Aloha Hawaiian Time

Finally a day of relaxing on the beach! The azure ocean is warm and the beach is beautiful! We walked the entire length of the beach which has a paved path. At the end of the path is the Hyatt which has an amazing art collection from Thailand and China in their open air atrium. This is also the home of African penguins, pelicans and two beautiful swans. We stopped at Whalers Village on the way back which contains a whale museum and several upscale shops. We've selected some "Fodor's Choice" restaurants on Maui for dinner. The first was Sensei, a Japanese restaurant in North Maui that lived up to Fodor's recommendation, excellent fish and sushi! Hawaiian time means there is no time, just relaxing and living in the moment; hence this blog may or may not be kept up!

Sharks and Creatures of the Sea

Today we visited the Maui Ocean Center Aquarium. We saw unusual sharks, rays and many other tropical fish through a clear 54 foot acrylic tunnel. Ange considers this snorkeling since he didn't have to try to get a seal on his mask, and he got to see more variety of sea life this way! Highly recommend this as a place to visit in Maui. They also had the nicest gift shop we've seen in Maui. We had dinner at our second "Fodor's Choice" David Paul's Lahaina Grill, fabulous upscale dining. Nearby Lahaina is very historical and a visit to the famous banyan tree is a must.
Ange's brother Wally has a habit of using the excuse it's his anniversary whenever he's out with Cathy (usually it isn't even close). Nine times out of ten they believe him and he gets some kind of surprise. We decided since it really is our anniversary on July 2nd, we'll do the same. Wally, you're right! So far we've scored a bottle of champaign in our room upon arrival, a car rental upgrade and free dessert! This works and we'll keep you posted on the rest of the vacation!

E Kipa Mai = Welcome in Hawaiian

Tuesday, June 26th - Well, so far our flights have been on time and no luggage lost, that's good news compared to the latest United and Northwest news! Arrived in Maui after a 5+ hour flight. We are staying on the Ka'anapali Beach, known for great snorkeling. Lots of honeymooners just like us (30 years ago!) One couple from Toronto has been here three days with no luggage. It has been very windy, and the island is extremely dry. A brush fire has scorched 1,400 acres so far and closed the road to the Ka'anapali Beach area for a time. We have seen lots of smoke and parts of the mountain are black. Helicopters have been flying overhead transporting sea water to try douse the fire. Of course, the weather is just perfect, warm with an ocean breeze!

12KM Coronado Walk

Monday, June 25 our last day in San Diego, we walked 7.2 miles on the island of Coronodo. The walk took us past the famous Hotel del Coronado, a 2KM stretch long the beach, and through the village. The flowers, trees and landscaping were picture perfect, and this was a great way to see new parts of Coronado we hadn't seen on a previous visit. This walk is listed as one of the top ten of the American Volkssport Assosciation (www.ava.org) Later, we went back to Balboa Park to see the cactus and rose gardens, unfortunately the art museum was closed that day, although I visited this museum on my last visit to San Diego.

We had dinner at Point Loma Seafoods, a local fish market, for a great fish fry. We tried see the sun set at the Point Loma Lighthouse, but the road closes at 5 p.m. Great visit in San Diego!

Technical Difficulties

Sorry for the lapse in vacation updates! Even vacations are busy and internet access is becoming more of a challenge. Here's where I left off.

June 24th we had a delicious Sunday brunch with the family. One thing we do at these reunions is eat, and my cousins could open a restaurant with the feast they put on for all of us. Thanks Matt, Kathy and Amy for your wonderful hospitality! Aunt Marguerite had quite the 75th birthday celebration filled with family, friends and good memories.

In the afternoon we played a great round of golf at The Farms as guests of Mary and John, friends who are big Boston Red Sox fans and have lived in San Diego for ten years. What a beautiful golf course and the weather was perfect. After golf, we stopped at The Poseidon on the beach in Del Mar for a drink and then back to their home for dinner. Thanks Mary and John for a great day and we hope to see you in August at Sandy Pond!

Volksmarching = Walking

Volkssports evolved from events in Germany and the term means a sport of the people. Volksmarching is a walking sport for health, recreation, fellowship and fun. The American Volkssport Association (AVA) was created in 1978 and there are over 750 AVA clubs nationwide with yearly events and over three million participants. (www.ava.org) You walk at your own pace, usually 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) and most finish in about two hours. The local AVA club is called The San Diego County Rockhoppers.

Saturday morning, June 23rd was overcast and cool, perfect weather for the San Diego Downtown/Waterfront 10K walk. Our expert volksporters guides were my Uncle Doug and Aunt Jackie from Albany, who have participated in about 350+ 10K walks. Six of us began on the San Diego waterfront to the east end of the airport runway with jets flying over our heads! We climbed a steep hill into beautiful Balboa Park with Spanish-Renaissance style architecture and gardens. Home to 15 major museums, the Park commemorated two expositions; the 1915-16 Panama California Exposition for the opening of the Panama Canal and the 1935-36 California Pacific International Exposition, held to boost the local economy during the depression.

We walked around Petco Park, the Padres baseball stadium built about two years ago. The Boston Red Sox were in town all weekend and Red Sox fans were out in full force. We were told fans fly from Boston just to get seats since Fenway Park is sold out for the season. On to the Gaslamp Quarter, up over the Convention Center, through Seaport Village, past the USS Midway Museum, the cruise ship docks, past the Star of India sailing ship and back to our starting point.

All that walking worked up quite an appetite for the authentic Mexican fiesta at my cousin Matt's home in the afternoon. Yummy, best Mexican I've ever eaten, complete with margaritas. Ole!

The feeding frenzy continued that evening at a great seafood restaurant with Ron and Julie, friends of Ange's brother, Wally. Ron was originally from Rochester and has lived in San Diego since graduation.

The great thing about San Diego is the weather: mornings and evenings are cool, great for sleeping, and the days are warm and sunny with a cool breeze. The bad thing is the traffic!

San Diego Arrival

Safe arrival in San Diego on Friday, June 22nd. Warm and sunny here, the same weather we left in Rochester! Wondering why we take vacations to sunny destinations when the summers in New York are so beautiful? Friday evening we met family from Arizona, North and South Carolina, Michigan, New York, Washington and our host state California. This is our sixth family reunion beginning with my Dad's 70th birthday in July of 1998. This year, Happy 75th Birthday to Aunt Marguerite!

Our Excellent Adventure Vacation Blog

Welcome family and friends to our first Piccone Blog. Colleen and Ange won't be sending snail mail postcards while on our summer vacation in California and Hawaii, instead you can read all about our adventures in real time. Enjoy!

Thank you Judy, my faithful leader at Naz, for inspiring this blog!