It was beachy!

Aruba in pictures...well...ok...some words too...

View from the hotel balcony. 

 

We earned this trip by meeting sales requirements of corn and soybean seed. 

 

We've been able to meet those requirements almost every year for several years.  DH and I have gone on a couple trips but 2 of our sons have gone and last year our salesman went on the trip.  The company that has this as an incentive is already making plans for next year and that will be to Costa Rica. 

 

There are a few business meetings while we are there but there is plenty of time for rest and recreation too!... 

 

 



One of the 1st days there we went on a 3 hour bus tour.  This beauty was at the Butterfly Farm.

 

 



The island of Aruba is a desert island with cactus and thorny bushes everywhere.  About the only thing grown there is aloe but I don't know where it grows...we never saw any.  Mostly they seem to be bulldozing the cactus and thorny bushes to make room for more houses.

 

 



The east side of the island is rocky and has rough waters.  No one hanging out at the beach here!

 

 



We also went on a sunset sail on a catamaran.  There were a couple cruise ships docked each day at Aruba and then about sunset they would take off for their next destination.  Those hummers are HUGE!

 

 



Another pretty sunset while on the sunset sail.

 

 

 

 

We also went on a boat/submarine that was called a SemiSub.  Both DH and I are a bit claustrophobic and couldn't bear to go on a submarine but this way we could look underwater and if it got too much we could go above and sit on the deck.

 

 

 

 

Here is one of the cute little fishies that we saw.

 

 



But the main event at Aruba are the beaches on the west side of the island.  Beautiful beaches with white sand and gorgeous aqua colored water.

 

 



We reserved a palapa (shaded table on the beach) and spent a bit of time reading and people watching.  But if you can believe it...we even waded out in the ocean!  So we can officially say we were in the Caribbean Sea.  What fun!

 

 

Aruba!!

 

 



See ya later!

 

We are gonna be gone for a few days.

 

 

 

Catch you on the flip side!

 

Las Vegas 2012

DH & I decided we needed a bit of a break before another farming season starts and the seed plant goes nuts yet again and so we made a quick weekend trip to Las Vegas.

I've always wanted to take a picture of mountains from an airplane but there were always clouds in the way. This time there were less clouds and so I put my phone on airplane mode and shot away.

These weren't the highest mountains but when you are from ND anything over the size of a small hill looks like a mountain!

I don't know if any of you read the Yarn Harlot but she created the term "kinnear". And so on St. Patrick's Day I couldn't resist kinnearing this gal who was all dressed up for the day.

But! She caught me at it. Oops. Turns out she wasn't upset...just amused. Her & her friend, that was dressed almost identically, were happy to take a picture with me.

No. I'm NOT putting that on here...what do you think I am? Crazy? These girls are skinny and I look like 2 of them put together.

Whenever "Pawn Stars" is on we usually watch. And since it is just a ways north of the strip we just had to go see the place for ourselves.

It was a hoot to see. None of the stars of the show were around but the guys behind the counter are occasionally seen in the background of the show.

It was your typical pawn shop. Older building. Slightly dusty appearance on everything.

They let only a certain amount of people in at a time and as you can see in the picture everyone basically lines up and walks around the perimeter of the store.

They sell a lot of touristy things. T shirts, shot glasses, mouse pads, magnets, key chains as well as some very expensive items that have been pawned there. I thought it would be fun to pick something up from there. Ah. No. Guess not.

2nd DS was there a couple weeks ago and did a little investigating. He walked around to the back of the building to their warehouse where the big overhead door was open. Guess what he found inside. T shirts. A whole wall of boxes of T shirts and nothing else. He was like..."Can you say tourist trap?"!

There are no pictures allowed at any of the shows and so no more pictures but we went to Jay Leno who is the same onstage as the standup part of his nightly dialog. Fun to see in person but if you watch regularly it felt like you'd heard it before.

The next night we went to Kathy Griffin. Funny but with a bit more of an edge than I'm comfortable with but it was ok.

The last night we were there we attended Cirque du Soleil Love (Beatles). Amazing. Huge. Spellbinding. Very loud Beatles music. Acrobats coming from the ceiling, over your heads, up from the floor, down the aisle. Like a 3 ring circus, there was so much going on you couldn't see it all. Did I say Amazing and Spellbinding?

It's always fun to go to Las Vegas. People to watch. Shows to see. Lots of good eating. A little shopping. Relaxing.

If you can, you should try it sometime!

Let me give you a little vacation...

I'd love to take you along on a little trip to Maui.

First up is the beach. Close your eyes for a minute....do you feel the warm sunshine on your head and shoulders and the breeze on your face? The waves are crashing, people are talking and laughing. Little kids are running in and out with the waves. Relaxing...

But don't forget your sunscreen!

























The beach is usually what people think of when they think of Hawaii but there is much more to see. We rented a car...get in with us for a winding trip to the top of Haleakala. It quite cool compared to the beach...you might want to take a jacket along.

The peak of Haleakala is 10,000 ft and looks like an atomic bomb went off or we accidently landed on the moon. No vegetation and it seems as though we and the other people there are the only life forms around.

On the trip up here we went through many stages of vegetation. In the beginning there were lots of things growing. Grasses, shrubs and even some pine trees. Gradually it got more scruffy and scrubby and eventually when we got to the top this is what we saw.













This is what remains of the crater. It has eroded over time so that there are only little cones of secondary eruptions left.









And since there were a few clouds that day, we've driven though them and are on top of the clouds! How cool is that... :D





















One of the best ways to see the waterfalls and the whole island in one short trip is to go on a helicopter ride. So come on! Lets jump in and buckle up and go for a ride!

Side note. If you've ever been carsick you might want to take that Dramamine now! I've never been car sick at any time but I wish I'd had some...














The pilot was excellent and she told many interesting things about the island.















Here are windsurfers on the east side of the island. Look see how clear the water is. You can see the shape of the land under it. In places there are coral reefs.

















And waterfalls. There are lots of waterfalls and you get a very close look at them.





Our helicopter ride was with a family from Russia. The college age daughter and the mother spoke English quite well. And it would have been fun to get to visit with them but time really didn't allow it.





Since we still have the rental car, lets go for another ride! We keep hearing about the "Road to Hana" and so that will be our next destination.

This trip is through the rain forest. And it is, as you would expect, damp. Where the road is in the shade it is damp even though it is the middle of the day. The forest and the folliage is thick and dense and at times the road is a tunnel through it.

The road winds back and forth with the highest speed 35 mph. There are numerous one lane bridges with yield to oncoming traffic signs posted at each end of the bridge.










This is bamboo growing on the left side of the road.

















And during the drive the ocean is never very far away. It's warm here. You sure don't need that jacket today!









Since it is the end of January and perfect time for seeing whales, it is time to climb on board the "Hula Girl" for a sunset ride to see the whales. Be sure to bring your sunglasses. It's bright out there. And don't bother with shoes, just flip flops will do, you don't get to wear them anyway!










To board you walk up a stair that is on the front of the boat. Watch out for the waves...you're going to get wet!















I never did see any whole whales but there were sure a lot of whale tails flashing around.
















If you look closely you can see the top of a whale that was really close to the boat. They say they are as big as a large school bus...

It is exciting when someone yells, "Oh there's one!". Everyone rushes to look. Cameras are clicking.

It's beautiful on the water. The sun is warm. The ocean is calm. The boat ride is smooth. You can see forever. Relax. Wind down. Enjoy.

Aloha!

Maui

This is a sugarcane field in the foreground and a...well coming from flat North Dakota I'd call this a mountain...
Picture taken the first day we got here.








This is the top of a mountain that we drove up today. It is 10,000 feet above sea level and was cool and windy. And we were above the clouds! We saw the crater left from the volcano. Very fun! I have a picture of the crater in the camera which I can post when we get home.

Leaving on a jet plane....

do know when I'll be back again... That is if the weather here cooperates and we don't come back to a blizzard! Haven't seen any forecasts for then so don't know what it'll be like.

I'll try to take a picture or two and post while we are gone. But if I don't I'll be sure to do a post when we get back.

Bye bye! :D

A finish and a start...on shawls

Last Sunday I finished knitting the Forest Beauty Shawl. This week I got it blocked and a few rather inadequate pictures were taken today. All the info about it here on Ravelry.




















To be honest, I got a little bored with the project and even after blocking it looks like it is going to be prone to curling on the long edge. In that way it's a disappointment. And I might not have made the best selection on yarn color...it just looks like it should be socks and not a shawl. Live and learn.










The lace is pretty though....













So now I have started another shawl. This one really is simple but I went into it knowing that so can't really complain to much about getting bored! ;) Here is the info on Ravelry. I think this is the project that will travel with me & DH to Hawaii later this week.














And I think we got an excellent time to get out of town. The predicted high for the day we leave is minus 10. o.0

I'm baaack!

It's been a long time since I posted. My bad? But I haven't been hibernating, I've gotten a bunch of things done.....

DH & I drove* to Minocqua, WI to visit 2nd DS & DDIL and our granddog Aida. Well, they have no kids...you have to take what you can get.

We had a great time. We talked and talked some more and then ate and ate some more. Good times! Good food!

One afternoon we hopped on golf carts and took a tour of 2nd DS's golf course where he is superintendent. It doesn't look very green in the picture but it is greening up. And lookie....no snow! We got home to snowbanks yet. Augh!

I also had a birthday. Not telling how old. But I had a fun time!

And! TaDa! I finished DH's Christmas present. And ah, yes, that means this past Christmas not the one coming up in several months. a little slow...

When I washed it up it bled about as much as the red did on 1st DDIL's scarf. It's Great Northern Yarn. 70% mink and 30% cashmere. It seems nice but since I was so exceedingly slow and it is now spring, DH hasn't had an opportunity to wear it except for picture taking and I have no idea if it is itchy or not. Time will tell?
*Actually DH drove. I didn't drive a bit.

Vacation time!

See ya later! :)

xo

Back from Vegas!

The only pictures I took while we were in Vegas were pictures of flamingos at the Flamingo! It was so nice to find a green area and benches to sit on. I think all of the strip has a plan that the only available places to sit are at the slot machines!

It was a nice trip. My only advice is if you get to see Donny & Marie or Bette Midler...do it. If you have a chance to see Barry Manilow...skip it. We thought Barry would be a slam dunk but were fairly disappointed. Too loud. No connection with the audience. We also saw the Titanic and the Bodies exhibits at the Luxor. They both were interesting in their own way. I was especially amazed at the Bodies. How they were preserved was extremely cool.

I knit a few rows on my socks while DH took a quick nap one afternoon. I didn't try taking the knitting on the plane. I love my Crystal Palace size 2s that I use for sock knitting and it would break my heart if they were taken from me.... On the way home though, we sat next to a young gal with bamboo needles. She was making a baby afghan. She was also traveling with her cat. I didn't know you were allowed to take animals on board, but she said as long as the carrier would fit under the seat you can. I didn't even know she had her kitty with her until she started talking about it after we landed. Our cats would have thrown a total hissy fit if we'd try something like that! :)

I'm working on the blue baby afghan as much as I can stand....still don't like the counting. And am looking to start a pink one too in case the new grandbaby is a girl. The patterns I'm looking at are also a bunch of counting but they are very pretty.....just have to pick the right one. They are in Leisure Arts Our Best Knit Baby Afghan. I think I'll do a little sample knitting to see what pattern I like the best.

On Saturday afternoon we will be celebrating DGD's 4th birthday. It'll be a fun time. She's been having an earache though. Hope she feels better for the party.

Our weather has gotten really boring. Snow and cold. Yet. Still. Will it be here forever? Where is the global warming when you need it!!!

Home again

DH and I got back from WI last night. Wonderful trip. But....I was too pooped to pop by the time we got home. We stayed up until midnight or 1am visiting with 2nd DS and DDIL and even at that we could have talked around the clock. Just a bunch of motormouths!

Neither of us had ever been to northern WI before and were surprised by the trees. I thought only northern MN was so populated by trees! Anyway, where DS & DDIL live, we threaded our way around so many corners we didn't have a clue which direction we were headed. They seem to be accustomed to it though and zipped around showing us the area. This is a picture of the driveway leading to their home. One lane, lined by trees and more curves than a circle. It's pretty though, isn't it?

I did just a touch of knitting on my mitten liner. I have to do the kitchener stitch and knit the thumb on the 1st one and then start the other. What I really want to do is start a pair of socks with Kroy yarn. It is supposed to make itself into a jacquard pattern and I'm anxious to see if it will. I bought 2 skeins of it on sale for under $5 total. That is if my memory isn't failing me! I bought it awhile ago when Michael's Crafts was selling out of it.

And that reminds me. While in Michael's recently I overheard someone asking about a certain brand of yarn and the saleslady said that they have been have yarn sales lately to reduce their inventory since they are getting new brands in and that they wouldn't be getting more of the type the customer was asking for. I wish I was brave enough to ask what the new brands were going to be....Time will tell. Just another reason to stop in occasionally to look over what they have. :)

Prayer shawl finished, mitten liners started, travel

I finished the prayer shawl a couple nights ago. I got it delivered today after gathering up enough nerve. I always second guess myself when it comes to something like this. I decide to make it, am excited, finish and then when it's time to deliver it I wonder if it really is the right thing to do or if I'm out of bounds. But I prayed specifically for this person and her family and it just wouldn't do to keep the shawl or give it to someone else so I finally convince myself to deliver it. And it was fine.



I started on mitten liners for my mittens I did this winter. They aren't warm enough when it's windy and below zero temperatures so I'm making these liners to go inside the mittens. I'm doing them a size smaller and without the ribbed cuff. If they don't stay in place or if it's hard to get my hand inside, I'll tack them to the mittens along the bottom edge. They might "knit" themselves together if I put the liners inside the mittens and then wash them. They seem like they will be a fast knit without the ribbing to mess around with.

We are traveling to visit 2nd DS and DDIL. It'll be so fun to see them. The least fun will be the 10 hour drive there and another 10 on the way back. A couple people have asked if we weren't flying....now that is an option we hadn't considered....