Crap

Apparently if you ask for a medium coffee they think that means with milk.

So twinkly

Dropped my bags in my room and headed out to see the Xmas tree that was lit an hour earlier in Rockefeller Center. It was pouring rain and I got pretty soaked, but it was worth it. It is gorgeous!

Palace South Beach

We are having drinks at Palace on Ocean Drive in South Beach. Brunch and Traffic-stopping Drag Shows! Margaritas are pretty good too!

Last Day

We are checking out of our hotel now. I can't remember if I mentioned that we were staying at the Hyatt Regency Downtown. We were in a very nice room that Donna arranged through Hotwire. She got it for $97 a night. Regularly it is around $500 per night. We have some time to kill before we fly out tonight, so we are going over to Little Havana now.

Art Deco

I will have to post more photos when I get back home. We toured the Art Deco district this morning before going swimming in the ocean.

Breakfast

Breakfast was on a patio looking out on South Beach.

South Beach

Today we started with a walk on the beach. This is South Beach at about 12th & Ocean. This is the rainbow flag area, but it is so early that no one is here yet. We plan to come back later and swim. We did have excitement tho. There was aman swimming very far out and yelling at us on the shore. We weren't sure if he was saying help or hey. I went over and told a couple of policemen about it.

Ask and you shall receive.

I came back to the hotel with a delicious peach smoothie. I was thinking tho - this really would go great with some nuts. The snack bar in the lobby didn't have any. She told me to ask in the bar. So I did. They gave me a full cup of WARM nut mix. Free.

Bayside Marketplace - Miami's Pike Place (sorta)

Shopping. Did I mention that it is 80 degrees here? In late November!

Mmm lunch

Indian Salad from the Gourmet Salad place. It had raisins, coconut, nuts, peas. some sort of curry dressing, lots of lettuce, and croutons. YUM!

Hyatt

We are staying at the downtown Hyatt this time.

Metro Rail goes right thru this building.

U.S. Courthouse

Gesu Catholic Church

Great Miami Hurricane of 1926.

Piazza in Miami Dade Cultural Center

Maurice Gusman Cultural Center For The Performing Arts

I'm taking a walking tour of downtown Miami.

Arrived Miami

I made it to Miami! After several issues with the airplanes, I finally walked into my hotel room at 1:30 this morning. My trip from Denver to Dallas was pretty uneventful. In fact it was pretty pleasant. I worked Sudoku puzzles and Chicktionary. I even had an empty middle seat next to me. Probably the only one on a very full plane. But it was my Dallas to Miami leg that trouble-ridden. I arrived in Dallas early, but in Concourse C. My connection was in Concourse A. A speedy ride on their Skylink and I arrived just in time to hear them announce (& I quote) "the plane is broke". Luckily, or is it, they found us another plane. Back to the Skylink, we now go to Concourse D. As we wait, we are given the announcement that this plane "service issues" and is going to be delayed. An hour & a half later we finally board. Preparing to back the plane, we are then told we have to now wait for a
mechanic to replace a seatbelt that someone must have stolen on the last flight. Arrival 2 hours late.

Making Plans Again

Two new trips are planned for my near future. In a couple weeks I will be meeting Donna in Miami. Sun, beach, and spicy Cuban food! Then, in December, back to New York City! YES!

Donna gifted me with a new suitcase. My old, beloved pal was a Jeep carry-on size. After many years, and many trips, the handle gave out. It had also begun to fray on the edges and just looked like it was ready for retirement. Actually, to be honest, it is now being used as my mobile tattoo shop. But, back to the suitcase now.

I then picked up a bright pink wheeled carry-on at a thrift store. It was pristine. It was Bright! And, contrary to what I had believed to be true, it was a rather popular color in the travel world. On the first trip there were 3 other pink bags, and 2 of them were the exact same model! Plus, it was small. Too small.

So I began to use Donna's old suitcase. It was a Samsonite and had been to the repair shop to replace a zipper that had gone out. She had already purchased a new one though, so this one was spare. And it was bigger than the pink one. Well, actually, too big. Twice I was scolded because it wouldn't go in the overhead with the wheels sticking out.

Now, I have a new shiny suitcase. It's black. Shiny black. Beautiful. I have added an applique to individualize it. Well, to be honest, Donna ironed it on for me. But I'm ready for the next trip. Yay!

That is WAY up there!

This is the outside of the monument. The inside is one very long spiral staircase.

Bunker Hill

Oh my gosh! I can't believe we climbed all 294 steps! My poor thighs! In case you're wondering what we climbed, it was the obelisk monument for Bunker Hill. And from the top you not only have a terrific view of Boston's North End, but you could also look straight down the center to the very bottom of the cylinder. Scary!

And now for dessert

Well we had a little time to kill before our train leaves for Boston. We went in to a Ben and Jerry's. I had a mango gelato. Donna had pumpkin cheesecake.

Salem

Today we took the train to Salem and met Dave and Lisa (my ex in-laws) for lunch. I will have to post their pics later. I took them with my real camera. It was nice catching up. The food was good too. We went to Finz - an "oh-so-hip seafood" place. I had spring rolls and guacamole with chips.

Watch Out

Last night Donna and I went to Fanneuil Hall together amd had dinner at a sushi place in Quincy Market. On the way in we ran into this large group of cyclists. No idea what was going on but it seemed to be an expected occurrence judging from some peoples reactions.

Hollow Sidewalks

I don't understand.

Snacking

While sitting and eating the apple I bought earlier, and contemplating where to go next, a woman cruised up on a Segway and handed me a bag of Veggie Straws. The universe must be making up for yesterday's food challenges.

Boston Tea Party

I've been travelling by subway today. It is a little cooler today and pretty breezy. So far I haven't accomplished much. I ventured all the way out to the harbor looking for the Boston Tea Party ship but something must have happened to it. It wasn't there. I did find a sign describing a new Tea Party museum and where it was going to be built. So I'm wondering. Did the ship sink?

Search for Wine

So I thought wine might be nice tonite. I walked and walked and couldn't find a liquor store. Finally I stopped and asked a man in a uniform. I later figured out he was a parking attendant. He took me over to ask a guy who was panhandling. (with a Dunkin Donuts cup, no less) He directed to the nearest "packaged wine" store, also called a Convenience Store. But by the time I got there I had changed my mind. So I went back to the hotel and discovered they were giving away free glasses of wine in the lobby!

Finally.

I found something for dinner. Donna is working late. She probably won't get here til after 10 tonite. So I'm on my own for dinner. Totally missed lunch. So I am hungry.

Seriously

On absolutely every street - Dunkin Donuts

Do I hear bagpipes?

How often do you see Bagpipers walking down the street.

Granary Burial Grounds

It turns out that this is the Granary Burial Ground. It was established in 1660 and contains the remains of the victims of the Boston Massacre, the parents of Benjamin Franklin, Paul Revere, and John Hancock. Just to name a few.

Old cemetery

Look what is right outside the window! An old cemetery! I'm going to change shirts and go check it out!

Robe

Bathroom even has a nice robe.

Nine Zero Hotel

This is our beautiful room at the Nine Zero hotel. It is within a block of Boston Commons!

Coffee

This should help me wake up. I bought a Soy Latte at Caribou Coffee. Just hope I don't have to get up and visit the loo. It's a 4 hour flight and I have a window seat. Lately I have tried to get an aisle seat on longer flights, but it has been a while since I have been to Boston. It will be nice to see it as we approach. By the way, did you notice my new carry-on bag? I just made it this week. This is its maiden voyage.

DIA

DIA at the unbearable hour of 6am. I could not believe the amount of traffic at 5:30am. And CRAZY drivers. Zip zip zip. Even ran into a traffic jam due to a collision.

Sunset from Kihei

Our last sunset in Maui. We have to be at the airport in a couple hours. We had such a great vacation. We both hate to have to leave.

Luau

We went to the Luau last night. The food was amazing and delicious. I had Poi, purple sweet potatoes in a poi sauce with shredded coconut, He'e Poke, stir fry veggies, taro salad in a coconut sauce, pohole salad, taro rolls, and my new favorite dessert, haupia! Then there's the dancing. It was just as great as I had imagined and the costumes were beautiful. I took some short videos that I'll share when I get home.

Walking Tour

We have nearly seen and done everything we had hoped to do. Tonite we go to a Luau. So today, dressed in my new Hawaiian shirt, we are going to do a walking tour of Lahaina, "Home of Hawaii's Heritage".

What is it?

Lots of these gelatinous creatures on the beach. We started our day with breakfast (scrambled tofu, orange beets, passionfruit jelly on toast, coffee with coconut syrup) and a walk on the beach. Now we're headed out for our last day of snorkelling.

Snorkel the Backyard

Today we are snorkelling at the beach behind our hotel. It's pretty shallow but we saw some pretty fish and coral.

Stilts

Later we drove around Wailuku trying to find an archaeological site, which we never found. Then we went to Kahului to the Kanaha Pond Wildlife Sanctuary where we lucky enough to spot several of the rare Stilts, a black and white bird that stands on tall skinny pink legs.

Iao Valley

Today we drove to Iao Valley, the second wettest place in Hawaii. It gets an average 300 inches of rain per year. There is a place in Kuai that gets a little more. This photo is the Iao Needle. They say that some of the Hawaiian Royalty are buried in the valley. They liked to stay there in the Summer months.

Recognize this?

Recognize this?

7 Pools

I got a strange rash from swimming in the 7 Pools yesterday. Then afterwards the benadryl and margarita knocked me out. Rash is mostly gone now.

Hana Coast

Another shot of coast near Hana.

Shore Near Hana

We took a short walk near our studio rental to see the shore.

Hana B&B

The bathtub at our place in Hana.