The second day in Cancun was very relaxing. We managed to get a decent breakfast (buffett) that only cost $250 pesos each (still having some issues with conversion). After breakfast, we headed down to the beach for about an hour (maybe a little longer) to work on the tan, and then got insided just as the clouds opened up. It was a heavy downpour that lasted all of 10-15 minutes, and then the sun was shining again. It reminded us of Hawaii.

We reluctantly packed up and put our bags in storage for the day while we waiting for our friends to join us. We enjoyed a good amount of time at the pool bar sipping on some cervezas (the local Negro Modelo) and snacking on a small lunch. The Hilton is very nice, but there is not really a lot to do in the resort, which was actually – at the end of the day – very relaxing. We sat and snoozed a little, and then we waited … and waited … and waited.

It seems that the trip for Bobby, Ian, Jonas and Corey as not as quick as ours, and they were in line for customs and immigration for over two hours. Finally, they arrived and we headed down to Akumal (near Tulum) to the Grand Pallidium. Another good driver from Entertainment-Plus was our chauffer, and we were really happy that they were able to accomodate our airport pick-up to Akumal via the Hilton.

The Grand Palladium is big. When we tried to check in, we were advised that we had been upgraded to a different room, which also meant a different section of the hotel, which mean a different check in. So our journey continued for a short time, and were greeted by a welcome drink and a very friendly front desk agent. They banded us, and we were free to find food, drinks and other fun activities.

Our room is really nice. It’s in the Riviera section and very spacious. Thankfully the others are close by – up one floor, and in the next door building. Communication has been an interesting challenge as we are foregoing our cell phones while staying here, but we seem to find a way. We walked around and found a buffett for a late dinner, and then wandered around the resort for some sightseeing and exploration. We found the salt water pool, which is a part of the sea, and found the place where people get married. The night ended soon after that, and we looked forward to what the new day was going to have in store for us.

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I’m sitting here relaxing on the balcony overlooking the Gulf of Mexico listening to the waterfall beneath me, and the waves crashing on the beach. For the most part we have been disconnected from the world and forcing ourselves to have a relaxing time without all the gadgets that keep us connected (even the laptop doesn’t have Internet and won’t for a few days … so this is actually being a few days ago).

Our trip to Cancun has been very uneventful, which has made it all that more enjoyable. We had a pleasant flight (thankfully Chris was able to use some of his upgrade credits to bump us up the front of the plane). Our process through Mexican Immigration and Customs was – at first sight – overwhelming, but both of us were impressed with the speed in which agents worked their desks.

Our transfer to our hotel was fantastic! Thanks to the advice on Trip Advisor we decided to pre-book our transfers and after some research went with Entertainment-Plus (USA Transfers). The team were very easy to deal with, and were available to answer questions (before hand), and when we landed, there was the man in a cap waiting for us. Raymonda was just what we wanted to see after pushing through the swarm of taxi and shuttle drivers. He escorted us away, requested our transport and we were safe in the hands of Hilario (our driver) who was moving us closer to our hotel in no time.

The Hilton Cancun Golf and Spa Resort is a a typical resort hotel. You may take that statement anyway you wish. After a quick room change, we transformed out of travel attire, and toned it down a little with shorts, flip flops and tee and hit the beach. We walked a good distance along the shoreline looking at the other hotels, the crashing waves and the people who were doing the same thing as us.

We swam some, got cleaned up, then ate dinner at the resorts Mexican restaurant (when in Rome). The first thing that is a little overwhelming (for uneducated types like me) is seeing the prices before you realize they are listed in pesos. The food was actually very good. The mango margarita I had was excellent! Chris’s margarita on the rocks was one of the best he has ever had. I ordered a pork dish that was cooked in citrus inside a banana leaf, which was unbelievably good. Chris went with the fajitas (which I was thinking about), and they were okay. The total cost was $660 (pesos), or about $52 (USD).

After dinner, we walked around the hotel some, along the beachwalk a little more, and then … well we are back to where I started. I’m sitting here relaxing on the balcony overlooking the Gulf of Mexico …

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Be sure to check out Chris’s extensive travel post for the holidays.

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Great title, no? I’ll come up with something snappier as the days progress but for now, this will do. After arriving in Melbourne, we got to our apartment and found that it would not be available until after lunch (we landed in Melbourne around 8:30 AM), so we dropped off our bags and headed down the street to look around, and find some lunch. My first observation of being in Melbourne for just a short time. It was the same, but different.

We found a place to eat called “Alpha Cafe” which had an incredibly good Pumpkin and Pesto soup, and our first “latte” since being in Oz. Both were very pleasing. After we wandered around a little in the city, we headed back to our apartment to check in and get settled (and most importantly get a shower).

After wandering around a little more and reacquainting ourselves with some of the stores in the area, we meet up with my friend Richard for a drink over at the new Federation Square. One word describes this place for me, “Wow!” Where Federation Square is now, used to be an old railway station called “Princes Station” and as I later came to find out was where these two horrible looking buildings built in the 50′s were (the Gas buildings). Now it is a vibrant square with a totally modern look that appears to be a very popular place for people to meet and hang out.

After a couple of drinks with Richard, our friend Tony made an apppearance and we headed off to dinner and to catch up. We ate at the “Chocolate Buddah” (a noodle bar / Japanese style place), and the food was really good. The evening was getting a little cooler, but sitting out on the patio under the heaters was extremely pleasant and we had great company, so what did it matter.

At this point, I think I calculated that we’d been awake (for the most part) for approx. 48 hours and we were ready to crash, and after walking back to our apartment that is exactly what we did.

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It’s been a while since I blogged, and I had hoped to blog more as I prepared for our journey back to Oz, but alas this did not happen. So in an effort to make up some lost ground, I am using my time (at 6:30 in the morning) wisely.

So for those that don’t know, Chris and I are in Australia for our vacation and to visit with family. It’s hard to comprehend that it has been just on 9 years since I was last home, which is another reason why I was prompted to blog.

After having our first flight cancelled, we left stormy Dallas on Wednesday. The trip from DFW to Los Angeles was somewhat uneventful, only just long enough that my butt was numb by the time I got on the ground. I’m not sure why, but I’m always more nervous when flying American Airlines, and I’m not sure if that is because they really just don’t care about their job (“we are here for your safety” (i.e. not customer service)) or if it is something else.

Arriving in LAX we were greeted with the hustle and bustle of people running trying to make connecting flights (our flight was late, and people had paper-thin margins of time to get to their next flight). We headed over to the Tom Bradley International airport to check in for our flight, and the way we got there was by shuttle that ran across the tarmac. I thought Chris was going to pee himself … he was that close to the planes. TBI is going through major renovations, so we arrived at a location that had wires hanging from the ceiling, and the air conditioning running at 300% (it was perky). We grabbed some dinner at The Daily Grill (quite good for airport food), and watched the few people with face masks wander around downstairs. We also took advantage of grabbing some duty-free booze, which was actually a bright thing to do, and then headed over to the gate for our flight.

On board the A380 we were really impressed with the layout, the style and the staff of Qantas 94. The plane was not completely full, and Texas Eric was able to keep his own seat between Chris and I. The “380″ is very well designed for the traveller. The seats are more comfortable (although after 14 hours, the butt does start to wonder what it ever did wrong to you to deserve this), and the personal entertainment system was brilliant. It even has the option of Sky Cam (which is not that exciting when you fly during the middle of the night for most of the night) which was great when we departed and landed, and pretty awesome when we were coming in for landing. Chris even snapped a video of the landing (post link) through the eye of the Sky Cam. The food was pretty good, and the new ‘Q bar’ is actually a very clever idea, as it gives you the opportunity to get up and wander, and get a drink or snack when needed. It seems to have kept the aisles clearer than other flights I have been on, as the staff only have to do a couple of trolley runs for the main meals.

After landing, we got through immigration (Chris actually took the same amount of time as me to get through, even though we were in separate lines), and then we had to wait a while for our bags and then to clear customs. Then we both walked through that sliding door, and we knew that we had made it home to cold Melbourne.

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As a kid growing up (and what kid doesn’t do this now), I used to count down the days to something really exciting by the number of sleeps I had to go. Of course, as I have gotten older, I have discovered the joy of the occasional mid-afternoon nap, which I have decided don’t count for the sleep countdown.

So in thirty-eight (38) sleeps we leave for Australia! I’m excited (hence the sleep countdown)!

The trip will be my first visit back home since 2000, so I am expecting a lot to have changed when I get there, but I’m also anticipating a lot of “some things never change” in my travels. I’ve not traveled back sinch I wanted to finish my studies, and then with the phenomenal job opportunity I got with BBBS, it was not the right time for me to return home … until this year.

What makes this trip even more special is that Chris and my best friends, Bobby and Ian, will be doing the trip with us, so I get to play tour guide, and in some cases get to experience some new places because of the “tourists” that will be with us.

The highlight of the trip (for me) will be seeing my mother and sister again, and the bonus – due to my mother visiting my brother at the time we will be in Australia – I get to see my eldest brother, Peter, as well. I’m really excited about that, and just can’t wait. This is one of the new places that we will get to experience, as my brother lives in Queensland in an exotic-sounding city called Bribie Island.

So in 38 sleeps we leave DFW, and then due to the strange happenings surrounding the International Date Line, we arrive in Melbourne, Australia on May 1. After a week in Melbourne, doing some major recovery from travel, and business related to my visa, not to mention catching up with friends that I’ve not seen in a long time (will they remember me?), we will head up to Queensland via Canberra and Sydney. It will be a quick visit, as both Chris and I have some work commitments which we both need to be here for, but it will be a full visit.

The irony of this is that in 38 sleeps, I will not be sleeping for a long time, as (1) I’ll be way too excited, and (2) I don’t sleep on planes.

Travel Australia, bribie island, canberra, melbourne, sydney

Here is the final post that I forgot to make for our recent trip to Hawaii. See previous posts here and here.

There is a lot of water surrounding the Hawaiian Islands.

After landing on Maui (Lahaina), we drove the western part of the island to waste some hours prior to checking in to our vacation home. We stopped briefly at DT Fleming Beach park, and drove around the winding roads to see some magnificant views of cliffs plunging into the ocean. As we were getting hungry we headed back to Kapalua to the Pineapple Grill, where we enjoyed a beer on the putting green patio and some good (not quite as good as Kalypso’s) Fish and Chips.

Following this, we were ready to settle in, and headed over to the Maui Tradewinds on the north part of Maui, in a town called Haiku. Here are some of the views from the balcony.

As Maui was our last part of our journey, we decided to head to the beach for part of the day, and ended up going to HA Baldwin Beach. This was a really pleasant beach, as we had tree shade, and water for days. The beach also was in the pathway for planes taking off, so we got to see some planes leaving, and we realized that we would be doing this in just a few days. Here is one of my favorite pictures from the trip. I tried to get a close up but the heads had come apart at that stage. It is a picture of Chris and CMom on a boogie board, on the beach, drinking a beer.

No trip to Maui is complete without attempting the Road to Hana. It’s not for the light hearted, and you want to make sure that your driver is very focused on what they are doing (which we were fortunate to have). There are some truly breathtaking views along the road, and it is so easy to just get amazed at what you see, and potentially plummet into the ocean. So … eyes focused! Also a word to the wise, don’t try to rush this trip. It will take you up to three hours to get there, and 2-3 hours to get back. You can’t do this trip in a 4 hour window, so don’t plan on doing that. Besides you will want to stop and snap pictures, which means frequent stops, and “oohs and ahhss.” You’ll see what I mean here…

Along the way, we stopped at this little gallery/cafe and picked up some Mango & Cranberry Scones made fresh that morning. We actually met the lady who made them, and she shared that this was a modification of the Cranberry & Orange scones in the Williams Sonoma cookbook. As some of you know, Cranberry & Orange scones are one of my favorite snacks, and I have to say that what was on offer was just a tad better than my normal fare.

While we didn’t make it all the way to Hana, we did make it to Wainapanapa State Park where there is a black sand beach, and fantastic views of waves crashing into, under and over the rock formations. I even snapped a video for your viewing pleasure.

The very last night, we headed over to Little Beach and found a drum circle in progress. Little Beach is one of the few nude beaches in Hawaii, however there was not a lot of that happening due to the activities that were occurring. The unique thing about Little Beach is that it was separated from Big Beach by a lava flow, so you have to climb over a lava hill to get there. Both Chris and I decided that Big Beach was the place to be, and will make it a definate place to visit during our next visit to Maui.

Places we ate:

• Milagro’s, Paia HI (Blackened Ahi Fajitas)
• The Waterfront, Ma’alaea HI (Mahi Mahi stuffed with crabmeat)
• Paia Fish Market, Paia HI (Fish and Chips)

Leaving Maui was a little hard to do, but we took away some great memories, and a over 2500 pictures!

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Okay. It appears that I failed to publish some blog posts from our recent trip to Hawaii. Rather than just hit the delete button, I’m going to post them — aren’t you all lucky?

From memory, and by checking my last post, I left you on Oahu. This post picks up with our travels to Kauai, The Garden Island.

One thing to note about Lahui Airport, it’s small. After a fantastic view approaching the island, and a beautiful sunny landing, where we were asked to wave to the Air Traffic Controllers, Chad and Brian. They waved back! It was quite amusing to hear people on the plane get excited about seeing someone wave back to them.

After arriving at the airport, getting our car, and getting packed … it rained. It’s was a good tropical rain though, so we enjoyed a casual drive up the road until we got to Kapa’a where Chris’s mom (“CMom”) pointed out this cafe called Olympic Cafe. It being lunch, we stopped, and WOW! Try the pig quesadilla or the fish tacos — unbelievably good.

As we continued our drive to our accommodation, we stopped at Anini Beach Park. It was a small park, but the water was clear and warm, and it was very nice to be able to just stop for a short time and check our mail. It was actually kind of funny, as both of us were texting friends to let them how beautiful it was. We did get to visit this beach again for a longer time later in the week, and dream about what it must be like to wake up to that view every day. Do you think one would get bored with it, and just take it for granted?

Later that day after settling into our “home” away from home, we decided to take a trip over the Ke’e Beach (Haena State Park) for the sunset, and along the way (actually just around the corner) we found the Hanalei Valley Overlook which is home to migratory birds throughout the year. During the trip we drove through Hanalei, and found a great restaurant called Kalypso’s Cafe. Awesome food! We ate there twice – two nights in a row. The first night I had probably the best Calimari I have ever eaten. It was just perfectly cooked in a fine tempura-esque batter. I followed it up with Fish and Chip, and to this day these would be the best I’ve ever had (which is actually saying something). Of course, it was made with Ono (also called Wahoo) which is just a delicious fish. The second night, I ordered a Penne Pasta Pesto with Ono and followed it up with a Grasshopper Pie. A further triumph! Thank the heavens we were walking everywhere.

We did manage to get to Hanalei Bay Beach for some sunset shots (this one is the one I use on my desktop). This was probably the prettiest place that we saw the sunset during our trip.

Our last full day was spent driving all over the place, and visited Opaeka Falls, Wailea Falls, Po’ipu Beach; the Tunnel of trees (all eucalypts); spouting horn; and Waimea Canyon.

One the way back, we stopped at the memorial for Captain James Cook (for those not in the know, the [re-]discoverer of Australia).

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