Maria - Passports Overloaded

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.

Pilot’s view of landing at airport beach

Costa Maya, Mexico

January 20, 2017

Today we had a full day of tours of the Mayan Ruins. The first one we drove to was 2 ½ hours away and it was called Dzibanche with its pyramids and landscaped grounds, and the multi-leveled Mayan city of Kohunlich, surrounded by magnificent Cahoon palms. This town was once known for its beautiful pottery and splendid temples hidden within the jungle.

We had the chance to climb the tallest temple to get a view of the “Temple of the Owls” and the “Temple of the Captives” before it’s time to head off to famous Kohunlich. The next one we visited was the recently excavated archeological site of Kohunlich is named after the giant Cahoon palm trees that inhabit the immense site.

The next ruins we drove to were called Chacchoben, “The Place of Red Corn” Here, in this lush tropical setting, the excavated sacred temples and other structures gave us a sense of wonder picturing how it must have looked centuries ago when it was a thriving cultural center for the Mayans. We saw the original red paint on the stucco walls of one of the pyramids and the temple where a mural was found showing the astronomical positions of the planet Venus. We also had a chance to climb the Gran Basamento which took us above tree level and is where archaeologists found ceremonial offerings dating to around 1000 B.C.

Roatan, Honduras

January 19, 2017

Today is John’s birthday, and he doesn’t know that when we get back to our suite on the ship, the general manager had them decorate it with balloons. While off the ship we drove to the Big French Key Beach on a motorboat and relaxed on the sugar-white sand. John had a chance to go snorkeling on a reef that was nearby. Our tour guide told us that Big French Key hadn’t changed much since Christopher Columbus explored the surrounding Bay Islands in 1503 and he described them as “incredibly green and fertile.” While there are a few new buildings scattered about Big French Key, the nearly 12-acre island remains a lush, beach-rimmed paradise caressed by gentle trade winds which makes it private and unique.

Our suite decorated with balloons for John’s birthday.

Puerto Limon, Costa Rica

January 17, 2016

We drove from the pier to a private dock and boarded a pontoon boat which is designed to navigate the coastal river system. We cruised through the Tortuguero canals.

This ride into the jungle habitat serves as an excellent prelude to your next stop in the pristine Veragua Rainforest. The rainforest adventure begins with a guided tour through several exhibits housing indigenous animals such as snakes, frogs, and butterflies. Next, we rode an open-air aerial tram that will carry you into the rainforest canopy. It’s a window into a world that we couldn’t have experienced otherwise. At the halfway point, we got off the tram, and we walked the Trail of the Giants, which is a jungle path that winds past towering 300-year-old trees to a 65-foot waterfall. Then, after riding the tram back into the canopy, we had a nice lunch before returning to the pier.

Alphabetic Links of Where We’ve Been