BJ Travel Blog

Solvang - May 2011

2011-09-13T22:01:00.000-07:00

We took a road trip just to get away to Solvang. I've always been interested, and heard that it is a cute little town. Plus there are some great wineries near by, and we just wanted to get out of town.

We stayed at the Santa Ynez Marriott. Great location - about 10 minutes from Solvang, about 2 minutes from the Firestone Brewery, and in the same parking lot as a movie theatre. We didn't check out the wineries this time, but I think it would be a great hub for wine tasting. We don't normally go to movies when we are out of town, but "Bridesmaids" may have started a new tradition!

Here is a picture of a bakery - there were a handful that were so inviting! We ended up sharing a plate of Aebleskivers... yummy little pancake balls topped with jam and powdered sugar.

The town really is picturesque.

My husband is a nerd. :)

He was the life of this Danish party.

I used to think these little cut out things were embarrasing, but I love them now as an adult. What is up with that? It is an excuse to be goofy I guess.

The Little Mermaid Fountain.

Oahu - September 2011

2011-09-13T21:53:00.000-07:00

Oahu - September 2011

We got to the airport a bit early, and noticed they had a Buena Vista there! I never knew... Irish Coffee is a perfect way to start a trip, and they serve them in the original glasses.... nice and warm. Hawaii here we come!

We stayed at Turtle Bay Resort on North Shore. This is the view from our balcony - not too shabby! North Shore is great! Tons of great beaches, lots of food trucks, fruit stands littered along the side of the road...

Can't get enough of that view...

My first, and not last! :) Mai Tai. This is an artsy fartsy esque shot. I didn't want to bother the bartender, so i just stuck the camera out there. Mmmmm.

I didn't realize until we got home how many pictures we got the first couple hours at the resort. You can't help it!

Michael enjoying fresh coconut water. So good on a hot day! Afterwards they cut out all the coconut meat for you. Delicious! Great beverage after hanging out in the sun all day.

And like I said - there are fruit stands everywhere! This was our favorite. You can buy the fruit whole, or they cut it up and store it in the ice chest and sell it to you that way. Then it's nice and cold and easy to snack on.

Pretty flowers. Everywhere. :)

A good photo of the fruit stand from the road.

Match made in heaven? This beach was wonderful. Soft soft sand, beautiful clear water. Kind of makes me think of those Corona commercials...

Look closely - sleeping horses at Kualoa Ranch. Have you ever seen that? Because I haven't. I didn't know they did that. Later on in the day they were prancing around after their nap full of energy. Napping Hawaiian style.

Any Lost fans out there? This is from a scene in Lost, and there are a few more. Tons of scenes from the show were shot at Kualoa Ranch, and the place is breathtaking. We took a 2 hour off road tour in a Hummer, and they also have all day tours if you are staying in Waikiki. They also do horseback riding, ATV's, and more. Great place!

Here's our Hummer. I've never been in one of these, but I imagine that the Hummer lives for some of the roads on this ranch. It is a cattle ranch, so some of the roads are torn up, and muddy, and in the rainy season I bet it is great! I would have liked even more off roading, because it is not the main part of the tour. The entire 2 hour tour is on dirt roads, but some are a bit better than others, and it is not the main focus. Other than some of the great Lost scenes my favorite part came when i had to hold tight to keep my seat, and all you can say is, "Waaahoo!"

My camera does not do this view justice. The ocean is in the distance, and the place just has a great energy to it.

Lost fans - the place where the bomb was... and of course... Juliet. For those non Lost fans - it's a set. :)

Just another great view. I think this is where they shot some of Windtalkers. Or where the planes flew over for the movie "Pearl Harbor." (We did find out that the film was inaccurate on that point. The planes were flying in the wrong direction. Side note for your pleasure.)

I couldn't help sharing this with you. We are pushing a Dharma van down the hill. (Lost) Bad camera work, but still...

More scenery

They shot a bunch of stuff here... this is the famous scene in Jurassic Park when the family runs from the T-Rex.

Look at that....

Hurley and I really connected.

One of the beaches close to Haleiwa town. Haleiwa was a great little town with some of the best shave ice anywhere, and some awesome little food places. We tried Killer Tacos and Pizza Bob's. Killer Tacos had some awesome Kalua pork.... totally melt in your mouth yummy. Pizza Bob's was a pretty standard pizza place, but nice friendly service, great little quaint patio, and an awesome happy hour. $2.50 for a Kona Longboard. Good times. They also had a tasty katsu tuna sandwich with wasabi mayonnaise. Yup, it was good. :)

On board the Pineapple Express at the Dole Plantation.

Reservoir at the plantation. There are tons of plant, fruit, flower varieties on the plantation. We also had their Pineapple Whip - refreshing ice cream with fresh pineapple on top. They sold Cookkwees in the gift shop, so I was a happy person. (Cookkwees are delicious cookies from Maui. If you haven't had them try them!)

The beach across the street from Dillingham Air Force base on North Shore. (coincidentally also the site of the plane crash on Lost.) Please note: we are not fanatical, it was just a great excuse to see some new places. And yeah, it was cool to see it. And bonus - see the next shot.

As we walked down the beach all of a sudden we saw turtle in the water. They were right at the break where the waves crash into the sand, and there were some rocks there, and four turtles were just kind of hanging out, splashing around, sunning, and every once in a while they'd pop up their head as if to see how close they were to each other or to shore. As we walked along we saw more and more, and in all we saw about twenty. Amazing.

Waimea Falls - you take a short walk/hike to the falls, and then you can swim and even sit on the rocks at the base. The water is nice and cool after the walk, and they give you noodles so you can float peacefully. Totally great.

after our swim...

At Waikiki Beach

We stayed at Moana Surfrider - it is the first hotel on the left. Very pretty and nice old hotel, and the rooms were very nice! Clean and modern, huge window seat, comfortable bed... and close to everything.

Ahhhhh Sunset at Waikiki Beach.

Look at this genius boat! The guy in the back is playing a ukulele, and they were singing and shouting at the people on the beach having a good old time! I really want one of these.

Can't get enough of those sunset shots

Amazing time... too short, but aren't they always? :) Until next time.... enjoy the sunsets!

Italy December 2010

2010-12-21T14:06:00.000-08:00

I was lucky enough to go to Rome and Florence in early December. I went on a "Fam" trip with a group of travel agents and a couple guides, and it was awesome! We arrived separately in Rome, and were whisked away to our hotel in Rome - The Mediterraneo. It was a beautiful hotel, art decco style, and their service was wonderful. After a 30 plus hour flight they made me feel relaxed right away. They whisked me to their rooftop restaurant where I had Turbo with artichokes - delicious!

This is a picture of the Vatican Museum. I love how the ceiling looks like it is glowing. It was pretty cold during our stay, but the sun was out that day and it was streaming in the windows of the museum to create this affect. Gorgeous.

I did see the Sistine Chapel, which was spectacular, but obviously no pictures. This museum deserves hours of your time.

St Peter's in the afternoon. Apparently the square is never this empty, so we counted ourselves lucky. It is massive. The basilica is gigantic. There are markers on the floor where the Notre Dame would fit into it, and there is still tons of room left over. It is a gorgeous structure.

This is Michelangelo's roof at the Pantheon. Talk about gorgeous... apparently he pour the cement all in one go? I am not sure of the details, but I did hear that he was not responsible for the square effect, but the structure.

Me in Florence. I am getting pretty good at taking pictures of myself! I am in front of the Duomo, and in front of me are the Golden Doors. When I arrived in Florence I knew I was in Europe. I don't know if that statement does it justice, but it felt like the Europe of my imaginings. Cobblestones juxtaposed with trendy shops... even the storm drains are artistic in Florence.

I know I am jumping around in my trip, and I apologize. Here are the Roman Baths, and in front of them is the grounds where the Chariot Races used to take place.

This is the Roman Forum, and the pictures cannot do it justice. When i first caught a glimpse of the Forum i was overwhelmed... you get an acute sense of life from that time.... This picture does not show it, but when you stand overlooking the Forum from the back of the Capital you can see the Coliseum in the distance, so the entire way is right in front of you. The stage, the stalls for markets and crafts, the church... and in the background the sporting arena. These people lived and died here, and had many of the same hopes, dreams, and fears as us.

That's some of my trip. I apologize for my lack of photography skills... but i can assure you that i will go back!

View of the front of the Hotel Mediterraneo.

Yosemite May 2010

2010-11-21T11:51:00.000-08:00

Yosemite - May 2010. Our first trip - yeah, i know, that is awful considering we are born Californians, but hey, better late than never! And we will definitely be going back. We tent camped in the Lower Pines Campground, and maybe next time we'll get a tent cabin.

It really did snow on us! This is a picture at the begining of the snow when the clouds started rushing in. I caught snow on my tongue and everything. It was bone chilling cold and beautiful.
The river was amazing! I felt energetic just walking near. It was so forceful that we felt the spray all along the trail, and the sound was awesome.
Bundled up at our cold campsite! It was perfect weather for campfires and coffee.
The scenery is amazing. There is something about Yosemite that makes you feel like you can really breathe.
Michael in the bear locker. Isn't he adorable? :) We saw one baby bear while we were there, and thankfully we were far from it.

Half Moon Bay and Pigeon Point Lighthouse November 2010

2010-11-21T10:50:00.000-08:00

The light house as pictured in my sunglasses! Michael got all artsy, and i think it looks really cool.
It was a beautiful day - chilly, but not too much. have you ever gone to see Pigeon Point Lighthouse? It is a beautiful scene. There is actually a hostel there, so if you are looking for an inexpensive non camping option for the area that is a good bet.

Half Moon Bay - November 2010

Puerto Vallarta - September 2009

2009-12-22T09:42:00.000-08:00

It is a bit late, I know, but I finally have pictures from the Puerto Vallarta trip that my husband, Michael, and I took for our second anniversary. It was hot, humid, and wonderful! We stayed at Dreams Villamagna in Nuevo Vallarta, but easily took a cheap bus ride to down town.

A view from our room - amazing! There were many pools that kind of linked together. The "adults only" pool started right below our room, and then there was an infinity pool tucked against the beach. It was a great place to hang out when the sun was going down.

Michael relaxing at the beach side palapa covered bar with swings.

One of the many statues that adorn the malecon (boardwalk) in Puerto Vallarta.

Our room - very modern, very nice. We found it comfortable and relaxing. There was also a nice couch with a chaise lounge. The patio had a hot tub, and yes, that is a tub in the room!

We ate breakfast in the room every morning! It was so tasty and the service was great.

The beach... we basically ran to it right after we checked in.

This is a shot of the hotel from the beach. It is a modern hotel, and relatively new. The beach was soft and the sand was warm.

There was this great restaurant called Pipis a few blocks from the beach - tucked away - and it was incredible! The food was amazing, and OHHH the margaritas! The owner kept coming by and asking if we wanted refills. Yes please! The food, the drinks, the live music - a can't miss!

Terri's Trip to Jamaica

2009-06-22T17:09:00.000-07:00

The Pier at the gorgeous Sandals Whitehouse

This is a picture of the gardens at the resort. They were all very well maintained and fun to wander around.

Picture of a private sunset dinner. You pay a minimal charge to have a private dinner with a private butler/food server, and you get to sit on a small table on the beach. It would be amazing for a honeymoon or anniversary!!! How romantic.

During our stay in June it rained during the afternoon every day. This is a picture of the pool at Whitehouse with the clouds. The first afternoon when we arrived it rained so hard, and the front desk just told us to relax and enjoy ourselves until the rain passed. Jamaica time. Chill out and wait and relax! Eventually they took us to our room with umbrellas so our bags wouldn't get wet.

Okay, what do i even need to say about this? Perfection. Relaxation. There was never a problem getting a beach chair.

Northern California

2009-05-04T16:30:00.001-07:00

Ocean Side - Occidental/Monte Rio/Salmon River

Michael and I visited a friend who lives in Monte Rio and this is a picture we took of the ocean in that area. A friend told us that the reddish ground covering you see right in front of the water is not native to the area, and has been quite a problem because it just grows and grows and grows... It was a struggle to comprehend because it is really beautiful... The colors of the so-called icicles are vivid and amazing against the golds, greens, and blues of Northern California.

2009-04-22T16:37:00.000-07:00

Ahh, the city by the bay! This picture makes me want to meander up all those hills... and you will probably need to after all the food in the city. Great food, great people, great pubs...

San Francisco like a tourist

2009-04-22T16:36:00.000-07:00

We bought one of those 48 hour hop on hop off bus tours, and it was awesome. We were able to take one part of the tour across the Golden Gate. It was a gorgeous day, and it was great seeing the bridge from this angle. I would definitely recommend the bus pass. It was a great tour and transportation all around the city wrapped into one package. Inexpensive, too. Only about $50 per person, and the tour guides are full of San Francisco stories.

San Francisco like a tourist

2009-04-22T16:33:00.000-07:00

This is the view from our hotel room! We stayed at the Courtyard by Marriott on 2nd Street in the SoMa area. SoMa means South of Market. It was a great hotel at a great rate! Very clean, and there was a little bar that stayed open late. The hotel was only a short walk from Market and the huge mall on Powell Street. We took cabs to North Beach at night, and it cost about $10. Not too bad. There was a great pub/restaurant about a block away called the Thirsty Bear. It was awesome! Organic house made brew, incredible food from local sources, and great service. Check it out! I'm definitely going back.

Weekend in Monterey

2008-09-18T13:33:00.001-07:00

My husband Michael and I spent our first anniversary in Monterey. We woke up early on Saturday and started our mini road trip off with Peet's coffee. It is definitely my favorite way to start a road trip. We chose to drive on Highway 1 for a change of pace, and definitely enjoyed it. As you get closer to Monterey Bay the air changes and the fruit stands beside the road increase.

We stayed at the Grand Hyatt in Monterey. The hotel reminds me of a lodge almost the way it is situated and the exterior colors. The lobby is nice and open with a fireplace, and the check in process was friendly. They had our room ready at 11:00 AM, so that was a nice surprise. The rooms themselves have been recently upgraded with modern amenities, and the bathroom was awesome! Tile shower with half a glass door, large rectangular sink that sat on top of the counter, great lighting... The room was inviting and comfortable. We had a balcony overlooking the pool, so that was a nice feature. We bought a bottle of Monterey County Pinot Noir and enjoyed it on the balcony while talking and watching people swim. It was a nice way to ease into our first night.

The spa is under renovation, but we were able to get massages in our room. The Hyatt arranged two massage therapists to come up to our room, and it was very relaxing. Usually Michael and I like to explore local eateries and stay away from hotel restaurants, but we decided to be very low key the first night and check out the Hyatt's Italian restaurant Tusca. It was a good choice. One entire wall of the restaurant is floor to celing windows over looking the greens of the golf course. We ate as the sun set, and the view was relaxing. I had the chef's special risotto and a perfectly cooked halibut. Delicious!

The next day was the first Sunday of the football season, so we started off the day with Bloody Marys and football at the Hyatt's sports bar Knuckles before heading out to explore Monterey's wine country. The sports bar was a great start to the day, although I would have to say that the Hyatt's breakfast buffet was a bit over priced.

Monterey's Wine Country is gorgeous! If you haven't checked it out you should definitely do so. The best part of the day was the drive to the first winery. The road is so peaceful and gently follows trees and farmland, and eventually you see the first vineyards. The tasting rooms are for the most part small, but with incredible views. Our absolute favorite view was at Hahn's. They are on the top of a hill at the end of a two mile road through rows and rows of grapes. The view from the parking lot alone is worth the drive out there... The soft yellow and greens of the hills and vineyards are in front of a soft blue sky are what California is all about to me.

Monterey's downtown area is fun, too. They have nice restaurants, bookshops, and coffee shops. We kind of stumbled into an Italian Festival while we were there, so we watched people play bocce ball and people watched. The weather was perfect for walking around. It was about 70 degrees and very pleasant.

We didn't travel very far this time, but we did get away from it all. It was relaxing to just hit the road with our ipod and check out the sites.

So, where should we go next? Hmmm... It is not an unpleasant question to ponder!

Costa Rica – Road to Torteguero

2008-09-12T14:38:00.000-07:00

This is my first travel blog, and I have to admit that I am very late in writing it. I recently had the pleasure of touring Costa Rica on a light blue bus with some other travel agents, a couple guides, and a representative from Way to Go Costa Rica. It was a fast paced adventure full of hotels, singing on the bus, Costa Rican beer, a volcano, and oh... so much more.
We started off in San Jose, and we were bused over to the Best Western. The rooms were relatively plain, but welcome after my first redeye flight. (I will have to pause here and add that we flew on Taca airlines and changed planes in San Salvador. They serve food and alcohol for free on Taca. Yes, free. And the service is friendly. The change of planes was not bad in San Salvador, either. The gates were very close and it was unintimidating.)
We settled into our rooms, and everyone went their own ways to grab food and relax for a bit before our hotel inspections for the day. For those of you not familiar with hotel inspections they entail walking around a hotel and checking out the rooms, grounds, and services. They are great for travel agents because we get the chance to really understand a hotel and are better able to recommend it to our clients.
My first Costa Rican Meal: I left the Best Western and went right next door to a small shopping center where they had a food counter of sorts. I had black beans, rice, fried plantains, and a tiny salad. It was delicious! So inexpensive, too. My first meal was a whopping $4.
At this point the other 11 travel agents and I boarded our shuttle and made our way to some hotels in San Jose. I won't list them all here at this point, but if you have any questions, please contact me! I'd love to share. I will say that I saw the San Jose Marriott and Casa Roland among others.
That night we had dinner across the street from our hotel, and then enjoyed our first (of many) Costa Rican beers back at the Best Western bar for Happy Hour. Their happy hour was great! Free drinks for an hour and a half. FREE! They served the national alcohol of choice: Guaro with fresh fruit juice. They also served free beer. We sat outside and talked while drinking our free beverages. We all felt relaxed and like we had finally arrived!
The next day we had to meet our bus at 5:45 AM. They toured us through the city of San Jose before our drive to Torteguero.
The drive to Torteguero was so fun! Let me just tell you about the roads, though. Most of the times the roads are bumpy, and sometimes they are windy. But if you are traveling with a good group and a good driver you won’t even notice! On the way to Torteguero we stopped at the banana plantation and I had my first fresh coconut. It was delicious, especially because it was really hot and humid outside. After a while we stopped at a little restaurant on the side of the road. It was outdoor seating and buffet style. They served Costa Rican’s national dish – Gallo Pinto. Delicious! It is basically black beans, rice, lazano, (the salsa of Costa Rica), onions, cilantro… and maybe a few other things. Sooo good! Traditionally they make Gallo Pinto from the leftover beans and rice from the previous nights’ dinner. The restaurant also had my other favorite – fried plantains. Seriously good.
When you arrive to the canals of Torteguero there is a large convenience store that sells all kinds of snacks and drinks. They also have a tiny kitchen that sells chicken and tortillas for about a dollar. We stocked up on some Imperial beer for the two hour boat ride to our lodge. It was beautiful on the boat. The day was so hot, so it felt great to glide on the water in our open air boat. Our tour guide was amazing. His name is Victor, and he could tell us the name of specific birds just by hearing their calls. The canals are lined with thick foliage, and it opens to the Caribbean.
I would have to say that Torteguero was my favorite part of the entire trip. The thing about the area is that it’s completely cut off from the rest of the world. The lodge we stayed at had a ceiling fan, beds, and a bathroom. That is about it. There are rocking chairs on the porch, and a water cooler outside every few rooms. And you don’t miss the internet or TV or even air conditioning. In Torteguero you are immersed in the wild life and the jungle of it all. It is just you, the rainfall, the monkeys, the birds…
I really could go on and on about Costa Rica, and soon I will tell you more. Next time I’ll tell you about Arenal. We got to see the volcano without cloud cover, and I hear that makes us very lucky. I’ll also tell you about Manual Antonio and our close encounter with over twenty monkeys. Until then, happy travels!