We're here in Hawaii. It's beautiful! Warm, but not hot, clear and sunny. I'm so happy to be here. I plan to really enjoy this visit. It is still dark, and so I decided to get up and write some. My body is still on US central time I guess. We were able to relax yesterday. We went to church at a local church where we found the service quite Hawaiian like. "Alohaaaa". When we returned to our hotel we napped (jet lag you know). We are staying in Honolulu at the Waikiki Beach Marriott Resort. We have a view of the ocean that is awesome. The color of the water is such a beautiful blue. Just looking at it is relaxing.

I guess today we will go be tourists. I want to visit Pearl Harbor! That is a must for both of us. I hope we can find our way around OK. We brought our GPS so that will help I'm sure. Honolulu is a busy place, with some big freeways, and we are just country folk, but it should be fun!

Chocolate!

We're sitting in the San Francisco airport waiting for our flight to HAWAII!!!! Not looking forward to the flight, but can't wait to get to Hawaii

Yesterday was fun. It was kind of cold and cloudy, but since I like that kind of weather, I didn't mind. We went to Ghirardelli Square. We wandered around and went into some of the shops. My favorite part was watching the making of the chocolate. Yum! We were sure to get plenty of samples. After our time there, we went to Golden Gate Park. I used to go there as a young adult and I have lots of good memories of picnics and bike rides in that park. I enjoyed seeing it again, but it wasn't really picnic weather.

At the end of the day we went to the Marina to eat dinner. We found a great place that sits out over the water. As it was getting dark we relaxed and ate our dinner and watched the lights of the boats in the Marina. What a wonderful time.

A day in San Francisco

It's been a great day so far. We set out in our little rental car and went wherever our hearts desired. My husband wanted to go to Fisherman's Warf so we started out there. We wandered around and enjoyed the sights and smells -- well kind of enjoyed the smells. The smell of fish and seafood permeated the place, but it was fun to try out different treats like crab, and smoked fish, etc. We bought a few souvenirs for family back home.

There sure are a lot of strange people here in San Francisco. We saw some of the wildest outfits today. And the hair...Wow! Spikes and color and you name it. The people make this a truly colorful place.

We drove over to catch a ride on a trolley car. Clang, clang! It was bumpy but fun. The hills in this city are amazing. I loved the trolley car. My crazy husband had to ride hanging out of it for awhile, just to see what it was like. I preferred the safety of the seat. It is fun to ride as a tourist, but if I had to ride one everyday I think I would get tired of it, but I'm sure that in their heyday they were a real boost to transportation.

After our trolley ride we drove around, just looking at the sights. Of course we had to drive down Lombard Street, the crookedest street in the world. There are 15 switchbacks and its all paved with red brick. It is fascinating to look at, but I was glad my husband was driving since it made me nervous. I think the houses along it are fascinating too, but I would hate to live on a tourist attraction.

We weren't too hungry at lunchtime, thanks to all our food sampling on Fishermans Warf so we skipped lunch. Later in the afternoon we stopped at a little cookie shop and got some fresh and yummy cookies.

We're back at the hotel resting for awhile. Soon we will head out to a nice restaurant for dinner. We are discussing where we'll go.

Beautiful view of the lights of San Francisco

We finally arrived in San Francisco, picked up our rental car, and headed for the hotel. We were tired so we just relaxed in our hotel room for the evening. Our 6th floor room gives us a great view of the lights of San Francisco. It is beautiful. We opened the curtains wide and enjoyed the view until we went to bed. We ate at the breakfast bar downstairs and now we are getting ready to head out. It is a little cloudy today, with the possibility of rain, but I refuse to let that get in the way of having some fun.

On my way to San Francisco and then Hawaii

I have finally settled on my destination. Hawaii, with a stopover in San Francisco. I'm sitting in that Atlanta Airport right now. My local airport only had a route through Atlanta, so I am actually backtracking some. My husband and I boarded the plane and we were all set for take-off when there was a delay in our departure. We have been sitting here for an hour already and it doesn't look like we are close to leaving yet. Bummer. But I will just sit here and think of the fun I will have on this trip. I grew up in California and used to travel to San Francisco as a teenager with friends. I'm really sad that the looney liberals in the country have kind of taken over that beautiful city. But I am going to go visit and try to ignore them. Then on to Hawaii.

Where next?

I've been home a few days and already my feet are itching to start out on my next trip. I just love to travel. I'm debating where to go next. Am I in the mood for warm sparkling beaches or cool crisp pine smelling mountains? Perhaps I will just do some more wandering down the highways and byways of little known places. I guess I'll think on this a little more and then I'll pack and be off...