahu

Today was a day of driving...and driving...and driving...and driving. What, you may ask, were we doing driving all day when we are on this beautiful island? Well, seeing the very same beautiful island we are staying on.  :)  We began our day with a late breakfast at Zippy's, which shares a space with a bakery that had some amazing looking things. I enjoyed my breakfast, and think others did as well. The corned beef hash in my dish was fluffy and light, something I've never experienced in corned beef hash before. Good stuff.

From there we headed northwest to Mililani, where Katy and her family used to live. I would have gotten a picture of the house, but it didn't look all that great, and I get the impression it used to look a LOT nicer.  :)  Once you get out of Honolulu, things begin to look a lot more like some of the suburban, more planned communities I am used to. You know, if the suburban, more planned communities I lived in had beautiful palm trees, amazing weather and were close to the ocean. So, almost the same. :)  As you get further away from the city, things get VERY different.  I was too busy watching the map on my phone to make sure we headed where we wanted to so I didn't nab any pics on our way up to the North Shore, but it's like going through any small town in America, just with loads of people and a bunch of surfers. :)

Before we got all the way up to the North Shore area, however, we made a stop at the Dole Pineapple Plantation. Let me just say, if you ever get a chance to come here, go there and get a Pineapple Whip. My GOSH that is good, and we had some fresh pineapple as well, which is just so much better than what we get at the store back home. Wow. Then Katy and I took Zac, and Mickie took the kids as well, through the Pineapple Maze. Apparently this thing is the largest of some kind and is in the Guinness Book of World Records? All I know is, there isn't much breeze inside this kind of maze so we were glad to find the rare spot with a breeze because it was quite warm there.  The Pineapple Whip was a just reward for our efforts, which took I think 51 minutes or so to get through the maze and find all the secret spots they have you search for.  

After leaving the Plantation and driving along the north side for quite some time, we stopped for a late lunch at the Turtle Bay Resort area, and as it turns out, in a restaurant owned by the same guy who ran the one we ate at the other night. I did not make the mistake of ordering the same food this time, :), but did have a good Butterfish filet, which I guess might also be called Black Cod, if I heard the guy right. I have a pic here of the view from my seat at the table, looking out at the waves, along with some capturing most of our group.

We then went down to the beach to walk around water's edge for a bit (the beach is way too rocky to be that comfortable, but many were enjoying the ocean anyway). The best part, and gosh I wish I had a video of this, was the guy surfing with his dog. That's right. And the funny thing is, his dog would be out on the front edge of his surfboard, and as he began to paddle toward shore as the wave came in, his dog would mimic his paddling. Then as the man began surfing, the dog would stand on the edge at the front and bark the whole way in. He was pretty funny. I didn't catch video because after the second time of seeing this, the dog swam around for a bit, then rolled around in the sand a bunch and headed off with his owner. Sorry!

We continued our tour around the north and then northeast side of the island while we drove on a highway that sticks pretty close to the ocean. Surely the people who live here don't get bored with that, right? The waves are pretty cool to see on that other side, I should add, and Katy grabbed this picture you see on the right of Mokoli'i, also known as Chinaman's Hat. We eventually stopped at Dave's Hawaiian Ice Cream in the little town of Waimanalo. Most had ice cream and a couple had shaved ice. Once we completed that we realized it was getting dark (apparently the sun sets close to 7 or 7:30 here year round; weird, right?) so we decided to backtrack just a bit to Kaneohe and head back down the Pali Highway to Honolulu.

Upon our return nobody was hungry but me for anything much, so I ordered the catch of the day from room service, which turned out to be Opah, also known as Moonfish. For reference, this is what one of those looks like.  Pretty weird, huh? Also, very tasty. I really enjoyed it.

It has been a VERY long day and tomorrow will be even longer as we fly over to the Big Island for a volcano tour and a bunch of other sightseeing that will take all day. We leave super early and get back pretty late. I feel a collapse coming on, but I am buoyed by the fact I found an Apple Store apparently just 500 feet from the hotel, so I have an appointment for Thursday afternoon to get my phone looked at and, I suspect, replaced. Stay tuned for Wednesday night's update on the full day trip. :)