Ma'ukele Lodge

Truly a destination unto itself!

My husband and I stayed at the Ma'ukele Lodge for three days and absolutely loved it! Raven is a wonderful host - friendly, kind and caring. We met several of her friends (including a trained botanist!) and the experience could not have been better. 


The idea of the outdoor bathroom takes some getting used to but in practice, it's wonderful - and totally private. The four post bed made for a very comfortable night's rest. 


Breakfast each day included Hawaiian coffee, juice, and half of a papaya filled with fruit salad and yogurt on the side. From the stove came an omelet, banana pancakes (my favorite!), and scrambled eggs with ham and cheese. 


I could have easily spent a whole day at the Ma'ukele Lodge, walking along the beach and watching geckos run around the lanai (veranda). There are coconuts, pineapple and noni growing on the property, as well as several plants that would be considered house plants in Virginia. Many flowering trees as well but my favorite was the plumeria.

And the view is amazing! You can see straight out to the ocean from the house.

There's a great selection of books (everything from Clan of the Cave Bear to Harry Potter), music, and movies to borrow. And Raven has no problem with guests using the kitchen to cook dinner. We have recommended this place to everyone, friends and strangers alike. Would definitely stay there again!

Hawaii

Can a vacation change your life? I can only hope so! Max and I just got back from 9 days in Hawaii and seriously, I wanted to stay. Totally fell in love! The weather was great - warm sun, cool breeze... The people were so nice, definitely experienced the Aloha spirit.

We spent three days on the Big Island in Kaimu. We stayed at the Ma'ukele Lodge and I'm so glad we did! Raven and Mark were wonderful and we had a really authentic Hawaiian experience. I wish we had stayed longer!

After leaving from the Big Island, we spent 6 days at Disney's Aulani Resort on Oahu. It was a "cleansed" version of Hawaii but wonderful in its own way. We went horseback riding at the Kualoa Ranch - my first time riding a horse! I was terrified at first but once I got a little more comfortable, I was able to enjoy the scenery and talk with our guides. After two hours I was definitely sore but the next day wasn't too bad.

Still trying to get over the 6 hour time difference. Will post more pictures later!

Have you ever been to Hawaii? What did you love most?

What I did during my Christmas vacation

There was time with family...

 

Baking and decorating cookies.

A visit to Toronto's Distillery District...

On Christmas we had dinner at my parents house. On Boxing day we had breakfast and a late lunch with everyone at my sister's house. Chloe received lots of toys - which we all had fun playing with! :) Max, my parents and my brother went to see a comedy show at Second City - SO funny! Max and I went to the movies with two of my cousins to see New Year's Eve. It was good! Better than Valentine's Day. Watched many movies at home with my family including Rio (really good), Arthur Christmas (loved it), Dot it with an I (which was weird), Ides of March (good but sad) and the Muppets movie (awesome).

My Dad sums it up (much better) in detail:

• Christmas Day
• Boxing Day with the whole family
• Third day of Christmas
• Fourth day of Christmas in Toronto
• Fifth day of Christmas in Niagara's wine country
• Sixth day of Christmas

Max and I were at my sister's house on New Year's Eve. Yesterday, my family had dinner together at a Chinese restaurant before we went our separate ways... my brother back up to the frozen north... Max and I going south to Virginia.

Cruise in the Caribbean on the Disney Magic

Max and I just got back from a 7 day cruise. We had such a good time!  The ship left from Port Canaveral and went to St. Maarten, St. Thomas and Castaway Cay (Disney's private island). St. Maarten was a little grungy so I probably wouldn't choose to go back there - or would just stick to the beach by the boat if I did. Bought a pair of earrings with larimar, the Caribbean gem.

St. Thomas was much nicer! Plus the ability to use my cellphone and go to the U.S. post office really nice. We went on the Captain Nautica's Ultimate Snorkeling Expedition to Buck's Island. Got to see some turtles eating sea grass and then going up for air, sea urchins, a sea fan, fire coral, brain coral, and a conch walking around on the ocean floor.

Castaway Cay was my favorite stop. As Disney's private island, everything on it was theirs. From the ship, we walked to Serenity Beach (for adults only) and explored the shore looking for shells. Max found a conch shell and it was completely intact! For lunch there was a BBQ. In the afternoon, Max sat on the beach reading his book and I went snorkeling again.

Service on the ship was top-notch. Loved our assistant server, Michelle (from New Zealand), and our stateroom hostess, Nicol (from Slovakia). Tea (from Switzerland), the acupuncturist at the Vista Spa really impressed me with her professionalism and I felt very comfortable with her. In general, all the cast members were great... friendly, smiling and helpful. And that's why we love Disney so much.

The food on the ship was fantastic - and not too much. All the seated dinners had very reasonable portions and we never left the table feeling stuffed. Or hungry.

Beautiful bread display at Parrot Cay welcome lunch buffet

Cove Cafe treats

Blue cheese souffle with parmesan crisp

Beef Wellington

Cheesecake

Pineapple filled muffin

Tuna Tartare

Brulee Cheesecake

Grilled pineapple and banana in coconut

Shrimp, scallops with spaghetti in a creamy tomato sauce

Mushroom risotto

Wild mushroom soup - Best Dish Award

Chocolate molten cake with vanilla ice cream

Celebration cake

Apple crumble

And there was so much to do onboard! The live musical shows were good - and two of them were really great (Dreams and Twice Charmed). We went to a great presentation about animation by the VP of Production at DisneyToon, Sean Lurie. An adults-only swimming pool and coffee house. Comedy shows with magic and juggling. We watched three movies in the Disney Theater: The Help, Cars 2, and Real Steel. Also watched Hop in our stateroom. Plus there were tons of character meet and greets.

If you're looking into going on a cruise, whether you have children or not, I highly recommend that you go on the Disney Cruise Line!