Hawaii Oahu Trip Ending, Day 7

Hawaii! Soft breezes, sunshine through the mist, warm oceans and green volcanic mountains! Palm trees and fragrant plumeria, fresh fruit, gentle music and luxury hotels! This is Oahu!

Six of us enjoyed the beaches and an island paradise.

Our hotel was only a block off Waikiki Beach, so the surfer among us got up early and went surfing before the rest of us even got going every morning.

He kept his surfboard at the hotel, and just carried it down to the beach!

What a wonderful trip! We all want to go back.

Aloha!

Hawaii, Macadamia Nut Factory Nature Tour, Day 6

Put us on an old green bus left over from Jurassic Park, driven by a wild Samoan, and take his tour through the crops and country around the Macadamia Nut Plantation, and what do you get?

Absolutely the best hidden experience on Oahu! I think we were his only customers that day.

He was quite the showman.

He showed us how to make fire from two sticks.

He rowed us out onto the lagoon, which turned out to be an 800-year old fish hatchery.

You have to make reser- vations a day ahead through Tropical Farms Nut Factory, but he doesn't work for them. I don't think he even comes most days, unless he has tour customers. It's worth the price!

Hawaii, Climbing Diamond Head, Day 6

Every famous picture of Waikiki Beach wants to show you the extinct volcano Diamond Head in the distance.

We climbed it! This part of the island is actually quite arid, because the prevailing westerly wind makes the clouds empty themselves over the mountains in the center of the island.

At the top are old World War I fort- ifications. The views are stupen- dous in every direction!

Looking back toward Waikiki Beach

Hawaii, Hanauma Bay, Day 5

Where is the best spot in the world to snorkel with thousands of tropical fish? Try Hanauma Bay on Oahu! There's a trick to it though, because lots of people swim there and only see a few fish. The trick is to swim out through the cut in the reef, and to snorkel on the far side. That's where all the fish are hiding!

Hawaii, Polynesian Cultural Center, Day 4

If you want to see the authentic culture of the islands, you need to go to the Polynesian Cultural Center. It started in the 1960's as a way for students from the islands to have work, but it has become the premier attraction of all Hawaii.

The culture of each major South Pacific island group is shown in separate areas of the park.

"Most authentic luau in Hawaii" is their claim, and it's true. You get to watch them dig up the roasted pig and unwrap the leaves. The pork is delicious! They serve purple sweet rolls made with taro root and tapioca. Most Americans like to taste everything, but like their own food best!

The theme of the night show follows a family of the islands. With music and dancing they tell the story of life. There's always lots of fire dancing and everybody loves it!

Church & USS Arizona, Day 3

It was Sunday, so of course we took the opportunity to go to church. Would you recognize a tropical version of the Ogden Tabernacle? It has wooden louvers to let the breezes blow through the chapel. Sometimes birds fly through, too!

In the front yard is a huge banyan tree, with roots draping from the branches to the ground.

A stark white memorial seems to float above the harbor. It's a monument to the men still entombed below at the bombing of Pearl Harbor. You reach it by a short ferry ride.

It's so bright there, but the feeling among the visitors is quiet reverence. Once I saw a woman unstring a lei to spread the flowers upon the water. You can stillsee the ship below, and there's still a bit of an oil slick.

The USS Missouri has returned to Pearl Harbor. On its' deck in 1945 the Japanese surrendered to the Americans. Now it's available for tourists to inspect, top to bottom.

Hawaii, Oahu! Day 1 & 2, Sept. 25 & 26, 2009

Our first evening and day in Hawaii, we just walked down to the beach and took a drive to look around. We went to the giant flea market at Aloha Stadium and the International Market to buy all our souvenirs.

The clean, warm water is the very best thing about Hawaii.

Here are some of our favorite memories:

Sister missionary at the temple picking plumeria blossoms to make a lei

Roasted garlic shrimp bought from a roadside van

Riding the trolley at Dole Pineapple Plantation in the middle of the island

Eating to- gether!

Solo Trip! August 4-19, 2009. Ireland, England, Scotland, & Germany

Back in July of 2009, the family things were finished for the summer, and I had a bunch of Skymiles, so I decided on short notice to go to Europe to up my spirits and finish off my school vacation.

I'd never been to Ireland or Scotland, and so those were high on my list. I've always wanted to see the Edinburgh Tatoo (not a body marking, it's a bagpipe, drum and bugle corps spectacular.) I wanted to see Wicked in London, and I wanted to walk on top of Hadrian's Wall.

I've also wanted to see the Passion Play for 40 years. It's happened every ten years for the last four centuries, and I wanted to take a group to see it in 2010. Their website offered various packages for high prices, but I couldn't just trust them to choose a place for me. I needed it to be in the actual village of Oberammergau and within walking distance of the PassionSpielHaus.

I got to do everything I wanted! The next dozen posts are from my daily e-mails home.

The top picture is Blarney Castle in Ireland.

The next one is Trafalgar Square in London., and the last is the little Baroque (Rococco) village church in Oberammergau, Germany.

Day 15 Munich, Last Day in Germany!

After breakfast at Penny's house in Oberam- mergau, I walked over to our accomo- dations for next zear and introduced mzself. Pennz called ahead for me. That's it in the picture. It's a prettz nice place with lots of flowers, and it's over the top of a Konditorei, which is a bakerz for desserts. I can alreadz see I'll have trouble gaining weight next zear!

Mz Munich hotel is a few blocks farther from the Bahnhof than I thought, and I didnät have a map. Some Indian men kept offering to get me a taxi, or the zoung kid will take me in his taxi. "No, no, no it's onlz a couple of blocks!"

The hotel is a large old house, not reallz fancy, but certainlz presentable, and if we come here next zear, it has parking in the back(big plus.) It#s onlz about 2 blocks from the Munich LDS Church and 1 block from the Octoberfest grounds. Now that I know mz waz around a little bit, It's also onlz a block to the U-Bahn, which works just like the S-Bahn in town.

Everz time I go somewhere, I trz to see something Ive never seen before. Hoping that Larrz will come with me next zear, this afternoon I went out to BMW World. It's a ways out of town, right next to the Olzimpic park. What a place! This is definitely Destination Architecture!

It#s all just PR for BMW, but zou can sit in all the newest cars, and there are touchscreens and itäs a huge metal ultra modern wierd building. This is definitelz destination architecture. One of the coolest things, is that if zou buz a Beamer, zou can pick it up at the factorz. Actuallz, the factorz is across the street, but thez bring zour new car into this building and up the elevator to the second floor.

People are on the 3rd floor looking down, watching the rich-os pick up their new cars. Zou get to drive zour new car in glorz down the long curved carpeted ramp and out of the building. Verz Cool!

I went down to the Marienplatz and watched the Glockenspiel. I didn't remember it lasting that long or being that good looking. Turns out, it was renovated for it's hundredth birthdaz last zear, and it looks reallz good.

I climbed the tower to St. Peter's church. AAGGHH! Signs said "The most beautiful view of Munich," and I knew it would be, because zou'd be up above the Glockenspiel and the Frauenkirche. What it didn't saz was 308 steps up the tinz narrow staircase! Now I remember whz I climed the other 2 towers last time, Thez have elevators! But the view was fabulous.

I wandered down to the VictualenMarkt, which is an open market right in the middle of town, and bought some interesting looking things to eat. I bought 2 tinz red peppers stuffed with cream cheese. Thez turned out to be pickled and not all that good, but anzwaz, thez were prettz.

I bought 2 bites of goat cheese with spices, and that was reallz good. I bought an unusual- looking green and white mashed stuff the girl said goes on bread, so I brought a brotchen for it, and it was reallz good! Now, I have no idea about the names of what I just ate . . .

I just wandered the pedestrian street, and came to a place where I could get on the U-bahn for home, but I didnät. The light was golden on the fancz curved buildings, and there was a big fountain that kids were plazing in. I just sat and watched for awhile, savoring mz last night in Europe.

Day 14 Oberammergau & Zugspitze

Wow! I'm writing this to zou from the top of the Zugspitze! I am on the very tip top of the mountain you see in this picture, and since Germans are very techno, there's a pay computer.

Itäs á glorious warm daz with no wind and the skz is blue and zou can see 50 miles in everz direction. The high mountain scenerz is fabulous!

How to get here: I took a bus from Oberam- mergau to Garmisch- Parten- kirchen, then a train from Garmisch to the cog train stop, then a cog train to the Eibsee, (where we had a fabulous 5 minute photo stop) then the cog train inside of the mountain up to the Zugspitzeplatz and then a gondola to the verz top! I walked around onto the Austrian side, so I can saz this trip went to Austria, too.

Oberam- mergau is a very cute little village, with all the buildings painted up Tyrolean- style. I think Pinnochio came from here, because the main town business is wood carving little figures to sell to tourists. My landlord is a woodcarver in the wintertime.

My whole reason for coming to Germanz was to check out the situation for the Passion Play. It's been put on everz ten zears in Oberammergau for the last 400 years, and I reallz want to bring a group to see it.

So this morning I went to the Passion Plaz headquarters in Oberammergau. What a beehive of activitz! Everzone is rushing about like the president was coming in 10 minutes or something, but thatäs the waz that office is all the time, I think.

Mz landladz told me to ask to speak to Herr Theisen (I thought it was Tyson). Turns out heäs the big boss, and verz rushed. Zou have to buz a package which includes zour Passion Plaz tickets, your hotel,plus breakfasts and dinners. I wanted to buz tix for just a one night staz onlz, but thez were all sold out except for 500 euros a night.

So I tried for 2 night packages in Julz or August next zear. Almost completelz gone alreadz! Thez finallz got me a choice of 3, onlz one of which was in the town of Oberammergau itself. That's what I wanted, so we can walk home for dinner and at night after the Passion Plaz. I took it. I am so tickled! Now I have tix for 8 people in 4 double rooms at the cheap end of the B&B scale, for 2 nights. We get to see the Passion Plaz next year on August 12, 2010. The summer tix are almost all gone, bought out completelz bz big tour companies.

I took a backstage tour of the theater where the Passion Play is presented.

The picture shows how they pound nails into the hands when the crucify the Savior.

Guess what! Thez kind of acted like I was out of place coming to see them in person, because they mainly deal online and with the big tour companies. Thez left me sitting for a long time.

Soon the secretarz ladz returned and noticed mz e-mail, and said, "Zou are a travel agent, arent zou?" I said, "Zes, but I am a verz small time travel agent." So she gave me the travel agent price, which was 10 percent off.

Presumablz thatäs the normal cut. Then thez became verz nice. Everzone in Germanz has a certain status!

I also took the bus over to Ettal Monastery. They were having Garden Days and a little festival with lots of booths and beer. They make their own brand.

It is so cool up here! I have to go so I can catch the last train down off this giant mountain, or if thereäs not too manz people, mazbe I can even take the cable car down to the Eibsee, and then the train from there.