Hawaii – The Big Island ~ April 2009

The view from my chair, looking out on Hapuna Beach. Does it get any better than this?

Mauna Kea Beach just before sunset,

The perfect Hawaiian sunset at Mauna Kea Beach.

With sunsets this pretty, it’s easy to take good pictures!

One of many friendly sea turtles we encountered.

Rainbow Falls

Lava anyone? If you need any, you can find plenty on Chain of Craters Road in the Volcanoes National Park.

The glow of lava at the current eruption site of Pu’u O’o – this is as close as the public is allowed to get at this time, but it was still pretty cool.

Toni and Blair commandeering the lifeguard’s chair for sunset-watching at Hapuna Beach.

I’ve been dumped for a sand girl.

This little cove on our hotel grounds was perfect for early morning swims and snorkeling. Lots of sea turtles here who don’t mind swimming companions.

A good thing this sign was posted, or we might have decided to go for a drive here.

Miami, FL ~ January 2009

On New Year’s Day, Blair and Toni headed south to Miami to watch their local team, the University of Cincinnati Bearcats, play in the Orange Bowl. Here we are outside Dolphin Stadium.

Toni on famous South Beach. Pay no attention to those clouds – they soon disappeared and we proceeded to spend three glorious 80 degree days on the beach. Ah …

Blair on South Beach’s famous Ocean Drive, also known as Deco Drive.

The Miami skyline.

One of many unique, brightly-colored lifeguard huts along South Beach.

Italy ~ May 2008

This is Manarola, the quaint seaside town where we stayed while in the Cinque Terre area. The Cinque Terre is comprised of five little towns along the Mediterranean linked by trails along the shore where the hillsides are covered with vineyards and lemon trees. We really loved our time in this area.

Boats at the Manarola waterfront.

Toni and Blair in Vernazza, another of the Cinque Terre towns. All the towns here have been around since Medieval times.

Toni and Blair in Riomaggiore, yet another town of the Cinque Terre. We had a rainy day for this part of the journey, but still enjoyed it immensely.

Vernazza from the trail above, leading to the next town.

The Castel Bigozzi, where we stayed while in Tuscany. It was an embattled castle in the Middle Ages – very cool!

A stark yet scenic Tuscan landscape (which was a lot more green than gold, unlike the pictures you usually see.)

We visited several Medieval hill towns in Tuscany, which was extremely cool. This is the fortezza – or fort – in the town of Montalcino.

Another gorgeous Tuscan scene – a vineyard with wild poppies in the foreground. Poppies and other wildflowers were everywhere we went in Italy.

This is a famous cypress-lined road in Tuscany – and it took us a while to find it, especially since they don’t bother to provide signs with road names on them in Tuscany.

Toni and Blair with the Colesseum in Rome, which we really enjoyed, both inside and out.

With the Arch of Titus in the Roman Forum.

Roman ruins at the Forum. It was amazing to see things that had been built 2000 years ago, and to walk the same streets as Julius Caesar.

Toni on the famous Spanish Steps in Rome.

Blair in front of the Pantheon.

The Colesseum at night is stunning.

Destin, Florida ~ July 2007

Toni and Blair in the world’s largest Adirondack chair (and no, I don’t know that for a fact, but it seems possible.)

Setting off in a sea kayak.

Took this from our balcony, and believe it or not, this picture doesn’t do it justice. Probably the most vibrant sunset I’ve ever seen.

Hanging out on the beach at night.

Central California Coast ~ May 2007

Toni along the Pacific Grove shore on a last-minute whirlwind Memorial Day Weekend trip.

Blair on the rugged scenic Monterey coast on a chilly, misty day.

In the Sonoma wine country.

Blair at the famous Pebble Beach golf course, which was cool for my golfer husband.

Canadian Rockies ~ August 2006

This is literally the view from our hotel window of Lake Louise, with Victoria Glacier in the distance.

This is Peyto Lake – can you see the bear or wolf shape in it? (The head is to the right of the picture.) And yes, the water really IS that color.

At the beautiful Emerald Lake, which I loved. Again, the water really looks like that. It’s stunning.

Toni and Blair canoeing on Moraine Lake.

This is one of many big horn sheep we encountered. Lots of elk, too, and a few bears – one of whom appeared on our hiking trail and gave us a scare. You THINK you want to see bears on a trip like this – until you stumble upon one looking at you from not very far away.

The Chateau Lake Louise, where we stayed. I LOVED this place and would describe the atmosphere as “comfortable elegance.” Plus, walking out the back door of the hotel feels like stepping into a postcard.

At Moraine Lake, where the water is a deeper, even more electric blue than at Lake Louise.

Here we are on Athabasca Glacier in the Columbia Icefields. It was mostly like standing on packed snow – which is what a glacier is, except that this snow just happens to have been there since the last ice age.

The historic boathouse at picturesque Maligne Lake.

Spirit Island at the far end of Maligne Lake, a beautiful and remote area accessible only by boat.

Las Vegas and Central California ~ June 2006

Here’s Toni in front of the New York New York Hotel on the Las Vegas Strip.

Toni’s husband, Blair, in Sequoia National Park. These trees were truly amazing!

From there, we ventured up to Yosemite, which I adored. This is a classic view of some of Yosemite’s most outstanding landscape – in this picture alone you can see Bridal Veil Falls, Half Dome, and El Capitan.

Toni and Blair high atop Glacier Point, where you can view the whole beautiful Yosemite Valley, complete with massive waterfalls and stunning rock formations. Can you tell I liked this place?

Toni and Blair with Half Dome behind them. People actually climb that thing!

This was taken atop Sentinel Dome and was by far my favorite hike! Wish I had room to show you more pictures of the beautiful scenery along the way.

From Yosemite, we headed west to San Francisco – my first visit. Call me a dork, but I loved riding the street car!

Toni and Blair with the Golden Gate Bridge.

Siesta Key, Florida ~ February 2006

A beautiful Siesta Key sunset! Blair’s getting to be a pretty good photographer, isn’t he?

Daytrip to Shaker Village at Pleasant Hill, KY ~ June 2005

A pesky, lingering illness has kept us from taking any trips so far this year, but we've found another fun way to travel - meet ZZ, my new cute little Z4 (and yes, for those of you paying close attention, this is the same car driven by Lauren in The Red Diary : ) ) Here I am at Shakertown, which happens to be one of my fave places on the earth and is just a few hours from my home. I've never been anywhere that makes me feel more at peace inside. If you're ever in the central Kentucky area, you *must* take a few hours to visit, listen to the Shaker music, study the incredible architecture (which is much more complex and fascinating than you'd guess from looking), learn about a fascinating religion, and just walk the grounds of this extremely spiritual, calming place.

Hawaii ~ December 2004

The Kalalau Valley on Kauai.
One of the most stunning overlooks I've ever seen!

On Maui, drinking yummy lava flows at Kimo's in Lahaina. (Umbrella drinks are one of my greatest weaknesses.)

The Seven Sacred Pools at O'heo Gulch.
Last time we had a great time swimming here, but on this visit the water was running too fast, so the pools were closed to swimmers.

A beautiful sunset over Lanai.

Kauai's rugged Napali coast.

Toni on the hotel grounds.

Taking a break from the walk up Ka'anapali Beach one evening.

Arizona ~ September 2004

Mountain goats in the canyon!! Very cool!

Toni and Blair in Sedona

Toni and Blair at the Grand Canyon

Sedona's Cathedral Rock

Vail ~ January 2004

Sleighride!

Toni and Blair at the U.S. Freeskiing Competition
(we dig stuff like that.)

Along a lovely Vail Village stream.

Las Vegas ~ June 2003

Toni and husband Blair at the Bellagio

A daytrip to Red Rock Canyon

Yellowstone ~ May 2002

Toni and Blair at Artist's Point in the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone.

Castle Geyser in the Old Faithful Geyser Basin

A mother grizzly bear with two cubs. Way cute!

Maui ~ August 2001

Sunset in front of our hotel on Ka'anapali Beach at Black Rock.

Taken above Ka'anapali Beach, the island of Lana'i in the background.

Toni and Blair next to the hotel pool.

Makena Beach, one of our favorite stops.

Utah ~ January 2001

At Alta, Toni's favorite ski destination.