Tag Archives: manta rays

Rain and Kitty observations

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Rain Rain Go Away

I saw this post on Facebook and I had to laugh. It took me back to one of my Hawaii trips. It was to the Big Island where I was going diving with Manta Rays.

May be an image of 3 people, people swimming, pool and text that says 'After seeing a group of people in a pool, huddled together under an umbrella to stay dry, I understand why Aliens don't visit us. AMERICASBESTPICS'

I was at the boat launch for the Manta Ray dive chatting with the dive master when it started to rain. It was just a few sprinkles , no thunder or lightening.  One of the other divers interrupted us to point out it was raining and ask if we were still going to have the dive. She was concerned about getting wet in the rain.  I managed not to loose it before she walked away. 

Manta Ray

internet photo

The Perversity of Cats

Banner and Balboa get along good for the most part. One of Balboa’s many nicknames is ALB (Annoying Little Brother). Banner is about 2 months older than Balboa and was the first one added to the household. He is amazingly patient with Balboa but everyone gets pushed to the limit sometimes. 

Balboa has to have attention all the time. If not from me he goes looking for Banner. Banner spends a lot of time in the bathroom sink since there’s only room for 1 there.

Photo Credit Deb Neumann

Let me give you an example. Balboa was asleep on my lap and Banner was sleeping in the Kitty Condo on the new cat tree. I had to get up and that disrupted Balboa so he went looking for Banner. When he found him in the kitty condo he began to inch his way in too. Not much room for both but Banner didn’t fight with him. Instead he wrapped his paws around him and started a crowded grooming session.

Banner & Balboa 2023 Photo Credit Deb Neumann

One More Of the Kitties

Another grooming session. You can see how much bigger Banner is than Balboa here but a lot of it is fur. Banner has a thicker coat that my Persian cat had. We are constantly brushing and combing to keep his coat from matting or him getting hairballs. That’s how he earned his nickname of Fluffy Butt. 

Photo credit Deb Neumann

 

 

Love the Cats but What about Travel?

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Love the Cats but What about Travel?

I do enjoy talking about my cats. They give me great pleasure and make me laugh so like a doting grandma I tell their stories.

 

But I know I can get carried away so I’ll keep my kitty tales to myself this week and talk about travel. Hope that works for you.

Domestic or International?

Now that the vaccines have started flowing and the world is getting restless, like a flower unfolding after the winter’s snow, we’re slowly peeking our heads out. Will it be safe to travel again in 2021? If so where do you want to go? I’ve been giving that some serious thought.     

I’m primarily a domestic traveler and I think my first trip after COVID will probably be a domestic one. I feel more certain that it will be a clean resort although I hear plenty of horror stories.  I’m still a timeshare owner and for all the negative things you hear about timeshares, one thing I can say is that I’ve never had a bad resort experience with my time share.   They have all been top of the line, modern and clean. 

Using that same rational if I do decide on an international trip, it will be with my timeshare. 

Where Do You Plan To Go?

I think if I go for an international trip I’d head to Grand Cayman. I want to go to Stingray City. In past trips I’ve snorkeled with Manatees, gone night snorkeling with Manta Rays and snuba diving with giant sea turtles. I think I’d like to be able to check off the stingrays next.

Turtle Town 2020

As for a domestic trip the debate is still going on. Do I want a repeat visit somewhere or to go someplace new? I was trying to get to all 50 states but I may be running out of time because I keep going back to places I’ve really enjoyed and did you hear? Kilauea, the volcano on the Big Island of Hawaii is erupting again. That’s exciting. I always loved seeing Kilauea so do I want to go back to Hawaii?   

Lava Lake Glow

Kilauea’s Lava Lake glows 2018

So many placed so go, so little time! 

 

Rockin’ the Park

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Rock The Park

There’s a Saturday morning children’s show called Rock The Park that I just love. I’m just a kid at heart anyway. In this show Jack & Colton travel to different places and share their adventures. Most of the time the adventures are in a National Park. I love shows that either feature someplace I’ve been or someplace I want to go. I caught a double header the other day. The first episode was Yellowstone National Park and the 2nd episode was about The Big Island of Hawaii.

 

Akaka FallsAkaka Falls

The Hawaii Show caught my attention when I heard the stars mention Akaka Falls. I’ve been there on multiple trips. It is one of my favorite waterfalls. To reach the falls you have to either hike a loop trail or take the stairs.  The trail is only about .5 miles and takes you past 300 ft Kahuna Falls before ending at 442 ft Akaka falls. You can also take the stairs directly to Akaka Falls.This is one of the most beautiful Hawaiian waterfalls that I’ve seen and the easiest to see. 

Diving with Manta Rays

After visiting the falls Jack & Colton went on a night  scuba diving adventure  with Manta Rays. I am no longer certified so I haven’t been scuba diving but I did go on a night snorkel with Manta Rays on my last trip. That was pretty brave of me or maybe stupid because my left hip was pretty much useless but aside from the safety factor this was a pretty awesome experience. We took a boat out to about 40 ft of water. There the Captain launched a lighted raft to attract plankton. Once it began to work its  magic we entered the water.

Manta Ray

Just Floating with the Rays

Once in the water we held on to the raft and did a “dead man’s float”. It wasn’t long before graceful manta rays were approaching from the dark. They circled and swooped. One even swam up my body and flipped on its back. It was like being a part of a water ballet. The whole experience lasted about 45 minutes and then it was time to leave. That was when my hip became a liability. I was struggling to climb the ladder to get back on the boat. Our Captain rescued me. He simply reached down and gave me a tug. I popped out of the water and onto the deck in one easy pull. This was an amazing experience. One I highly recommend. My only regret is that I didn’t have a camera or “go-Pro” to capture the moments.

Happy 2019

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Welcome 2019

Hi folks. I know I’ve been MIA but I have to say that the tail end of 2017 and most of 2018 were tough times for me and my family. We lost our Mom. The family is having challenges with the Big C and my hip finally hit end of life. I had a total hip replacement in December. We also added to the family with the birth of a new nephew so it wasn’t all bad. But it did put a damper on my posts. It was hard to write cheery. upbeat entries when everything seemed to be going wrong. I have even been considering giving up my time share and hanging up my traveling shoes. which brings me to my thought for today

outrigger canoes

Time to Channel my Inner Josh Gates

I may have mentioned before that my travel inspiration is Josh Gates, host of Destination Truth, Destination Unknown and Legendary Destinations. He’s always getting into “iffy” situations but he does it with humor and aplomb! When I had issues on the Road to Hana in Maui I held onto my composure by asking “What would Josh do?” Josh’s hero is Indiana Jones. I like that character too but since he’s fictional I’ll stick with Josh as my trail blazer.

Destination Truth, Memoirs of a Monster Hunter

I’m reading a book by Josh (Destination Truth, Memoirs of a Monster Hunter) and I was hit by a comment he made. He talks about how the more you travel the more you want, even need, to travel. That’s what I felt while I was jetting around the US but then my hip slowed me down. Follow that up with a DVT after a flight to Hawaii and I felt like I’d been grounded. At first I had withdrawal. I was so depressed that I couldn’t just take off and go but  the longer I had to put travel on hold the less I wanted to get back into that craziness again. I just wanted to curl up at home with a good book.

Re-thinking the Future

Reading Josh’s book made me realize the travel bug is still there. It’s just hibernating. It’s waiting for my body to recover enough to be able to enjoy my trips again. I’m still in recovery mode from my hip surgery but as soon as I’m cleared to snorkel with Manta Rays again or swim with sea turtles I’ll be back on the plane to adventure. Even the Bears of Katmai National Park are calling!

3 bears out for a stroll

What Does The Future Hold?

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Hula danceTime to consider Future plans

What trips are in my future? Where should I turn my attention next? Things have been moving fast but I suddenly find myself with no stories or trip updates. That’s quite unusual. Part of the reason was that I spent my last Hawaii vacation doing exactly that, vacationing. I relaxed and unwound. I didn’t seek out adventure and my trip was short.

 

Coming up next

I have another Hawaii vacation on the books but this time to the Big Island of Hawaii. The Big Island was the first island I visited in Hawaii. That was back in 2007. Since then I’ve been to Oahu and made numerous trips to Maui. I wonder what changes have taken place since my first visit! 11 years is a long time. We stayed at Sea Mountain on our first trip. Sea Mountain is located near Volcano National Park on the wet side of the island. This trip will be at the Royal Kona Resort. Its on the dry touristy side of the island. I won’t have a condo this trip. It’s a standard hotel room.

Some things I can try on the Big Island

stock photo

I’ve been looking into some of the activities I might be able to enjoy. Top on my list is an ocean cruise around the edge of the island to see the lava from Kilauea flowing into the ocean. As much as I’ve bee researching this I seem to get different information all the time. I may have to wait until I’m there to see if they are going out.

I’ve also heard that a night snorkel with sting rays is an awesome experience. It was a tour guide on Maui that told me about that. Speaking of Snorkeling, there are quite a few snorkel trips advertised as well as Snuba.

There are also helicopter tours and shark diving. Waipio Valley is listed as a “must see” but requires some hiking. I’m not sure I’ve recovered enough for any lengthy hiking so I’ll just mark that with a question mark. Anyone have any suggestions?