Ko'olina Mariott Resort

Ahhhh. that is about all I can say as I think back to the glorious weekend at the Ko'olina resort beach hotel. I still feel a sense of peace and luxury as I think of Kathy and my weekend there.

She fooled me. She did it well. We left work together ... for those of you who don't know, Kathy has succumbed to working at Hawaiian Telcom as a temp. So, we left work together on Friday. I had no idea where we were going. She told me to pack as if I were going to Maui or Kauai.

So, we headed into the dreaded H1 West Traffic and I knew we were staying on Oahu as we passed the airport and kept on going ... at 5 miles per hour! It didn't matter as I was with Kathy!

We got there and the valet took the car and the luggage. "Don't worry about the bags, they'll be in your room in no time" stated the valet. At the desk, Kathy took command and upgraded the room from mountain view to ocean view and then she smiled at me.

We walked into the room on the 5th floor and though it was a beautiful room overlooking the ocean. Unfortunately, it had not been cleaned. There were cups and dishes and the bed was not made. I took over and called the desk. They upgraded us again. Now, in an even bigger room with a bathroom the size of a normal hotel room, we looked out onto the Pacific facing west from our 11th floor balcony.

Dinner was incredible. We ate a delicious meal with excellent service. After, we strolled the grounds in the twilight and enjoyed the waterfalls, the ponds, and the walkways. Small hammerhead sharks swam below us at one point and large sting rays at another.

I enjoyed a scotch from room service as we went to bed looking out at the stars just relaxing with each other. What could be better?

I really wanted to just sleep in on Saturday but Kathy had other ideas. She set the alarm and awoke me early. We drove to a marina about 20 minutes away. As we drove, we could see whales swimming by in the bay. They were large, black whales spouting and showing their tails. Soon we were on a motorized catamaran and putting on our snorkel gear! Fairly quickly, we were in the water swimming after dolphins and turtles. The dolphins were wonderful and gracious company. The turtles must have missed Kathy's call as only one came by. He was beautiful but Kathy's ability to call up a turtle has spoiled me!

I truly enjoyed my time on the water. I just can't imagine living in the middle of the country where the ocean is not nearby. As I look out from my deck right now, I appreciate the waves that crash upon the shore. For this weekend, water would be the key ingredient.

After a full day on the boat, we were tired. It was exhausting chasing after dolphins! I mean, they just swim much faster than we do. I'd like to see them try to keep up with us on land!

Showered and shaved and waiting for Kathy, I relaxed on our balcony and realized that the finish line for a spinnaker fleet sailboat race was just concluding. It was an exciting race as big boats were angling for the finish line. What could be more perfect?

We got back in time to see two weddings from our balcony. I was amazed at the forethought as all the children of one wedding were dressed alike. It didn't take long to realize that the entire wedding was a "black and white" wedding ... the kids were really cute.

Not too much later, Dinner ... made the perfect day complete. We went to the "fancy" restaurant that overlooked the pools of water, the hammerhead sharks, and the waterfalls. A bottle of wine, lobster bisque, Caesar salad, fine seafood, steak, and dessert graced our table. The wait staff were attentive and willing to help at any moment. I could not have asked or expected more.

Very full and satisfied, Kathy and I walked about the grounds again and found our way to the natural pools connected to the Pacific Ocean. The moon was a sliver and we held hands along the rocks admiring the roar of the ocean as it crashed only 20 feet from us. The sun had set and left us a beautiful night.

On Sunday morning I slept in.


Lazily, we dressed for the beach and snorkeling at "Electric Beach." This is a beach that happens to be across the street from an electric power plant. There were lots of people there but under the water was mostly fish and not crowded at all. We made our way out into the warm water. We found beautiful coral, fancy fish, and enjoyed a wonderful underwater swim.

Back at the hotel, we relaxed in the room and slowly packed. I watched another sailboat race and took too many pictures. The hotel had been kind enough to extend our check out time but we actually didn't need it.

Heading home, I recollected how wonderful a weekend it was. I briefly wondered what it cost but put it out of my mind considering the point of money is to eventually use it but use it wisely. For me, the weekend was worth every penny.

Thank you Kathy for my 50th birthday present.

Waterlogged!

Hi All,

Kathy and I have been getting into this snorkeling thing lately. I don't know how long it will last but I believe that my fingers now have permanent waterloggedridges!
We have been so fortunate to live so close to Hanauma Bay where the fish are abundant and the sea turtles now know Kathy personally. Yes, Kathy refers to them as "my sea turtles."
She does seem to have a knack for finding them. I have been taking advantage of my father's day present ... a relatively inexpensive underwater camera.
The last few weekends, we've been abandoned all sense of reason and ventured to the North Shore for snorkeling at Shark's Cove. Are there any sharks at Sharks Cove? I haven't seen one and don't expect to!
The "little guy" below was about 3 1/2 feet across!

This sea turtle was enjoying lunch off the reef at Sharks Cove.

This picture is a bit hard to see but it is a picture of about 500 little blue fish!

When we least expected it, one of our friends came cruising up over this rock to say "hello!"

Kathy took this video clip of me swimming down about 15 feet.

In addition to the snorkeling, we've frequented Bellows Air Station beach. It is a gorgeous beach with tons of privacy and 3 to 5 foot waves that just cruise in from the outer reef. It has become one of our favorite beaches as it is only 20 minutes away and stunningly beautiful.

Below, Krista drags Kathy out on the boogie board.

Maui Trip!

Ahhhh Maui! A beautiful place with a peaceful and relaxing atmosphere. OH ... and expensive! We stayed in an area where the lawns or should I say the golf courses were wonderfully manicured. Lots of golf courses that wound around tall palms and soft sand traps were all around us.

Kathy and I stayed away from the golf courses ... maybe next time or perhaps the time after that.

We took the Ferry on a Friday afternoon and soon were rocking and jerking to the bumps of the Pacific Ocean interrupted by the winds and the channels. All in all ... it was a lousy trip to get there. Kathy got sea sick even though she took Dramamine. Not fun. Fortunately, the trip back was much better!

We got to the hotel, checked in, put away our clothes and could hear classic Hawaiian music and quickly found our way to a small bandstand outside the bar. Even before the 2nd Mai Tai, they sounded pretty good! :-)

The hotel was pretty nice. Not stunning rooms but it was clean and in a good location, right on the beach!

Kathy and I started a game of checkers. WELL, as soon as I jumped one of her guys, she quit and accused me of playing like her sister Cindy. I guess I'm supposed to try and lose! Cindy, she will never play checkers again because of the way you abused her as a child! (or maybe that was last year?)

We wound our way to the less travelled part of the island ... the picture below is especially for Barbara Horton. The road was more narrow than Ireland! Kathy screamed the entire time we drove down this 1 lane, 2 way road and also screamed all the way back. Note the narrow road. Note the lack of guardrails. Note the nice sloping hill we'd fall down if I went off the road.

Kathy recovered enough to chit-chat with the 10 year olds running this refreshment stand.

On the way back to the hotel we found this beautiful stop ...

I am never far from my camera ...

Kathy enjoying dinner ...

The sun began to set and I began to click away ... Kathy had another glass of wine ;-)

This family walked by and made nice silhouettes.

I'm not sure what to say except the color of this sunset was stunning. Kathy refilled her glass.

We also went snorkeling with my new underwater camera from Olympus. It is a pretty good little camera but I'm still learning how to use it. Below is a video clip of a green sea turtle. Sorry about the shaking!

We had a wonderful time and are already disagreeing on where we are going next!

Peace, love and grace

John