Share 4 Somethings in December

Tomorrow is the last Saturday of the month and time for the Share 4 Somethings link up with Jennifer. We're flying home (if all goes well with our connections we should be home tomorrow morning-- though I am REALLY worried about the "adjustment" the airline company made so we now have a much shorter connection time than we planned!) so this wrap up is pretty much all about our trip to Hawaii! 


Once again we'll be sharing some things we've loved and/or disliked, accomplished, some things we've improved upon and/or that need improvement, and noticed.

Loved/Disliked: We LOVED our Hawaii trip but we really disliked those long flights/travel days!

sunset Maui

top of Haleakala summit; Haleakala National park

road to Hana

Whales spotted on our snorkel tour, Maui

botanical gardens; Maui

Both our rentals had beautiful sunset views!

volcano national park; Hawaii


the volcano began erupting less than 2 days before we got there

we hiked out to a green sand beach


touring a Kona coffee farm


exploring a national historical site

enjoying the beautiful views

and lots of yummy treats-- like this gelato

Accomplished: I don't feel like I accomplished much of anything this month! I crossed another state off my list though and two more national parks off as well.





Something I've improved upon/needs improvement: I felt like I had much less anxiety about travel and dealing with airport security then I usually do. It's not all gone but it did feel much more manageable. I kept reminding myself that whatever happened was out of my control so worrying wouldn't do any good. 

Noticed: So many of Hawaii's roads are long and windy-- of course that's due to the huge mountains. I feel like we spent so much time in the car these past few weeks! It seemed like everywhere we wanted to go was an hour to 2 hours away. There are very few roads on the island so it seemed like we were always taking the long way around.





Linking up with:


Comments

  1. AnonymousDecember 28, 2024 at 7:21 AM

    Looks like a fun trip, Hawaii is one state I would love to visit (Olympia WA is where I call home in the summer) it looks like a tropical paradise. I do a lot of long haul flight between SeaTac, Germany, Saudi and Dubai, sometimes 24plus hours including stops and layovers. I've never flown domestic, however with International one thing I learned is that if you can't get premium economy, you can pay a little extra or sometimes nothing, and book the emergency exit seats. That way you don't have people seated in front of you, and avoid the risk of a rude meany that reclines into your lap!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Joanne December 28, 2024 at 2:29 PM

      Yes, I often look for the emergency exit seats if I can!

      Delete
  2. Amy ScottDecember 28, 2024 at 7:43 AM

    I had no idea you had to do so much driving! My sister honeymooned on Kauai. I wonder if the travel delays were due to the time of year? I am always so worried about getting stuck somewhere. I don't love flying but I have gotten better.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Joanne December 28, 2024 at 2:31 PM

      Funny enough my sister honeymooned in Kauai too! While we haven't left to come home yet so far we have had zero travel delays; in fact we almost always took off and landed earlier than planned. It just makes those layovers quite a bit shorter and more stressful! I'm honestly not sure what they'd do about getting the 5 of us home if we missed our connecting flights since it's such a busy/sold out time of year!

      Delete
  3. Jennifer GoodwinDecember 28, 2024 at 11:29 AM

    These pictures are all gorgeous! I can't wait to hear more about this trip. I'm so glad you had a wonderful time with your family!

    ReplyDelete
  4. CathyDecember 28, 2024 at 8:18 PM

    Such beautiful photos! Thanks for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
  5. MELODY JACOBDecember 29, 2024 at 6:49 AM

    It sounds like you had an amazing trip to Hawaii despite the long travel days! Wishing you safe travels home and smooth connections. 🌺 I just shared a new blog post. I invite you to visit!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Joanne December 29, 2024 at 1:57 PM

      Thank you! We are safe at home and travels were nice and smooth.

      Delete
  6. Kari December 29, 2024 at 11:59 AM

    Wow! It looks beautiful!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Joanne December 29, 2024 at 1:58 PM

      It really is gorgeous! The weather was perfect too.

      Delete
  7. Memphis BridgesDecember 29, 2024 at 7:40 PM

    I'm so glad it all went well and hope y'all made it home okay today. Hope you can rest and adjust well back to your time zone.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Joanne December 30, 2024 at 1:03 PM

      We made it home with zero problems thankfully and so far I feel just fine; I made myself stay up until after dinner last night so I was extremely tired and slept right through till morning.

      Delete
  8. JoyceDecember 30, 2024 at 8:52 AM

    Hope the trip home was smooth. Air travel is quite stressful these days, but like you say is out of our control so you just have to go with it. That time change is brutal so I hope you have a low key week planned. It all looks beautiful and at least with the long rides the scenery is pretty. I was born in Hawaii : ) My hubs has been for work a couple of times but we've never traveled there from the East Coast as the Caribbean is easier in terms of time changes. My daughter and her husband went to Maui for their honeymoon, but they were living in Tacoma so it wasn't quite so big of a trip as yours. I'm glad you enjoyed it all and your pictures are beautiful! Happy new year!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Joanne December 30, 2024 at 1:05 PM

      Those red eye flights are brutal but we decided to just stay up yesterday and go to bed after dinner so that helped sort of "reset" my internal clock. So far I have zero signs of jet lag. It was so pretty and I really do feel like we got see nearly ALL of both islands even if it was often from the car. We tried to get the boys to pick something in the Caribbean instead but they weren't budging. Perhaps next winter!

      Delete
  9. Dara @ Not In JerseyDecember 30, 2024 at 10:58 AM

    I hate traveling for that reason. I try not to get too stressed. I really want to go to Hawaii next year!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Joanne December 30, 2024 at 1:06 PM

      That's why I hate travel too! I try to make sure we always have a 2 hour layover or there abouts but when the airlines change up the flights at last minute there really isn't much point in planning anyway. 😉

      Delete
  10. Jen WhiteDecember 31, 2024 at 5:50 PM

    Hawaii looks so amazing!! The long flight has always been something I've thought about when we talked about Hawaii. Nevertheless, your trip looks amazing.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Joanne January 1, 2025 at 7:42 AM

      It was an amazing trip but we have said that if we had to do it again we'd stop somewhere and sleep overnight on our way home to break it up.

      Delete
  11. Kym January 1, 2025 at 8:08 PM

    What an amazing vacation - so many beautiful sights and experiences! That seems like something accomplished, and being able to work through anxiety about airports and such is a big deal too Thank you for sharing all those amazing photos with us! Visiting from SFS today - Happy New Year!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Lindsay's Sweet WorldJanuary 7, 2025 at 1:14 PM

    Oh wow, you got some gorgeous pictures! I'm so glad y'all had an amazing trip!!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Julie's Creative LifestyleJanuary 8, 2025 at 2:03 PM

    I say the same thing! Wow Joanne, Hawaii is so beautiful. I was there back in 2016 and miss it so much! I hope to get back there again in the future. I can't wait to hear more about your trip.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Joanne January 8, 2025 at 4:07 PM

      Oh I really hope you get to make it back there again too!

      Delete
  14. CindyJanuary 11, 2025 at 3:26 PM

    Hawaii is one of those states I would love to visit but probably never will, LOL! I have no desire to fly again. Thanks for sharing the pictures with us. I hope you had a blast. https://encounterswiththedavisfamily.blogspot.com/2025/01/december-2024-share-four-somethings.html

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Joanne January 12, 2025 at 5:58 AM

      I don't usually mind flying too much but that was a long day of travel.

      Delete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Favorite TV Shows Growing Up in the 80's and early 90's

Image
Do you remember the TGIF lineups on Friday nights? I can remember planning sleepovers and time with friends around TV Show lineups of our favorite shows... or else trying to set the VCR to record our favorite shows if we weren't going to be home. And through the years I had SO MANY favorites! Growing pains aired in 1985 which put me around age 8 and it stayed on the air until I was 15 or so; I'm pretty sure most people in my age group watched mostly for Kirk Cameron and all his antics.  I still have a soft spot for family sit-coms!  The Facts of Life aired when I was just 2  and stayed on the air until I was 11 so I'm sure the episodes I remember so fondly were either some of the later ones and then reruns shown later on when I was old enough to watch from the beginning. I think everyone would have loved an Edna Garret in their lives.   Benson another sitcom that began airing when I was just 2 and was done by the time I was 9 (another one I must have watched mai...
Read more

Old Fort Niagara

Image
After we had stopped by our rental house and changed into dry clothes after our wet morning at the falls we headed out to Old Fort Niagara.   We stopped a local restaurant: The Youngstown Galley and had an amazing lunch!  Youngstown was so cute and I wished we had had more time to explore it but we knew the fort was only open until 5!  We arrived at the fort around 3 and we were just in time for a short video presentation about the history of the fort.  After the movie there was a volunteer guide that offered to lead us around the fort and tell us more about it; we were thrilled!   We learned that this flag was part of the original flag that hung at the fort.  It has been captured, brought to Europe and displayed in the family home of the leader of the battle.  Passed down from generation to generation it was nearly lost and destroyed in a fire!  It was eventually returned to the fort and those pieces that look ...
Read more

Things That Make Me Laugh

Image
I loved the challenge of this week's list for our 26 lists link up.  I don't know about you but I really need to laugh more lately.  It's such a great stress reliever. 1.  Books-- I love a good funny book that makes me laugh out loud.  I haven't read one in a while but if you have any recommendations I'm all ears.  The last book I can remember making me laugh was the Un-Honeymooners. 2  The boys being silly. 3.  Watching shows like America's Funniest Videos or Family Feud. 4. My husband.  Most people don't realize it but he's actually pretty funny and often makes me laugh. 5.  Whenever my sisters/ family get together and we get to reminiscing (particularly if my Aunt Elaine is around) we end up laughing so hard at all the old family stories that we are all in tears by the end of the night.  It's fabulous. 6. Movies like Mom's Night Out, Christmas Vacation, and Grown Ups make me laugh out loud. 7.  When my ...
Read more

What's Up Wednesday in January 2025 (With a Bit of December 2024 too)

Image
It's the last Wednesday of the month and that means it's time for What's Up Wednesday. Since I missed December's What's Up Wednesday I plan to combine both months into this one post... so it might be a tad long! Sorry but not really sorry.  What We're Eating: Sunday:   Shrimp carbonara (the kind with no diary or cheese but made with tempered eggs) with salad. Monday: BLT sandwiches with chips and salad (I'll end up eating just the salad). Tuesday:  Pumpkin mac and cheese with broccoli Wednesday:  Burgers and hot dogs with tater tots and salad (I'll have a garden burger and some butternut squash fries). Thursday: Crock pot lasagna soup with garlic bread Friday:  Pork chops with Hasselback potatoes, and green beans.  Saturday: Pineapple teriyaki chicken  (we'll cook them up in the air fryer since if it is too cold to grill) with rice, corn and salad. What I'm Reminiscing About:  This guy turned 19 this month!  What I'm Loving: We have had s...
Read more

January Monthly Musings-- Winter Self Care

Image
 It's the last Thursday of the month and time for Monthly Musings with Holly and Patty. This month we're looking at winter self-care. I feel like I have really failed in the winter self-care department this year as I have been very lazy and uninterested in doing much of my usual.  1. To stay warm in winter I've been wearing lots of warm layers, hardly leaving the house at all, using lots of throw blankets, and hanging out in our basement in front of the woodstove.  2. This winter my two favorite activities have been reading and puzzle making!  I've been "reading" more cookbooks too! 3. The only different beauty routine I have in the winter is that I use a lot more body lotion; especially after showering since my skin gets so dry and itchy. 4. If I had to pick one I'd say sledding but I haven't done any of these in years-- I broke my leg skiing in the 4th grade and never wanted to give it another try.  I don't think I've tried ice skating since ...
Read more