Special Days in Macomb Michigan

I don't know of anything that is more fun than being a grandmother. On Feb 11th I flew out to Detroit to visit Jeff and Sarah and their family. The first night I was there we went to Emma's school program. They really did a fantastic job and it was great to be there and see it. It made me a little homesick for the kids I use to teach.




It has been a long time between blogs because of photo/computer problems but I think I have it all resolved for the moment. "Senior moments" come way too often these days and what is straight and clear one day is nonexistent the next. :) So I am going to hurry and post while I have it. On the 12th I was able to witness the sealing of Maya and Tristan to Jeff and Sarah in the Detroit Temple. They are now an eternal family of seven. Emma, Isabelle and Alex were able to go in and witness the sealing also. They were all dressed in white. It was so very beautiful.




This was the hair station. Every hair was in its place. ;)


Tristan's turn!

Then on the 14th Emma was baptized. It's hard to believe that she could be eight years old already and what a wonderful young lady she is. I adore that kid! She played a piano solo for the program. It was her first time playing for an audience and she did it without a mistake.


It was especially nice to get to visit with Jeff's parents as well. They were back there for these special events as well. Good people and lots of fun.

A little more Kona and on around to Hilo

The temple in Kona Hawaii. It is so pristine and beautiful. It was closed the day we were there. It is only open a few days a week. I was so amazed at all the unusual flowers we saw on the temple grounds and else where. I wish I knew the names of each of them but I don't. Just enjoy.


One of the most memorable places we visited was Hilton Waikoloa Village Resort. It is hundreds of acres, all immaculately groomed and breath taking. Included are many swimming pools, a dolphin pen where you could sign up to play with dolphins, hundreds of pieces of art from all over the world, spectacular viewing areas of the coast and ocean. Because it is so huge they have a tram that runs on rails and a canal with boats to take you around - all free of any charge even if you are not a registered guest.


Black Sand Beach and sea turtles - we saw the turtles but they did not come up on the beach despite all my prayers.



Our Bed and Breakfast in Hilo had a 120 foot fall in the backyard. It was spectacular and we could enjoy it from the balcony.



It was also surrounded with thousands of acres of macadamia orchards.

There is a beautiful four mile scenic drive north of Hilo. As we drove it I kept thinking this can't be real it is way to awesome. The trees and vines went on and up forever, flowers were everywhere. In the middle of the four miles is a Botanical Gardens. We spent almost three hours in the gardens ohhing and ahhhing :) Unfortunately the pictures don't come close to capturing the beauty of the place.







On the last day we took a ride on a helicopter in order to get a good look at the Volcanoes and the lava flow fields. They talked us into doing it with the doors offs so it was a bit scary for Marvin who was sitting with one cheek on the seat and the rest of him over the skids.



This is the steam that comes out as the hot lava flows into the ocean.

We didn't see many surfer's but on the last day we saw these three making us feel like we really were in Hawaii. :-)



Well that is it for Hawaii. Next week I am off to Detroit. Life is oh so good.

Beauty and the Beast on the Kona side of Hawaii

While we were on the main island (Hawaii) we stayed in two Bed and Breakfasts. The first one was on the Kona side close to Captain Cook. It was beautiful and especially comfortable.


Total relaxation. "However they make me take off my shoes."
As you can see the yard was huge, fantastic and very Hawaiian.

We visited a National Historical Park called Pu'uhonua Honaunau, seriously that's it! Anciently it was the home of the Royal Chiefs in the Kona District. No palace just several thatched buildings within a coconut grove on the beach. It was only to be used by royalty and staff. A common person could not look at or get close to the chief, touch his possessions or even let his shadow fall on the royal grounds. There are a couple of wooden images in the water that warn people that this is royal beach. The penalty for such contact was death.

The kinder side of the story had to do with the other half of the park. In English it is called The Place of Refuge. A massive stone wall that was built in the 1500s divides the Refuge from the Royal Grounds.

The "kapu" was a long list of restrictions and the penalty for breaking one of them was always death. If you were a person that had broken one of the rules of social behavior (the Kapu), which in addition to the no contact with the royals included things like women could not eat with men. They also couldn't prepare the food for men, how about that? The Refuge was a sanctuary that gave people a second chance. No blood could be shed within its confines. People who had broken a "Kapu," or other law if they could get to this place of refuge the priest would perform a ceremony of absolution and the offender could return home safely.



Well that is enough for today.

Escape from snow - Hawaii

Santa Claus brought a trip to Hawaii for Marvin and I for Christmas. Such a smart man!!!

We spent three days on Oahu saw the Sea Life Park (It is much like Sea World in California),


went to the Polynesian Center where we attended an authentic Luau (pig in the pit and all)


and took an excursion out on the ocean to do some snorkeling and to see whales and dolphins. We did see several whales and a large group of Spinner Dolphins that performed for us like they had been trained to dance. The snorkeling was the very best.



Beautiful sunset off the western coast of Hawaii - the Big Island our next stop.

Response to tagging from my daughter ;)

For years I have enjoyed reading about English history. That is one of the things that made the trip to England so enjoyable. Recently I have found a new book by Philippa Gregory called The Other Queen. It is the author's idea of what happened to Mary Queen of Scots. The author has a very extensive bibliography at the end and seems to have done some good research but it is admittedly fiction when history failed to share the needed information.

Page 56 "We are all growing afraid of Cecil's knowledge, of Cecil's network of intelligencers, of Cecil's growing silent power.
"This is between the two of us, I say quietly. I glance around to see that no one is in earshot. It is amazing to me that I, England's greatest earl, and Howard, England's only duke, should fear eavesdroppers. But so it is. This is what England has become in this tenth year of Elizabeth's reign: a place where a man is afraid of his own shadow. And in these last ten years, my England seems to have filled with shadows."

Does it sound very different from today?

Final two days in Cairo

This morning we flew from Luxor to Cairo. They chartered a plane for us so there was a lot less waiting around airports.
This was the first time we saw one of the pyramids. As you can see they are close in to the city. Not out in the desert as I've always imagined. They do have some desert on the other side.
My sweetheart holding the pyramid up. Below the three Pyramids of Giza plus one of the smaller ones. Cairo is just a short distance behind us as we take this picture.

The Pyramids of Giza built by the Pharaohs Cheop, Chephren and Mykerinos are almost 5000 years old.

Lou Anna and Glenn Fifield and (below) Lorne and Linda White four friends that made this trip special just by being there with us. They were so much fun and did we ever have to hustle to keep up with them.Notice at the top of the Pyramid in back of us. Originally the pyramid was covered completely with a smooth polished layer of limestone. This layer has been stripped off except for the top part that you can see.
We were told that the St. Peter's in Rome, St Paul's in London, Westminster Abbey and the Cathedrals of Florence and Milan could find room within it, were it not solid.

This picture will help you know how huge these pyramids are. Marv is standing by blocks the same size as the pyramids are made of. How did they move them? About 2.3 million blocks of stone, weighing on average 2.5 tons a piece, were used to erect this gigantic structure. They claim that "the Pyramids are so enormous that their construction would exhaust the skills and resources of today's technology almost to breaking point."


The great Sphinx is 57 meters longs and20 high. Sadly there has been intentional destruction on the face. The nose is gone and there used to be a long beard on it.


We stayed at Intercontinental Citystars Hotel. Top notch in every way.

I took this shot out the back of the hotel - a little piece of down town Cairo.

We spent a couple of interesting hours in the Egyptian Museum where we saw among other things all of the material that was taken out of King Tut's tomb. Outside the museum a group of young Egyptian girls came up and talked to us. They were attending a university and they wanted to try out their English. They wanted to take pictures of us. They wanted to share their snacks with us crackers, gum. Our regret is that we didn't have our cameras (we couldn't take them in the museum) so that we could take a picture of them.

Our final adventure was a boat ride on the Nile. From the boat we saw a lot of Cairo. The modern, the poor and down trodden, and many beautiful mosques. Several of the guides made the boat ride especially fun dancing for us to Egyptian music. Before they were through they had most of us up and joining them.
We also ended by doing some shopping at the Mall behind the hotel. Looked like the malls back home. People in a hurry just like here.

What a life changing thing this whole trip has been. I am so grateful for the entire trip. It will only take me a few weeks to regain my energy :) but the memories will last forever and they will enrich all I see and learn about in the future.