Thursday, January 14, 2010

Update from the tropics

I hear that it's quite cold where we live. This is the constant gratitude inducer while we while away the week in Hawaii. We are on the Big Island, technically the island of Hawaii staying at the nicest resort either of us has ever stayed at. Seriously. You know how they post the rack rates on the inside of the door of the hotel room. I know only fools pay those rates, but on ours it says $600-$900 per night. Of course we paid a fraction of that, less than a C-note per night. (I love you Priceline!) And they even gave us an ocean view room. Okay it is partial ocean view, but still. We leave the door open at night and the sound of the waves crashing lulls us to sleep. Oh and the room is bigger than the studio apartments we rent out back home. (On a side note, it seems like whenever we fall into a fantastic vacation situation, tragedy strikes elsewhere in the world. Our hearts go out to those suffering in Haiti. ) Our resort is on the largest sandy beach on the island and I've been body surfing every day except yesterday.
That's because we took a tour of the whole island. 280 miles on a tour bus with a dozen stops. The highlight was the volcanoes national park of course. Behind me there you see the toxic gases spewing out of Kilauea. There is no lava flowing at the moment, the rangers explaining that the volcano is in a state of pause. The guide was really good and talked the whole time about the flora, the history, and the legends that abound here.

The fancy resort thing is nice, but the prices sometimes make me burst out laughing. You're kidding right, I keep finding myself saying in my head. I was hip to the scam though and brought along plenty of snacks and booze to keep costs down. Here's something. Who thought it was a good idea to make rosemary mint shampoo (I can't make a question mark cuz Serge is asleep and I'm on his french keyboard) I mean I feel like I'm tea steeping every time I use it. Weird.

I thought this was a fabulous shot of the honey. Last night we went down to the beach there and swam by starlight. I suppose we will while away today down there as well. I should probably finish up the Lovely Bones today which has been a great read. Friday we are looking forward to the Crab feast buffet. Saturday we will head over to Honolulu for a more urban experience. We're having fun and I hope that you are too, wherever you are.

15 comments:

Larry Ohio said...

The volcano park is so cool. I loved it there. I hope your tour group took you to the big lava tube and you got to walk through it. It's wild to know that a river of molten rock flowed through it once upon a time.

Enjoy the rest of your time there :-)

A Lewis said...

So happy for you guys! Relax, enjoy, energize, and feel the love, baby!!

We did a Hawaii cruise several years ago that stopped at both Hilo and Kona. And we did a tour up to the volcanos. Amazing, that place.

Oh, yeah, and by the way....stop posting half naked pictures. You're driving me nuts.

Nik_TheGreek said...

Enjoy your days away... Have as much fun as possible!
Great pics... ;-)

Dan said...

WOW! On dirais que Hawaii fais maigrir...j'arrive !
Belle photo Serge :-)
Avez-vous rencontré le beau gars de Hawaii 5-0?
A+
Dan

anne marie in philly said...

(jealous as sin)

Mel said...

The last place we stayed when we were there a few years ago was at a gay-owned B&B a little way down the coast from Hapuna. One night we drove up to Mauna Kea resort to have dinner and see the mantas. Oh the attitude the staff gave us.

We spent a total of a week and a half on Big Island (plus a few days on Oahu for a conference) and loved it, though David was ready to be back on the mainland by the end of the two weeks.

Snooze said...

Oh it looks so lovely! Glad that you are having a great time and relaxing.

CoffeeDog said...

The volcano rocks, one of my fave places. Glad to hear you are having fun.

Birdie said...

You are on one of my dream destinations. So glad it's turning out so well for you. (Sometimes you hate to have high expectations for fear they won't be met.)

So, where are you taking us next? I vote Iceland or New Zealand (also on my list).

BTW: don't the French ask questions?

Mark in DE said...

In the first photo I'm guessing Serge's legs are on the left and yours are on the right, right?

I am SOOOOOOOOOO jealous of your trip.

GayProf said...

Lookin' good!

I am jealous on multiple fronts.

Stephen Chapman said...

I'm jealous - it's been grey and cold in England for the past month!

that's J-O-S-H said...

Rosemary anything makez me wanna heave everywhere. It always smells like burning Christmas spirit.

In college, the campus dining hall served chix coated in rosemary and it tasted like I was eating evergreen trees.

Rick Bettencourt said...

Enjoy! I've never been to the big island but heard it's fabulous. Perhaps you'll add a little color to your Canadian white skin. : )

Rox said...

It's been unseasonally warm here but I still wish I was on the beach with you guys! Enjoy and travel safely!