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.

Blessings …

I turned 50 on March 5, 2009. Big milestone or a big millstone? I don’t really know. Probably neither ... but since I was going to be within shouting distance of family and friends, we made a party of it. Actually, I don’t think I have ever had as much cake in a 5 day span as on this trip!

Let’s start at the beginning as that is generally a good place to start.

I left this:

for 12+ inches of snow in New England ... I flew out on Monday night and did not sleep more than 15 minutes during the 12 hours of flying and waiting in airports. I was awake for 36 hours straight and when I got to Al and Barb’s house, I was joined by Matt … it was just fantastic seeing him again. Then friends started showing up and we had pasta and meatballs. Tired but seeing their faces, I felt rejuvenated.

Matt and I had breakfast the next morning and by evening found our way to Ken and Joanne’s house for my 50th birthday party. With a ton of family around, we had pasta and sausage and then … let the first cake be eaten!! It was a delicious chocolate layer cake. Gifts were given and jokes were made but since my brother and sister are both older than me, the jokes were limited from them. ;-) Since my nephews are so young, they don’t know any good old-people jokes as yet … or are too embarrassed to tell them!

The cards were fun and the presents were great. I must say that I was truly shocked at two things. The picture book that Jeanne somehow (how does she pull these things off?) got together and the Cleary Club basketball shirt … were both incredible. I was in shock as I looked at the quality of the shirt. Do people actually play in shirts of this quality???

Back at the Horton’s, I packed and repacked my backpack three times. I brought so much stuff … just in case ...

It seemed like a blink of an eye and we were driving north in a small caravan of cars headed to the White Mountains of NH. A fairly quick stop for a great breakfast and then off to the trail.

This is when I first realized that I had made some packing mistakes. Y’know, if I hadn’t made a list, and checked it 3 times then I wouldn’t even comment on this. I guess you know you're 50 when you over-prepare and then screw it up anyway. These were my thought as I looked down at my second pair of gloves and they were both for the right hand … oops. Good thing it was warm.

The first sign we saw stated that a bull moose was near the A-Z Trail and it was not friendly. It also stated that it had charged several hikers. So, a baby pig charged me and I was scared … what would a bull moose do to me? Ah, I’m 50 and I trudged on.

The skiing up the hills was pleasant enough once the rain stopped. We all worked hard taking turns breaking the trail. There were snow shoe tracks and boot tracks that wrecked the trail but we persevered onward.

Matt skied really well though I’m not sure he’d say that. I watched him ski and there is a remarkable difference in his technique allowing him to glide further and go faster with a bit more control.

We got up to the hut all too fast. I was really enjoying skiing and if I hadn’t had that pack on my back, I would have skied the hills and bogs a couple of times.

Once in the hut, we unpacked and got our desired bunk beds. Jeanne laid out a tablecloth and put up a “HAPPY BIRTHDAY” sign. Soon, there was a carrot cake sitting proudly on the table!

I helped the caretaker start the fire in the wood stove. We chatted with the other people in the hut (a total of 30+ people overnight) and then got started on dinner. I don’t know why but I always like to cook dinner there. Julie and Mike arranged most of the food and we had a generous helping of tortellini’s, grilled chicken (thanks Dave R!), red peppers and pesto. Cooking at Zealand Hut is always a challenge but somehow it is always good enough. Dave R. struggled with the bread sticks due to the oven never really heating up to the right temperature. It didn’t matter as it was one of the best dinners we’ve had up there … and that was BEFORE the carrot cake. There was envy around the room as the carrot cake was cut. Unfortunately for those not of our party, there was only enough for us and the caretaker. Fully nourished and partaking of fermented grape, we began playing cribbage.

I took a walk outside. The stars were brilliant, crisp and clear. A few wispy clouds found their way along the valley. Heading inside, it wasn’t long before most were off to get to bed.

Breakfast was good. I know that my sister wants real, old fashioned, oatmeal but the instant packets are good enough for me as I sometimes just don’t want breakfast and don’t want to clean up the mess. So, we had a minimal breakfast and cruised on out of the hut.

The trip down was fairly quick and warm. As I skied, I noted the moose droppings … steam still coming from them. Our friend the bull moose was somewhere nearby. We were lucky (depending upon your point of view as I would really have liked to see a bull moose in the winter) as we did not see him but we did see his droppings … EVERYWHERE. I have spared you the pictures and not posted them here. Let's just say that I will never look at malted milk balls or chocolate covered macadamia nuts the same way again. They were everywhere and it was tough to dodge them when they were in the middle of the trail.

We exited the trail and skied down the Zealand Road to the bottom. I felt good and not too sore.

Truant’s Tavern was great as always. They don’t serve hot pastrami anymore as I think they only sold one sandwich a year and that was to my uncle, Dave. He was a bit disappointed but suffered with a meaty Reuben.

Back in Bellingham, I bought some pizza as Matt said a few people were coming over … next thing I know we are having an ice cream cake with about 10 people all swarming through Barbara and Al’s house. It was great to see Bonnie, Bob, Carly, Ryan, Carly, Amy, David, Amanda, Al and Barbara.

The next morning, Al and I said our goodbyes at 5am as I left for Logan Airport and he left for a collectables show. The 5 days seemed to fly by so quickly and yet, as I got on the first airplane I somehow knew the next 12 hours were not going to fly by.

... and I was going to miss all of these people ... but then Kathy, Tucker, Krista, Majik and Jacob were waiting for me and I felt better.

I considered, as I settled into some James Taylor on my iPod and the seat in front of me leaned almost back into my lap, how I bring all of you every where I go ... and it is a very nice feeling to have you with me!

Next big trip ... October 2009 ... Massachusetts, Virginia, and North Carolina.

[Special Thanks to Joanne for some of these pictures. She always toils tirelessly in the kitchen and behind the camera ...]