June 10- 17, 2016 - Choir Tour to Colorado

Colorado Rockies with High School Choir

Plymouth Matins

10 - 17 June 2016

On Friday morning, June 10^th, my daughter Alle and I piled all of our bags in the car and drove to our church at the crack of dawn. We are not usually morning people, but this morning, we were leaving with about 70 other people for the week-long Plymouth Matins Choir Tour to Colorado. I had been training to be a chaperone of 65 high schoolers for about four months prior. We learned how to lead our small group of eight kids in discussion, how to address difficult issues that might arise during tour and how fun and intense it can be to hang out with a large group of teenagers for a week.

Each person had a luggage bag, a backpack for on board the bus to help pass the 12 – 14 hour bus ride to Colorado Springs, and all of their bedding since we would be sleeping on floors for parts of our journey. Piled on the lawn at Plymouth at 6 am, our stuff, the kids and all of our sleepy loved ones were a big group. Our minister blessed us as the sun rose and we piled onto two large tour buses which took us everywhere for the week.

We slept, drove and watched movies. The chaperones were up in the front of the bus, so that as kids came up for snacks we could chat with people and ask the names of people we didn’t already know. We made a few food and bathroom stops and arrived in Denver for dinner.  We distributed money to each of our kids in our small groups and they got to eat wherever they wanted along the 16^th Street Mall. They scattered into groups of friends and the chaperone group went to Burger 5208, getting lost a few times along the way to find it.

The only downside was that after dinner, we had another hour or so drive to Colorado Springs to the First Congregational Church that was our home for the first part of tour. We arrived there pretty late, in the dark and had to set-up in a number of small rooms downstairs. I shared with about eight to ten friends, including Alle and it turned out to be comfortable and fun -- Sort of a non-stop sleepover for about four nights.



After the driving, dinner, more driving and setting up at the church, the chaperones met to talk about the next day and then we met with our small groups. Everyone was exhausted by this point, so we talked about the plans for the next day and went to bed at 1 am.

The next three days in Colorado Springs included hiking in Garden of the Gods,

singing at two retirement homes,





and shopping downtown. Our meals out included driving back to Denver to eat and bowl at Lucky Strikes,

eating in an airplane,



 and a lovely meal in Colorado Springs at Phantom Canyon.

We also took the buses up into the mountains and had a tour of Cave of the Winds, which was a set of inner tunnels through the mountains.




Some of the people on tour had headaches and felt dizzy in these first few days of tour from the altitude changes.

The best day for me was Sunday when the choir was part of the church service



and gave an afternoon concert. They sang well and sounded great.

The service about forgiveness was inspiring. Our small group discussed any person we felt we needed to forgive in the evening and it was our best discussion topic for the week.

On Tuesday of the following week, we finished up our breakfast foods in the church kitchen, took turns taking the buses for showers at the neighboring YMCA (which turned out to be about an hour round trip!) and packed up at the church to make our way up to Boulder



and then the Rocky Mountain National Park for the rest of our tour.  We all piled onto the buses again



and drove to Boulder for lunch. We enjoyed the Pearl Street Mall in Boulder for lunch and shopping. Each group of kids ate at different places and everyone shopped for souvenirs. It was fun to see what people came back to the bus with.  From Boulder, we made our way up the mountains to YMCA of the Rockies, where we were staying for the remaining three nights of our week.

I loved YMCA of the Rockies. It is a huge complex of cabins and buildings housing everything you might want at a summer camp. We ate at a dining “hall” which held 1,500 people and there were three to four of them at the camp. One night we made s’mores at a fire ring and we got lost trying to find our fire ring because there are about twenty of them sprinkled around the complex. There were probably over 10,000 people there along with us, but we were always able to find each other. The hiking was wonderful and very accessible. Each day, we were able to do a hike, do any number of camp activities or just hang-out. Here's a group at the sand volleyball courts. 

I could have spent many more days there.  One afternoon hike,

we hiked up to a place called Bible Point where you could leave your questions or issues in a message and mail them to God (mailbox provided).


The view to the surrounding mountains was fantastic.

Another morning hike was up to a near-by (well, ten miles round trip) lake and we watched a moose cross the lake.

One other positive about the trip was the other chaperones. I really enjoyed meeting the other parents and staff who were on the tour.

Perhaps joining a group and trip like this is only appealing to certain kinds of parent, but the other adults along were an interesting, engaged, competent and loving group of people. It was a pleasure to work with them and be able to interact with them during the week.

I wished that my small group could have met more often, earlier and discussed deeper issues. We often met late at night and sometimes we were too tired to talk as much as I would have liked to. It was still worthwhile to hike together in beautiful scenery,

hear the kids sing together, and to discuss spiritual issues in a separate and lovely place as a group.

It’s a unique opportunity to pull ourselves out of our busy lives and spend a week together as a group of 70!

Spring Break 2016 - Kauai and Big Island of Hawaii

Spring Break in Hawaii

10 – 20 March 2016

It can be a bit risky returning to a place you have loved and have memories of visiting often, in case it has changed. For Spring Break this year, my daughter and I took the boys and Ricardo to Kiahuna Beachside on Kauai, a place we used to go at least once a year from the time she was 18 months old until she was 10, before the boys were born. They had never been and we wanted them to see the lovely old Hawaiian bungalows we knew so well,



to swim in the south Poipu Beach waves and see the colorful fish,



to eat at our favorite ice cream places and restaurants, and to visit our old haunts. Once we had booked our flights and the ocean front cabin (months in advance) and were finally heading there, I realized the island may have changed. What if the island had become built up and our old haunts were in fact not there? We arrived and luckily, Kauai was much as it has been for the past 20 years. This may be good and bad, but in our case, it was good.

By the time we got up early, drove to Minneapolis, flew to LAX and then flew all the way to Lihue, Kauai, it was evening. Delta had mysteriously lost only my luggage and left it at LAX, so I spent an hour requesting it to be delivered to me the next day, while Ricardo got our rental car which also took an hour. Once you land in Hawaii, everything switches to island time, which is slooow. Arriving and driving down the tree tunnel reminded us that we have returned to our favorite part of Kauai.



We checked into our two story bungalow, and since we felt like the 2 am it was at home, we had dinner and went to bed.

We ate at the Anuenue Café across the street on our first morning on the island. While the rest of the family waited for breakfast, I shopped for a bathing suit so that I could at least swim with everyone while I waited for my luggage. While we were eating, the daily island rain decided to let us know we were in the tropics. Welcome to Kauai!

We arrived on a Thursday.  One of our favorite things to do while on Kauai is to visit Hanapeppe on a Friday night for gallery night. From 5 or 5:30 until 8 or 8:30 pm all of the shops in the town are open with artwork for sale. There are food trucks and music lining the main street and the atmosphere is festive. The best food in town is at the Hanapeppe Café, which reopened in Fall 2015. There are some great views driving across the island to Hanapeppe.



Once we arrived, we walked up and down the main street of Hanapeppe, which includes about ten to fifteen gallery shops and looked at the local art, purchasing mostly souvenirs and gifts and we had our best meal while on the island at the Hanapeppe Cafe. 

We have been coming to Kauai for 30 years and Lapperts was always in Old Koloa Town in the old buildings. We were surprised when we walked in the old place, because all of the decore is the same; the place looks and feels the same, but when you look at the ice cream and the menu board, it becomes clear that the ice cream is “Koloa Mill”. The flavors are not as flavorful. We each got a double and the ice cream was just not as interesting as Lappert’s. We only went once while we were on the island.  Luckily, the Island Soap and Candle Shop in the same set of shops is still there.



Lappert’s has moved into the new pedestrian mall by the turn for Spouting Horn. The ice cream is still the best on the island. The flavors are great and varied and the servings are large. I had brought my old Lappaerts card,once we bought 10 ice creams, we got one free. It gave us a good excuse to go at least once a day all the days we were in the Poipu neighborhood.

On Sunday, I had signed Alle and myself up for a surfing lesson. We have been watching people take surfing lessons at Poipu Beach for years and have always promised ourselves that we would do it once Alle was old enough.  Poipu is the best area for beginning surfing, being on the south side of Kauai with the best and most gentle waves. We found the best time for a lesson is early in the morning. We took a lesson at 8 am on a Sunday with Kyle, who  is the son of one of the early teachers at the school. He was very relaxed and laid back. He was both specific in his guidance and gentle in his help in the waves. Both my daughter and I were up on our boards in the first few tries.



He let us stay out on the boards trying on our own for a half hour to an hour after the morning lesson. It’s harder without his perfectly timed push!

On Monday, we spent a full day driving up to Hanalei and back. The boys wanted to see where Puff the Magic Dragon lived and we wanted to visit the end of the road in the north part of the island.




It is usually wet and colder on the northern part of Kauai and the day we went was no exception. We arrived in Hanalei, walked around and it started pouring with rain.


We ran to the Dolphin for lunch while in Hanalei. The outdoor seating is along the river and it is fun to watch the paddle boarders and swimmers float by. We loved our lunch. After lunch at the Dolphin, we visited a t-shirt and dive shop in town and bought snorkeling gear, hats and t-shirts. Ricardo liked this shop so much, we visited it twice while in town.

We loved driving to the end of the road outside of Hanalei to the State Park Ke’e. Here's a view of Puff's Bay, driving out of Hanalei.



The road becomes more and more jungle-like as you wind towards the end of the road.



As you turn, you glimse small coves and beaches. The houses you see are up on stilts. Finally after a few enclaves of houses, you arrive at the last stop, the beach and State Park. When we got there it had been raining, but the sun shined through at sunset and everything was in a surreal golden glow. It was beautiful.


There was a monk seal on the beach, very few people and we had a lovely half hour of sunset. It’s the Kauai shore at its best and the closest you can get to the Napali Coast on foot without hiking or helicoptering in.

We have been staying at Kiahuna for almost 20 years and we eat at the Plantation Gardens at least one night of our stay every year. Part of why we love it is the walk there. We wind our way there through the pathways of the property, ending up at the ponds to the east or towards the beach before we check-in.



I also love the open, expansive feeling of the building as we walk through it to our table. We always make an early reservation to sit on the veranda around 6 pm to enjoy the sunset outside during our dinner.



I like the whole atmosphere and environment for the meal.

On Tuesday, after a day of swimming and snorkeling, which the boys discovered they loved, we visited Gaylords for the best Luau on the island. Gaylords hosts this twice a week. We booked the dinner and luau option. The luau is a series of traditional story dances for a half hour to hour after the huge buffet dinner. Here's a view of the stage and the other guests sitting for dinner.



My family and I always come early and visit the Clayworks on the property and decorate a clay tile, which they ship back to us.



It’s an annual tradition. My daughter and I have been decorating an annual Kauai tile each year for years since she was young and she loves this tradition.

One different aspect for us on this visit was how many more feral cats and kittens we saw on the island. We noticed one friendly feral kitten living near our condo was injured, and had an eye infection. I contacted a vet, who then recommended I contact the head of Community Care Care. It turns out there is a network of cat care providers all across the island who will help find feral cats, trap them humanely, get them medical care, and spay and neuter them to help reduce the feral population. Long story short, the kitten was so friendly, we paid for its care, spaying, and she has since been adopted by a family on the island.

One of my favorite things to do on Poipu Beach and favorite memories is to run in the morning. When Alle was small she would eat her breakfast while I would run back and forth on the beach. Here are the views looking one direction



and the other along my morning run.

And the view outside our condo to the beach.

After a week on Kauai, we flew to the Big Island to see Volcanos. We flew into Hilo and drove to Volcano to stay and be close to the National Park. We stayed for two nights at Volcano Acres Ranch, a lovely bed and breakfast with a separate cottage instead of rooms.  

Our first morning, after a great breakfast, we made our way to the Volcanoes National Park to hike and see the park. We spent half a day  hiking the 4.0 mile hike of Kilauea Iki- along the rim of the rain forest,


down into the crater and across the desolate land of black volcanic rock,



Here's one of the boys crossing the volcanic rock crater.



and back up through the rain forest of the other side.



Crossing the road, we then entered the lava tube.



The key for us was to do the hike counter clockwise. This direction meant that we did not climb so much and did not tire out the kids. It is such incredible landscape.

After our hike, we ate lunch and drove to the end of the road. We took the long drive from the Kilauea Iki Hike down to sea. It is fascinating to see the recent lava flows and how the island is still expanding.



At the ocean, there are cliffs of lava and a natural arch.



We did not see any molten lava, but the walk is beautiful in its own way. We walked at the end of the day and no one else was there. As we walked we could hear a lovely rattling sound. Lining the road there was a plant with pods, which made a pretty sound in the wind. That, along with the waving grass, gives the area its own calming, desolate peacefulness. There is nothing there and nothing to really see. It is just empty calmness and wind.

Our last day in Volcano, we planned to spend the morning back at the park and then make our way to Kona to fly home at night. We started our day watching the interesting video of the formation of the islands at Visitors Center.

Just past the Visitors’ Center is the Art Center. It is housed in an old lodge, so it is a series of smaller rooms, filled to the brim with lovely local art. We brought home a woodblock print from a local artist we had seen displayed in one of the Volcano restaurants an evening before. The day we were there, they were having centennial celebrations for the park and our kids learned how to braid flowers into a traditional lei, which was festive and fun.

We drove from Volcano to the Kona area, and one stop along the way on Highway 11 is the Black Sand Beach. The turtles often come up on the sand here and so you can view them from about 20 feet away. It is a wonderful treat to see these beautiful turtles in their natural habitat.



The black sand beach is a treat as well, its color coming from the continual breaking down of lava rock. It is very warm, which is nice on a cool day.

As we drove from Volcano to Kona, seemingly in the middle of nowhere on Highway 11, we arrived at a tiny town which had Punalu’u Bakery for lunch. It is large and offers homemade sandwiches and ice cream. Other than that, it was fun to find a place for lunch along a lonely stretch of road.

We had time to stop at one of the ancient native Hawaiin sites





and for a last fresh seafood dinner before getting to the lovely, open Kona Airport for our overnight flight back to LAX.

We flew to LAX and arrived at 5 am and had breakfast, which seemed strange because of the change to another time zone. From LAX, we flew to Minneapolis and walked into the parking lot to find our car, only to remember what Minneapolis feels like in March. We made our way south to Iowa, stopping for “dinner” which felt like brunch to us on the way home.   It took us at least a week of difficult sleeping patterns to feel back in the swing of waking up five hours earlier again, but it took us much longer to adjust to the weather. We all missed the sea, cooing birds and warmth of Kauai.

Looking back, the holiday was full of wonderful places, warm weather, and traditions that we love.