Ten Favorite Places

My ten favorite places on the planet. Granted, I haven't been to that much of the planet, but I'll stick by these ten regardless.

10. Vegas

Vegas. What's not to love? Lights, money, shopping, wedding chapels, gambling & shows...fun, fun & fun. Read about our last vacation to Vegas which included CHER (3rd row!), poker, bingo & Pawn Stars! 

Photos from here and here. 

09. Colorado

I've been living in Colorado for almost 3 years now and while I still consider myself a Texan, I have learned to appreciate all the beautiful places that are here in the state. A few of the highlights so far (although there is still a lot I haven't seen yet) are Glenwood Springs, Garden of the Gods, Breckenridge and Steamboat Springs. 

Trail in Steamboat Springs

08. Oregon

Remember the game Oregon Trail? I loved that game. Until my oxen drowned crossing the river. Oops. Anyway, I don't think Oregon had ever crossed my mind other than the game Oregon Trail until I met my Oregonian husband. But now I've gotten to visit several times and it is truly a beautiful state, not to mention that it is home to my fab in-laws (mom, dad, bro & sis) plus two special little nephews, which makes it very important place in our lives.

I still haven't gotten over to the Oregon coast or to see Crater lake, but Medford, Ashland and Jacksonville are pretty cool places in their own right. We almost always go see one show at the world famous Oregon Shakespeare Festival  and of course spend plenty of time at the Rogue Valley Country Club. But mostly we hang out and catch up with family and friends. Who knows, maybe we'll even move up there someday...

07. Barcelona
Fun trip with my brother back in 2006! Such an amazing city!

06. Key West

Best resort vacation in the continental US. I LOVE the Florida Keys. Key West is such a relaxed, fun place to be! The polydactyl cats at the Hemingway House were second only to our sea plane trip over to the dry tortugas and Fort Jefferson. Hoping to go back very soon!  

Fort Jefferson, Dry Tortugas

Aerial View of Key West

Sea Plane Landing at  Dry Tortugas

05. TEXAS

You can take the girl out of Texas, but you can't take Texas out of the girl! Image from here. I'm pretty sure my Colorado couches would look a little better with this Texas State pillow from Whispering Pines! Thanks to John & Sherry over at Young House Love for the awesome find! 

04. Maui
Maui is the first of two Hawaiian islands to make it on my list. We had the luxury of spending a week in Maui with my in-laws back in October. It was awesome. The beach was fantastic! 

Sunrise on Haleakala

View from our Condo

At Iao Needle Valley

At Kapalua Plantation Course

 03. Oahu

Oahu. My first Hawaiian island. Love it! Oahu is home to Honolulu, Waikiki Beach, Diamond Head, Turtle Bay, Pearl Harbor, there is so much to do! Maybe it is because it was our honeymoon vacation, or the first time I had been to Hawaii, but I think Oahu is truly paradise. I hope to go back many, many times!

02. Arrowhead

Arrowhead Golf Club is BEAUTIFUL golf course in the foothills of Douglas County Colorado and it is where we got married in 2008. I have to give my hubby credit, this place was his pick and it was amazing! Such a fabulous setting for our special day! (I think I need to devote a whole post to our wedding day sometime soon!)

01. HOME!

It's not flashy or huge or extravagant, but honestly home is my favorite place to be in the world. It is where I come home to hubby after work, where my kitties make messes and run around like crazy, and where I can relax and love life (and plan vacations to all my other favorite places!). We've already had lots of fun in our little house (I'm thinking about doing a video tour soon!) but whether it is this house or another, its our home and my all-time favorite place. 

What are your favorite places in the world? Any places we should visit? Any the same as mine?

Soaking up the Sun

Lounging on Waikiki Beach, Enjoying the Sunshine





The view from our spot in the sand....



The beach was great, but we also loved the hotel pools. The one closest to our room was a little more secluded so there was less wind, fewer kids, free lounge chairs, and cool drinks!



Yes, I was really hot in this photo, about to melt actually! I didn't last much longer out there, I swear my skin is like a thermal blanket... In fact, maybe it is and thats why I'm so hot all the time! I'll have to look into that.

Honolulu Gazette

This is one of the several "professional" photos the tourists destinations take at the beginning of each adventure and then sell to you at the end for $10-$20. Nevertheless, we thought this one was really cool (and the proceeds go to support the memorial). These are supposed to be some of the real headlines from the papers in 1941. It has a back side also with war photos and even a Spam add, for some reason I had trouble scanning that side.



Believe it or not, there are still more photos to post (even of just the good ones, not ALL of the photos we took), so keep checking back, I'm hoping to get them up soon!

Sunset Dinner Cruise

In the evening following our waterfall hike we went on a sunset dinner cruise, which turned out to be great! We were all a little unsure about eating and walking around on a moving boat (and the water was quite choppy!) but we quickly got used to it and had a great time. Bonus, we even got to see a whale! The photo was really dark because it was right at dusk, but Greg worked some magic and lightened it up enough so you can see the flipper splashing. We were so lucky we happened to be standing right there when it appeared.

Still more photos to post tomorrow!

Manoa Falls Waterfall Hike

The first real excursion we did in Hawaii (other than explore our hotel & Waikiki) was to go on a hike to the Manoa Falls - it was amazing! This was definitely one of my favorite parts of the trip. Although the hike was muddy and little more tricky than I had imagined, it was so beautiful and it felt great to be out walking in the middle of a rainforest!

Doesn't it look amazing?! The photos don't even do it justice. By the way, a countless number of movies and tv shows have filmed in this very place!

Hilton Hawaiian Village

We absolutely loved staying at the Hilton Hawaiian Village (thanks mom!). The place literally has everything. Let's see, Louis Vuitton, Coach, ABC Store, Benihana, Tori Richard, Na Hoku Jewelry, just to name a few of the retail establishments on site, not to mention the pools, restaurants, flamingos, penguins, activities, and of course, the beach!

Pearl Harbor

We loved our tour of Pearl Harbor. Thanks to our bus driver Julius for the recommendation of submarine tour, it was great. Wow, it sure is small down there! We are convinced they must have chosen the crews based on height, Greg could barely fit down there. Enjoy the slideshow!