The Heart of Hawaii

While we have written reams about our December trip to the Aloha Isles, we couldn't let it pass without a few extra thoughts here on Veness Travel Media as it made a huge impression on us and is definitely in our Top Three of must-visit cruise destinations (along with Alaska and Chilean Patagonia). When it comes to the truly great areas of the world, you need memorable sights and experiences in equal measure and Hawaii definitely has this, in spades, along with some of the friendliest people you will ever meet. Much is made of the Aloha spirit, and it sounds too good to be true, but it is genuine and convivial and definitely one of the factors that gets under your skin and leaves you wanting more when you leave.

Each of the islands offers something vivid and new, from spectacular volcanic mountains and other rugged peaks to tropical rainforest and beautiful beaches. There's great coffee (Hawaii is the only US state to produce coffee and vanilla, thanks to its blissful, year-round climate), superb water-sports, excellent local food (especially the seafood) and even a great local brewery. The obvious attractions of Volcanoes National Park, Pearl Harbor, Waimea Canyon and Haleakala Crater (left) are truly epic in their scope and views, but there is plenty of small-scale delight, too, with great plants, birdlife and the island delicacy of Macadamia nuts.

It's actually hard to go wrong with just about anything you do on the islands, and the discovery of amazing adventure-attraction places like the Kualoa Ranch on Oahu, with its superb setting (that makes it very popular with film-makers), added an extra layer of excitement to the trip. We explored with both the expert local tour service of Roberts Hawaii and under our own steam with a hire car, and we wre lucky to discover things like a surfing contest on the North Shore on Oahu and the little town of Makawao, that proved a minor shopping treasure. When we looked back at a seemingly endless array of amazing sunsets, great meals (both ashore and onboard the Pride of America), unique shopping, mountain backdrops and superb coastal scenery, it was hard to credit just how much we packed into the 11-night/12-day trip. Our hotels on Oahu - the Modern Honolulu and Kahala Resort in Waikiki and Disney's stunning Aulani Resort on the west coast - were all different and all immensely comfortable and attractive and even if you just fly to Oahu and stay on that island, you will be sure of an amazing experience. But do try to take in more, especially by ship. We can promise it will be the trip of a lifetime.

The Beacon Hotel, South Beach

Mid-way through our Miami stay we moved to The Beacon hotel on Ocean Drive. Smart, modern, and perfectly positioned for all the fun on South Beach, the hotel is light, bright, and an excellent spot for people watching.  With the beach right across the street it would be hard to imagine a better placement. As it happened, Spring Break was in full swing during our stay. It’s a time of year in south Florida that takes me back to my own Spring Break, which is not something I intend to talk about here, or anywhere else for that matter. Suffice it to say, things haven’t changed much, and if you’re looking for one heck of a party, you’ll find it every night of the week for about a month. The atmosphere is super-charged with “see and be seen”, though there are times when you’d rather skip the “see” part, and surely there are times when others prefer not to be seen. So it was with some trepidation that we made the move. By “we”, I mean “me.” Simon was all in favor, being one who thrives on high-energy settings, and this was certainly it. If South Beach were a movie scene, it would be the scene in Spinal Tap where the guitarist, referring to his amplifier, says to the documentary maker, “Yeah, but ours goes up to 11!”

Ocean Drive was spam in a can, the sidewalks were shoulder-to-shoulder, and I expected the worst as we checked into The Beacon, giving our car to the valet out front since there is no parking right at the hotel. Rather than being a curse, this was a blessing. Quick, efficient, the valet whisked off down the road to some hidden spot, and in the course of the two nights we stayed there, never once did we wait for the car to be returned, nor did we have any hint that it wasn’t in the best of hands. We were very impressed by these hard-working men who were always ready with a smile and our car keys. Our room faced the ocean, and while it was slightly sparse in some ways, it did give off the Art Deco vibe the area is known for, and was a perfectly comfortable retreat for the next couple of days. We heard no noise from our neighbors on either side, and while each night featured a Flamenco dancer on the patio right below our 5^th story room, the staccato sounds as she stamped around the raised wooden stage she brought with her were never obtrusive. I was astonished, and delighted. Each morning we were given a voucher for a full, hearty breakfast, which we enjoyed outside on the covered two-tiered patio. This was more my scene than night-time had been. To be fair, we never saw or heard anything out of line in the evenings, just a big, rowdy party going on. But I like sedate, and I could imagine visiting outside of Spring Break month, when the area would be truly enjoyable with just a bit less traffic, both human and vehicular. And it was a wonderful place to people watch, with families, couples, Seniors, and college students setting themselves up for a fabulous sun-soaked day at the beach.  If we had had more time we would have grabbed a couple of beach towels from our room and the two sun-lounger chairs from our closet, high-tailed it across Ocean Drive, and joined them in a blissful day or two listening to the sound of the waves. Instead, we imagined how lovely that would be, and wondered if a return trip in autumn might be on the cards for us.

 

Salumeria 104

One of the reasons we love visiting Europe (and Boston, for that matter, and probably Chicago) is the intimate nature of the restaurants. You know what I mean; those wonderful little family owned places tucked into an impossibly small section of a building, where, somehow, the most amazing dishes come out of a kitchen the size of the one you had in your first apartment when you were in your early 20s.

Salumeria 104 is just such a place. Small, homey, with smells wafting out the door that make passing by without stopping an unbearable thought. The name itself, from the Italian word “salumi” (meaning, cold cuts), invokes thoughts of the Mother Country, where happy villagers bring their wicker baskets into town to stock up on fresh breads and meats at the local shops. And that role is played out here too, with a cooler inside the trattoria so you can enjoy fresh, authentic salumis at home.

But we were here to eat without doing any of the preparation or clean-up. And eat we did! Normally I shy away from pasta because, well, I’m a girl and I bought into the idea that too much pasta makes your pants bigger. Faced with the prospect of homemade pasta done right, by someone how has the culinary artists touch, I was thankful for all the times I had foregone the dried out version that comes in boxes at Publix. This was worth waiting for.

But first the appetizers. You really can’t start and Italian meal without teasing your appetite into a full-on stomach-rumbler with the delicate taste of fine prosciutto, spicy salami, creamy mortadella, and the beautifully sublime flavor of Speck ham, paired up with a small bowl of mixed olives, a basket of homemade bread, and the earthy delight of an exceptional parmesan, tenderly rendered free from the main wheel. Chef Angelo Masarin (whose birth town is Treviso, Italy) insisted we should start with a glass of prosecco, and who are we to argue?

I had the ricotta cheese Cavatello with tomato sauce and basil, and while I will be the first to say the sight of it made my eyes pop open, I suppressed the obvious comparison to the sort of bugs only the poorest of people in the poorest of countries consider a food source, and dug right in. Heaven in a bowl! Honest to Pete, this was the most tender, luscious pasta it has ever been my good fortune to encounter. It has to be the ricotta that makes it so creamy, and if my pant size went up by one, I’m ok with that. I could eat that dish every day of my life.

Italian Lambrusco arrived, more prosecco was poured, and when we had eaten ourselves to a standstill Chef Masarin figured we could fit just a bit more into our swollen bellies, presenting us with a slice of that timeless layered concoction of sweet, slightly caffeinated, cocoa-dusted delight, Tiramisu. I had room for one small bite, Simon had room for the rest, but the walk we took around the pretty Midtown shops in an effort to digest did little in the way of bringing about relief. We were stuffed, and frankly, didn’t care who knew it. Salumaria was worth eschewing pasta night at home, saving it up for the real thing. www.salumaria104.com

OLA Miami! 

Super Bowl Week: I love me some Children's Museum!

Simon headed off to Media Day, leaving me free to explore the city. At Daltom’s suggestion I headed straight for the Children’s Museum, a 10 minute drive from our hotel.

The first sign this little gem is somewhere special comes when you round the corner off of Meridian Street toward the free parking lot (yes, free. Orlando take note).  Giant alamosaurs, who are making their escape into the wild from the museum’s Dinosphere section, and gentle brachiosaurs with dino-sized curiosity are all wearing the blue and white scarves worn by the city’s Super Bowl volunteers.  While the volunteers scarves were all knitted by…well…volunteer knitters , out of cozy blue and white yarn using the traditional tools of the knitting trade, the dino versions were knitted on broomsticks, from 5000 feet of blue and white rope. What kind of city thinks of something like that?

Indianapolis, apparently.  And it works. Once again, the sense of community spirit that surrounds this week’s Big Event is evident, even as far out of the downtown area as this.

But the fun on the outside of the building is nothing compared to the fun on the inside.  Now, if you’re my age you’ll remember when “children’s museums” were really just grownup’s museums with a milk carton containing a few dress-up items that were meant to keep the  kiddies happy during an otherwise dead-boring tromp past old bones, and paintings done by people whose name you can’t pronounce. Thankfully, by the time our kids were toddling the concept of a true children’s museum had arrived. And as a homeschooling mom, I’ve seen a few in my day, so I was pretty sure I knew what to expect: hands-on touch screens describing static exhibits, cranks and pullies and whizzy things kids could manipulate, and some cool stuff about dinosaurs and Egypt. They’ve all got ‘em.

But this…this was something different. Yes, there’s an Egypt section. But you reach it by taking a special elevator (think Epcot’s Living Seas hydrolators; how we mourn their passing!), down, down, down into the depths of Seti’s tomb. And down into the hidden underground world of the Terra Cotta Warriors. And just so the ocean is represented, down under the waves to the wreck of the Caribbean’s only confirmed sunken pirate ship and the reason for the demise at the end of a rope of one Captain William Kidd. How cool is that?!

And yes, there’s a dinosaur section. It was once a Cinedome theater, now converted into Dinosphere. It does have the obligatory T-Rex scene, but again, with a difference. Not only is daddy T-Rex going in for the kill (run, Triceratops, run!), here his teenager is in on the action too. All the while they’re surrounded by a domed wall and ceiling, where lighting and sounds cycle through a day in the late Cretaceous, complete with rainstorm and meteorites.  But you don’t just stand there looking at them, wondering what it would have been like to see such a stand-off. Nope, here you get to watch a computer generated re-enactment (Jurassic Park style) on a screen in front of the life-sized battle, meet the team who are cleaning and preparing actual fossils (and you can stand right there and talk to them as they work!), then visit a touch-screen where you can explore how different body parts would result in different outcomes (what if T-Rex legs were smaller? What if their tails were short?) Kinda makes you think, doesn’t it? And that’s the whole point.

Even little nippers are entertained here, with the ability to see into all the exhibits through low windows, steps, and play areas just for them. Want the most precious picture ever? Dress your toddler up in a full body vest  that looks a lot like a dinosaur with a long tail and let them loose in a nest full of eggs, or let them explore a dig site where they can uncover the latest, greatest find.  And disabled doesn’t mean unable here, either. If you can’t quite manage the stairs into the dig site, find a similar experience along a hands-on wall, just at wheelchair height. Brilliant!

Through the course of my Children’s Museum day, I went to Cairo in a rotating exhibit called Take Me There: Egypt, where I visited a typical city apartment, a rural house, a chemists, a clothing store, the Nile, and attended a sebou, the ceremony that welcomes a new baby into the community; I met Ann Frank, Ruby Bridges, and Ryan White, children who changed the world by their example of strength during adversity; I wondered at train travel, encountered a spectacular 43 foot high Chihuly tower, hung out with Barbie (as in Doll), and so much more.

Tonight is the big NFL Media Party, and normally our pre-party talk would be around what we might see and do at the event. Tonight it was all about this wonderful little corner of Indiana that brings out the very best explorer in the children who visit. Daltom, our hand-written card kid, was absolutely right; “the Children’s Museum has everything!”

Super Bowl Week: The Trip to *yawn* Indiana.

You know that sense of excitement you feel when you get in the car and point yourself in the direction of something really fun? Like a holiday? Or a trip somewhere you’ve never been? I didn’t really feel that as we set off for *yawn* Indianapolis, Indiana. INDIANA, for gawd sake! What could be more boring? Ok, maybe Boise, or maybe Gary, which, by the way, is also in Indiana. Plus it’s cold, and I don’t do cold any more.

But Super Bowl week starts the Monday before the game, so off we went.

With Florida behind us, then Georgia, we veered west once we reached Chattanooga Tennessee (of Chattanooga Choo Choo fame), heading for our hotel in White House Tennessee. The most exciting part of the journey was when we left Wendy’s restaurant in a huff because they couldn’t seem to serve the 2 people in front of us, and it became clear we were going to be standing there for a long time waiting for the 6 people on staff to sort out who had a baked potato, why that tray full of food was still sitting on the counter, and how to make a cup of coffee for the elderly gentleman ahead of us.

We got all up in the indignation and headed to a gas station, where we picked up the most miserable egg salad sandwich I have ever eaten (it had all the flavor of thick air) and a truly vile turkey sandwich for Simon. To make ourselves feel better we each got a candy bar, but we’ve been off sugar for weeks so it just tasted mind numbingly sweet, and it burned our throats.

We slept a restless sleep that night, as our room heater seemed to be alternately moaning and wheezing. By 5am we had had enough. We got up, did some work, had the most soulless breakfast possible (hideous cold egg squares and greasy sausage patties) before making the remaining 5 hour drive to *yawn* Indianapolis. Of all the cities that didn’t deserve to be suffered for, Indianapolis was it.

Then we arrived. And every minute leading up to that point was worth it. The city is cloaked in banners for Super Bowl XLVI, and it looks absolutely fantastic! Everything is centrally located in the downtown area, which is where our hotel is located. We were greeted warmly by volunteers every time we turned around, and in stark contrast to Miami, Houston, and even Jacksonville, there is a buzz in the air here (which, by the way, is beautiful; bright blue sky, sunshine, and 50F). Locals have turned out in their Colts jerseys (the home team, who are not playing in Sunday’s game), and the sense of pride is just wonderful to see.

Indianapolis is just….cool!

We took a walk through Super Bowl Village to get an overview of what’s going on, then returned to our room to get ready for dinner. The Two Nicks (you’ll remember them from past Super Bowls) will be meeting us soon, so I’ll leave you here with a few pictures, and we’ll explore the city tomorrow!

Oh…and just to make us feel like we were truly welcome guests in this exciting Midwestern town, a Snickerdoodle (Indians's "official State cookie"), bottled water, visitors guide, and a card hand-done by Dalton, who goes to school here in Indianapolis, was waiting for us when we got to our room. How sweet is that?