Our last morning in Maui was clear and beautiful!  not a cloud in the sky!  too late for us to do the Haleakala trip,  but lovely.   we shopped for some delicious stuffed French Toast, with lemon ricotta filling, at Sixty Two Marcket in Kahului.   We filled the tank,  returned out rental car,  in time to board our noon flight to Kona.   By then,  the clouds were shrouding the mountain.

We are delighted to be back at our favorite resort,  our Hawaiian Paradise,  The Royal Sea Cliff in Kailua-Kona.  Sunset from our Lanai!

We had tried to see the Honu, Hawaiian Green Sea Turtles, yesterday around Kapalua, to no avail!  soooooo today we headed south to Makena and Turtle town!  we weren’t snorkeling but we were really lucky to sorry a turtle right away,  swimming close to shore.  

Then we noticed a blue enclosure nearby with several people with official looking vests,  bending over it intently working.   I thought it might be a nest but one of the workers said it was an adult 🐢 that had been found with a hook in its mouth!  Some one snorkeling had seen it and when it came shore,  another had reported it to the authorities.  They came to quickly remove the hook and mark the turtle for release again.  We happened along at exactly the right moment to see the release.   2 other Turtles lay basking on the warm rocks nearby,  oblivious to the commotion!  it was perfect timing to witness 4 Turtles in just a couple minutes.

Aloha Hannah, the Honu!  off to sea!

Today was supposed to be overcast with some rain but,  mostly it was lovely.   we drove north as far as the Nakalele blow hole,  the back along several beautiful beaches and parks.

Emmett climbed down closer

his View of us

His perspective of the blow hole and the coast from there

Along the coast there is a great surfing area in Honolua Bay where we watched a few surfers catch some great waves

Kathy got these great surfer shots

Kapalua And Kahana coastline is great for beaches too. 

We had a couple great sightings of whales on this boat trip!  There were many blows and back sightings until we saw a baby whale breaching over and over.   it was having a great time.

Then an adult,  maybe it’s mom,  started flopping it’s pectoral fin

After that,  on our way back to harbor,  a full size adult breached several times beside our boat,  heading the same direction.   It was spectacular!

We picked the best day of the week,  weather wise,  yesterday,  to lounge around our resort.  it was sunny and lovely!  And we saw many whales. blowing and breaching! 

we had a great dinner at Duke,  just a few hundred yards from our timeshare

Today,  in Ka’anapali, it was windy and cool, even a bit misty.   But in Hana it appeared it would be the best weather there for the week!  We had picked a good choice both days!  We headed out with plans for a quick breakfast at a little restaurant Emmett found,  then on to Hana.

Every stream we crossed was a lovely waterfall but on the way home each was flowing even stronger!  it remained overcast and occasionally a bit of rain fell,  but it was not a bad drive.   Thankfully,  Emmett was our driver,  and did a fantastic job on all 620 curves and about 59 one lane bridges!  curvy curvy curvy!

We shopped at the Palapala Hooma church and Charles Lindbergh’s grave site

We drove thru Hana,  just stopping shortly for a view of 2, and on back towards Paia where we enjoyed a great fish dinner and a ginger beer!  so refreshing!

The weather cleared a bit on our way home,  for a gorgeous evening

I qualify that by adding Kona is Paradise to me!  Maui is just almost.  We landed in Kahului Maui about noon,  had a great lunch at the food trucks near the airport.

We then drove just a bit thru Lahaina and could see the old Banyon tree is alive!  It is trimmed a bit,  but lovely green! 

You can’t get closer than the street,  but you can drive all around it and the court house,  still on ruins.   there are a few lots being built on at this time,  but many open,  empty lots.   you can not drive farther on Front street but you get a glimpse of the ruins of several shops.   We shopped at the grocery there and are finally resting at our timeshare on Ka’anapali Beach, the Hilton Vacation Club.

sun has set and no whale sightings…. yet.   tomorrow we are going to relax and unwind,  maybe get down by the pool and the ocean,  and just soak up the Aloha!  Stay tuned.

The rocks,  the incredible blue sky,  and gorgeous sunset colors.   There was even some snow up Oak Creek Canyon

This trip was the first time in a long time when all the girls of the family gathered together.   We had a great time, played many games,  cooked and ate together, walked, hiked,  and shopped  together.   After the first to leave,  those 7 of us left did a bit more walking and picnicing.

Sedona was a great place for us to meet!  4 generations from 4 states

Four generations. all 3 granddaughters, 2 granddaughters- in-law, 2 daughters and a step step daughter, and even a great granddaughter! 

So that may take some explanation!  Here are the 4 generations

Sorry, this took a while,  cuz I had to have the picture on one device,  so I could see it at the same time!   On the sofa,  Bernadette,  (Carlee’s friend),  Carlee,(Laura’s youngest), Kaila,  Trey’s wife,  so my granddaughter-in-law, then me, and to my left Laura and Kara, Malik’s special lady.  On the back of the sofa,  Emma (Liz’s oldest) then Zuriah who turns 9 next week,  Trey’s and Kaila’s daughter, Laura’s grand baby and my Great Granddaughter) and Poppy, Mark’s daughter,  with Aunt Liz.   Next to her is Jenna…. I call her my step step daughter.   She grew up with the kids when her mom married my ex. Don. Both her biological parents  are gone and since she grew up with the kids,  we include her in all family events.   Whew!  Took a bit to get all those labels in there!

Here are some of our fun activities

sunset views!

meals!  always important

everyone chipped in,  prepared a meal, Lasagna,  eggplant parm,  and tacos!  Plus, our 1 meal out all together,   brunch to celebrated Zuriah’s 9th birthday at a restaurant where she could order anything!  She has strict meal requirements,  but organic vegan fits her perfectly!

Of course,  there were lots of games

still more to come!

Greetings Travel lovers!

2025 was a big year for us and 2026 looks to be busy too!

This year for my birthday,  we traveled to Greece.   I celebrated in Crete, for about 10 days,   then we traveled to Malta to explore for another 10 days.  

Our trip was designed around a cruise of the Nile,  so our next destination,  the end of February,  was Cairo Egypt

We visited many temples and tombs,  and had a wonderful cruise.   After, we extended our trip to Jordan and Petra.

We continued our trip in Turkey,  with a10 day private tour

And ended with a tour of Transylvania,  Romania,  and cruise up the Danube in Eastern Europe to Budapest.  

There will be more pictures of this 10 week adventure earlier in our blog.  

Three times we visited Nebraska this year,  for track,  taking out youngest 2 grand to visit Aunt Liz,  and for football in the fall.  unfortunately,  Tucker, our football player, broke his arm in the first part of the season and we ended up just visiting. But on out summer visit we got to visit Walker at the ranch where he works as a hunting and fishing guide! 

In October about 25 of our Chorale traveled with us to Nashville to sing with 500 others in a tribute to Sandi Patty.   What a fun trip that was!

We topped off the year with a quick trip to Texas.   We were able to see our friends the Rutans sing their Christmas concert in Fort Worth, then had a visit with Rebecca and Joel and Trey, Kaila, and Zuriah in Austin.

For Christmas,  Emmett and I treated the  California family to Chinese banquet!  quite a year!

2026 will be a busy year too, and we start with a quick weekend visit for each of us,  but with our respective families.   Emmett is visiting his cousin Bert,  while I, and 10 other ladies in our family gather in Sedona for a girls weekend!  stay tuned for some wild adventures there.

here are some is the sights as I flew into Flagstaff,  right over Sedona

here is most of us