jolioiseau21-blog
"I haven't been everywhere, but it's on my list."
- Susan Sontag
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Where the mountains meet the ocean, and the sun shines through on even the darkest days. Where the grandest ships look like the smallest of specks. You will always have a piece of my heart and soul.
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To think a week ago, I said goodbye to my 6th graders. Seems like ages.
Let's start with the flight. If you ever take a long (9 hour) flight and can upgrade, do so! There was so much space! The whole experience was so easy and they gave us so much food. I had my first hot meal on a plane. Not too bad. Thomas enjoyed the extra moving space and snacks too.
We try to travel like the locals, so our first day we took our own food tour around the island. Helena's lived up to the reputation. Best pork we have had to far. We followed that up with shave ice on the North Shore. I cannot remember the name, but it was by the Big Wave shrimp struck. We had that too. It is not as garlicky as Giovanni's. Both were perfect choices. As we rounded the North Shore, we had Mike's Hui Hui chicken. It was good but I am not jumping to go back. With full bellies, we rested up for another day.
Saturday is for Swap Meets! So many souvenirs. Met a few great locals that shared some secrets. The best way to follow up shopping, beach time! Thomas was in heaven. The water. The sand. So much fun!
Dinner was Kono's. Yes, you can have a milkshake before dinner. The outdoors made everyone very tired plus we had an early morning beach day!
We grabbed breakfast at Cinnamon's before heading to Kailua beach. PSA...don't forget your sunscreen. Long mornings at the beach call for afternoon siestas. We followed our siesta up with haupia ice cream and then dinner. We wanted Haleiwa Joe's but 20 minutes after opening, the line was crazy. We ended up at Zia's Caffe for some decent Italian. Then bedtime for all...when I say bedtime, I really mean staring at the Pacific until we fall asleep. ❤️
At this point, we have know clue what day it is. We are living ALOHA. Thank goodness for calendars, because today is a big day. Chris and his mom took an ATV ride at Kualoa Ranch visiting different movie sets. Both came very dirty. We are learning to love the outdoor shower.
After a restful afternoon, we headed to Nutridge Estate for a luau. This was by far the BEST luau experience we have ever had. The location was .... undescribable. They food perfect! The staff and other guests were our ohana. Thomas and I ended up on stage winning a handwoven hat. This was true Hawaiian spirit and just the most remarkable experience. I cannot recommend this place enough.
Now to bed for hopefully a restful beach day....
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We are up and at it again. This time to the middle of the Pacific!! Hawaii is welcoming the Haeffners!
Flights ✔️
Hotels ✔️
Rental cars (eek) ✔️
Adventures booked ✔️
Bags packed ✔️
Just waiting to be picked up!! We are beyond ready for this trip. Bring on the sun and the sand!
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Adventure is taking the gravel road not knowing where you will end up.
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Enjoying a view on a hot day #beingbetty (at Obed Wild & Scenic River)
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Quiet walkway signs along the road, we pulled off at one and look at what we found! (at Great Smoky Mountains National Park)
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Look mom! I made it to North Carolina. #beingbetty
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Ugh really!
So, you would think in Nashville we would have cell service. Think again! The campground was in the suburbs on the river/damed lake. We amost felt like we were in a subdivision. It was erie quiet and just a bit strange. With no cell service meant I could not document anything, and I was not going to spend all of my time in the car trying to and getting sick. So 4 days in Nashville in one post.
Day 1 - Tonight was the Grand Old Opry, so we hung out and played with the dog since this has not been her best trip. She was the happiest dog to play in the water. Quick shower and then off for the adventure of the night. Loveless Cafe was first. If you are in the Nadhville area you must go! Best food! Best Service! Absolutely the best food experience for the entire trip. You will not be disappointed!
Prewarned that parking could be interesting at the Opry (it shares the parking lot with Opryland resort and Olry Mills Mall) we got there early. Good thing since we got prime parking.
We hung out at the mall, slightly reminiscing about malls in general and how the future generations might react when they learn about malls is the history books. Best moment alert!! We turned the corner and mister was almost hit by this large dog size purple blurr!! He made a startled comment that it looked like a purple horse. I told him I thought I saw a unicorn horn. As soon as we got past the WTH moment, we noticed a kiosk in the middle of the aisle, with animals on the go. You can seriously rent a motorized animal (the one that nearly hit us was in fact a purple unicorn) for your child to ride. Be cautious though, as these strange beasts are not allowed everywhere. There are sign posted letting you know that motorized animals are not allowed beyond this point. That was def one for the books!
At this point, we found the moonshine store we were looking for. A tasting had to happen. A few bottles may have been purchased.
With the doors opening at the Opry, we headed over and found our seats. In case you don't know, I didn't, the Opry is about 7 or 8 different 15 minute acts. They mix in old school country with up and coming artists, maybe a comedy skit and a few extra surprises. It is the longest running live radio broadcast, so your cheers will be on air. You can always catch it online too.
This post will be continued. I am being interupped for a commercial break.
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Oh Nashville!!
So jacks were up by 9! We headed to Nashville with a few stops in between.
#1 Costco - There may actually be a slight mission to visit a Costco in each state. 😀 Gotta check out what the locals eat is mass quantity. We actually got a Pimento cheese that was seriously flying off the shelves. Mister loves it!
#2 Obed Scenic and Wild River - And we have another stamp. The National Rivers across the U.S. are celebrating their 50 year anniversary this year. We are fortunate to have seen a few of them in our adventures. Each one demonstrating the power of water. Obed was beautiful and deserved more than an hour. Between Over and Big South Fork (they are very close), you could easily spend a week in the area.
#3 - Nashville - We arrived at our site late afternoon, set up and headed to dinner. We had at least 20 places to eat at over the next 4 days.
We started with Mas Tacos For Favor. They name lives up to the need. Everything we ate was fantastic! We moved on to dessert at Pied Piper Creamery. It was good, but I have been spoiled when it comes to Ice Cream #ForeverMoosJacksonHole!
Since I was not really food, I ate tacos in moderation, we moved on to the Grilled Cheeserie. Only on vacation is it acceptable to eat dinner, dessert, and more dinner. Again, I have been spoiled. The grilled cheeses were a bit burnt for my taste and mister makes a rocking grilled cheese.
At this point we were full and it was late.
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Oldest Civil War monument. Standing where soildoliders fought to make us one country hit home. (at Stones River National Battlefield)
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Again!
We did not get up early. We really must be on vacation and needed the sleep. We spent the morning being lazy. The doggie girl swam. I read. The doggie chewed on her stick. Mister played Zelda. Just quiet. It was nice.
After a noon snack, we ventured to Clingman's Dome. I prepared for the heights by watching videos of drives up the road. It did not look too bad.
The drive to Newfoundland Gap was beautiful. We followed the Little Pigeon up the mountain so there was no real steep drop offs. There were some pull offs to look at the different mountain features (like the Chimney Tops and waterfalls).
The Clingman's Dome road made me really nervous. I actually had to sit on the floor in the back of the truck. I sat in my seat on the way back since mister said it was not too bad. It was not. There were only a few spots where I could see more of a drop off than I really wanted too.
The view!! Incredible! We traveled up with some rain so the mountains we're smokey. By the time we got out from getting our passport stamped (10 minutes since we have to look around too), it was like we were up in the clouds!
So worth the drive!
Tomorrow, jacks up by 9!
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So this was how we spent our Saturday (most camper places close around noon and we did not get up until 9). Thank goodness for Walmart. FYI - if your blank tank ever clogs, this device sewer hose attachment (the elbow that you can blast water in) comes in very handy! The rest of our day was rain, movie/nap, dinner and a fire. We are going to get up early, he says at midnight. 🤣
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