Sunday morning and it's gorgeous out again! No wonder all the snowbirds want to come & stay down here. We have been doing little things every day, both of us working out........... Lois going to the gym & me going for my 5K walk every day. It's lovely to be able to be outside without worrying that you're going to slip & fall. We went to the Mesa Market on Thursday & it is HUGE.  There's absolutely everything a person could want there. Lois got lost on the way out looking for the car & FYI, I'm the one who found it!! Not bad for someone who can't find her way out of a wet paper bag eh?? We have been going to the pool & hot tub every day so here are some pics.

 

We went to the casino yesterday afternoon so that was something different to do but Lois woke up in the middle of the night with a headache. I think it was all the 2nd hand cigarette smoke.

Tucson, Feb. 18, 2014

Saguaro National Park was huge & of course Lois wanted to see the 50 foot cactus. This is the only place in the world where they are this size.

 There are very few trees here (which we are used to seeing in a forest), just lots of cactus everywhere. Doesn't Lois look tiny?

The area is quite rugged & the cactus seem to grow out of the sides of rock with just a tiny bit of nutrition.

We then went to Benson to visit the Kartchner Caverns State Park. This was an incredible site where 2 fellas (called cavers) went into the mountain to look for caves & discovered this cavern in 1974.  They didn't tell anyone for 4 years because they were trying to preserve it. They then told the people who owned the land & they didn't tell anyone for another 10 years while they were trying to get a bill passed to turn the area into a state park so the cave would be protected.

The intrepretor or guide that took us through told us a couple of examples of what would happen if you dropped something in the cavern. If you drop gum or candy into the cavern anywhere, it would grow into the size of a baseball within 2 days. If you touch the surface of any of the rocks, black mold will grow within a couple of days. It was and incredible journey under the mountain & we will never look at a mountain the same way ever again without wondering of there are caverns in it.

There was lots of information before we went in about the various rock formations as well as a video clip. A journey well worth taking. It was open to the public in 2002 to educate people about the rock formations & how water transforms & crystallizes these wondrous creations of nature. We were not allowed to take pictures but here is a website of this area. Enjoy!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=ISewwO38xs0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=uF75q4vzbAY

Phoenix Rodeo

February 16, 2014       Rodeo

We decided to go to the rodeo in Phoenix this afternoon for something to do. It was Sunday so they usually give out awards for all the talented competitors that did barrell racing, goat dressing, steer wrestling, etc. It's very similar to the one in Calgary that we attended in the past. 
Imagine running into a few of the gals that we know (& usually compete in the rodeo) there. They were absolutely surprised!!!

Here we are Sandy, Mary, Judy, & Lori

Look at those lovely red boots!!  Definately made for dancing!

This horse was very talented walking sideways left, then right, backwards, & pawing the ground right foot then left with only a tap of the wand he used on the side of the horse's leg. 

This is called barrel racing & some of these competitors are FAST! It was a wonderful display of skill & horsemanship.

February 14, 2014

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY TO YOU!!!

Today we went to an open house at the Mormon temple!! So yes Jeannie, we went to church hahaha! It was a magnificient piece of architecture (looked more like a hotel from the inside) & the expense they went to was really unbelievable. The chandelier must've cost at least $100,000 & there was 2 large ones & a few smaller ones. They also had a hot tub in one of the rooms that they baptize people in. I wish I would've thought to take my bathing suit! They are planning on building another one in Phoenix & one in Tucson! There was a lineup all the way down the street, around a corner & then around another corner & all the parking lots were absolutley full. I'm not sure that they were all Mormans or curiousity seekers like us. Of course they did not show us where they conduct the sermons.

As you can see the ground is quite rugged with cactus growing sporatically in & out of the rock crevices. This area is called Oak Creek Canyon.

They've got lovely bronze statues on the street. We decided to buy a couple of things for the gazebo so I'm looking forward to that.

Sedona Feb13,2014

Goreous day for drive so off we went to Sedona.......land of the red hills carved out millions of years ago by water and of course energy fields called vortexes. I love it here!!

Lois in front of the famous hills.

There is just too much information so here you are!

I just had to take this picture! There are so many colors in the rocks reds, blues, greys, creams. The striations are wonderful but I'm not sure how much you can see in this pic.

February 11, 2014

Lois & I have been keeping busy shopping & returning things. Good Grief!! We did find a lovely Gluten Free store and a  shop called Lane Bryant that seems to have a few things that Lois loves. I finally found a new purse  & got some pants shortened at Lululemon. This has been a very fruitful venture for sure. It's so nice to be able to go shopping & eat in some fantastic restaurants. We miss that a lot moving to Alberton. The variety is wonderful.

Yuma

February 07, 2014

Another gorgeous day when we left for Yuma today and we saw some HUGE cactus so of course we have to stop & take pictures.

It's funny that just all of a sudden there's a bunch of them & just as suddenly they stop!

What we did notice was that there was miles of solar panels in the fields & of course a large plant in behind that, that would actually harvest the energy & disperse it from there. Interesting!!

We had a lovely visit with the ladies & little Kiwi.What an adorable little pooch.

Phoenix  Feb 1-6

We are now in Phoenix in an absolutely gorgeous home. I have come down with a bit of a cold & Lois has joined the gym. We are investigating the area & learning our way around a bit. We are definitely enjoying the warmth of the sun. (We had about 3 days of rain while we were on the cruise so this is a welcome relief.) We did a little shopping. Haven't found anything for you yet Jeannie.

January 31, 2014

We are not doing a tour today and the ship is leaving the harbour at 1:30 pm and a bit overcast.  Lois managed to volunteer my services as a judge for the Sexy Leg Contest.  I also watched a demonstration of how to make artwork out of fruit and vegetables. They sure make it look easy. We are now on our way back to Oahu and while whales and dolphins swimming close to the boat.

Our last little animal design.

A bit misty closer to the hills. We are now on our way back to Honolulu.

 

January 30, 2014

Best of Kauai Tour:  Waimea Canyon, River, & Fern Grotto

The day started out rainy but the sun broke through and the tour was very informative. We took a winding road up to see the Hanapepe Canyon where they filmed the first part of Jurassic Park. We then continued our trek up the winding road to Waimea Canyon where they had a lookout. It was fantastic view and I had a picture taken with one of the locals who hunts in the canyon for wild pig.  The canyon is a smaller version of the Grand Canyon but spectacular just the same. We have met some awesome people on this trip and we are very glad we did it. From the Canyon, we went to see “The Spouting Horn” which is a geyser shooting out of the volcanic rock on the beach.  Onward to the Fern Grotto…. The bus dropped us off at a river boat which then transported us to the Grotto. The boat held about 100 people so it was BIG.  There was  lots happening on the river…. all kinds of canoes and paddleboards (standing on the surfboards & paddling while standing up), fish jumping, kayaking etc. Lois was most interested in the fish jumping. The grotto is a cave with ferns, and red and pink ginger flowers. The vegetation was amazing. Considering this area gets 450 inches of rain per year one can understand why the vegetation is the way it is. The Grotto’s ceiling started falling down so people are not allowed to enter the cave any longer.  Lois said if she was going to take another Hawaiian holiday, it would definitely be on the island of Kuaui. It is much smaller than the other islands, has tons of things to do, and is really friendly.

Waimea Canyon

There are chickens & roosters everywhere wild.

This fellow hollowed out a gourd for a helmet. Looks like a warrior, doesn't he?

Here's Lois at the Grotto.

Hula dancing on the boat.

The boat that held about 100 people.

What is it?

Historical Cruise January 29, 2014

We have landed on the Kona side or the dry side of the island. They only get about 8 cm of rain on this side so it is quite dry and sunny compared to the other side. We hopped on a smaller boat today that took us for a little tour along the ridge of the Kona side where Captain Cook met his end. They have raised a monument in his honor. There is tons of snorkelling around the reefs in this area to look at the fantastic coral and colorful fish. We also managed to see a couple of whales so that was really exciting for the passengers. They fed us on the boat, had a fantastic singer\guitar player and we learned how to hula dance if we wanted to.

 

 

 

 

 

Monument for Captain Cook where he died.

 

 

You can see part of a whale.

 

Tiny crabs walking on the ledge of the sea wall.

 

 

Our towel animal of the day. Can you guess what it is?

Hilo January 28^th

After sailing all night we landed on the Hilo side of Hawaii.  I’m not completely sure I like this sailing thing. It’s very hard to walk sometimes as you are not sure if you are going to crash into the person next to you. The Hilo side of the mountain is very rainy. They get 375 cm of rain per year so of course, it was raining when we got there. The tour we took was called the Land of Frozen Fire and it was about the effects of lava on the island. The volcano makes underground tunnels and will spew up lava out of a tunnel  miles away with no warning. There are caves and tunnels connected to the volcano everywhere so you really have to stay on the path. One part that was very interesting was where the lava had come down the side of the mountain and filled in the ocean. The lava went out one mile on a seven mile stretch of beach. It is unbelievable to see so much lava. The beach that was once there with lovely black sand has now disappeared and there is only lava for as far as the eye can see. There is a house that is still standing where the lava had just gone around it and the rest of the town (Kalapala) has disappeared.  They are allowed to grow marijuana here but only about 6 plants for personal use. It is called pakalolo or crazy cigarette.

We also went to a McKenzie Park where there was a pool coming off the ocean (man-made) and again you can see the cracks in the earth where the lava tunnels are and small animals like mongoose live in there where it’s warm and radiating heat. We’ve taken lots of pictures but sorry to say we can’t download them all.

When this lava came out of the volcano, it completely covered the beach 1 mile deep by 7 miles in width.

When the lava rolled over the trees, it made them look like statues like this one. Over time a tree will grow out of the top of it. Amazing, isn't it?

 

 

Here we are enjoying our day of touring the lava. All the islands are made up of lava and as the lava comes out of the volcano, there is more land.

Maui  January 27, 2014

Our “Best of Maui tour”  took us first to a rainforest. Of course, it was raining because I think that’s what it is supposed to do in a rainforest. The vegetation was extra ordinary. We didn’t see a lot of animals or birds, they were probably taking cover out of the rain. After the rainforest we went to a fruit plantation. They grow every kind of tropical fruit there that you can imagine. A tram took us through the plantation which grew papaya, avocado, coffee, pineapple, apple bananas, and macadamia nuts to name a few. The final part of the tour was to stop at another aquarium (Ocean Center).  This one had a lot of different fish such as a tiger shark, stingray, and some jellyfish. There is over 2000 species of fish in the aquarium so you can imagine what we saw. We walked through a huge glass tube and the fish were actually swimming above our heads so we could see the stingray’s underside! It was awesome! Dylan would’ve loved it!! The tiger shark is very rare in captivity & actually has stripes. They had hammerhead sharks too with eyeballs on the ends of the hammer part.

Here's the stingray's under belly!

Here's a regular shark.

These towel animals were made for us every day when we got back from our day trips. Can you guess what this one is?

This is the Iao Needle Mountain. It is famous cause it served as a lookout point for the people of Maui against other warriors coming onto the island.

Maui first day

Maui January 26, 2014

 The first day we docked in Maui and we decided not to do a tour. We went down town and got dropped off at a mall….whoopee….a mall like every other mall. At least we went to a Starbucks that had free Wi-Fi so we could connect with the internet. As soon as we got back to the cruise ship, we booked a tour for the next four days.  We decided we do not like to sit idle & twiddle our thumbs even if it is raining out.

Saturday night Jan. 25, 2014

Honolulu January 25, 2014

We went shopping at the market on Duke Street and didn’t buy a thing. There is kiosk after kiosk of the exact same thing….cheap stuff from China. At 2:00 we headed to the cruise ship. It is huge and has more people on it than there is in Alberton, Tignish, and O’Leary combined (about 3,000 in total).  We have met a lot of Canadians on the cruise.

The ship is called Pride of America.

This is a view at night of Honolulu.