Oregon Living 2025 – Blog #41 – A Trip With a Surprise Birthday!

      

 

Sunday, October 19^th., 2025…… A rainy morning. We are supposed to get 4-5 days of clear weather but we’ll see. Today was a kick back Sunday. Tv for both of us and me working on this blog. I can post  We leave on Saturday for New Hampshire. I’m not sure if I’ve posted this before but we are going back to celebrate Terisa’s birthday. Cathye’s daughter will turn 50 on December 23^rd. and she wanted to plan a surprise party for her. Trouble is, in December the weather in New England is pretty bad and being so close to Christmas, most all of the venues will be booked. So, they decided to have it early and REALLY surprise her!  She has been incahoots with Daniel, Tate, and Liz to get this planned. I used my membership in the Elks to get her a discount on the local Elks lodge there. Tait has been working on decorations and a food choice. Cat will be calling the place tomorrow to get the order placed. Daniel has created a special Facebook page to secretly invite al of their friends. Michael and Crystal and us are flying in on Saturday for the party on Sunday. We have a rental car and hotel rooms. So, it is coming together!  I am only writing about this now because I’m not sure if Terisa has been following my blog or not. But, by the time I post this one, it will be over! So, haha – Terisa – SURPRISE! We got you!  

Later in the afternoon, we left to go to our beginner’s class. No, we did not go to pizza afterwards! Maybe in another few weeks, but tonight I wasn’t ready for that. Besides, I need to fast because I have labs first thing tomorrow morning.  

Monday, October 20^th., 2025……  HAPPY BIRTHDAY FRANCES!  I was up and out early to go get my labs done. Once that was over, I had to wait an hour or so before America’s Best opened next door. I was there to get my glasses adjusted. The temple arms are a bit short and the arc is not right. I was surprised when this big ole boy just bent them!  He said he’s been doing it for years and if he broke them, they would be covered. I could try but if I broke them they would not be covered. They are better but I won’t know for a bit whether they will work for me. Once I got back, we worked on the house to get it ready for carpet cleaning tomorrow. I want to replace the carpets because they are really stained. Cathye wants to replace the furniture because they are as well. So, we decided to try another professional cleaning. The main guy here in town is not friendly, charges too much and didn’t do a very good job last time. So, she found another one. This one is owner run.  

Tuesday, October 21^st., 2025…… The weather is off and on this time of year. We can get sunny days with crisp mornings, or rainy mornings with warmer air. Today it was dry but overcast and cold when we took the girls out for their walk.  Justin will be in and out here this week working on prepping the yard for winter. He was here today. Once they got going, the carpet guy showed up and got going as well. By that time, I had to leave for the workshop. When I got home everyone was done. The carpet looks great!  He got all of the stains out and said it was high quality and has several more years left in it! The couches and recliners maybe not so much. The microfiber material is worn in a few spots. So, Cat now has new furniture in her radar!   

Wednesday, October 22^nd., 2025…… We are now in travel mode. I got out the two carryons and my backpack and we started putting in what we could. We will only be gone 4 days so we don’t need much. We are packing all black for the surprise 50^th party so that’s easy. Jackets and hats/caps and maybe gloves if we need them. There is no rain in the forecast for the time we are there, but we both will pack light raincoats just in case. But before all of that, we headed off to get our haircuts. More washing clothes and getting things organized. Cat has been in contact with Daniel via texts and she said he is still unsure about how many will come to the party. Meanwhile, Cat has researched the deli’s website and has ordered enough for 30-40 people. Sure hope that works! Tait has ordered the cake and Michael and Crystal are packed and ready to fly out from Missouri as well. All is coming together!      

Thursday, October 23^rd., 2025…… We were up and going early again. After our walk, I fed the dogs and Cat got started on a crockpot stew for dinner tonight. It’s a new recipe which we are taking over to Frank and Maryanne’s.  Today we called the vet for Rylee.  In the last few days, we noticed that she is really slow in getting up and down and limps after getting up. We have noticed this recently and I first thought that she stepped in a mole hole or something and hurt herself. But it could be something else.  After she walks for a while, the limp goes away.  I know that her weight isn’t helping her issues, so I have had her on a diet. We went to the feed store and talked to an animal specialist about what we can give her to help with joint support. She pointed us to glucosamine and chondroitin in dog treat form (@ two per day).  Her appointment isn’t until next week when we return. Pointe Pest Control came today to do the scheduled service for the house.  Today was massages again and I left for that. Later, Cathye showed up for hers.  We had asked Emily to get us back on schedule since we were delayed last month by the Hawaii trip. This will make two massages in a week!  Tough life huh!   Later, we headed over with the crockpot . Frank is now on a knee walker and is doing ok. He’s nowhere near out of pain and still needs to take it easy. But he has been Maryanne’s primary caregiver for many years now and doesn’t know how to ask for help. It will take some time to get used to that.  We played cards for a few hours and then came home for the night.

Friday, October 24^th., 2025…… Nothing on the calendar for today – except for us to get everything ready for our trip. We need to be out of the house and on the road to Portland around 3:30 to make our early flight.  Penny came by to double check on everything she and Cherrelyn will need to do here. Cherrelyn will do Saturday and Sunday and Penny will do Monday and Tuesday. The dogs love both of them so they will be happy. We ate a light dinner and went to bed early. Cart went right to sleep but it was no good for me. I layed awake until at least 12:59am when I checked the time!     

Saturday, October 25^th., 2025…… Yep, fast asleep at 3:00am when the alarm went off. It will be a long day  - but I felt pretty good with just a few hours sleep.  Cathye was doing ok too.  We showered and got everything ready and grabbed our coffees and were on the road at 3:25am and made it to PDX and even had time for breakfast before boarding.  Cathye books the flights and then lets me choose the seats. We had a stop in Chicago and for the first (longest) leg, I chose exit row seats. Very comfortable and we both relaxed and slept for a bit. Next leg was to Hartford Conn. We were meeting Michael and Crystal there with a rental car. We went over to the rental car area, found the National Car Rental desk, and the lady said, “You have Emerald Club status!  Let me show you the cars! Take whichever one you want”  I chose a Dodge Durango SUV with third row seating. We dropped the rear seats and had more than enough room for all of our luggage.  After we got out of the airport, we headed off to eat dinner since their flight from Springfield MO was running 1 ½ hour late. We found an Asian Bistro close by and had dinner. Cat had soup and I chose shrimp hibachi. It would turn out to be the best meal (for me) on the trip!  

We got back to the airport and picked up M&C and were on our way on the 77 mile drive to Walpole, NH.  Since we were running late, Cat contacted the bed and breakfast and they arranged to leave our room keys at the entry table since no one would be there that late. It was almost midnight when we finally got there. Needless to say, we went right to bed! Long day!  

Sunday, October 26^th., 2025……  Today was the big day!  We got dressed and went down to breakfast. There were 11 of us today so they chose to make it a buffet. They had pancakes and waffles and bacon and eggs – all of which came from either the farm directly, or close by. It was delicious!  After we ate, we made plans for the day. We wanted to drive over to the Elks lodge to check out the setup and see what we needed to add. We met up with the staff that Cat talked to. They gave us full access to the room and we left to go get some more decorations. Since it was Sunday, most stores were closed. But we found a Dollar store and got a lot of things. We drove around and then after a bit found the local 50s diner and had lunch. We ran into Tait, who will be joining us later. We went back to the room and set up the decorations we bought. We hung around until it was time to go get the food and then Cathye and I left to do that. She bought several platters of sandwiches, wraps and croissants, plus fruit and veggie trays. Daniel asked folks to bring sides for that. Cat had also hired a bartender to serve us just for that room. So we didn’t have to buy drinks. We got everything there and set up and then we waited. Folks slowly began to arrive around 5:00pm and filtered in. Daniel brought her in around 5:15 or so. Turns out she wasn’t surprised at all!  She told us later that she got suspicious when she saw all of Daniel’s text messages. She either read them or he told her – no admission so we don’t know for sure. But all in all, she enjoyed the party!  I think I counted 20-21 or so there.  We ate, danced, played games and broke a piñata. Felix sure like that!  Here are pics from the day and evening.

After we cleaned up and headed home, we went straight to our rooms and rested for a bit before calling it a night. No tvs here, so I kept checking my phone for the Dodger game scores. I wouldn’t know until early in the morning when I got up to go to the bathroom that the game went 18 innings! But we won!  

Oregon Living 2025 – Blog #40 – A Pretty Routine and Quiet Week

 

 

Sunday, October 12^th., 2025…… Heather and Charley left for home mid-afternoon. We headed off to the class around 5:00pm. Jim and Beverly were no shows. Oh well – I guess they just didn’t have the interest. That’s ok, it’s not for everyone!  Before class was over, Cathye had called in our order to James Gang Pizza and we went there and it was empty! 

Only one person waiting and Rachel in line at the counter. She placed her order and we were at the counter to pay for our order and to add a beer to it and go wait for it come out. Trouble was they didn’t have it!  Guess when they took our call, they only got Frank and Maryanne’s order. So, we waited, and waited. I drank my beer and others who came in and ordered after us got their pizzas!  Even the same one as we ordered came out – only it wasn’t for us!  Well, I got mad and went up and demanded my money back and we left. Not my finest moment and I’m sad they couldn’t get our order right but I felt I had to do that. Sorry to all in the place for my outburst and language!  We went home and ate cheese and crackers and cereal while we watched tv.   

Monday, October 13^th., 2025……  Pointe Pest Control was supposed to come today but had an emergency and will reschedule. Today was clean house day. This time it was deeper than normal. Besides all of the dusting and vacuuming, this time I moved out all of the rugs and did a hot mop on the hardwood floors. But it went well and we were done for the day.  We made a list for tomorrow when we plan to go to Costco. Penny had brought over a recall on the Oster Toaster Oven she had bought us several years ago. Something to do with the doors closing suddenly! Ours works well but we want to think about either keeping ours or returning it and buying something else. So, today we went to Walmart for normal shopping but stopped in to see what they had. Ours is not an air fryer and we found one that we like so maybe we will box ours up and return it to Costco.    

Tuesday, October 14^th., 2025…… Oops, can’t go to Costco today. A few weeks ago Cathye contacted a family from her church that picks up scrap metal to help supplement their low income. And she volunteered our old metal for them to come get. They said they will be here later this morning. Then I have our workshop in the afternoon. The guys got here and took a few things. They had a trailer so they couldn’t tow the old boat trailer we have. They will come back later for that. Later, Cathye headed off to meet up with Judy for lunch and I went on to our workshop.  Turns out we didn’t have enough for a square so Charlotte called it and we all went home. Cat brought me leftovers so I ate that while watching game 2 for the Dodgers. We won again!  Now it’s back home and hopefully they can lock it out there and head to the World Series again!

Wednesday, October 15^th., 2025…… We have massages later today, so we were up and going with the dogs and hot them walked and fed before leaving to go to Albany. We hit Kohls first because we both have gift cards from our birthdays. Didn’t find too much this time. We are now looking at toaster oven/air fryers before we turn ours in at Costco. So, we checked out what Kohls has. We found one that Cat likes so we will see if Costco has it. Nope!  So, we will need to figure out what we want to do.

Thursday, October 16^th., 2025…… We were up and going early this morning. The weather is pretty nippy, especially when it’s overcast. Low temps in the high 30s this morning. Brrr!. Justin will be coming over today. Cathye has a plan for him to work here for a few days to get everything trimmed up and ready for winter. He always does a great job. We headed off to Wilco to get some plastic sheeting for the weed control in the blueberry cage. They only had had clear but it turns out that won’t work because it lets light in for weed growth!  Later in the evening, I received a text that my glasses are ready for pickup. I will have to plan for that. Later, I watched game three of the Dodgers/Brewers series. Another win!  One more to go!

Friday, October 17^th., 2025…… I have it in my schedule today to go over to Albany to pick up my glasses and then head from there to go pick up my sister form Eugene airport. No issues with the glasses. They work well but I will have to get used to wearing them full time. I made it to the airport a little late because I went the back road and stopped to get gas. But no worries. She’s back home now. Justin was here again and finished up. Well, not quite.  Cathye made a list and he will be back next week.  He did take Rylee’s pool, which Cathye sold to him. We decided it was time to let it go. It’s just too high for Rylee to jump in and out of. Rylee just doesn’t need all of the stress and strain of jumping in and out of it which she loves to do. She limps around for the next few days after this. I helped Justin load it on his truck and then came in for the day. Later, I watched the Dodgers win the NLCS. On to the World Series!  I am rooting for the Mariners to beat Toronto. That will be a great (West Coast) series.   

Saturday, October 18^th., 2025…… Nothing on the agenda until our Club dance later tonight. We hung around the house most of the day. Cathye decided to make a pumpkin roll for the dance and she started that. I helped and we had it ready in no time! We got a text message from Frank today asking for a referral for my doctor. He hasn’t been in forever and doesn’t even have one now. I sent him my info for Sally. Turns out there was more to this story that we found out when we got to the dance. They weren’t there but we learned that Frank broke his ankle this morning!  He will be on crutches for 2 months. Maryanne doesn’t drive so we all will talk about how to provide some help for them. More to follow…

We got home after the dance and watched a little tv before calling it a night.   

Oregon Living 2025 – Blog #39 – Medical Week for Me and Family Visits!

 

 

Sunday, October 5^th., 2025……  The weather is definitely turning for the season. There is now a little nip in the air and the nights are rather chilly. Just class for us tonight. So, we went to meet up with Jim and Beverly. We partnered them up with Club angels and we started. The problem was twofold. They would be playing catchup with the class plus tonight our regular caller isn’t here. Naomi is a caller trying to learn to teach and this was her first class. She is hard to understand and she put us in a circle and we did calls that made us switch partners, so that didn’t help. She also jumped into the five new calls that Shaun had given her to teach. That didn’t help!  So, the night was rough – for all of us!  We spoke with Jim and Beverly before they left and convinced them to give it another try next week when Shaun will be back. We skipped pizza and came home to relax and watched tv until bedtime.   

Monday, October 6^th., 2025…… I thought I was going to be taking our friend Grace to the airport this morning but she had a ride. So, I was able to make it to my optometrist appointment with no problems. After explaining my situation last week, they wanted to retest my prescription. Turns out this one was different!  So, we will try this again. The new glasses will be in in a few weeks.  

Tuesday, October 7^th., 2025…… Today was a 10:20am zoom call from my doctor’s nutritionist. It went well. Sally popped on the line and asked if she was needed for anything. Nope, but I did have her take a refill for a prescription and then we continued on the call. Once that was done, the only thing I had to do was the workshop.  Cathye was out with the Truckster. She wants to pull the plants out from the raised bed for the winter and was working on that when I left. When I got to the class, we found we were one person short. So, I tried calling Cathye who was done working and came down to help us fill our square. Thanks hon! When we got back home, we continued working outside and got a few areas cleaned up. We think the rains are going to hold up this week so we are planning on mowing tomorrow.    

Wednesday, October 8^th., 2025…… No rain but the clouds are out and it’s not helping dry the dew on the grass. We’ll wait until 1:00 or so to mow. I had to leave for my dental consult in Corvallis anyway. I have problems with my upper left rear molar. It’s been giving me trouble for some time now. This is the one I had a root canal done on over 35 years ago. I think the tooth has come loose a bit and the endodontist today took scans and confirmed the bone loss and the loose tooth and the slight infection. The plan now will be to remove it. I will do that through my regular dentist and that will have to be scheduled in the near future. So we wait some more! I got back around 12:30 and went out and topped off all the mowers with gas. Penny came over and we got started.  I had mine going well until I went out to mow under the grapevines. I picked up a piece of rope that was on the ground where Skylar left it when he cut back the vines a few weeks ago. I stopped the mower and looked under it. I found the rope and spent some time getting it cut loose. But – I also found some blueberry cage netting that had been in there for some time. I decided to take it to the shop and put it up on blocks so I could reach everything. That took forever to clean out and I still didn’t get it all. We will soon need to take all of the mowers in to the shop for service and sharpening anyway and they will get the rest then. So, while I was working, Penny and Cathye finished up my side of the yard.  We cleaned up and were done for the day.    

Thursday, October 9^th., 2025…… Today is the one day with no appointments! We slept in and then walked and fed the dogs. We left for the gym and then went to Kristi’s for breakfast. No errands to run so we were in for the day.  

Friday, October 10^th., 2025…… Cathye has the kids coming down today. But I have another virtual with my doctor at 1:10pm. The kids got here and I hung around my room waiting for the call. I think this one is for a follow-up from my mri. Well that hasn’t happened yet so I got no call. Ok by me! The kids stayed and ate lunch with us and we visited and played with the littles. Boy, they are growing fast. It was fun but they were here for 4-5 hours and I was beat when they finally left. 

But oh yeah, Cathye got a call that her niece Heather, and Charley were coming down from Seattle and wanted to spend the weekend and visit with her dad, who had gall bladder surgery. She said they didn’t want to stay there and could they stay with us? Sure. So, they finished out the evening with us. Turns out her dad was feeling well enough to go on his already scheduled cruise and had already left for that!  But they would go over tomorrow and visit with Justin anyway and so would be staying here until Sunday.    

Saturday, October 11^th., 2025…… The girls went out to breakfast at Kristi's this morning, then went shopping around Main St.  Today, Penny was heading to the airport for a trip with her girlfriends. They will meet up in Las Vegas and then she will go back to SoCal for the rest of the week. I went over and picked her up and we headed down to the airport in Eugene. When I got back, we had the afternoon off because Heather and Charley were in Sweet Home for the day. Later, we left to go to a dance in Corvallis. We picked up Cheryl from the senior center parking lot and she went over with us.  It was a fun night and we had a good time. Dropped Cheryl off and we were home and in bed by 11:00pm.  Charley stayed there and Heather came home and had the guest bed to herself tonight!   

Oregon Living 2025 – Blog #38 – Hawaii - Part 2

 

Sunday, September 28^th., 2025…… Last day for Jim and Mary…. They have a redeye flight home later this evening. So, we decided to walk over to the next block to go to the Honolulu Zoo. As you can see on my schedule map above, our hotel is the last one in line on Waikiki and Kuhio Beach. The area has a huge green space and then farther east is Diamond Head. The zoo is right there. We looked up online and got the hours and were there when it opened at 10:00am. It is not the largest or best zoo we have been to, but it was very nice. Not crowded either. We made our way past the birds and then to the primates and reptiles and finally to the African Savanna area.  As I said, not he biggest, but the exhibits were pretty impressive. My favorites were the Sumatran tigers, the hippo, and the elephants.

 

We were back at the hotel in a few hours. We hung around the pool and had fries and drinks and rested until it was time to go clean up and go eat. This time we chose Oahu Mexican Grill. Not the best service and the food was just ok. Cat and I, for the most part, have shared meals while on this trip and that has worked out. I know I have gained a few pounds because of all of the beer and mai tais, and blue Hawaiians, etc…!  But she’s done well on the trip and feels good.  Back to the room and rest for the evening. Our flight our tomorrow is at 2:00pm so we will have time in the morning to eat breakfast and then pack. 

Monday, September 29^th., 2025…… We met up with Jim and Mary at the breakfast buffet. They had to check out in a few minutes and stored their luggage in our room for the day. So we decided to go back down and change and go back to the beach and then the pool for the rest of the afternoon. They wanted to leave for the airport around 5:00 or 6:00 to make sure they had seats. As I said, Alaska and Hawaiian A/L are merged and they have a layover without assigned seats until check-in. We played cards in our room until it was time for them to call for their Uber.  I went down to make sure they got their ride ok and said goodbye. It was fun traveling and enjoying our time in Hawaii with them! Later, Cat and I went to Cheeseburgers In Paradise and had our last meal there. Cat chose the mango smoothie and said later it was her favorite drink on the trip!  Later, back in our room, Cat decided that since we shared a meal at CIP, she wanted yogurt or ice cream or something, so she walked downstairs to the Sunrise Smoothie Shack on the corner. She brought us back bowls. 

Mine had peanut butter mixed in. I don’t know what she ordered but later she paid for it! Yep – first sick day in Hawaii!  But she felt better soon and we went to bed and we both had a good night’s sleep.     

Tuesday, September 30^th., 2025…… We were up early and showered and started packing. We stopped to go up to the rooftop for one last breakfast buffet before coming back down and finishing up our luggage. We would check two bags this time so we could distribute the load into my flight bag. I only needed to carry a backpack on the return trip. We caught the Uber and headed off to the airport. As I said, two checked bags and it was an easy time getting on the plane. I got us exit row seats on this one too so we both had plenty of legroom. And our seats even reclined! The flight was good and on landing we got a chance to talk a little with our flight attendant who was in the jump seat right in front of us for landing. She is 7 months pregnant and will have to take leave soon! Once we landed we got our bags and walked right out to the shuttle to our truck and then made the 1 ½ hr. drive home with no problems. We got home at 12:37am. But we were still three hours ahead on Hawaiian time! But still it was a long day and after visiting the pups for a while, we went straight to bed!  

Wednesday, October 1^st., 2025…… Nothing on the agenda today - Thank God!  We slept in and then walked and fed the dogs. We had dropped our luggage on the bed in the guest room last night and so we both went in and started unpacking. Cat got laundry going and I stowed the bags. Once we finished up that task, we were done for the day!  We both sat around and rested and each of us caught up on our taped shows. Easy day!   

Thursday, October 2^nd., 2025…… Today we had an appointment to take the girls in to the groomer. But, since it was Thursday, we walked and fed them and went off to the gym and then to breakfast first. We drove them to the groomers and then came home to rest. Penny came by to touch base and see how we were doing. We gave her new sandals and visited for a while until it was time to go get the girls. The groomer said that Rylee was as good as always - she loves going there and getting her spa day! But Jama wasn’t having any of it! She didn’t like being away from us so soon!  But, she settled down when we picked her up and we all enjoyed the rest of the afternoon hanging around the house.  

Friday, October 3^rd., 2025…… Not much going on today. We slept in again and then took the dogs out.  Later, we would get a call from Cheryl today asking for some help. She has two friends who she has convinced to take square dance lessons. But the class has officially closed. She thought if we could get a square together, we could walk them through all the calls that were previously taught and they would be ok at the next class. We said they should all come here since we had enough room in our living room for a square. So, Jim and Beverly came over and we had Lynn and Frank and Cheryl and Mike for the teach. We taught them how to square up and I went over some of the calls that are basic to square dance. They were of course, overwhelmed at first, but it was all we could do and we think they will be ok at class on Sunday. Stay tuned for more on this…   

Saturday, October 4^th., 2025…… Today we had a few things on the agenda. Cat has to go to a celebration of life for one of her ex coworkers. I have an in-home appointment for a wellness check. I agreed to it because I get a $100.00 gift card for the insurance company for doing this. But first up was a trip to Albany to pick up my new glasses. When we got back from our trip, I had called since I hadn't gotten any notification that they were ready. It had been 7 weeks!  Long story short – they had them in the drawer but no one called me! So, I headed over early today to get them and get back in time for the other appointment. When I got there, she apologized for the mix-up and I had my glasses. They had changed my distance vision and had put in progressive lenses as well this time. The close up vision was spot on!  The problem was with the distance. Looking outside the office, I could see better without the glasses!  So, they decided that I would need to be re-tested and we would set that up for next Monday. Oh well!  I made it home before Cat left and Adam showed up and we got started. Cat left and he only took another few minutes and noted that I was doing well and he was satisfied and gone shortly after that. Later, we dressed and went off to our Club dance. Our regular caller was on vacation and It was fun to dance to another caller. Ok, Cathye didn’t like it so much! But we stayed until the end and helped clean up and then came home for the evening.  

 

Oregon Living 2025 – Blog #37 –  Hawaii - Part 1     

Note - this post and #36 were done close together, so be sure to read 36 first... 

 

Sunday, September 21^st., 2025…… Busy day today. We leave tomorrow for Hawaii!  But we still have a lot of things to do. We are for the most part, all packed but we do have last minute things to put in there. We decided to just take one large check in bag and two carry-ons. We did the last of the laundry and got the packing finished. Later, we headed off to our beginner’s class and after that, it was off to bed. We would be getting up at 4:00 tomorrow morning!    

Monday, September 22^nd., 2025…… Yep, it was an early awakening for us! But, I was already awake and shut the alarm off. We showered and dressed and were on the road at 4:30. The drive was ok and we got there in time to park the truck in the long-term-lot and shuttled in to the Hawaiian Airlines check in desk. We got the bag checked (free) and headed off to grab a quick breakfast and then head to the gate. The flight was really nice. Cat always gets us good flights (usually no layovers) and then turns seat assignments to me!  For this 5-hour trip, I chose something I haven’t seen before – they have a second exit door (over the wing) and it has two seats and then three seats. I chose 34e and f

If you look close at the map, you can see that gave me tons of space to stretch out!  It was great!  The flight got in and we called an uber to take us to The Twin Fins Hotel. This hotel is next door to the Marriott where we stayed last time, so we knew the area. We got in super early (11:00am) so we didn’t have a room yet. So, we stowed our luggage with the valet/bag desk, and headed out for a bit. Cat wanted a mani/pedi and we found a place right across the street. I joined her and we had a nice time there and both got treated nicely. We got the works and while we were out several hundred dollars, we had a great time! 

We then went back and checked in.  Our room was 1901 and we had a nice king bed and a view of the ocean.

The corridor/aisle to our room from the elevator went outside so we also had a nice view of Diamond Head to the east.

We went down the street to Cheeseburgers in Paradise for dinner and drinks, then after that went to the pool and got settled in on lounge chairs. 

Cat’s sister Mary and husband Jim were coming in on a later flight (from Tucson via Seattle) and would get to the hotel around 8:00pm. So, we decided to take advantage of a rooftop stargazing tour!  The guy was an astrologist and brought up a super huge telescope. First thing up for us to see was a bright light in the NW sky. He asked if someone could identify it. I went first and saw the ring around Saturn!  He also showed us scorpion constellation. One of the ladies in our group took a pic through her phone and dropped it to Cat's phone.

After a while, we came back down to our room. Jim and Mary got there soon after and we had a quick visit and we went to bed after a long day!    

Tuesday, September 23^rd., 2025…… We met up with J and M upstairs at the breakfast buffet on the rooftop area where we were last night. The buffet was different. They had tables out with fruits and pastries and coffee and juice like a normal buffet, but when you checked in with your room no., they gave you a card that you took to the counter where they always had three specialty items to choose from. Plus you could always choose bacon and eggs and toast if you wanted. Cathye chose the acai breakfast bowl and I got the kalua pork eggs benedict from today’s choices. It was pretty good and the view from the balcony was spectacular!

We talked about our week here. Since this was Jim’s first trip to the islands, Mary made most of the activity arrangements. She and Jim would be going to Pearl Harbor today. We have been so we passed and would join them for a luau on Wednesday and snorkeling on Friday. That left Thursday and Saturday open, so we went down to the concierge to see what we wanted to do.  After we were done, I had to make notes to keep our days and tour straight!

We chose to add a zipline tour as well as a tour of the Dole Plantation and Haleiwa. Those tickets were paid for and we received them immediately from the desk. Since Mary booked all of the tours for both of us through a travel agent friend, we were told we needed to find a Pleasant Holidays desk to convert our printed vouchers to actual tickets. Our concierge told us Pleasant Holiday Tours used to be the biggest on the islands but has greatly downsized since covid. He didn’t even know where to find a location now. We asked and finally found one in the Sheraton Princess, about ¾ of a mile away from our hotel!  When we were done with that, it was time for them to board the bus for Pearl Harbor. We decided to walk the ¾ of a mile to the hotel to get our tickets taken care of.  It was a long hike up and back but we got our tickets!  They would not accept Jim and Mary’s confirmation numbers so they would have to go there as well when they got back. Once we were rested, we changed and went down to the pool to swim and relax. I must say – this was one of the nicest pools and bars around!  The water was great and it was shaded for most of the morning. We moved around from the shade lounges to the ones in the sun. We ate lunch down there and relaxed for the rest of the afternoon when they got back from their tour and joined us. Later, we went down to the Tiki Lounge for dinner. We heard about their tour. They said they didn't get to get off the tender onto the Arizona Memorial but only cruised around it. They were disappointed!  BUT - I found out later that on that particular day, they had a crew of divers who were interring the last survivor from the Arizona into the memorial to be with his fellow shipmates. After that, I wouldn't be disappointed because that was a one in a lifetime event!      

Wednesday, September 24^th., 2025…… Our luau was not until 5:00pm so we had the day to ourselves. We chose to go hit the beach. We found a nice spot in the sand with some shade for the palm trees, and settled in for a few hours. The water was great and we relaxed on the beach as well. Later, we moved straight across the street to our hotel pool and spent the rest of the afternoon there. 

Later, we went up and showered and changed for our evening out. The bus would pick us up at 3:45pm for the drive to Paradise Cove for the luau. We didn’t know where this was and it turned out that it would be quite a drive (through rush hour) on H1 all the way to the west end of the island and went by slowly. But we got there before the evening festivities started. Our bus group was given our own table and we were free to roam the facilities before the dinner was served and the show started. We chose to have a group pic with the birds. We each got one for the photo and they printed out a copy right there.

 Then we went on a canoe ride in the lagoon.....

 

That was cool since we’ve never been. Then, we found the bar and ordered our ‘Blue Hawaii’s’ 

and went through the buffet. We had Kalua pig (that was cooked in a pit that afternoon), beer battered island fish, lomi lomi salmon, several salads, sweet potatoes, taro rolls (purple and delicious!), rice, pineapple, and various desserts. The shows were very well done and depicted tribal dance and music from several Polynesian neighbors. Our bus got us back home around 10:00pm and we went right to bed after a long day!  Here are pics from the evening.....

Thursday, September 25^th., 2025…… After breakfast, we gathered our stuff and went down to meet up in the lobby. I got us and Uber ride from our hotel to the pickup point at Ross store in downtown Honolulu. We made the 1 hour drive to our destination for the day. We are at CLIMB Works Keanu Farms Zipline Tour on the North Shore. Cathye and I went to the other zipline on the island (Coral Crater) last time we were here but we heard this one was better and it was available this time. Spoiler alert ! - we would not be disappointed!  Our bus tour had 10 of us (2 single ladies and the rest couples) and we all got instructions and got harnessed up. The weather said rain in the area and there were dark clouds over the mountain peaks. We brought raincoats but decided they would be in the way and left them in the lockers. Bad choice – more later!  The course  included 8 ziplines, 2 walking bridges, and 2 rappels. We started off on a test line to see who needed any extra help. Turns out all of us have been before and we were comfortable with everything. We got into one of three side-by-sides and headed up the steep mountain roads. All of the lines were doubles and you went down together. Our first line was short and sweet and everyone got the hang of it. No self-braking and they did the hookups for you. Just relaxing and go!  The lines got longer and faster and by the end, we were on one that was over 2500 ft. long!  That’s almost a ½ a mile. So far you almost couldn’t see the other end!  On the route, they provided you with water and snacks – cherry tomatoes and apple bananas. These are my new favorite. About half the size of a normal banana, they really do taste like apples!  As we made our way through the course, it started to rain. Easy at first but we had bursts of rain that got us all soaked. Remember – our raincoats were back in the locker! The last couple they encouraged you to do tricks. You could go normal (using the trolley handle), go ‘no hands’, or you could ‘invert’, your choice. Cathye played it safe. Not me! We hit the last one in the full rain and it was kind of stingy on your face as you sped down the cable! But all said, looking back, I found this was my favorite activity of the trip!  Here are pics from the day….

 

When we got back to Ross, J & M walked back but we Ubered it home. We got changed and went down to the pool for swimming and lunch. Later, we went back to CIP for dinner. First time for Jim and Mary. We stopped at the ABC store and bought two decks of playing cards. Back to the hotel and to the Tiki Bar for drinks and a teach of Swoosh for J & M. They picked it up quickly and we would play several more times as the week progressed.        

Friday, September 26^th., 2025…… Today was snorkel day!  We dressed in our swim gear and hit the buffet and then went down to call an Uber to take us to the port at the Hilton Hawaiian hotel for our snorkel adventure. This trip included a lunch and drinks and a 40 minute snorkel at Turtle Canyon. This place is known for the local green sea turtles and the snorkeling boats surround the area each day. Our captain gave us a safety briefing and got us suited up. And we were off!  Ok, not me! I have claustrophobia and over the years I have issues with breathing through the snorkel tube with my face in the water. The others ventured over to the canyon and saw and interacted with the turtles while I hung out closer to the boat. There were still tons of fish for us (there were others there too) to see, so it was still enjoyable. After everyone was back on board, they broke out the sandwich wraps and chips and drinks (Cat chose a non-alcohol smoothie and the rest of us chose the excellent mai tais! Here are pics from the snorkeling day...

When we got back we Ubered back to the hotel and rested for a bit. Tonight, we chose to dress up and go over to the Royal Hawaiian Hotel for dinner. We went when we were here before and Cathye loved it enough to try to find it again!  We Ubered there and went looking. 

We didn’t find the exact restaurant but found The Mai Tai Bar at the hotel. This one is right on the beach. We were hoping to be able to see the fireworks at 7:30 but we were told that from around here you would need to out on the jetty to see anything. Oh well!  We were seated right on the edge in the bar. The problem was it was very loud! Our server wasn’t the best and we didn’t care for the food. So, this will be on our ‘do not return’ list for the future!  

We walked from there to The Cheesecake Factory and got a couple of pieces to take back to our rooms. We walked back on the beach and got some photos in on the way. One of these was of a site for a marriage proposal. We missed the people but got the lights and the decor…

 

Once we got back, we were in for the night!  Everyone was tired from the swimming and the walk!      

Saturday, September 27^th., 2025…… Last tour of the trip. Today, we had booked a bus tour to The Dole Plantation and also to the island town of Haleiwa. Lucky for us, the pickup point was at the Marriott, just across the street from our hotel. Our driver was early and was waiting for us and actually called Mary to see if we could make it there quickly. We were just down the street walking there so we made it and got going a bit early. The driver wanted to do the ‘city tour’ part of the tour on the way out but there was a local parade going on down the main street in Waikiki. He would have to improvise and drove slowly out to Dole, which was maybe 40 minutes away. Problem was he would be early. So, he drove reaaallly slooww! We got to the Dole Pineapple plantation right when they opened and got on the first train tour. The little train takes folks around the fields and shows all of the crops - including pineapples – grown on the property. After that, we were given time to walk around the place. We hit the store and bought a few things. On the way out, we chose the corn on the cob from the local food truck just off the parking lot. It was really tasty!  

Next stop was about 10 minutes away. Our driver dropped us off in a tour stop in Haleiwa. We would be here for 90 minutes or so. We went off and found Jorge’s just in the parking lot. We ordered chicken tacos and drinks. Jim ordered shrimp appetizers and we all sampled those. They would end up being mine and Cat’s favorite dish of the trip! We walked around some more and then went back to the bus to rest and wait for the others. Our driver made his way back to the city and gave us the tour. We saw the govt. offices and the queen’s royal Iolani Palace, and other places of interest. We saw some of the areas where Hawaii 50 was filmed (both old and new series) and also the port where the USS Minnow left for “A Three Hour Tour”. 

Once we got back, we walked down to Lulu’s for another meal. We went back to our room and played cards until bedtime.