Wordless Wednesday

This great southern comfort food has been a favorite of mine since childhood! (and that's a long time)

Skywatch Friday

The sky has been filled with big puffy clouds this week. There has been much thunder and lightning.....not complaining because rain has fallen almost daily, leaving the yard green, not dead like last year!

Have a great weekend. We're having a birthday party for a special two year old tomorrow!! Fun!!

Linking to Skywatch Friday....show us your skies! 200 entries so far....

Traveling Tuesday

First stop; Opaeka'a Falls, (pronounced oh-pie-kah-ah), if you remember that you will be doing better than me.  It plunges hundreds of feet to the pool below. Opaeka'a means, "rolling shrimp," which refers to tasty native crustaceans that were once so abundant they could be seen tumbling in the falls.

I can't imagine living in the house just above the falls.  What a view!



For a closer look;



Next stop; Wailua Falls. You may recognize this one from the opening sequences of Fantasy Island.





Last stop; Secret Falls. These beautiful 150 falls are found by taking a kayak trip down the Wailua River, then hiking thru the lush tropical jungle.
I think the first view of the falls as you walk into the opening is just the best of all......



I can still feel the cool spray from the falls. The water was too cold for us to swim in but finding a nice rock to sit and just take in the beauty was worth the work of getting there.



Guess I should add that these falls are all in Kaua'i.....paradise!

I am linking with Whistlestop Cafe Cooking for Traveling Tuesday....

Macro Monday Bugs and Blooms

No Bugs on this beautiful Plumeria! Can you smell it? Oh so sweet!

I love this topic for Macro Monday hosted by Lisa.

I hope you all are having a wonderful Monday....first day of school in many places.  Where oh where did this summer go?

Random Thoughts

1.

Yee haw! The Pioneer Woman gets her own TV show!

Where have I been and why have I not heard about this?  Just saw the commercial on Food Network and I cannot wait until August 25th, 10:30 AM!!!!


The USC student-turned-cowgirl-turned-Internet and publishing sensation is also the subject of a big screen adaptation of her life on the range, with Reese Witherspoon set to play her.  How cool is that?


2.

I love Red Box!   Reserve online and minutes later a $1.00 (unbelievable) movie is in my hands.  Bye bye $4.69 for 5 nights, late charges blah, blah, blah.  Tonight it's Soul Surfer!!

3.

I discovered these crackers while on vacation and the flavor is wonderful.  Japanese Style Rice Cracker.....soy, salt, seaweed, paprika.....Yum!  I bought an extra bag to bring home and dread eating the last one......

That's all for now....have a great weekend all!

The Garden Isle

I've had a difficult time settling into my pre-vacation routine.  I seem to fall asleep earlier and sleep later.  My mind is still at the beach and I wish I was there with it!

I want to share experiences and pictures with you and will do so in small doses, hopefully not to bore you.

We arrived in the evening and didn't get a glimpse of the beauty that surrounded us.   Had to try and get some sleep in hopes of a big day to follow.  The very first thing we all noticed upon entering our rental home.....No A/C!  Uh oh!  It  would be a tough decision as to which of our homes is kept the coldest!!

The shutters were open and yes I felt a breeze.....but it was a damp one.  The rain fell most of the night and the sound was very peaceful.

Finally the sun rose and just look at the view from my bed.....



Lush doesn't begin to describe it, and yes that is a wonderful fan at the foot of my bed! Yippee, they knew I was coming. Actually there was one in every room, and we put them to use believe me.

I worried about the sound of rain and hoped it wasn't an indication of the week to come....but it was.....because minutes after it stopped



I felt better already. Time for the beach.

Tunnels Beach, on the North Shore where the waters are as calm as a lake in the summer months.


We arrived early and for a time had the beauty all to ourselves. Heaven!

Days later we chose Hanalei Bay Beach Park. From Fodor's: In summer the bay is transformed - calm water lap the beach, sailboats moor in the bay, and outrigger-canoe paddlers ply the sea.  The sailboats were there, such a pretty sight, the paddlers too.  Next time I'll be on a board paddling, looks like great fun!




You know you are in paradise when you can't decide which direction to look toward. The sight of the mountains, with waterfalls take your breath away.

Ok, enough for today. Tomorrow it's waterfalls.

I've missed you all and am trying to catch up with everyone, (in between sleeping, cleaning, etc)