Adventures in Life and Retirement
It was a wonderful time with John and Linda, they were so kind to me and we had such a good time after so many years, we worked together in the late 70’s and he went to seminary and is now the pastor of the Grace Bible Church in Gallup. So much fun with them.
John, Linda and me in these pictures.
A hole in the Rock.
Roses from the Garden and Sunset.
We hope to visit again some day not in the distant future.
I really like to run, here are a few of my best runs to date.:
I also bake cookies every week to distribute to the neighbors and for support group on Monday nights.
I have a YouTube Channel for baking – @Chris_Chernick_Baking
A sampling of my baking:
Left to Right – Applesauce Coookies, St Patrick’s Lemon Cookies, White Chocolate Cranberry Macadamia Cookies.
Second row: Peanut Butter Cookies, Butter Ring Cookies
Yesterday I participated in the Roxbury Library’s Arts Festival – together with my fellow Writer Group collegues
Follows are the three stories that I included in the above book:
CHRIS CHERNICK
Chris Chernick
First North American Copyright
A First-Time Float
I went to my first parade when I was a kid. There were fire trucks, bands, and floats from the high school and other areas. When we moved to New Jersey, there were parades on Memorial Day here in town, but no floats.
It was many years later that I joined a committee to organize a more majestic type of parade.
What was to be the theme? I wondered. Someone suggested something like the floats in the Rose Bowl Parade. I thought there was a lot of money spent on that parade – money we didn’t have – but maybe we could use that parade for some float ideas…
Questions arose. Would we do a float with real flowers or artificial ones? Would there be music? How would we pull the float?
One of the members, Stephen, had a pick-up truck with a hitch that he said could tow the float, so that was one question solved.
Another member of the group, Theresa, said she and her husband had a trailer with a flat bed of plywood that we could build on.
We were on our way! Another member, Thomas, had spare lumber and shingles. We went to work and assembled a small shed-like structure with a window and a doorway. We painted shutters around the windows and the door frame. We put up planters and placed artificial flowers in them.
We had a battery-powered CD player, to provide dancing and jazz music on. I had some speakers that could be mounted on to the float as well.
We went to the thrift store and got some clothes that looked old, and we found an old banjo.
We were ready to rock and roll (even if that wasn’t the type of music we were playing)! We added a mix of real and artificial flowers around the trailer to cover up the metal frame.
All of us on the committee arrived a little after 8:00 a.m. the morning of the parade. Ours was the 6th float right towards the middle. We were behind the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts so our music would not be drowned out by the high school band.
Once our part of the parade started moving, we turned up the music; one of the members strummed the banjo as if he were playing it. We all pretended we were singing and gave out candies to the kids lining the parade route.
We got many cheers along the way, and some of the kids walked up to get a closer look; we welcomed them and gave them extra candy.
At the end of the parade, we assembled in the parking lot of Horseshoe Lake. We had a nice lunch and then there were awards. We took 5th place out of ten floats! Right in the middle for our first time out. That was an accomplishment!
Maybe next time we’ll get some instruments and learn to play a song ourselves: we could get 1st place for that!
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Chris Chernick
First North American Copyright
The Encore Career
Retirement – what does that mean? Early in my career it meant receiving a gold watch, maybe even a company party in honor of the retiree.
But time changes…
We have electronic smart watches nowadays, and so there’s no need for a watch you have to wind, unless you are a collector of watches or some other person who likes the wind-up kind.
For me, retirement is another phase. Of life. It’s a wonderful time to explore new things, like the writing group I joined a few years ago, or volunteering to help other people.
So, I called retirement my Encore Career!
As I was preparing for retirement, I did not see a rocking chair or gold watch in my future. I went to a program at the library around 2018 where the various volunteer organizations in town presented their needs. The Social Services department said they needed drivers; I thought I could do that and contacted them the next day. That started my Monday, Wednesday, and Friday trips to Ashley’s Market to pick up excess milk and bread to bring to the food pantry.
During COVID, I asked the Social Services Department if anyone needed food shopping done for them. I started doing food shopping or a few women in town who lost the bus for shopping. That lasted until about a year when the bus returned.
There was another lady recently who could not go on the bus, so I did her food shopping for her until she fell ill and went into the hospital.
I partially retired in 2019 and fully retired in October 2021. While I will always value the friendships I made along the way and am proud of my work, I am also glad to be out of the corporate world of constant pressure, and cost cutting, and profit making. My profession as an actuary had been very stressful.
Of course, when you retire, you exchange those pressures for other pressures like finances, health issues, and adjustments when we lose our parents or other loved ones. However, we can use these experiences to understand the preciousness of life in ourselves and others.
One of my plans was to start writing; I started a blog The-Encore.blog and posted stories about what was going on in life. The blog has expanded to also show our special occasions and photos from our trips.
I also like to run when I can, weather permitting. I have continued to run, around 3 to 5 miles per day for about 5 or 6 days a week. In the I run on the treadmill instead of going outside in the cold.
If we are on a trip to a warm place during the colder times of the year, I usually run. For example, I ran along the beaches in Hawaii when we were there a few months ago.
I also like to bake. I bake cookies every week. Originally, I would bring those cookies to the support group I run herein town. After COVID, I started to deliver the cookies to the neighbors, which had the side benefit of my getting to know them better.
I started a YouTube channel to show people how to bake. It is fun and I enjoy sharing the many recipes I have for cookies. I can be located by my name or Chris_Chernick_Baking on YouTube.
I joined a men’s Bible study recently. It meets on Friday mornings, early so those who work can get to their jobs on time. It has been a wonderful experience for my walk with God.
Without the stress of work, I have read a variety of book genres. I seem to like mysteries the best, but a good biography is always close to the top of my list, especially about historical figures. I have read about Ulysses Grant, Lyndon Johnson, Franklin Roosevelt, and many others.
It is interesting to read about the motivations of these politicians and see how similar or different our views of the world would be.
When you retire, you can explore new things, or plant a garden, look at the wonder of God’s creation in your own backyard. As we approach the summer, I look forward to planting flowers around the house. This year I am going to plant vegetables in containers. The Community Garden just up the street – to which I belonged from its inception – was great but with our trips to the Outer Banks in the summer it was hard to keep a big garden going for the entire season.
Maybe someday in the future I will return to the community garden. It was fun while I was working and a good avenue to meet people and get gardening advice.
As I mentioned, I worked as an actuary for many years, and today I use those skills when I volunteer to help people struggling with understanding their pensions or have other things puzzling them related to benefits and retirement. That has kept me active in the field and helping people in this way is rewarding for me as well. It has been a dry period for a while, but it will pick up soon, I am sure.
So, each person is different, and their approach to retirement can have many facets. Some people just relax, some travel, some go on adventures, and some just stay close to home. We have done a good amount of traveling since I retired, and it has reinforced for me that there is always an adventure around the corner or around the country or world. It is all there for us to capture.
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Chris Chernick
First North American Copyright
UTOPIA /HEAVEN
I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve heard someone say, “Well, we don’t live in a perfect world.”To me, Utopia represents the idea of a perfect world with no pain, suffering, hunger, violence, inequality, or, of course, death. While this idea may fuel humanity’s greater aspirations, I do not think Utopia here on earth is possible.
As a Christian, I am reminded through The Bible that we don’t live in a perfect world, and nothing we do or attain here will change that. However, I also believe that the ultimate Utopia is Heaven. To me, and according to my faith, that means eternal life: living without pain or suffering like we have here on earth, and entrance to Heaven comes through the belief that Jesus came to save usfrom eternal separation from God.
A Bible verse that comes to mind reads, “But our citizenship is in Heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ” (Philippians 3:20).
I believe that I will become a citizen of heaven when I die some day in the future, and according to the tenets of my faith, that is becauseI have accepted Jesus as my personal savior. It is not because I am a good person or have done good things, although Jesus taught us to do good for others and love our neighbor as ourselves.
Christians believe that Jesus chose His disciples from common people just like you and me, and he told them to follow him, which they did. Through his death on the cross and resurrection after three days, he took the sins of the world and gave the opportunity to those that believe in him to be forgiven of their sins regardless how bad they are or were.
Many faith traditions have a similar concept, and I wonder whether people of other faiths would feel like I do about the difference between Utopia and Heaven. We live in a tumultuous world, and while I believe there’s a lot that people can improve if they come together, I also believe that a Utopia in this world is unattainable. However, people of different backgrounds and traditions can work together to make the world a better, if still imperfect place.
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I hope you have enjoyed my blog and the variety things I am interested in…..
Remember – movement is good for your health, you do not have to run any type of movement is good for you.
I praise the Lo1rd for the ability to run and thank him for saving me…..
God Bless you
Valentine’s Day Celebration 2024
Weekly Baking
My You Tube Channel is: chris_chernick_baking
Running. – I have been running mostly at Horseshoe Lake Complex
My testimony – which I will record a video of for the Hillside Lutheran Brethren Church
I am Christopher (Chris) Chernick. I have lived in Succasunna for many years and about a year ago I started coming back to the church after some time away.
“All my life you have been faithful” – The Goodness of God is a modern hymn that tells of the true wonderful goodness of God. Here’s how God’s goodness has shown up in my life.
“But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar like eagles, they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not faint.” Isiah 40:31.
In November 1974, I started working at a company called Buck Consultants. I was assigned to an actuarial group a few months later. We usually ate lunch at our desks. Sometimes in the small lunchroom.
We had a small group of us that became friendly, John, Janet, Barbara, and me.
I noticed that John would bow his head in prayer right before lunch. I asked him about that and eventually he talked about his church.
I started going to his church on Sunday evenings, the Bible Baptist Church in Syosset, Long Island. Eventually I met some people my age and found them to be part of a young Christian group.
After the evening service a few of us would gather and sometimes go to a place to eat. I also went to a few bible studies, and one night I accepted Jesus into my life.
I tried to get my family to pray before meals too, but I wasn’t successful.
I met my wife, Megan through an inter church gathering and started riding the train with her to commute to and from work, and I would eventually go to the Presbyterian Church in Babylon Long Island where Megan went.
We were married in that church; the pastor asked me to say the background to the lighting of the marriage candle – he said I was so calm. He had no clue how nervous I was.
After several years we moved to New Jersey on account of my job. We tried a few churches but did not feel right about them. When our son went to Nursery School, we started going to the church that school was held at – the Hillside Lutheran Brethren Church.
After some challenges about 10 or 15 years later we stopped attending.
In early 2022, I had a desire to do a devotional and I signed up for a daily email from Time of Grace. Then I had a desire to go to a Men’s Bible Study and through a friend I found one I have been going to since sometime in 2022. Then the Lord prompted me to go back to the Hillside Church and I have gotten involved in several things at the church. On vacation I even watched the church service online, which was a true blessing.
The Lord has richly blessed me and guided me to this place. My walk with Jesus has gotten stronger as I have attended weekly church services and volunteered at workday and coffee serving.
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s only son. This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved the darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.” John 3: 16 – 19.
Prayer really works, recently I had an unfair charge against me, and I got a letter from the Department of Motor Vehicles to provide certain medical information, which I did after visiting the doctors, I had several people praying for the violation to be cleared. A few weeks ago I got a letter from the Motor Vehicles which said based on the medical information I could continue to drive. I thanked God for this good result and answer to prayer.
Praise the Lord for his goodness to us.”
Hello All:
I have been baking cookies as you know…. also running.
But first my current short story assignment.
What has made you angry?
My Baking:
My recent writing assignment:
What Made You Angry
I do not get angry very often, but there is one recent time when that I am embarrassed to say when I got angry.
I take a medication that is not covered by my health plan, so I signed up for Good Rx which is a discount club with a nominal fee, or it can be free, I think.
I have had the doctor send the prescription to Walmart here in town.
It was all going along fine; the price was right and the service quick and efficient. I really didn’t have any complaints.
Until about two months ago, the medication had a shortage, and so the pharmacy would only give me 16 pills instead of the 30 in the prescription.
About two weeks ago I ordered a refill, and knowing the supply problem was over I expected the full prescription of 30 pills.….
When I got there the pharmacist said there were only 16 pills.…. I got so upset and said that I should get the full 30 pills in the prescription. We went back and forth several times until the pharmacist said that I ran out of the original prescription with the prior refill of 16 pills!16 pill refills….
This I did not understand, because I never got the full 30 pills in the first place.…. I left the pharmacist in a huff; when I got to the car I decided to contact the doctor for a new fresh prescription, which he sent to the pharmacy did within about a day.
I belong to a weekly bible study class at my church and told them about this unfortunate occurrence, and they advised me to apologize to the pharmacist.
When I picked up the medication, I got the same pharmacist, and I said I was sorry for the way I acted the prior time I picked up the medication. He said that it was no problem.
I felt so much better after doing that and I was thankful for God to bring me to that place where I could show His love to another person.
Check out my YouTube Channel
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-9p4j9GtAam60LuVuHHgYg
Running!
I also like to run – I have been running 4-1/4 miles recently. I praise the Lord for the ability to run.
I have been running in the early morning around 7:00 am…. I have been waving to people running and walking and they have mostly waved back.. I met a few people, one lady I see and I stop to chat for a few minutes.. There are two ladies that walk together with two small dogs and they usually cheer me on, I even had a bus driver beep at me because I had waved at him when there was heavy traffic the week before….
Any kind of movement is good for you…. just a walk around the park or around the block will do a world of good for you physically as well as emotionally….
Have a great blessed day!
I attended a program at the Hillside Church here in town on Human Traficking.
A horrible event in so many people in this country and all over the world.
The trafickers know how to pick out vulnerable people and pull them into this horrible sub world of the human trafickers.
The poor are most vulnerable – the traficker will make romantic advances and then force them into a massage parlor or other place like that which then lures them into prostitution – when the money goes to the prostitute the traficker will take the money and then make that person dependant on him.
Young children can be very vulnerable – using social media and making like the person is the childs age – the vulnerable child can be reeled into the underworld of the traficker.
There was a story of a young woman who was lost and she got involved with a man that appeared to be rich… he wined and dined her. Then had her go to a massage parlor, there she got introduced to prostitution. When she had a lot of money the traficker threatened her and her family and she handed the money over. She was totally dependent on him for everything. She was able to escape and tell her story.
The traficker that makes the person dependant then charges for Housing, Food and the prices are so high the person can not pay, add on interest and the person is dependent on the traficker..
There can be a forced marriage.
The statistics on those affected by this horrible thing are:
There are many apps that are availble to the young people that can be used to lure the kids into this horrible world…
There are other areas:
Other vulnerable groups are LBQT groups, people with PTSD, women of child bearing age are vulnerable, there are forced aboration for those in prostitution.
The two organizations that spoke were:
I hope I have made you aware of the problem and if you are interested check out these two organizations and if possible donate to them.
If you should suspect traficking call this number 1-866-347-2423, do not take matters into your own hands and put yourself at risk, unless the person is clearly alone.
Prayer works so pray for our country and the world that this horrible thing can be erradicated…
I have been running 4 miles every day from Monday through Saturday, I did that last week and today I ran 4 miles and will do so the rest of the week, real early in the morning. I wave to everyone I see.
I served coffee at the Hillside Church on July 2, 2023 and on August 6, 2023. I baked a cake for each of those times. I baked a crumb cake and another cake for the July event and a Tell Your Neighbor Cake for the August event.
I also read scripture at one of the church services in early July:
I wrote my testimony recently and show it below:
“All my life you have been faithful” – The Goodness of God is a modern hymn that tells of the true wonderful goodness of God. Here’s how God’s goodness has shown up in my life.
In November 1974, I started working at a company called Buck Consultants. I was assigned to an actuarial group a few months later. We usually ate at our desks. Sometimes in the small lunchroom.
We had a small group of us that became friendly, John, Janet, Barbara, and me.
I noticed that John would bow his head in prayer right before lunch. I asked him about that and eventually he talked about his church.
I started going to his church on Sunday evenings, the Bible Baptist Church in Syosset, Long Island. Eventually I met some people my age and found them to be part of a young Christian group.
After the evening service a few of us would gather and sometimes go to a place to eat. I also went to a few bible studies, and one night I accepted Jesus into my life.
I tried to get my family to pray before meals too, but I wasn’t successful.
I met my wife, Megan through an inter church gathering and started riding the train with her to commute to and from work, and I would eventually go to the Presbyterian Church in Babylon Long Island where Megan went.
We were married in that church; the pastor asked me to say the background to the lighting of the marriage candle – he said I was so calm. He had no clue how nervous I was.
After several years we moved to New Jersey on account of my job. We tried a few churches but did not feel right about them. When our son went to Nursery School, we started going to the church that school was held at – the Hillside Lutheran Brethren Church.
After some challenges about 10 or 15 years later we stopped attending.
In early 2022, I had a desire to do a devotional and I signed up for a daily email from Time of Grace. Then I had a desire to go to a Men’s Bible Study and through a friend I found one I have been going to since late 2022Then the Lord prompted me to go back to the Hillside Church and I have gotten involved in several things at the church. On vacation I even watched the church service online, which was a true blessing.
The Lord has richly blessed me and guided me to the Hillside Church. My walk with Jesus has gotten stronger as I have attended weekly church services and volunteered at workday and coffee serving. I also read a scripture during one of the church services back in late June, I think.
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s only son. This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved the darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.” John 3: 16 – 19
Praise the Lord for his goodness to us.
I am thankful to God for being with me always, he can be with you if you accept his son into your life.
Keep moving no matter what it is it is good for your health.
We arrived on July 9, 2023 and are ready to leave three weeks later.
It is a wonderful place and we stayed in Duck in the same house we have been in for several years.
The weather was great and the pool was very refreshing. We went to dinner at the Paper Canoe and The Collingwood Cafe – both excellent restaurants.
Around the house:
The house we stayed at:
Around the area
The Corolla Chapel
My Running Path – ran this path with Paul.
I ran four miles daily except Sundays early in the morning before it got too hot!
The Collington Cafe
The Black Pelican Restaurant
My friend Ken
We had a great time – lounging in the pool visiting our friends and a visit from Paul and Gretchen.
God has richly blessed us! Praise him!
Thank you for reading my blog!
Happy 4th of July!
God has given us the great country we have.
I had the privilege to read the scipture reading at church this past Sunday, July 2, 2023;
The verse was from Jerimiah 28 verses 5 -9.
Scripture Reading
July 2, 2023
Jeremiah 28:5-9
Then the prophet Jeremiah spoke to Hananiah the prophet in the presence of the priests and all the people who were standing in the house of the Lord, and the prophet Jeremiah said, “Amen! May the Lord do so; may the Lord make the words that you have prophesied come true, and bring back to this place from Babylon the vessels of the house of the Lord, and all the exiles. Yet hear now this word that I speak in your hearing and in the hearing of all the people. The prophets who preceded you and me from ancient times prophesied war, famine, and pestilence against many countries and great kingdoms. As for the prophet who prophesies peace, when the word of that prophet comes to pass, then it will be known that the Lord has truly sent the prophet.”
The Lord was with me and I was able to read the reading clearly. You can hear it here at the church service:
I also have been running four miles, today was the first time I got up and ran I got to the Horseshoe Lake complex and started my run at 7:00 am.
I also have been baking weekly.
https://www.youtube.com/@Chris_Chernick_Baking
This week I made my friend chocolate cupcakes for his birthday.
I also made the wonderful lemon cookies this past week
I hope you enjoyed my blog!
Remember any kind of exercise is good for you! You can walk, or run or bike… It does not matter just moving is good for you!!
Hello – it has been a while since I posted on my blog.
Here I am to tell you a few things going on.
On June 5, 2023 I ran in Roxbury’s 5K race – in the pouring rain. I did the race in 39’00”. I placed 5th out of 5 in my age category…. a very good pace and accomplishment.
I have been running 4 miles daily at the Horseshoe Lake for several weeks – usually 6 days a week, this week because of rain it has only been 3 times so far. It is good exercise and a lot of fun to be out there again.
I have been baking cookies weekly here is a sampling of them
I recently wrote a fictional piece which follows.
A First-Time Float
I went to my first parade when I was a kid. There were fire trucks, bands, and floats from the high school and other areas. When we moved to New Jersey, there were parades on Memorial Day here in town, but no floats.
It was many years later that I was on a committee to organize a more majestic type of parade.
What was to be the goal?,I thought. Someone suggested something like the Rose Bowl Parade. I thought there was a lot of money spent on that parade – money we didn’t have – but maybe we could use that for some ideas…
Would we do a float with real flowers or artificial ones? Would there be music? How would we pull the float? One of the members, Stephen, had a pick-up truck with a hitch that he said he could use to tow the float, so that was one thing solved.
Another member of the group, Theresa, said she and her husband had a trailer with a flat bed of plywood that we could build on.
We were on our way. Another member, Thomas, had spare lumber and shingles.
We went to work and assembled a small shed-like structure with a window and a doorway. We painted shutters around the windows and door frame We put up planters and planted artificial flowers in them. There was a battery powered CD played, and we would play dancing and jazz music on it. I had some speakers that could be mounted on to the float as well.
We went to the thrift store and got some clothes that looked old, and we found an old banjo. We were ready to rock and roll (even if that wasn’t the type of music we were playing)! We added a mix of real and artificial flowers around the trailer to cover up the metal frame.
All of us on the committee arrived a little after 8:00 in the morning and lined up to be the 6th team in the parade, right towards the middle. We were behind the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts so our music would not be drowned out by the high school band.
Once our part of the parade started moving, we turned up the music; one of the members strummed the banjo like he was playing it. We all made like we were singing, and we had some candies that we were giving out to the kids.
We got many cheers along the way, and some of the kids walked up to get a closer look ; we welcomed them and gave them extra candy.
At the end of the parade, we assembled in the parking lot of Horseshoe Lake. We had a nice lunch and then there were awards. We took 5th place out of ten floats! Right in the middle for our first time – that was an accomplishment. Maybe next time we’ll get some instruments and learn to play a song ourselves: we could get 1st place for that!
Conclusion
I am thankful to God for the ability to run. Any form of moving exercise is good for you, you do not have to run, a brisk walk or even a slow walk benefits your health tremendously.
I wish everyone good health and happiness…..
Be well!!
We took a mid-winter break to travel to Hawaii
_______________________________3/3/2023_________________________________________
This morning at brakfast we took a picture of some of the workers with Giadee
We are home!!
We travelled from Maui to Oahu early in the morning
We were greeted with a great sunrise as we approached Newark Airport
A great trip!
_______________________________3/2/2023__________________________________________
Traveling back to New Jersey, we are in the Oahu Airport for a few hours so here is some pictures of our trip so far… It is absolutely beautiful gorgeous here, even with the rain we had the last few days….
Traveling to the airport
A video of the trip t othe airport
Pictures from the plane
God has richly blessed us to spend the time we did here, we look forward to being home and someday return again.
God bless you!
_______________________________3/1/2023___________________________________________
Our last full day of adventure in Hawaii – It has been a fabulous trip and we go home tomorrow arriving early Friday morning in Newark, NJ
I ran 3-1/2 miles this morning.
We had a rainbow this morning
We took a trip to the Up Country today to a town called Makawao… a quaint old town.
An old building
We had coffee and tea and snacks at a small coffee shop called Vida
We had lunch at Freshies
The Maui Cookie Lady – yummy cookies and snacks.
A video of some of our travels
A sunset tonight
A few more pictures
Another favorite greeter at the Lanai a place for snacks and light dinner bites, we have here, Giadee
_______________________________2/28/2023___________________________________________
This morning I ran 3-1/2 miles, feels so good.
We spent the day at the beach.
A lady had a huge telephoto lens on her camera, I asked her about it, she said she had a Cannon R7, which is the newest and she was shooting in sport mode. She let me take a few shots and it rapidly fired. Great for shooting whales….
We had a good day relaxing and watching the waves come in, our sunset cruise was canceled due to rough water.
Our favorite hostess Daisy at the hotel
We went shoping at the stores in the area but got caught in the rain. Here Megan is with a group of pretty flowers
We are truly blessed to have this time here as we wind down our wonderful trip.
Until next time!
_______________________________2/27/2023____________________________________________
Started the day with a 3-1/2 mile run
We. had breakfast and saw a beautiful rainbow
We travelled north to Napili and saw some beaches
We then travelled south to Lahaina it. has a huge number of offshoots that root like another tree
The biggest banyan tree in the US, it has many branches that shot down to look like different trees but it is one tree.
We had lunch at the Cool Cat Cafe
Around town in Lahaina
Lahaina Heritage Museum
The Lahaina Heritage Museum which was in the old court house
A sunset at the hotel
Until next time!
_______________________________2/26/2023____________________________________________
I started the day with a 3-1/2 mile run, the path is part of the run I do every day here on Maui.
We spent most of the day at the beach
Some videos
The first is Chris in the ocean
The second is around the ocean
Tonight we went to a luau, which was great
We had another great day here…. the beach and then the luau which finished with the fire dancers….
More to come….
________________________________2/25/2023___________________________________________
Today I ran 3-1/2 miles – a few pictures from the run at 6:40 am.
On the road again:
We had breakfast and the set out for the Maui Nui Botanical Garden in Kahakuloa
We then went to Paia where we had lunch at the Paia Fish Market (we were there two years ago and enjoyed this time and last time too). We went to the Pueo Gallery and bought a beautiful vase that will be shipped home. We had some ice cream and then headed back to the hotel.
Sunset
We had a great day!!!!!
Until next time!!!
________________________________ 2/24/2023___________________________________________
Today we took a trip down to the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary in Kihei
A video of our drive to Kihei
We had lunch at Leodas Kitchen and Pie Shop on Route 30 not far from the hotel
At the hotel we saw the parrots out.
_________________________________2/23/2023___________________________________________
Our trip from Big Island to Maui
Megan took some videos while we were driving at the end you will see the open air aipport at Kona on the Big Island. There is a lot of lava towards the middle……
Sunset at the Westin in Ka’annapali, Maui
_________________________________2/22/2022_____________________________________________
Our last full day on the Big Island
was filled with a great experience.
The first day of lent was today
On the road a few scenic stops
We travelled south just close to Captain Cook and visited St. Benedict’s Catholic church known as the Painted Church.
We then travelled further south to Naalehu which is the southern most town in the USA
______________________________2/21/2023___________________________________________
Today we spent at the beach.
I took a few pictures on my morning run today
A couple of pictures on way back from breakfast
We took a walk around the hotel grounds before dinner at Pueo’s Osteria an italian place near by.
We had a great day!
More to come!
______________________________2/20/2023___________________________________________
Today we went to the Hawaiian Volcanoes National Park.
We had a great time driving around and going to the viewing areas.
A description about lava
Some more other side of crater
The Lava Tunnel – about 1500 feet long. It was a steep path down and steep off but well worth it.
It was a two hour trip from the east side of the island to the west side – through an elevation of about 2500 to 3000 feet, we hit heavy rain going and coming. The viewing was inhibited by the rain. It rains a majority of times…. If you get a chance to visit the Big Island take a trip to the Volcanoes National Park it is great…..
After the visit to the park we had lunch at this nice cafe nearby
We had dinner at Bin Chont Tan restaurant at the hotel, it is japanese themed but very good.
Here we are after dinner
More to come!
______________________________2/19/2023____________________________________________
We finally got sun this morning…
We started out to the Volcano National Park but missed the exit and will go tomorrow instead.
I ran 3 miles this morning along the ocean and then on the golf course and road.
Here are a few pictures from the car, courtesy of Megan
We spent the day at the beach, here are some pictures from the beach and around
Ready for dinner
We had another great day!
More to come!
______________________________2/18/2023____________________________________________
Today I started my day by running three miles.
We then had breakfast at the Orchid Court Restaurant here at the hotel.
We walked around the hotel to explore the grounds some pictures follow:
We took a ride to Kailua-Kona about 40 miles south of our hotel
We went to the Big Island Grill for lunch.
We then went to the Kona Coffee and Tea Company close by.
We took a stroll around the grounds right before diner
We had pizza at Waikola Pizza about 5 miles away on the way we saw a beautiful sunset
We had a great time on the Big Island….
More to come…….
______________________________2/17/2023_____________________________________________
We arrived on the Island of Hawaii (the Big Island) about 1:00 pm local time. The airport is almost totally outdoors…. there is a lot of lava on side of road which has been there for years, we are not near the recent eruptions.
I took a few pictures from the plane, here they are:
A picture from the balcony of our room, it is cloudy and rainy so when we have sun we will post a brighter picture.
More to come……
________________________________2/16/2023_____________________________________________
Today we took a break and spent the day at the beach, we rented two chairs and an umbrella, we had a nice view of the ocean and beach, I went in for a short time and the picture is when I came out.
We have enjoyed our time here on Oahu, especially seeing new things on the North Shore yesterday and seeing the large waves.
We leave for the Big Island tomorrow afternoon and onto the next adventure.
Here I am just out of the ocean at the Royal Hawaiian Beach! Also a picture of us at dinner tonight
Praise the Lord that we have this opportunity at this time.
__________________________________2/15/2023____________________________________________
Today’s adventure is that we drove to the North Shore and saw several beaches with large waves, not the 60 foot high but still big waves…. We had a great time driving around the Island, beautiful and much more rustic than the Waikiki area we are staying in. We hit rain and the Windward side of the island (which is the east side of the island.)
Here are pictures from the various beaches….
Ted’s Bakery in Kahula, Megan had a Macadamia Nut Pie
We had lunch of Shrimp at Giovanni’s Shrimp Truck in Kahula – Megan had Shrimp Scampi and I had Butter Lemon Shrimp, very yummy!
We got Macadamia Nuts at the Macadamia Nut Factory
We finished the day with a walk to find the International Shopping Center, finally founded it with Google Maps, we. had pizza from Aloha Pizza which was delicious……
More to come soon!!
God Bless….
____________________________________2/14/2023___________________________________________
We arrived yesterday and got ourselves settled into vacation mode – 5 hour time difference – earlier than the east coast of USA.
Yesterday’s pictures
Today we had breakfast at the hotel
Valentine’s Breakfast, the waiter helped us get flowers from the restaurant to put on the graves at the cemetery, so nice of them.
We went to the Punch Bowl National Cemetery and visited Patrick, Becky. Carrie Anne Foley’s grave site
Some more displays at the Cemetery, Tinian is where Megan’s Dad, Clinton Rose served there when the Enola Gay took off from there to drop the first atomic bomb
Pearl Harbor
We finished the day off with a trip to Leonard’s Bakery for the Malasada stuffed donuts – reall yummy!
We finished Valentine’s Day at an excellent dinner at Wolgang Puck Steak House, sweet valentines….
Hawaii is a beautiful place a few more days we will go to two other islands…..
To be continued….