September, 2017 - Passports Overloaded

Eureka Springs, Arkansas

May 21, 2017

Today we drove to Eureka Springs along the way we saw some cool things. The first thing we saw was Nimrod Dam, and it was active which is great. I ‘ve seen a few of them but never being used.

The next thing we saw was Goat Bluff Cemetery. I saw the sign while driving and we were intrigued to see it with such a unique name you have to. I have pictures posted below. It was a small but private cemetery.

The following thing we saw while driving were signs to see Quigley’s Castle. All the signs said it’s Ozarks Strangest Dwelling and that it was indeed. Upon arrival, there is a sign that says wait before entering someone will escort you in which was weird. Then the granddaughter of the owner of the home charged $8 for each visitor. She gave us a brief history of the home and let us walk around on our own. I would say that this stop was a complete waste of money. You’re better off looking at the pictures online and moving on.

After that strange visit, we drove to our hotel and checked in. Once we settled in, we visited our friend Timm’s gallery called Zark’s Gallery which is in town not far from our hotel. After saying hello to our friend and quickly catching up, we made plans to meet for dinner after he closes up shop. John and I went to a cool wine bar that was a bit underground, and it had a hot spring inside of it. Apparently, a lot of places around that area have springs which are cool.

My friend’s gallery cat King Magnus Bengal Cat

Hot Springs, Arkansas

May 20, 2017

Today we drove to Hot Springs, Arkansas and decided to check into our hotel and get straight to checking out this city because we are only here for one night. The first thing we did was visited The Arlington Hotel which was very old and lovely. The staircase in it was cool.

The next thing we did was walked down bathhouse row and visited The Fordyce Bathhouse which is the only one open to public tours since it is the visitor center. I have to say that I found it creepy. We had a self-guided tour which is good sometimes tours have a lot of people, and they ask stupid questions.

We drove passed Bill Clinton’s childhood home after visiting the bath house and our driving tour we then decided to have a beer at a local brewery before going to have dinner.

The Fordyce Bathhouse which is now the Visitor Center

Changing Room Inside The Fordyce Bathhouse

The famous Pyramid shaped Bass Pro Shops

Memphis, Tennessee

May 19, 2017 – Visited Graceland

Today we visited Graceland the home of world-famous Elvis Presley. I grew up loving Elvis and his music so today was an exciting day to see inside the life of Elvis.

We first visited the ticket office which is a vast building with a gift shop and a museum that houses his huge collection of cars and a bunch of items donated by other singers who he worked with during his career.

While walking through his home, you could feel his spirit. I felt as though any minute he’s going to come downstairs singing one of his many hit songs. The house was unique as you will see in the following pictures. I hope you enjoy looking at them as much as I did taking them.

If you would like to see what and where we ate while in Memphis.

Gene Simmons’ Boots Donated to Graceland’s Museum

Dolly Parton’s Dress Donated to Graceland’s Museum

New Orleans, Louisiana

September 26th – October 1st, 2012, December 4th – December 7th, 2012 May 19th – May 21st, 2013, October 21 – October 25th, 2013, December 15th – December 19th, 2015, May 15th, – May 18th, 2017

We have visited New Orleans 6 different times which shows you how much fun this city is. Each time we’ve stayed for at least three-four days. I believe that’s enough time after that you need to check yourself into the Betty Ford Clinic LOL.

If you love people watching, Jazz music, Food you will love New Orleans as well. We have a friend of ours Yvonne Blount-Alciatore who owns the oldest restaurant in NOLA called Antoine’s. It’s a must to eat there. When you’re there make sure you order Oyster Rockefeller this is the place where they were invented. After dinner leave room for Devil’s Brew Coffee and Baked Alaska, it’s another definite.

If you are a fan of fried chicken, we have found the best one which is served in Fiorella’s in the French Quarter it used to be Willie Mae’s Scotch House but the last time we were there it wasn’t as good.

You also have to make sure to go to Desire Oyster Raw Bar and sit at the raw bar and see how fast they open the oysters it’s pretty amazing.

We have stayed at the Ritz Carlton, and The Roosevelt Hotel both are excellent, but the Ritz Carlton is definitely in a better location.

Maria & John with Yvonne Blount-Alciatore

Roosevelt Hotel With Christmas Decorations

Yvonne Blount-Alciatore and Maria on her balcony

To read the entire article Visiting a Vieux Carre Legend.

Willie Mae’s Scotch House has become so popular there is a line to get inside to eat.

Maui, Hawaii

March 3rd – 7th, 2017

Today we flew from the Big Island to Maui which was a short flight. We rented a car and drove to the Westin Hotel where we were meeting up with our friend Nano Lopez. There is nothing negative that I can say about Hawaii it’s one of my favorite places to visit. We try and go to Oahu at least once a year. I believe if it weren’t so far away from Florida we would go more often. We love driving around there and eating at the many food trucks.

The rest of the time we were in Maui we just drove around and found these hidden pockets where we would walk into bamboo trees and hike to many hidden waterfalls. That is one thing that Hawaii isn’t short of magnificent sunsets/sunrises and waterfalls.

One of the evening’s our friend Nano who is an artist was having a show at one of the galleries downtown which was great we got to meet a lot of people who love his work as much as we do.

One thing to bring with you are watershoes they are more comfortable to hike and walk on wet rocks. Unfortunately, this was our last stop on this trip.

Big Island, Hawaii

February 28, 2017
Today we flew from Oahu to the Big Island a.k.a Hawaii Island which is a short flight. We rented a car as soon as we got there and started our long drive to the King’s Land Hilton Hotel.

We got settled in and decided to take a ride to a local supermarket to get some provisions since our villa had a full kitchen and dining room we decided to make dinner a few of the nights were there.

March 01, 2017
Today we had a helicopter ride scheduled to see the lava flow which we were lucky to see because they aren’t sure how long it’s going to flow. The helicopter ride was terrific the lush greenery, the beautiful waterfalls and seeing the lava flow was just fabulous. Once again we made a delicious dinner in our suite.

March 02, 2017
Today we just decided to drive around the island and do a little bit of hiking and a lot of sightseeing. One of the most amazing things that we ate was a Portuguese donut called Malasada. It was so good that I am still thinking about it today, and I will revisit the Big Island purposely to get it again. We had dinner at this local place at the Lava Lava Beach Club since we had to pack and get ready for our flight to Maui in the morning we didn’t want to hassle with making dinner again.

Location to buy the BEST DONUT EVER!!!!!

Ko ‘Olina/Oahu, Hawaii

September 14th – 21st, 2013
September 7th – 14th, 2014 September 23rd – October 1st, 2016 February 23rd – February 28th, 2017

John and I have been to Oahu/Honolulu, Hawaii so far four times. We always stay at our Disney timeshare called Disney Aulani which is located in Ko Olina. The first time we were in Hawaii we visited Pearl Harbor, it was a very somber sight to see. The oil is still coming out of the USS Arizona ship. We also took a helicopter ride to get a bird’s eye view of fabulous Hawaii.

One of the evenings we took a sunset cruise which was nice they had food and drinks on board. I also got a chance to see my first green flash which was terrific.

One thing we love is food so we love to get recommendations from the show Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives and we try a different place everytime we are there. Another thing we like to do is try the food at all the different food trucks. There are so many various options and so far all of them have been good. Since I started the blog years after visiting Hawaii, I never wrote down which food trucks we visited I will take better notes. So far the one we love and visit each time we are there is Giovanni’s Shrimp Truck, and we get one serving of Spicy Shrimp and one with Garlic and Butter. You can’t go wrong with either cause both are delicious!

One great thing is that each time we have gone to Hawaii our good friends Nano & Mariya have met us there and we go hiking together, and we also took a dinner cruise that came complete with dancers. It was a great time! We have made long-lasting memories in Hawaii.

If you would like to see more about Hawaii. Big Island & Maui.

If you are planning a trip to Oahu and would like a list of the 100 Best Things To Do In Hawaii please click on the link

St. Barts, Caribbean

April 24, 2017

Today we bought a ticket to take a ride on a boat to St. Barts. After an hour long rough ride I told John that we needed to get to the airport and book a flight back to St. Maarten. We rented a car and drove around this small but charming and fancy island. We visited a hotel called Eden Rock and had lunch there which was disappointing since it was so pricey. After enjoying the island, we drove to the airport and dropped off our rental car and luckily we were the only two people on the plane.

Anguilla, Caribbean

April 23, 2017

Today we took a ferry to Anguilla and rented a car. One of our friends from New York lives on this island, so we are hopefully going to find him and see how he’s doing.

Apparently, our friend Cyril was in New York, so we didn’t get to see him, either way, we went to Belmond Cap Juluca where we got a chance to spend the night in one of the most amazing villas on the best white sand beach. What an amazing place. If you want to have somewhere special to celebrate your honeymoon, anniversary or anything special, this is THE place to be.

St. Maarten, Caribbean

April 20th, 21st, 23rd, 25th, 26th, 27th, 2017

Today we arrived in St. Maarten and rented a car to drive to our hotel at first we were kind of disappointed with the hotel. We were staying in our Hilton Time Share RCI (Resort Condominiums International) so far they haven’t been the best accommodations but I’m on vacation on a beautiful island we have to make the best of it. The name of the hotel was The Royal Islander Club La Terrasse which was on the Dutch side. The only cool thing about the hotel was that we got a suite and it was right next to Maho airport beach, and our balcony overlooked it, so we got to see the planes landing and taking off very close to our room. We did our usual and settled in and decided to go to the local supermarket to get a couple of bottles of wine and some snacks for the room.

One of the evenings we had dinner at this fantastic restaurant called Le Santal. We ended up staying there 2 hours after our dinner was over talking to the owner Nada. She was so sweet, and we had such a great time that we didn’t want to leave. The dinner the service the atmosphere everything was top notch.

The rest of the time on the island we decided just to drive around and be our own tour guide.

While here we visited Anguilla and St. Bart’s which were also amazing.