Christmas Dogs

Luke & Bella

Bella looks sleepy!

The Price is Right

Our friends invited us to attend the taping of The Price is Right.  We had a really great time in the audience and cheering everyone one.  The most fun was waiting pre-taping and getting to talk with those around us.  The taping was from 1pm - 2pm, but we had to arrive by 8:45am.  There were lots of lines, people & waiting.  That gave us time to meet people from all over the country.  Some flew the red-eye to attend the show, then were flying back home to the east coast for work the next day.  We met a woman from Canada that was on a work assignment and thought it would be fun to attend by herself on her day off.  We spent the most time waiting to enter the set at the last "station" (after questions, pictures, ID verifications, waiver signing, etc.)  A lady from Georgia sat across from us with her new fiance and her brother.  It was their first time in California.  We both had a lot of questions for each other about where they were from.  She was impressed with a fancy dinner at STK, was glad that "Mama" didn't come, and was obsessed about being in Los Angeles.  Months later, my friend saw this same lady on TV!  She was in LA filming a reality show called Hollywood Hillbillies, with her family. 

The producers didn't pick us, but we were on TV a lot.  It pays to wear a bright color...you will stand out! There were a lot of custom made t-shirts, but only 1/2 the contestant that made it to contestant row had "custom" shirts - so it's not a make or break.  The perspective from the audience is so different from watching it on TV for the past 25 years. We really enjoyed our time at the taping and meeting people who were there for the fun!

Trick-r-Treat

Boys in Blue playing in October...we had to show our love!

Time to take the nephews Trick-R-Treating with the family!

Maui Vacation

View from Papa & Tutu's Condo

My grandparents own a penthouse condo with a picturesque view in Lahaina on Maui, Hawaii. As a kid, we were appreciative of the opportunity this afforded us to visit the beautiful island of Maui fairly frequently. This island has also become a special part of my adult life as well, and I have grown even more appreciative of being able to spend time here.  We got engaged in Maui six years ago and spent our honeymoon here the year after that.  Because Maui was part of this happy & memorable time in our life, it makes it even sweeter to visit.   We just recently spent 10 days on the island with my grandparents and had a really nice and relaxing trip.  Although Jerry & I have stayed in my grandparents place before, we have never been on the island at the same time as them, so it was great to be able to spend 10 days with them.   Tutu (grandma) always has fun stories to tell about the island and how it use to be back in the 60's or 70's; when tourism was very low and the island was less developed.  She has the best stories!  We also reminisced on past visits, scouted for turtles from the balcony, played cards, had Papus at sunset and visited with neighbors.  Times like these make me appreciate the culture and opportunities that my grandparents have provided.  They are great!

Scouting Snorkeling

Aside from spending most days snorkeling and sitting on the shore, we also really enjoyed:

~ Dinner as Sensai with Papa & Tutu - We arrived 30 minutes prior to opening to get a table, and waited with 30 other people...we had our fingers crossed that we would get a seat...and we did.  We enjoyed some of the freshest sushi and most beautiful presentation of food.  It was fancy and we loved it!

~ Dinner at the Yacht House with Papa, Tutu & Shirley (Maui neighbor) - the Yacht House has a Thursday Lobster special for members.  Papa had reserved two lobsters for Jerry & I prior to arrival.  We had fun trying to eat every inch of the lobster while sitting directly on the harbor during sunset.  It was a evening of great food and conversation. 

~ Lunch at Star Noodle in Lahaina - Jerry & I really wanted to eat here if we had the chance.  We heard so many great reviews on the food and I was obsessed with going to a restaurant opened by a Top Chef winner, Sheldon Simeon.  This place was so amazingly delicious that I am going to post a separate entry about the food and experience.

Maui Brewing Company OktoberFest

~ Maui Brewing Company OcktoberFEST - This event took place on Jerry's birthday, featured a Hawaiian singer that we really admire (Paula Fuga) and raised money for a good cause...all while beer was served over looking the ocean at sunset.  It was so fitting for Jerry's birthday!  We have celebrated his birthday at Oktoberfest's in the past, but never in Hawaii.  This was a very memorable experience!  Click here to see a video of the events...we appear a few times :)

~ Playing Cards with Papa & Tutu - Time spent playing cards meant time spent talking "story" (slang to chitchat, talking, etc in Hawaiian).  Talking story made me feel closer to my grandparents because I got the chance to know them that much more.  My Papa is so patient and humble.  I just laugh when seeing him stir in thought at my Tutu, but doesn't say a word.  It was awesome to see this couple, my grandparents, married 60+ years, how they interacted was pure love!  Jerry & I really admire their relationship and enjoyed seeing their fun side, flirtatious side and bantering side.  That's what life is all about!

Makena Beach: Breathtaking! Even on a gloomy day.

~ Drive around the northwest side of Maui - This end of the island is not very populated and has a road similar to Hana.  This was a side of the island that we hadn't explored before, and we are sure glad we took the drive.  At one point we were stuck on the one lane road as oncoming traffic was not able to merge or pull over.  It was quite the experience and a beautiful way to see the northwest shore.

~ Makena Beach - our favorite place in the entire world.  Maybe it's the memories, the friends we have made here, or just the simple beauty.  Nothing is between you and nature when here.  When I think of pure bliss I think of this beach and the rawness of Makena.

Maria Lanakila Catholic Church

~ Church - I really enjoy attending Mass while on vacation.  Seeing different Catholic Churches and experiencing a local congregation allows me to give thanks and feel grateful during my trip.  We went to Mari Lanakila Church with my grandparents twice while visiting.  We grew up going to this church and my grandparents are part of the regular congregation.  It was a nice way to stay grounded while traveling and time enjoying time with Papa & Tutu.  

~ Late night chats with a German friend - we met a tourist from Germany that was staying in the complex and really enjoyed the late night chat sessions.  We spent hours talking about life, politics,history, love...you name it!  We love getting perspective from worldly people, especially this brilliant man.  He was great fun to talk to after a day in the sun as we sipped our beverages and contemplated our lives back home in the rat race. 



For my grandparents, they have worked hard to make Maui their home away from home.  I someday would love to do the same.  Maui isn't only one of the most beautiful places that I've visited, but it holds deep and special family memories.  I am always grateful to travel, but am really grateful to have my grandparents to travel with. Without them, I wouldn't know the beautiful wonders of Maui, nor have the warming memories of this island that shape Me! 

Here are some pictures from our trip:

Pool area at Papa & Tutu's complex

Church on North West side of Maui

Relaxing at Makena Beach

Enjoying Maui!

Dinner at The Yacht Club

Sunset from Papa & Tutu's

Jerry waving good bye to Maui...until next time! Mahalo.

Costa Rica - Bribri Tribe

While in Costa Rica, I really wanted to understand the people and it's culture.  The only local tour owner/operator, Jorge (who knew the owner of the Casa we were staying in), helped book us a trip to eat lunch and make chocolate with an indigenous family.   

Bridge to Bribri

Jorge picked us up in a Jeep at our Casa and drove us to the land owned by The Bribri Tribe.  The tribe is located in the same territory of Cahuita, less than 40 minutes south.  The mountains and greenery along the drive were so lush and unlike anything I have seen.  The mountains were actually the border of Panama & Costa Rica.   We arrived at the Bribri family home after driving down a long rocky road, walking across a suspension bridge and passing thru the grass where chickens scurried by.  We could smell open fire and knew we were there.  This family is home to 6 generations; the oldest man being 108 years old and the youngest being 2 years old.  We were greeted by a woman who was cooking lunch, accompanied by her husband and their son, Jefferson.  

Jefferson is hiding

The husband spoke English and taught us about the way they cook, what they eat, how they build their pre-Colombian homes, and their use for organic medicinal items gathered from their land.   After some conversation, we were served a meal prepared with fresh produce and chicken from their land, served in a creatively folded banana leaf bowl.  In our lunch bowl were 4 different types of potatoes, from tart to super sweet – and from dry to creamy.  It was so impressive to see how they prepared simple food, using only fire and food from their land.  

Plantain, Potatoes & Chicken lunch

After eating lunch, we learned about chocolate (cacao) making.  The Bribri tribe is made up of clans; a child's clan is determined by the clan his or her mother belongs to (matrilineal).  This gives women an important role in Bribri society, they are the only ones who can inherent land or prepare the sacred Cacao.  Jerry was able to participate, but you would never see a Bribri man preparing cacao...only eating it! 

Cacao Beans off the plant....we sampled the fruit

Anna roasting cacoa beans

Using two rocks to make beans into a paste

We got to try our hand at making chocolate

The finished product - all varieties; ginger, milk, orange & coconut were our favs!

Jefferson warmed up to me enough to take a photo

After spending the afternoon with the family we headed out to swim in a waterfall that is on the Bribri Tribe's land.  It was the perfect outing for us and an afternoon well spent in CR!

Costa Rica - Cahuita National Park

The jungle is most active in morning, so we ventured out to Cahuita National Park to see what nature had to offer.  The entrance of the park was 1/2 mile walk from our Casa, then a 2 mile walk to the end of the park.  As we entered the park we walked along a dirt path thru the jungle that meandered along the Caribbean Coast.  The monkeys were howling and swinging from the trees.  Huge blue butterflies adorned us along the walk, which is told to be good luck.  Blue crabs scattered into their holes as we walked along.  The amount of nature around us was amazing!

We planned to snorkel at the end of the park near a reef.  But, it's against the law to snorkel without a guide.  The reef and habitat are highly protected - you could illegally snorkel without a guide, but it's not highly recommended.  We thought we would try our luck, until we saw a park ranger.  He noticed our swim fins hanging out of our back pack and asked if we were going to snorkel.  We told him that we wouldn't be going unless we found a guide (local boys hanging out for work).  It was all to odd and different from snorkeling in Hawaii, where you jump in wherever you like.  We decided just to swim instead.   Back toward the middle of the park, we found a beautiful lagoon to swim and eat some sandwiches that we brought for lunch.  Soon after we settled, dropped our backpack and entered the ocean, a daring little monkey attempted to rob us of our lunch!  I tried to capture the monkey on video, but he was fast!  Below is a video of the monkey in the trees, and a view of where we settled for lunch and swimming. 

Cahuita National Park

Picture Perfect Palm Trees

Our lunch bench

Costa Rica - Exploring Cahuita

Waking up in the middle of a wild jungle is amazing!  When we woke at 6am, the birds were singing and the monkeys were howling.  We sat on the porch listening to nature while enjoying abnormally strong coffee.  With the beautiful morning in hand, we decided to walk about 1/2 mile to the farmer's market to pick up some food for the week.  The roads in Cahuita are dirt and gravel.  There are few cars, a handful of motorcycles and bicycles, but most people get around by walking.  We met a lot of people as we walked.  Everyone was friendly.  Even the town hobos were friendly, but we had to be cautious.  We walked by an American woman that told us if we were headed to the farmer's market, we should try the queso (cheese).  She said her children like it fried as she pointed to a little Asian boy, he confirmed that it is delicious.  We found the market to be busy, very small, but plentiful.  There were two produce vendors, one cheese vendor and a tamale maker.  We were able to purchase queso, 4 brown eggs, carrots, potatoes, pineapple, strawberries, green beans, red peppers, cilantro, ginger and a porcupine looking fruit...all for about $10.

Red spiky (rambutan) fruit

With the produce in hand we decided to go see the butcher for meat.  However, the directions we received took us to a place that did not look to be a butcher shop.  We turned back towards home and stopped at a supermarket.  The term "supermarket" is deceiving in Costa Rica.  It's basically a convenient store, like 7-11.  This is where people go to get the sugary snacks and small American conveniences, not food of substance.  We were able to buy water, juice, rice, seasonings and beer.  Walking around town did limit the amount of water and heavy items that we could carry back home. I love this way of life.  It reminded me a bit of Amsterdam or Germany where you would walk daily to the market for the freshest, nutrient rich foods, all grown locally.  You can't weigh yourself down with too much junk!

As we were walking back to the Casa, we passed the American lady with her son.  The little boy was wearing a cowboy hat, cowboy shoes and was carrying a guitar.  He was 4 years old and stood maybe 3 feet tall.  He was adorable!  In our conversation, we learned that the boy was adopted from Laos 2 years ago and was awaiting Costa Rica citizenship before he was able to be fully adopted by this American family.  The father of the family had returned to their home in Ohio with the little boy's biological brother, who had already completed the adoption process.  We learned that Laos children cannot be directly adopted into the USA.  Laos is considered high risk and has no regulation on child trafficking.  This little boy loved Costa Rica and playing his guitar in the church (which is where they were headed).  But, he could not wait to get to Ohio!  He had heard so many good things about America from his brother, including Donald Duck living there, that he starting dancing at the mention of going to his final home, which was to happen within six months.  This family had a nice house across from the beach, lots of fruit trees and vegetation on their land....to us this was a spectacular life!  But to think that this little boy had limited opportunities in CR and would be able to have so many more opportunities in America made us so excited for his life.   I couldn't stop thinking about this little cutie and what a great deed the American couple did for these boys. 

Jerry along the Caribbean Coast

After getting the food put away at the Casa, we were in need of a dip in the water.  The ocean was perfect temperature again and we basically had the beach to ourselves, except for the random dogs that would sprawl out on the wet sand.  After a swim, we walked to the Regaee Bar for lunch.  Jerry found his favorite meal, rice with seafood.  It was a lot of food for only $5 and tasted delicious!  I also loved my dish, garlic chicken.  We ended up eating this meal 2 times during our stay.  While having a cigarette after lunch, we met a young man from Israel who had moved to CR.  We ended up talking to him for over an hour about politics and life.  It's so stimulating to learn about others way of life and the ideas that have formed them into who they are.  After bidding farewell to our compadre, we went for another swim before the sun set.  Day 2 was a great day of exploring and meeting people in Cahuita.  My sociological muscle had been exercised and I loved it!