Chicago - October 19-22, 2014

Robyn and I spent 4 days in Chicago with our Platinum Mastermind Group.  This is a group of 16 retailers from around North America who meet 3 times a year to discuss issues, help each other solve problems and network.  This is an amazing group.  We stayed at the Omni Hotel on the Magnificent Mile.  While we walked around a bit, we did not get to see much at all because the meetings took up most of our time. We did manage to stop at the outlet mall on the way back out to the airport though!

NYC - August 9, 2014 - Italian, Chinese and Broadway

Late start again which meant no breakfast and straight to lunch at Casa Bella (our favourite restaurant in Little Italy).  We were greeted by Wilson - the smooth talking maitre d.  We got a seat outside by the entrance and Wilson was worth the price of admission with his "forget about it" and "how you doin'" to all the passersby.  A young italian couple sat behind us with 2 kids about 3 and 1 years of age.  The 3 year old was crying and whining and Wilson said to him "Stop it.  You are in my house now!" with a very stern voice - the kid stopped crying instantly.  We had another great meal and then wandered into Chinatown to find the Ice Cream Factory - a famous ice cream joint in NYC.  They had great ice cream (isn't it all though).  We wandered around Chinatown for a while and came across Columbus Park and watched some basketball for awhile while Jan and Kate chatted with a lady with a baby.  We started to walk back to the hotel when a guy in front of us dropped a chinese dumpling in the ground.  Scott and I looked at each other and decided we needed dumplings so across the street to Tasty Dumpling we went.  We ordered dill and pork dumplings and an onion cake.  As we were waiting for our order, a guy came in and bought 5 containers of Kim Chi - he told us that it was the best chinese style Kim Chi in all of NYC and he came from the Upper West Side for it.  We decided we needed some too!  The entire bill was $7.  It was all delicious.  In the evening we ventured to Times Square for dinner at Guy's American and then went to Matilda the Musical on Broadway.  It was really cute.  Home on the subway (which is much quicker than a cab on Saturday night).  Ciao.

NYC - August 7 and 8, 2014 - Diners Drive Ins and Dives and Washington DC

Thursday started with a hearty breakfast at the Landmark - if you missed a previous blog post, we get bacon, eggs, hash browns, toast and coffee for the price of a Starbucks latte. The group split up for the afternoon with Robyn, Kate and Scott going to Central Park for a bike ride and Jan and I wandering around SOHO.  Jan and I ended up at the International Culinary Institute on Broadway in SOHO which is a Hells Kitchen type establishment where the students cook, serve and host.  We had a 3 course lunch with wine pairings and it was fantastic.  Had our obligatory nap and then headed to the Redhead Pub in the East Village - this place was on Diners Drive ins and Dives. We had fried chicken, bacon peanut brittle, burgers and a salad.  Another great choice for a restaurant.  After dinner, we went to Momofuku (aka Milk) for their famous cereal milk ice cream and cake donut holes.  The line up was about 1/2 hour long.  Jan and I sat on the bench while the kids waited in line.  We were speaking with a local couple for quite a while when Kate not so subtlety told Jan that her shirt was almost all the way undone.  Jan then gasped so everybody in the line looked over.  The guy we were speaking with said, "I thought it was just a new style - we are in New York after all".  We walked back to the hotel about 20 blocks (it took us about 40 minutes).

We were up at 5:30 am on Friday so we could be at the tour bus by 6:15 am.  We took a day trip to Washington DC.  Before booking, we did not realize that it was about a 4 hour bus ride there and about 5 hours back because of rush hour.  Regardless, it was great.  We visited 5 States in one day - New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland and Virginia as well as the District of Columbia.  We had a champions breakfast at a truckstop consisting of Popeyes chicken, Cinnabons, Auntie Anne's pretzels and Starbucks.  We arrived in DC shortly before noon and saw the Pentagon, Arlington Cemetery and Jefferson Memorial from the bus.  We then stopped and visited the Vietnam Memorial (there are 2 of them), the Lincoln Memorial, the Washington Memorial, Mirror Lake and the Korean Memorial.  We then hopped  on the bus for ride to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue - the White House!  It is much smaller than you think and you can actually get pretty close to the front.  We visited the Wax Museum which has all of the Presidents and numerous celebrities.  We drove by Ford's Theatre where Lincoln was shot and then stopped at the Air and Space Museum of the Smithsonian for a short visit.  It was very fascinating and we needed a much longer time there.  We had a quick bite at the museum - from McDonalds - the only restaurant at the Air and Space Museum.  We visited the Capitol building and then hopped on the bus for the 5 hour ride home.  Great but long day.  On our arrival in Times Square, we hopped into cabs and ended up in Little Italy for a late supper.  We love staying in SOHO (and away from Times Square).

NYC - August 6, 2014 - Cronuts and America's Got Talent

We (all of us but Scott) got up at 6 am so we could be in line at Dominique Ansell Bakery at 6:30 am to get cronuts - a combination of croissants and donuts.  The bakery opens at 8 am so we waited for 1.5 hours in line.  We were near the front and there were at lease 100 people behind us.  This happens every day!  The limit is 2 per person.  They were delicious and worth the wait.  We then went back to the hotel for a nap.  We went to Times Square and had lunch at Guy's American - Guy Fieri's restaurant - it was really good!  We then went to line up to get our tickets for Americas Got Talent at 3 pm - our voucher to get the tickets said to lineup at 3:30 pm - when we arrived at 3 pm there were at least 400 people in line ahead of us.  Actually, it went pretty quickly and we got our main floor tickets.  We did a little shopping and had some snacks and beer at HB Burger.  Back to Radio City Music Hall for 7:30 pm - the line was massive - obviously our day of lines.  We got in about 8 pm with the live show to start at 9 pm.  Shortly before 9 pm, Howie Mandel, Mel B, Heidi Klum, Howard Stern and Nick Cannon came out and the live show started.  We were prompted to stand, clap and cheer throughout the show.  It was pretty cool.  After the show, we hopped on the subway (yup Shaundell, we rode the subway in New York at 10:30 pm).  Kate was hungry so we stopped in Little Italy for some pasta and sangria.  We all ate of course even though only Kate was hungry.  Late night - to bed after midnight.

NYC - August 5, 2014

Up late again so we went directly to lunch at Lombardis - a famous pizza place in SOHO. It was delicious and rivaled our favourite pizza place in NYC (Johns). We did a little shopping before Scottand and split away from the girls who continued to shop. Scott and I went to Little Italy before heading back to the hotel for an afternoon nap. In the evening, we went to Times Square to look for a show on Broadway (at a discount). We struck out at Matilda the Musical and Aladdin the Musical before finding tickets to If/Then with Idina Menzel. Amazing voice!  We went to Southern Hospitality restaurant for dinner after the show for a feast of ribs, BBQ chicken, chili, buffalo max and cheese and brisket.

NYC - August 4, 2014

We went for breakfast at The Landmark - a down and dirty NYC style diner with breakfast for $5 - it was great.  We then walked to the Dominique Ansell bakery for a cronut (a combination croissant/donut) only to find out that you need to line up at 7 am for the bakery opening at 8 am to get one.  Kate is determined to have a cronut so we will do this one day.  We then walked downtown to the new World Trade Center building and the memorial.  It is pretty amazing.  They have constructed 2 deep waterfalls/pools on the sites of the original 2 buildings.  We had some lunch and beer at Battery Park before waiting in the sweltering heat for about 1.5 hours to get the ferry to the Statute of Liberty.  It was pretty cool even in the heat.  On our return, we walked to Fraunces Tavern for a beer and some snacks - George Washington actually sat at the bar in this tavern.  We walked to the South Street Seaport and listened to a band for a while and then walked back the 30 or so blocks to our hotel.  Quite the day of walking.  We had a shower and a nap and then headed to Chinatown for dinner.  We ate at 456 Shanghai and it was delicious - we would go back.  

NYC - August 3, 2014

Up early today as we were attending the Curve Pajama Show. We arrived there for 9 am and spent the entire day visiting suppliers and seeing what will be available for Spring. We then went to our favourite NYC pizza place - Johns Pizzeria in Times Square. Ordered one large pizza as it was just going to be a snack but them decided that it was so good that we ordered another.  We then got great discount tickets to see Motown the Musical - the story of Barry Gordy and Motown. It was fantastic. Back to the hotel at 11 pm. Ciao.

NYC - August 2, 2014

Woke up at 11 am. Whattttttt?  That is 5 hours past my normal can't sleep anymore wake up time.  Obviously, we skipped breakfast and walked straight to Katz Deli for a delicious pastrami sandwich and a Brooklyn Lager.  Classic and required when visiting the big apple. We then walked about 15 blocks to get to Momofuku (aka Milk) for delicious crack ice cream and cake donuts.  We stopped at an old school barber shop so Scott and I could get a haircut and a shave. Baby face again. We walked back to our hotel stopping for protein shakes and a pitcher of sangria. Rough day. We had a nap for a few hours and then took the subway to Times Square to see a movie - Guardians of the Galaxy. It was really good.  We went to Shake Shack for burgers, hopped on the subway home and are back in our room at 11:30 pm.

NYC - August 1, 2014

Jan, Kate, Robyn, Scott and I were up at 4 am for a flight to NYC for 10 days. We arrived safely and had a "great" NYC taxi ride in from the Newark Airport which is across the river in New Jersey. The NJ side of the trip was fine and fast. The NYC side was interesting. Traffic is horrendous which is expected. What was unexpected was our taxi driver getting out of the taxi at one point to go yell at someone who was blocking a lane. We were also going about 100 km per hour down some side streets with 1000's of people on the sides of the road.  We are staying in SOHO this time which is in Little Italy and close to Chinatown. We had a good dinner in Little Italy at Da Gennaro. They close down Mulberry Street on Friday, Saturday and Sunday in the summer. Early night as we were up early.

Update:  Had a nap until 9 pm and then ventures out to Little Italy again for some pizza and beer at Toby's Public House.  Also went to Rice to Riches which is a rice pudding emporium!  Probably 30 different flavours of rice pudding.  We had the butter pecan and caramel. Delicious.

Grand Rapids, Michigan June 27 - July 2, 2014

Jan and I are traveling to Grand Rapids, Michigan for a conference called the Retail Success Summit.  We are looking forward to a little bit of R&R and some great retail inspiration - Robyn is joining us on Sunday.

We left Edmonton at 8 am on Friday, June 27, 2014.  On a side note, as we were leaving Edmonton we saw the largest plane in the world with six engines - the Antonov 225 - on the tarmac - it was delivering a piece of equipment for a fertilizer plant in Redwater.  We flew to Dallas and then back up to Grand Rapids, Michigan.  I usually make fun of people to make these awkward connections but it was actually shorter time-wise than flying through Chicago.  We did see several people wearing overalls in Dallas, Texas - wasn't sure that they were still in style, but I guess they are.  I will be looking for a short version in Michigan!  We arrived at the Amway Grand Plaza in the downtown area (Grand Rapids is the world headquarters for Amway) about 7 pm.  We wandered around downtown for a while and then stopped at San Chez Tapas for dinner.  It was excellent!  We had seared Ahi tuna, chicken and chorizo, pickled watermelon salad, potato/cheese croquettes, olives, calamari.bacon, whiskey soaked cake and tres leche (three milk) cake along with a carafe of Sangria.  So good.

On Saturday, we slept in until 11 am - WHAT!!! That is about 5 hours past Bob's usual wake up time.  We went for coffee at Mad Cap Cafe and had a "flight of coffee" - 3 extremely impressive coffees - we were told.  It was ok.  We then watched a bike race and and walked around downtown for awhile.  We stopped at Hop Cat Brewery for lunch - this is the #1 Brewpub in the USA.  I had a couple of belgian style beers (one form Michigan and one from Belgium) and Jan had a raspberry beer - all delicious.  We had some food too.  Jan asked where we might find a store for some hand cream and we were directed to "Lucky" a few blocks away.  As we arrived at Lucky, there were several homeless people hanging around.  We walked in and out very quickly - Jan decided she did not want to ask the guy behind the cage/cashier where the hand cream was.  We walked back to the hotel and stopped at GP Sports Bar to watch the end of the Brazil/Chile soccer game - had another beer while Jan had a coffee and peanut butter pie.  Went for an unremarkable dinner at Sundance Grill and then back to San Chez for dessert.  Jan had a chocolate concoction and I had a flight of port.  They sure like their "fights" here.  Home to bed.

On Sunday, we slept in again.  Had coffee at Starbucks and then off to San Chez Bistro (clearly our favourite place in Grand Rapids) for lunch.  We sat next to Motley Crue who are here for a show on July 2.  Great lunch and then off to GP Sports Bar to catch the end of the Netherlands/Mexico game - a nail biter.  Read a book in the massive lobby for a while.

Robyn arrives late Sunday night and then we attended the Retail Success Summit for 2 days. Amazing conference and we each left with 30 pages of notes and 4 pages of point form action items. Our plane was delayed leaving Grand Rapids so we missed our connection in Chicago. We spent the night at the Hilton Airport and left the next morning.

Salt Spring Island May 4-11, 2014

Jan, Delores and I drove to Salt Spring Island, BC for a week to help Barry and Emma (Jan's brother and sister-in-law) with their move.  We left on Sunday night after dropping Randi off at the airport for her 2 month trip to Europe.  We drove as far as Valemount and spent the night.  We then got up early and drove to the Tsawwassen Ferry Terminal arriving at 1 pm - the 1 pm ferry was full so we had to wait until the 3 pm ferry.  We arrived in Sydney at 4:40 and hopped on the Fulford Harbour Ferry at 5 pm.  We arrived on Salt Spring at 5:40 pm.  Ferries are exhausting.  We had dinner and a visit and then dropped into bed.  We got up the next day and started to work - the sold property had a lot of "treasures" to be sorted through.  We spent the first day working on the main floor of the shop.  We spent the second day working on the second floor of the shop.  We took a day off to explore the island a bit and spent the next day working on the crawl space under the cabin.  3 full days of work but we got the majority of the place cleaned up.  There were 3 destinations for the "treasures":  the dumpster, the fire pile or the new house.  At the end of 3 days, the small dumpster was 1/3 full, the fire pile took on a fair amount, but the majority of the "treasures" ended up back at the new house including about 100 axes.  We enjoyed Saturday at the famous market and had lunch in downtown Ganges.  We got up and left on Sunday morning - we drove the entire way ending up back in Edmonton at about 2 am (with a quick stop at the lake to drop off some "treasures" from Salt Spring).

Jasper March 13-16, 2014

Off to Jasper for the weekend.  The Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge is hosting their annual PJ Party and we were given the opportunity along with Call the Kettle Black to have a Pop Up store at the JPL.  We arrived Thursday afternoon and went for Pizza and French Onion Soup at Bright Spot in town - they have my favourite French Onion Soup in the world, literally, it is better than in France.  Jan and Robyn spent the evening getting ready for the event and Scotty and I just relaxed.

We got up on Friday morning and got the Pop Up Shop set up.  While Jan and Robyn were working, Scotty and I went into town about 1 pm and had a breakfast skillet and beer for brunch.  We then walked around town and bought candy, beer and chocolate (bear claws) in that order.  Stopped at Jasper Brewing Company for a beer sampler and then back to the JPL to check on the girls.  Had a nap in the late afternoon and then off to dinner at Downstream Cafe - it was excellent.  Kate and Greg showed up late on Friday night to bring us more stock for the event.

On Saturday morning, we lounged around the main lodge until mid afternoon.   Went for lunch at Jasper Brewing Company with Scott, Kate ad Greg.  Back to the room for a nap.  Then to dinner at Olive which was also excellent.

On Sunday, I slept in (while Jan worked) and then we packed up and came home.

PV - February 18-22, 2014

… our last few days in PV were based on relaxing and eating.  We did spend a day in Sayulita doing some shopping, eating, beaching and body surfing.  All in all - a great trip!

PV - February 14, 15, 16 and 17, 2014

Valentine's Day was quiet around the pool.  Robyn and Scott went to Mega to pick up groceries again. We went to Glorieta de Enrique for a Shrimp Feast for dinner - fantastic again!  

Saturday was also a quiet day around the pool.  Dinner at Tacos on the Street.  The five of us polished away 30 tacos, 8 beers, 1 glass of wine and 2 bottles of water.  So full, but so delicious! … and Kate and Miranda arrived at 8:30 pm.  Jan was so happy to have her whole family here.

Sunday morning we took the girls to the La Cruz Farmers Market.  They loved it.  We got to visit with Max and Big Momma from Eva's Brickhouse Restaurant and Scotty and I had another Mixed Sandwich with ham, turkey, bratwurst and chorizo sausage on it.  No sharing this time - we each had our own.  Back to the resort for the afternoon at the pool.  Dinner was at Masala - the top rated restaurant on Trip Advisor for La Cruz.  Scotty, Robyn and I had the seared tuna steak, Kate and Randi had the catch of the day (mahi mahi) and Jan and Delores had the mahi mahi.  Another excellent meal - we have not had a bad meal here yet.  

Today (Feb 17) we had a big breakfast at home and then ventured to the Marina in La Cruz for our day  on the bay.  We booked ourselves onto the Indian Summer Yacht (Red Dolphin Cruises) for the day.  We were met at Dock 3 by Mike, Michelle and Johnny.  The price was $75 per person which is less than Vallarta Adventures and we were the only ones on the yacht.  We saw so many whales (15 - 20) and dolphins were swimming along with the boat.  We went to Marietas Islands and went snorkeling.  The day included free drinks, nachos and a mahi mahi lunch.  Mike (from Wales) was a great host and had many great stories.  It felt like we had known them for a long time.  We got back around 4 pm and ant back to the resort for a dip in the pool and then got ready for dinner. We went to Frascetti and had great home made italian pasta meals (we went here so Nana could get some Canadian food).  In bed by 9 pm.  So crazy.

Tacos on the Street

Masala

Whale Watching I

Whale Watching II - so many whales

On the Indian Summer

Frascatti's

Frascatti's

Frascatti's

Frascatti's

Robyn and Nana

Puerto Vallarta - Feb 12 and 13, 2014 (Cow's Head Tacos - read to the end)

Wednesday was a lazy day by the pool.  We had dinner at Xocolati - Roberto, the owner, served us.  This place its on the hill above La Cruz and has an amazing view of the bay.  We even saw a whale jumping.  Fajitas, Shrimp, Chimichanga (massive) and Red Snapper - enough said.  Sleeping by 8:30 pm.

Thursday started out slow with a leisurely breakfast of bacon, eggs, sausage and toast.  We went to the pool for a few hours where we managed to down some mojitos and dirty monkeys.  Then the adventure began - we took the shuttle into La Cruz where Elilal dropped us at the Beach Club for our resort (our resort is actually in the hills above La Cruz).  The Beach Club is under contraction and currently closed.  We walked along the beach to the north to Manzanilla Beach. This is a great swimming area and beach.  It was HOT so we stopped at Cesars for Cervesas and Pina Coladas and some nachos and quesadillas.  We then walked back along the beach into town.  It was HOT so we stopped at Ana Bananas and had Cervesas and Coke and visited with Barry, the owner, and CeeCee, the bar pooch.  We then walked through the small town a bit more and bought a small painting.  It was HOT so we stopped for an ice cream.  Our plan was to go to Tacos on the Street (apparently the best tacos around) but when we arrived at 5 pm, we discovered they did not open until 5:30 pm.  We decided to walk a few blocks to Glorieta de Enrique (remember the shrimp place from a few blogs ago) and have some cervesas and a plate of bacon wrapped shrimp as an appetizer before heading back to Tacos on the Street.  Delicious.  We then walked back to Tacos on the Street where they serve one type of taco - rib eye steak tacos.  They do give you a choice of flour or corn tortillas though.  We had tacos (and Robyn had one quesadilla), mojitos (not great) and cervesas.  The tacos were 150 pesos (about $1.20).  No question the best tacos we have ever had!  We even bought some for the concierge back at our resort.

As we were driving home, I mentioned to Scott that we should try the taco stand on the Highway called Taco de Cabeza.  The taxi driver laughed and told us this translated to Head Tacos and literally means tacos made with various parts of a cow's head - eyes, lips, tongue … we told him that we would think about it - maybe after a lot of tequila.

PV - February 10, 2014

We had a great day today.  Woke up late (for me) at 8 am.  Made coffee and emptied the dishwasher (sounds pretty domestic doesn't it?).  Scotty made omelets with sausage, peppers and mushrooms for breakfast and then off to the pool.  There were only 2 other people at the pool at 10 am - so nice.  Hector, the pool concierge, put out our towels and welcomed us to the pool area.  We relaxed most of the day at the pool.  We had massages at the spa too.  What a decadent day, but the best part was still coming - DINNER.  We decided to go to Glorietta Enrique Restaurant in La Cruz - rumour had it that the shrimp and margaritas were amazing.  Scott and I ordered the margaritas - excellent - and Jan and Robyn ordered pina coladas - Pancho brought out the drinks and then brought out a bottle of rum and poured 2 big shots of rum for the girls just in case their pina coladas were not strong enough.  Only in Mexico.  We ordered shrimp, shrimp, shrimp and shrimp (Jan and Delores shared) - bacon wrapped shrimp (unbelievable), coconut shrimp (excellent), diabla shrimp (in a spicy bbq sauce - fabulous) and shrimp stuffed avocado (very refreshing).  We finished off the evening with tequila shots for the boys and kahlua and cream shots for the girls.  We met a couple from Red Deer at the table next to us and they happen to be staying at the same place.  They was a small band playing as well.  The quality of the meal tonight rivaled last night's at Eva's Brickhouse.  2 nights in La Cruz - 2 great meals.  Woo hoooo.

Robyn's Pina Colada with the extra shot of rum

Robyn's Coconut Shrimp and Scotty's Bacon Wrapped Shrimp

Puerto Vallarta - February 9, 2014

We arrived last night in Puerto Vallarta around 9 pm - our flight was delayed 1 hour in Edmonton because the water system was frozen.  Our destination was Puerto Bahia in the hills above the small fishing village of La Cruz de Huanacaxtle (La Cruz for short) which is north of Puerto Vallarta (about 30 minutes from the airport).

We got up around 8 am, sauntered to the restaurant for breakfast and then took a shuttle into La Cruz for the Sunday Farmers Market.  The market was really fun with over 280 vendors selling everything from bread to nanaimo bars to scones to garlic cajun smoked mahi mahi to earrings to mixed meat sandwiches to sausages - and that was only the stuff we bought.  It was a great market and we will go back next Sunday when Kate and Randi are here.  We then went grocery shopping (we have a full kitchen) to Mega (a Walmart type grocery store) where we bought 3 carts of groceries for $300.  Had to  take 2 cabs home because of all of the groceries and the 5 of us.

We arrived back at our place and Scott promptly started the drink making marathon - mojitos, rum punch, pina coladas, micheladas, cervesas … we spent the entire afternoon at our place (we have our own small pool).  We then went to dinner at Eva's Brickhouse in La Cruz.  It was fantastic - we had grilled mahi mahi, seared ahi tuna and lobster pasta.  WOW!!!  Kent, the owner, Max, the maitre d (and resident dog) and Big Momma, the waitress (and resident cat) were so friendly and made our evening.  This is now our favourite restaurant in the PV area.  We had one of the those meals where you savour every bite.  Looking forward to a good night's sleep and a lazy day tomorrow.

Our Pool at Puerto Bahia

Lounging

Puerto Bahia Pool

La Cruz Marina

Scotty's Mojitos

Eva's Brickhouse

3 Generations at Eva's Brickhouse

Hawaii Dec 27, 2013 to January 7, 2014

Jan was surprised on Christmas morning with a trip to Hawaii.  She shed a couple of tears and then started panicking.  We were not leaving until Dec 27, but there were no hair appointments or shopping trips to prepare.  I wanted to have a suitcase packed for her and take her out for breakfast and then to the airport with her knowledge but the girls advised against it.

We arrived late on December 27, 2013.  Scott and Robyn picked us up from the airport.  After checking in, we went to Denny's for a bite to eat - A Superbird sandwich.  When the kids were small, we spent a lot of time at Denny's in the middle of the night as their schedules adjusted to the time change.

We got up the next morning and headed for the beach in front of the Outrigger and Duke's which we have done numerous times before with our kids (and pre-kids as well).  Very little has changed other than all the Jack in the Box restaurants in Waikiki are gone - so sad.  We arrive don the beach to see Guy and Diane - old friends of my parents (who went to Waikiki every year) - it was great to see them again.  We had not seen them since we brought my dad to Hawaii for one last trip after he was diagnosed with cancer.  Guy reminded me of my dad's morning ritual of swimming in the ocean to the "wall" by the Sheraton and I continued this tradition for numerous mornings.  To be honest, it was a bit sad to be back with out my mom and dad.

Most of our days involved getting up early and being at the beach by 8 am.  We would then go for lunch at Duke's - our favourite Waikiki restaurant … and then out for dinner with Robyn, Scott, JP, Barb and Andrew while they were still there (we stayed a few extra days).

JP and Barb had rented an SUV and we spent one day with them driving around the island.  We stopped at the blowhole, Kailua Beach Park where we saw a turtle in the water, Jack in the Box in Kailua, Chinaman's Hat, Fumi's Shrimp Truck, Turtle Bay Resort, Sunset Beach and Waimea Bay on the North Shore to see the major waves and Matsumoto's General Store in Haleiwa for the best Shave Ice on the Island - this concoction starts with a scoop of ice cream, covered by shave ice which is flavored with 3 different flavors and then covered in evaporated milk.

We spent one afternoon going to the Outlet Mall and even went to see Anchorman 2.

We had some great meals at Chuck's Steak House, Ocean House Restaurant, Hula Grill, Jack in the Box and, of course, Dukes.

We had a great relaxing trip … Aloha!