Category Archives: Travel

Tunnels Beach, north shore of Kauai…

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We chilled today, at Tunnels beach. All of us are feeling the tug of work that is piling up at home but we are on vacation, dammit! Enough with the tugging!

My current photo challenge assignment is ‘silhouette’. I woke up as dawn was breaking and everyone else was in bed and took several photos. This is the best one and it’s not really doing it for me. Too much color, too much light. But I do like the image.

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I also realized that we an see the mountains that surround Hanalei Bay from close to our back door. I took several photos as the sun came up…

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At Tunnels Beach we mostly sat. Keith snorkeled. Amanda and I swam once. The water was murkier than we are used to and this is an area where there have been shark attacks. We got over loving being in the water in short order and went back to our shady spot and read. There was not that much going on in front of us, either. Most folks went down the beach.

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I found puka shells which are shells with a naturally occurring hole (I learned that today on google). I am old enough to think of surfer dudes in puka shell necklaces when I hear about ‘pukas’.

I always look for round shells with holes and was amazed to find 20-40 of them today. Mine are now soaking in water to get the sand out. Not all are perfect—in fact most are not. But I promise to share a photo in another post. Tonight I have my camera already in the bag.

I don’t know exactly how I will string them, but I am excited and happy and not going to work on quilt class supply lists tonight. I’m going to read my book and maybe start the next one in the series because, dammit, I’M ON VACATION!!!!!

FYI: The Informationist is a dandy beach/summer read. As is The Martian. They start fast and move along. No deep thinking. I’m enjoying shallow thoughts :-).

 

Maui, last day(s)…

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On our last full day on Maui, we went birding. The guys are enthusiastic birders as is to be expected because they are biologists after all.

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Even though I am not even close to being a birder, I did take a very few nice bird pictures.

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Personally, I enjoyed the shape of this tree as much as I enjoyed the birds.

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We went to Makena Beach Park after birding where there were dangerous shore breaks. Enough so that we did not stay in the water long. Amanda is saying hello there, not asking for rescue :-).

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I was happy to catch some wave action in focus—manually!

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I took a few more “story” pictures. Please do tell me what you think. I have to turn in my homework tomorrow.

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PS—While walking down an alley to our hotel one night we saw this mailbox…

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I stopped, and stood in front, and contemplated the message and button…

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The ‘Oh try it, it won’t shock you’ pulled me in. Seriously, I’ll fall for just about anything, just ask my sons.

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I got a little wet. Luckily the camera was spared a drenching. Next time I see something like this, I’ll stand to the side when I press the button :-).

Piece O’ NYC: Camp Lolanor has begun!

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Camp Lolanor is underway. We have not been killed by glitter or hormones…yet ;p. So we’re all pretty happy. We’ve done many things already and still have a couple of days left! Today was a Brooklyn Bridge kind of day, so we woke up early and headed out to see the bridge. Neither Lola or Ella have seen it, so it was lots of fun!

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All campers have to agree to the camp rules!

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Then we parked it and had some lunch. Built NY supplied us with a few lunch bags/totes to help us keep our picnic goodies extra cold. Aren’t they cute? After testing them, I’ve gotta say – I really love the large one. It held a smaller lunch tote inside of it, three bottles of water, and various other things. After all of those things inside, I thought it would weigh a ton, but surprisingly it didn’t (super plus!). It’ll come in handy when I have to take my work lunch, laptop and books for classes to work this semester too. Ella likes using her own tote as a purse, it’s pretty cute ;p.

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Yeah, a typical Camp scene… Technology wins over talking any day it seems.

Jeff is taking the girls to see a musical tonight and they’re all currently making some sort of goodies in the kitchen right now. What more could kids want from camp?! They’re being fed, we’re letting them stay up late, and we’re watching all of their favorite movies! I’ll show more pictures next week, because there are tons…and these kids are super cool.

If you’re interested in sending your kids to Camp Lolanor next year (we’ve already gotten a few of Lola’s friends who want to attend), send me a million dollar prepaid check and I’ll think about it ;p.

Piece O’ NYC: Kid Stuff

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I’m not sure why a lot of people ask me this, since I don’t have any children, but I get a lot of inquiries about things to do with kids in the city. Perhaps it’s my love for cats, glitter, and unicorns that leads them to think I know what a child would like?? HA! Seriously though, I do love doing “kid” things. I love watching children’s movies — no curse words, usually great music (“EVERYTHING IS AWESOME!”), and lots of positivity. And I love crafting — like so much that there’s still glue on my dining room table ;p.

Lately, I’ve had to really think about things to do in the city with kids because my niece Elanor and her friend Lola are coming to stay with us next week. We’re going to call it CAMP LOLANOR! We live in a one bedroom apartment with one bath and the girls will share the pull out sofabed … this is going to be quite an experience, you guys. They’re also “tweens…” Jeff may end up covered in sequins and requesting therapy afterwards … we’ll see! Should be loads of fun (or our doom) — yay!!!

So if you’re visiting with kids, I do highly recommend the following activities in the city (even if they are fairly touristy).
1. Central Park – Pack a lunch and go for a very long walk. I’d like to think this is both a fun adventure and a great opportunity to wear those kids out!!! Come on, nap time! Also, the park has lots of playgrounds like this one and boats on the pond for the kids to paddle you around in! Many free events are also available during the Summer months in the Park.
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2. Brooklyn Bridge Park – Did you know that in the summer they have a pop-up pool? What kid doesn’t love a pool … next to a bridge?!
3. Washington Square Park – in keeping up with the park theme, this one is nice and small. One of the big arches in the city lives here and so does NYU (which I think is a lovely campus ;p ;p ;p).
4. Times Square for a show and the Toys R US Ferris Wheel. They keep hinting that they’re going to close the Times Square Toys R Us. So in the event that they do, try out the ferris wheel while there’s still time. Jeff and I think it’s loads of fun…you know, when we take kids to do it and all…
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5. Sailing after seeing the Highline and getting a crepe from Bar Suzette in Chelsea Market. I fully believe sailing along the Hudson is the best way to see the Statue of Liberty, but if you choose to take the ferry over instead, book it here.
6. Museums GALORE! Pick one! Elanor loved the rooftop at the Met Museum when she visited last.
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Dr. Jeff Goldsmith, Biostatistician and Grown Up Kid.

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Museums are a great idea to visit with kids…especially in the snow. This is the American Museum of Natural History.

7. Cat Cafe – it’s a cafe with CATS! It’s a great spot if it’s raining and you just need a few minutes to sit down. Plus, the proceeds go to helping them take care of the cats.
8. Movies on the Hudson – every summer various parks will show free movies beginning at dusk. Bike rentals are common to find on the Hudson Greenway — rent one and ride along the path for hours.
9. Top of the Rock, Empire State Building, and One World Observatory – Pick one and go up! I like the Top of the Rock myself, but I heard the latter has a good new bar ;p
10. 9/11 Memorial – Unfortunately I haven’t been yet, but I’ve heard really powerful things.
11. Upper East Side for Shopping – Just get it out of your teenage kid’s system (if they’re the type to love shopping) and take them to Bloomingdale’s on the UES. You could get lucky and it’ll be crowded enough that they”ll want to leave asap ;p. Then just stroll around the corner and get an ATM Cupcake from Sprinkles because you’ll both deserve the treat for enduring that experience.

And if you don’t hear from me next week, it might be because the girls are exhibiting this sort of attitude, but I sincerely hope not ;p.

From the Big Island of Hawaii…

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We spent the day hiking, looking for birds and looking at nature. It was fun and it’s late so I’m not writing much, just sharing photos :-).

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We started with the Pu’u O’o Trail hike, which starts off of the Saddle Road. It’s not a long hike, lots of stopping for photos and looking for birds, and taking photos of people (Steve and Keith) looking for birds.

Of the nearly 200 photos that I took today, only a few turned out well. I’m still working on manual focus, aperture, shutter speed, and ISO. Maybe, by the end of my 52 Week Photo Challenge class, I’ll be much better. As it is, I’m happy with the photos that did turn out well and the rest are gone!

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This next one cracks me up… who is looking at what?

beckygoldsmith-BigIsland-1-52In the afternoon (after lunch at Sompat’s Thai in Hilo) we went to Volcano National Park and did the Pu’u Hulu Hulu trail this afternoon.

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That’s Amanda, sitting next to a broken lava dome.

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This is a spent Ohi’a Lehua blossom. I’ll have more of these later on.beckygoldsmith-BigIsland-1-34

Amanda got a nice picture of me—many thanks to Amanda! I don’t look as bad in the hat as I imagined that I did!

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This is a branch from an Ohi’a Lehua tree. The look of the tree changes depending on where they are. I am doing my best to take interesting pictures that are in focus and not over or under exposed, manually. I love it when it works!

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We saw several rainbows today and this one, on the way back to our rental house, made us stop to take pictures. The ends of the rainbow were both in the crater. So cool!

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I hope to post more photos tomorrow. I hope that you are enjoying your life right now as much as we are :-).

Am I still fit if I’m not wearing my Fitbit?

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I have been wearing a Fitbit One for more than a year. That’s the kind that goes on a waistband or in your pocket. It’s not fancy, but it did keep up with my activity. I lost it yesterday. If I knew where I lost it, I could find it, but I don’t. Deep sigh.

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This morning I got up as usual, took my 2+ mile walk with Laurie, played 45 minutes of pickle ball with Catherine, Carla, and Ann, and then did a hour of barbell blast. That last hour is not exactly my favorite thing and during the entire time I’m wishing it was over. But I can tell it’s good for me so I’m going to continue to make myself go, twice a week, Mon and Wed. Pilates is Tues and Th—also not my favorite thing but I’ve been doing it for so many years that I’d feel guilty if I didn’t go.

Anyway, the point is, I did my normal thing, but there is no Fitbit to record it. Do I care? I sort of think I do which is funny because the only time I notice the thing is when it tells me either that I’ve almost met my daily goal or that I’ve surpassed it. I don’t check my stats, I don’t care about my heart rate, and I’m darned sure not going to spend time tracking my calories or sleep. Why on earth do I care about this thing?

Steve and I are going with friends, Amanda and Keith, to Hawaii on Monday. We are going to be there for 3 weeks because it’s far enough away that it makes good sense to stay awhile. (FYI: I’ll post lots and lots of photos!)

Now, back to the Fitbit… We are going to do a whole lot of walking and hiking. One thing I especially like about the Fitbit is that is tracks not just how far you walk, but the number of ‘floors’ you’ve done. (My morning walk includes hills and which amount to 32 floors!) I’m pretty sure that after each hike (and they mostly involve inclines) I’m going to want to look at a Fitbit to know just how worn out I should be :-).

I’ve looked at the various models and I am seriously considering the Fitbit Charge, which looks like the one below but doesn’t come in purple. The one below is a Charge HD that comes with extra bells and whistles that I don’t need.

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The Charge costs a little more than my previous model but maybe it will be easier to keep up with. And it can double as a watch! You know, I had hoped that by writing this post, I would talk myself out of wanting to replace the lost Fitbit. I’m pretty sure the opposite has happened. Sigh.

An aside: People who know me well, know that I am into tech gadgets, Apple gadgets in particular. I am surprised that I don’t want an Apple Watch yet. The main reason is that I have such a small wrist that I don’t love the way it looks on me. But it’s also that the watch is connected via bluetooth to your iPhone. When it’s out of range, many of the cool ‘connected’ aspects of the watch no longer work. I’m going to wait until Apple makes a watch that has its own cellular connection and that looks good on my wrist.