The Hawaii Cure?

We have been back from Hawaii for three days. Guess what is happening to me?


My allergies are coming back! Stuffy nose, itchy eyes. Every morning when I wake up, I need to use eye drops and nasal spray before I can function. I even need them before coffee! So, of course, I took them with me when we went on vacation. But... guess what?


When we were home and I was unpacking, I realized I hadn't used either of them once the whole week of vacation. No stuffy nose! No itchy eyes! Hawaii agrees with me. All of my allergies disappeared while we were there! Oh well, I guess I will have to go live there. For medicinal reasons, of course.

Hitting The Road In Hawaii

I enjoy staying at a resort, with the beach and the pool and all the amenities. But I always want to go exploring, too. I love exploring new places. As my husband could tell you, I like to take every road as far as it goes and beyond, just to find out what is around the next bend in the road.




Each time we go to Maui, he knows I will want to drive the Road to Hana... all the way to Hana. I took these pictures there... we had gone as far as we could.


The photo below was taken last week, on the Big Island. Once again, we took the road as far as it would go. We drove to the northern tip of the island. Here are some photos I took along the way:
















I love going to "the ends of the earth"! Isn't it beautiful?

Hawaii... Things I Love

The flowers. There are flowers in Hawaii that I never see at home. I could spend the whole week just taking photos of flowers.


The birds. Some day I need to take a bird-watching tour in Hawaii. As "background sound" I always hear the most amazing bird calls coming from somewhere in all the green. I would love to see who they are. There are many little birds visiting inside the hotel, and this is one of them. (That's another thing I love about Hawaii... the indoor/outdoor way of life.)


I love the quilts. At home I do a lot of patchwork, but not much applique work. The applique in Hawaiian quilts is intricate and I have always admired it. So, I found a lady in a quilt shop who gives lessons. I signed up for a class, and learned some of her secrets. There were four of us in the class; a woman from Iowa, and a mother and daughter from Tokyo. We learned together and laughed together.




Grasses blowing in the breeze. The simplest things are beautiful, and the colors all complement each other.


Palm Trees. As I am not a good tanner, I appreciate the shade they provide on the beach. Of course, I have to watch out for the fruit falling on my head if there is a strong breeze!


Floating in the pool. I love the feeling of being buoyant. Just floating on my back, looking up at the sky. It's better to me than any massage.


Umbrellas on the beach, just the colorful look of them (and the shade).


Sailing. Any time we go on vacation where sailing is available, we do it. I wish I had learned to sail when I was younger.


Luau shows. Better than anything in Vegas!




Restaurants right on the beach. The best way to eat and drink is with sand between your toes!




And even trick-or-treaters. We were in a mini-mall. The children went from store to store, gathering candy. In the food court, they went from stall to stall, and everyone gave them candy.

More Hawaii...

This is the view from our car as we drove from the Kona Airport north on the Kohala Coast toward our hotel:


Arriving at our hotel, the sun was beginning to set:




The next night, we went on a sunset dinner cruise:


The crew was great, the food was good, and the sunset was gorgeous:


The passengers were exuberant. Hawaii has that effect on people:


This couple renewed their wedding vows. The captain officiated, and we all had a champagne toast.


Here we are:


And here is the sunset. Gorgeous!


In Hawaii, the light and the clouds do amazing things. Minute by minute, the sky changes constantly.