Welcome to Atlanta!

This is a recap of our recent trip to North Carolina... Warning! Lots of pictures!!!

We got into Atlanta in the late afternoon. That's just the way it is flying East... leave in the morning and get there late. It's too late to head out to NC right away, so we decided to spend a couple of nights in Atlanta.

We had a GREAT hotel in walking distance to the Georgia Aquarium, World or Coke, CNN Tower, Atlanta Underground, Olympic Park and FABULOUS views of the city. We have lots to explore tomorrow, but right now it's time for dinner (there was no food on the airplane):

Love that Atlantic seafood! YUM! After dinner, we took a walk around Olympic Park. We were told at our hotel not to go through Olympic Park at night, but it just so happens that tonight, there is a night race through the park.

There were lots of people, lots of lights, and lots of music! I really wish I had my running shoes with me, but I didn't. Instead of running, we took a stroll through the park and I convinced Jim to stand in the middle of the largest Olympic fountain in the world... what a claim to fame!

After that, we went back to our 12th floor room, grabbed out swim suits and went swimming in the 7th floor pool... Ahhhh, city living, lol!

Get ready for more Atlanta pictures tomorrow!

4-wheelin' day-trippin'

Cheryl had a game and Chris had school, so Jim, Jena, and I jumped in the truck to beat the heat and head... to the top of Saddleback!

I've lived here all my life and have not been to the top of Saddleback. I've always wanted to go. As the crow flies, the top of Saddleback is 8 miles from Mission Viejo Lake, but it's a 3 hour trip by car to the top. Here we go...

We needed to stop and give Jena a potty break, but we're getting closer! Here we are at the top of Modjeska peak. That's the shorter mountain that makes up Saddleback (the one on the left) at 5,496 feet. But we are headed to the tip top... Santiago Peak!

We made it to Santiago Peak... 5,689 feet, and the tallest mountain in Orange County.

Here is the view from the top... we can even see Catalina Island from here!

Can you find our house?

Jena did really well on her first 4-wheelin' adventure. The poor little girl strained her ACL last week making a flying leap for the frisbee. She's on anti-inflammatory medicine and she's still limping, but she sure had a great time riding in the truck!

The kiddos and I went on a 10-mile run today. It was 93F when we dragged into the house. We are so going to die during the half-marathon next week!

I hope that everyone had a great weekend! Monday comes way too FAST!

Kauai Revisited

Looks like our heat has finally broken! YAY! It's cooling off! Bring on the crisp cool fall days!

Mary sent me a CD full of her pictures! I LOVED looking through her pictures... it was like reliving the trip!{sigh} I need another vacation, hahaha.

Anyway, I wanted to share some of my favorite photos here.

Here is all of us at Kilohana:

Here are a couple of pictures that my mom took using Mary's camera at Salt Pond. Yep, those are my kiddos... lol!

Here's a pretty picture of the Wailua River... how did I miss that shot?!

On the day we went kayaking, Mary and Doug saw a monk seal on the beach at Poipu:

I just adore this picture of Jim and Doug... Look at those expressions! It's like the kid who got caught with his hand in the cookie jar!

I have one more share... Last week, while I was waiting for Eclipse and all its associated parts to download, I watched a tutorial on photo blending. (Ah yes... I know. Probably why it took so long to download was because I was watching a tutorial ;oD )

Anyway, here is a simple layout that I put together using the blended photo.

I LOVE this look! I joined a Photoshop class to learn more about photo blending. So, look for more blended photos from me in the future!

Aloha!

Did you miss me? We got home from Kauai about a week and a half ago, and I've been busy creating a video memory of our trip. Well, that's finally done! Now on to the pictures :oD

What made this trip so special was that my friend, Mary, and her family came to join us! We've been online friends since 2005 and met IRL two years ago in Cleveland. We were worried about the hubbies... if they didn't like each other, this was going to be a looong week! But, no worries. Everyone got along fine!

Here is our first day. We picked flowers and made leis at my aunt and uncle's house for Mary's family's arrival. Then we dragged them out to a late night Obon in the evening. With the time difference, we kept them up until 3am Eastern time.

Here are some pics sight-seeing around the island...

We went ATV-ing one day. My family has never done this before and it was a BLAST! The kids were on 4-wheelers. Doug, Mary, Jim and I were on 2-seater mud buddies. We drove out to a private waterfall for a swim... what fun!

Another one of our prearranged events was a snorkel cruise to the Napali coast. This was Mary's family first time on the ocean and first time snorkeling! We've been on this trip a couple of times before. It was so fun seeing it all new through their eyes!

Mary and Doug took the day off, while we took Carley kayaking with us! It's completely safe. In all the years we've been kayaking, no one has ever fallen out. Carley paddled in a double kayak with Jim... and they rolled it over. Chalk it up to a full kayaking experience, lol! We paddled up to a trail, parked our kayaks and walked to a beautiful waterfall!

And lastly, no Hawaiian vacation is complete without a day of surfing!

It was a whirlwind vacation! All that in one week!
What made it BEST, was that it was a great time with great friends!

Costa Rica Birthday - part 3

Happy 19th Birthday, Chris!

Jim and Chris celebrated at the beach. This is called Playa Palo Seco. Miles and miles of empty beach, just for them and the birds...

Hmmm... not exactly the type of birds you'd expect to find at the beach. Vultures? Really?

Lita's mom, Rosa, told them over and over to be careful at this beach... don't stop if anyone flags you down, don't talk to anyone. Jim was calling this the Beach of Death. Doesn't that vulture set the perfect ambiance? lol!

Turns out they had the beach to themselves. It is a beautiful beach!

Chris's birthday dinner was a big family affair at the restaurant!

Chris had a very special birthday dinner!

Doesn't it look yummy? Chris LOVES fish!!!

And look at this cake! Chris said it was the best cake he ever had! Thalita made it and it had three layers filled with cream! YUM!!!

Happy Birthday Big Guy!!!

BTW, Chris is looking over my shoulder and he said, "That cake was so GOOD!"

Costa Rica - part 2

Well, with Jim and Chris's pictures all mixed up it's hard to tell, but I think this is day 2. They took a trip out to Manuel Antonio National Park.

Oh, give me a home where the monkeys roam... The monkeys were not behind glass like a zoo. They were up in the trees doing monkey things.

There were also scarlet macaws...

Hmm... whatever that is... It kind of reminds me of a raccoon.

You know how we sometimes get lizards in the house? How would you like one of these in the house? "Oh, no, Mr. Lizard!" lol!

So who went on this jungle safari? Chris and Lita of course...

Lita's younger brother, Eric... looking COOL, Eric!

... And their fearless leader, Jim!

The BEST place to stay in Costa Rica

I realized that I didn't post the name of the restaurant and hotel. After all, someone might come by the blog looking for a NICE inexpensive place to stay near Jaco, for only $25 a night, and a 5 minute walk from a GREAT restaurant!

Here it is. The Cabinas Calova in Parrita, Costa Rica...

Here is the restaurant. Don Camilo in Parrita, Costa Rica. AND a plus for you travellers... they speak English!

Costa Rica - part 1

I'm not sure how many parts this Costa Rica blogging will take. Since I wasn't there, I'm a little vague on the details. The boys left here just after midnight on Friday, March 9, and arrived in San Jose, Costa Rica at 9am Saturday morning (there is only a one hour time difference).

Thalita and her dad, Randall, met them at the airport. It's a good thing they did too! The rental car company lost Jim's reservation. It took Randall and a long conversation in Spanish to straighten it all out. On their way back to Parrita, they stopped at a "soda stand" for lunch. Here a photo taken by Randall at the soda.

Here is another picture (with Randall in it) of the kids on a bridge over a river.

Hey, Chris! Whatcha looking at?

42 alligators!??... like I said, it's a whole different world...

Thalita's parents own a restaurant and hotel in Parrita. Here is the front of the restaurant.

Jim tells me that the restaurant is completely open one side. There are two sides... a take-out side:

And a sit-down side... This place looks wonderful, and Jim and Chris say the food is GREAT!

One more CUTE photo to share today :oD