Last night on our "sunset" dinner cruise. The skies cleared but the sea was high so it was a little difficult to enjoy the food. Vicki spent a lot of time up on the observation deck enjoying the seas.

Edit: OMG. They look like they are in fast motion, but they were zipping through the hula.

when it's raining, take pictures!

Here's an obligatory photo of Alexa by the hotel sign. The rain alternates between gentle and heavy but it's warm so we don't mind too much. The real question is whether we'll be able to snorkel tomorrow morning. Today we're headed to North Shore.

rain, rain go away!

There are dolphins everywhere! everywhere! somebody is in heaven, truly.

We are embarking on a sunset dinner cruise tonight. Our plans include a snorkel sailing with

turtles, dolphins and other wildlife on Tuesday.

of course!

We also found the PF Changs! Victoria had Sea Bass - delish!! Alexa had MahiMahi. And, of course, we had happy hour ahi tuna for $6.

BTW, high season prices have kicked in so the above is a very good deal!

wahine

To go along with our kane, we got a good picture of a wahine.

we also discovered the world's largest hawaiian shirt! 400XL!

Top Chef

Vicki thought that she was going to get out of cooking but no such luck. We went to a restaurant that you had to cook your own meal. Top Chef Vickie said "no problem" and proceeded to cook our Mahi Mahi and garlic toast. Luckily there was a real Top Chef there to help because as you can see she got a little distracted chatting to others while cooking. Our meal was great and Top Chef Vickie succeeded!

The resort hotels have so many activities and shows for their guests. This mane (guy) is one of the fire dancers. Notice the wired up palm tree in the background.

We took a walk along the beach. Alexa and Victoria with Diamond Head in the background. We donated to a local volleyball's team fundraiser to go to a tournament on the mainland. These are plumeria leis.

the environment

the sunset from our beach and diamond head.

Look to the east: there's the mountains. Look to the west: there's the ocean. Where else do we need to be?

The view from our room.

That is waikiki. Glorious, multihued blues.

Animal friends

Our first full day along Waikiki, and Alexa is making friends with all the animals.

I can get Alexa to hold still and pose, but the pidgeon is another matter!

Upon arrival (sorry camera was packed), we got into a limo (same price as a cab) and went into town in traffic. It was raining over Diamond Head and we were gifted with a rainbow as the sun came out. The Sheraton Waikiki is a fantastic resort hotel.

Winter storm heading to central Illinois

Oh, so sorry!

We'll be out of here before this hits:

The likelihood of heavy snow over central and/or southeast Illinois is increasing for late Saturday afternoon into Saturday night. It now appears likely that most of the area will see at least some snow accumulation. The potential exists for several inches of snow to occur within the heavy snow band. But it is still too early to accurately predict where the heaviest snow band will set up. However, forecast confidence is increasing regarding the timing and evolution of the large winter storm that will affect a large part of the Midwest this weekend.

Current indications are that rain, or a mixture of precipitation north of I-72, will spread northeast across central Illinois during the day Saturday with temperatures above freezing. As the strengthening low pressure tracks south of Illinois by sunset Saturday, colder air will usher into the area late Saturday afternoon and evening changing the rain to snow from northwest to southeast. The snow could be heavy at times late Saturday afternoon and Saturday night, before tapering off from the west during the day Sunday. Very windy and much colder conditions will follow this winter storm system early next week. Temperatures and wind chills will likely reach the lowest readings so far this season. Any snow that may be on the ground will likely blow and drift, potentially causing travel problems Sunday and possibly into Monday.

Planning

Welcome to ALOHA! Sun, Sand and Surf!

Alexa and I, (me, that's Victoria because I still can't figure out how not to post as ThreeSisters!), are currently in the plannig stages of our trip to Hawai'i this December. We are packing tonight. We leave Saturday, December 11 at 7:30 in the morning and will arrive in Honolulu by 4 pm. One of the troubling things is that, according to our e-tickets, we do not have assigned seats. We plan on getting to the airport earlier than normal in order to try to get seats together. Our tickets were purchased separately. Through a bit of luck, we managed to get Alexa on the same flights.

Victoria is scheduled to be at a conference, Pacifichem (http://www.pacifichem.org) on December 15-20. I've organized a Symposium, "Polymeric Materials from Renewable Resources" which has 32 presentations over 2 days and over 20 posters. One of the nice things about my employment is the ability to take vacation around official travel.

Victoria has been to Hawai'i twice: once with her Sisters for a cruise and once for a collaborative meeting between US and Japanese scientists. This is Alexa's first trip to Hawai'i.

We hope to make daily postings to this blog with pictures!

Thanks for joining us!