We hadn’t intended to visit the botanical gardens in DC. I mean, you can pretty much put up a garden anywhere, but when the museums didn’t have enough to hold our attention…

Turns out the garden was one of our favorite places. Granted, it was pouring rain outside so we probably stayed longer than we otherwise might have, but it was orchid season! There were other flowers there too, of course, but the gallery below is pretty much dedicated to the orchid room. The last flower in the picture is actually from a tree that was along the Potomac basin. I don’t know what kind of tree it was, but the flowers were just gorgeous. Only about half of the flowers in the botanical garden were marked so if anyone wants to write in with a name, I’ll add a caption. My favorite was the purple flower with white lace lines through it–there was no marker, but what a lovely, lovely orchid!

Click on the pictures to see larger images.

The kitties were here all day yesterday (click on pictures to see full view). Sadly, most of the pictures were through the window, so some of the best shots…didn’t make it. They sat right outside the big window and played “catch mom’s tail” but unfortunately, that window has a dark screen on it. At any rate, Junior has made some good progress. He doesn’t run when he sees us in the window. He doesn’t like it when the windows are open and we talk to him. If we open the door, he’s off like a shot, while mom stays back and gives us the evil eye. She even hisses at us if Junior is too close by when we take the food out. That’s still progress–at least she’s talking to us!

We’re thinking about buying a used cat tree to put outside under the porch to give them a bit more shelter. Mom and Junior are going to need some protection if it ever rains here again. Our porch covering is about 20 inches–not enough for a cat to be protected. If they can climb up under the eaves, they might feel protected. We’ve tried dog igloos before, but cats aren’t partial to dens that have only one exit. The noise of the rain on the plastic might bother them too, who knows. All I know is that they have not used anything similar that we’ve offered in the past. If anyone has any ideas on this, let us know. We have always wished the house had a nice covered back porch, but we aren’t going to start building one now!

Is fresh-roasted really better than buying roasted coffee beans at Starbucks?

YES. If you want to try fresh-roasted, try buying coffee from a “roasted and sent same day” shop on the internet. www.Sweetmarias.com is one place to check, but there are many others that sell it very fresh and the cost is competitive with Starbucks.

What makes the most difference in the taste: a good grinder, a special coffee pot or fresh roasting?

All those things make a difference, but in general, the coffee pot makes the least amount of difference (assuming a decent-working and clean coffee pot). In general if you are experimenting and don’t want to spend a lot of money, keep the equipment you have and order some fresh-roasted, shipped same day coffee off the internet and try it. Depending on where you live, there may be roasters in your area that sell it also.

Second point: You should be ordering whole beans and grinding right before you use them. Burr grinders work far better than blade grinders. They start around 40 dollars and go up from there. We have two grinders, one for espresso and one for regular coffee. For drip coffee, you don’t have to spend a lot of money, but do go with a burr grinder if you can afford it. Blade grinders chop very unevenly. Whatever grinder: grind the coffee right before you use it.

We use a run-of-the-mill coffee pot, nothing spectacular. I’m sure there are people out there that swear by a special pot, but it’s my opinion that the coffee makes more difference than the pot. There are many kinds of ways to brew coffee, but for drip coffee, unless you want to fool around with techniques such as French press or vacuum brewers, most coffee pots will do just fine. Changing from one coffee-pot brand to another or changing filter types doesn’t seem to alter taste as much as a decent grinder and starting with good coffee.

As for the roasting part, we roast at home each week so that we can enjoy the freshest brew. Once roasted the oils begin to sweat out of the bean and over a very short period of time, the flavor begins to change. Green beans are much more stable. They don’t leak oils or degrade (well, okay, if you leave them around for a year or two, the flavor will probably change!)

Think of any dried bean such as pinto beans—they have a very long shelf-life. You don’t have to get a roaster to get fresh-roasted beans; it was just easier and fun for us. Note: The roaster that we bought is no longer available–it’s being redesigned and might be out next year. Keep an eye on www.SweetMarias.com as I imagine they will carry it. It cost about $120 at the time and came with a selection of beans. In the meantime, you might try a hot air popcorn popper as an entry-level machine.

Does it help to refrigerate or freeze coffee?

Some say yes, some say no…I think it may depend on whether you are in a humid environment or not. If you live in say, Houston, putting coffee in the refrigerator or freezer probably helps. We do refrigerate our beans after roasting and use roasted beans within a week to week and a half.

What kind of espresso machine do you recommend?

If you’re starting out, go with a pump machine rather than a steam machine. Prices range from 100 to waaay up there. We started with a simple pump machine and then spent more after we got used to the idea—and found out that we did indeed use the thing.

How much coffee do you roast at one time?

With the roaster we have, you put about 1/2 cup in, set the roast you want (dark, light, medium etc) and let the thing go. You can get fancy and stop at the first crack, second crack or whatever (the beans make a popping noise as they cook and reach certain temperatures). I think with the popcorn popper you have to time it yourself, but I’m not sure. I don’t know how much coffee the popper coffee roasts at one time, but probably about ½ cup.

How much time does it take to roast coffee?

Each batch takes about 10 to 15 minutes to roast. In this household a couple of batches is about a week’s worth of coffee or espresso. Remember though, you must roast it the night before you want to drink it–it has to sit for a few hours before you grind it because the flavor has to settle.

Recently completed the grand tour of Washington DC. Took the parents and took in museums, monuments, restaurants and anything else we could find. The problem? The museums were a bust as far as good ones. Yeah, I know. I almost had to read that twice myself. The great Smithsonians were like a picked over Blue-Light Special clearance section.

What the hell happened to them? I was there twenty some years ago and loved them. There was so much to see, I could barely stand still long enough to take in the exhibit in front of me. This time around, it looked like some marketing specialist for modern art was in charge during the renovation. Two of the museums in the mall area were still under renovation and completely closed. That in and of itself was a bummer. Why weren’t some of the exhibits from those museums moved to other buildings? There appeared to be PLENTY of empty space in the buildings we visited.

Just one example: In the Native American building, the first two floors were dedicated to empty hallway space, a restaurant and two very small museum shops–the only exhibit was a canoe that appeared to be a “replica” rather than a real one on the first floor. The hallways were wide and empty enough to race bicycles.

There were a lot of contemporary bowls and contemporary native clothing–essentially native garments done by today’s artists. They were gorgeous mind you, but I really didn’t go to a museum to see a modern artist’s rendition of an outfit that was originally designed back in the 1800’s. Several were sewn in 2000 and after, sitting next to the odd one here or there that were made in the 1800 and early 1900s. All of them were beautiful, but you had to check the dates to even know whether you were looking at something done by modern hands, or something done back on the plains using hand-prepared hides, bones, and seeds. There was little documentation to explain what ceremony the outfits might have been used for.

There was very little pottery and if there were old ones recovered from archaeological sites, I didn’t see them, mainly because once I figured out we weren’t talking history, I moved past them. There may have been older pottery bowls mixed in, but there was only a single, short wall of pottery period.

Drawers along one wall contained arrowheads and some steel tomahawk type weapons. Not much by way of documentation to be able to tell who used the weapons, although there were dates.

There were no teepees or utensils such as bone needles, scrapers for the hides, stones for grinding corn. In fact, there was very little information about the different tribes–none of the various artworks such as blankets (Navajo), baskets, pottery or dolls (Kachina or otherwise). I think I saw a few pieces of Indian jewelry, but not much (Not a single piece of Zuni jewelry, for example.) From what I recall, each tribe had their own styles when it came to pottery and painting of pots. Too bad the Smithsonians hid all that in the back somewhere. I certainly would have liked to see some of it.

The Indians didn’t all live the same. They had various ways of life–hunting, planting, pueblos, war-mongering, etc. None of that was mentioned anywhere. The different arts and ceremonies from the different tribes was completely missing. What a letdown.

We also visited the Smithsonian Castle, a museum that supposedly had exhibits/examples from each of the other museums. It was very nice and the samples were great–All two rooms on one floor that was was shared with an eating area and a small restaurant/snack place. We thought we’d be able to see some things from the museums that were closed. And we did. Probably two or three exhibits. What a letdown.

I don’t understand what changed or why. The Smithsonians are supposed to be premier museums in the world, certainly in the United States. There may be more lighting and “interactive” displays, but the content was sadly, sadly lacking. I’d rather have clutter to explore and wonder about than artfully arranged glass cases with one sample of one theme.

I’ll blabber some more about the trip and post some photos in future posts. We did enjoy the Natural History Museum–it contained at least 3 floors of exhibits. My husband visited the Space museum and found some good things there, although there were probably a few too many “replicas” rather than the real thing. Its main purpose appeared to be dedicated to entertaining small children.

We also enjoyed the monuments. There truly is something wonderful about reading the inscriptions at the Lincoln memorial in the hushed environment. People were very respectful and polite.

This article is an essay of the trip down. For reservation/planning/hiking advice in the Grand Canyon, try here: Grand Canyon Planning.

Grand Canyon Trip, September 11, 2001

For two years I planned my second trip to hike the Grand Canyon. Along for the long walk: my husband; my cousin, John; brother-in-law, Jerry; his son and my nephew, Toby.

We all trained diligently and Toby being youngest at eighteen, was determined to be “first” to arrive at every location. My cousin, being foolish and old enough to know better, was determined to keep up.

We arrived at the North Rim on September 10th and hiked about the top of the rim, watching the haze from various wildfires color the canyon and change its voice. Standing at the top, it is hard to imagine hiking all the way to the bottom. It looks quite perilous and inhospitable, even impossible.

My husband and I hiked some of the short rim trails, stealing some time for ourselves. We talked about the first time we hiked the canyon, the wildfires and our current entourage. These quiet moments are precious to me; a time to reflect the mission at hand and a time to rest from the rigors of daily life.

Unfortunately, many of the other memories of this trip will always be overshadowed by what happened in the real world while we, unsuspecting, began hiking down the canyon on September 11. In retrospect, the canyon was remarkably quiet that day.

On our first trip here years ago, planes and various light craft flew overhead. On this day, nothing broke the silence of the canyon save a few other voices; our ham radios when we checked in with our relatives that ran far ahead of us, and the very occasional happy chattering of other hikers.

At Roaring Springs, five or so miles in, the waters still thundered into Bright Angel Creek and the caretaker’s dwelling offered a welcoming table, chairs and water. Cousin John, Nephew Toby and Jerry were waiting impatiently for our arrival so they could regale us with their adventures thus far and then scoot off into the next phase. Other hikers on their way back out from Cottonwood Camp warned us that it was a bumper year for rattlesnakes down by the creek.

The weather was warm as we started on the flatter part of the hike that winds alongside Bright Angel Creek. We found pictures we had not taken before and again appreciated the hugeness of the canyon and the overwhelming size of the boulders, mountains, cliffs and indelible features. The swallows that we had seen on our last trip were nowhere to be found this time around.

Ribbon Falls, a mile past Cottonwood Camp, was a wonderful respite. We met the boys and Jerry already trooping out of the area. My husband and I released our tired feet from our shoes and soaked our feet. The falls were a tad crowded this year as a group of seven or so women hiking together were swimming in the falls, but we enjoyed the rest.

About an hour past the falls, I had to stop and doctor some nasty blisters that had swelled. Most likely this injury occurred because I foolishly hadn’t dried my feet well enough. The moleskin protected the blisters well and though my feet weren’t entirely comfortable, I was able to continue on without any real trouble.

We reached Phantom Ranch perhaps an hour after the others in our party, and we jumped into Bright Angel Creek to soak away our various muscle ailments. It wasn’t long before news of the attack on the towers filtered through the camp.

Disbelieving at first, checks with the rangers proved that something indeed had occurred, although in the canyon getting news was slow. There is one pay phone and it was in constant use as people checked with their family members and tried to piece together a coherent story.

Ah, instead of getting away from it all, the world’s despair sent its fingers after us on the trail. Cousin John is a reserve in the Navy; with so little news and so few facts, he began to wonder if he should begin hiking back out immediately in order to be ready should he be called. News that National Parks were being closed left us wondering if we would be stuck in the canyon or worse, forced to hike out in one direction or another, possibly away from our parked car.

As the day passed, we shared news with other hikers. At dinner, the ranger read the latest news as it was understood at the time. More trips to the phone booth, more reassurances and more worry from those above.

The next day we wandered aimlessly before hiking to the Colorado River. The great carving machine is about a mile from Phantom and once there, we tried to enjoy the solitude. We knew that we would not have to walk back out of the canyon today, but when we did go, we were not certain we would be able to fly home. Planes, except for emergencies, were grounded.

On our way back to Phantom, with a storm brewing overhead, just such a flight emergency was underway and we were stopped on the trail. The ranger requested that we remain clear for several minutes and stop other hikers because a rescue helicopter was on its way.

Within moments, out of nowhere, a giant yellow bird edged around the canyon wall, filling empty space just above the trees, rushing ahead of the threatening rain. The chopper landed, but could not take off until the storm had subsided. When it did, we waited on the other end of the trail, watching it lift and curve in the narrow side canyon, cheating the walls of any victims. We never learned the fate of its passenger, but we assume that the talented rescuers made good on their mission.

Again in the evening more news was read by the ranger. The facts were looking even bleaker as the number of planes hijacked was confirmed. What had swelled as rumor from various phone contact became harder fact.

Cousin John was again consumed with frustrated energy, wanting to be somewhere, wanting to do something, wanting to help. None of us could imagine what was going on above the canyon. The ranger had an internet connection, but there were no televisions or radios for news purposes; we learned things slowly. As the facts trickled in, they were printed and posted in the canteen.

Though we hiked and relaxed throughout the next day, there was a taint in the air. The discussions surrounded the attack and what it all meant. There seemed to be little enough time for discussing college plans for Toby, future career plans for the rest of us, and never enough time for day dreaming. Always, there were the news checks to see if further developments had occurred.

Even as we began the journey back out on Friday, we did not know when we would be flying home. The last news we had heard was that commercial flights were still grounded. My husband and I hiked slower than ever, not wanting the vacation to end and not quite sure it had ever begun.

Cousin John and Nephew Toby did reach the top before the rest of us; Toby managed to save just enough energy to sprint ahead of Cousin John as the trailhead came into site, winning bragging rights for all time and probably a pulled hamstring to which he will never admit. Jerry was out next and the three of them showered and changed before my husband and I made it to the top.

Tired and disheveled, we were still essentially without news on the North side, but we slept peacefully in our cabins before heading back to the real world the next morning.

We all made our flights and had no real problems. Television sets showed the surreal destruction over and over and many days after returning, Jerry discovered that an old friend had been a passenger on one of the planes.

The Grand Canyon is one of the world’s most magnificent wonders and well worth the trip if you’re able to spend the time and energy planning, training and walking. It is arduous, and while it may not be possible to leave the world entirely behind, the depth and isolation are worth exploring. Plan well, travel safe and may the world not intrude on your adventure!

Someday I’ll look back on this and laugh…

The cat trap was all ready to go this morning (never mind that there were no actual cats around.) We had it in the garage, tested the electronic gizmo that BMHusband installed on the door. The way it would work, in theory, is that a door is held open with a peg. Someone pushes a button, the peg slides back, the door slams/slides down. It worked great. Right up until the motor in the brand-spankin’ new part fried.

Why did it fry you ask? Well, it sure as hell wasn’t overuse. We’d only gotten to test the door about three times. BMHusband says it’s because it isn’t meant to be left on–it’s supposed to be a short-acting draw of power. Yeah, well, I think it was part quality–lack there-of. It had been “left on” less than a minute while I walked from the living room to the garage.

Grump.

We have a backup part coming in today. We didn’t know we’d need it, but BMHusband and I both tend to overcompensate when inventing and planning. We design things…okay, overdesign things, with at least two options, sometimes more. So. Maybe tomorrow.

My backup plan is to contact the Street Cat Rescue and borrow a different kind of trap from them (one where the whole trap comes down, instead of the doors.) The lady there claims the trap works great–and if this one fails for some reason or another–we’re going to need to change the environment to trick the cats again.

No stress or anything.

Would someone tell the cats to just hop in the cage, shut the door and we’ll just get this show on the road????

Well, we did it! Half of it anyway. We were working on the cat trap all morning–the new parts came, but they didn’t do what we needed either. So…we went low-tech. We made a metal hook, tied a string on it and ran the string through the window. Mom cat was in the yard most of the day without Junior. When she finally popped over to get water about one o’clock, BMHusband said, “She’d going to go eat next. We could pull the string now.”

Would the vet take her? Was it too late in the day? What about Junior? What if we missed and she escaped????

Before we knew it, there she was, eating.

Bam! BMHusband pulled the string. She was trapped! And boy was she MAD. She panicked when we went out, clawed her way all around that cage trying to get out. We latched the door and then gave her some breathing room. I called the vet. BMHusband readied the vehicle. The vet said YES. We started to lift the cage and Scamp PANICKED. Hmm. More engineering. Yes, we stopped to engineer. It’s what we DO.

Couple of tie-wraps made for some quick handles. This meant we didn’t need to risk fingers in the cage where mom was likely to chew them off.

We got her in the back of the SUV with minimal hassle. She still wasn’t happy, but she was calming down. Twenty minutes to the vet. Paperwork. We brought her to the back room and handed her over.

Two hours later–TWO–they called. She was ready to come home. Those people are gifts, pure and simple.

We high-tailed it back there and brought her home. She went straight into the back bathroom, still in the cage. We left her there for just over an hour to let her get used to the place. After that, we took the door off the cage, but I don’t think she left the cage until I went back in again an hour later. I tried not to startle her (yeah, right). She hopped up on the windowsill and gave me the big, glassy eyed look.

At last check, that’s where she was, only on the next check, she was relaxed and looked like she had been sleeping. She has to stay indoors until the drugs wear off–probably until about 3 or 4 tomorrow afternoon.

Meanwhile…Junior showed up to eat at dark. We told him where mom was, but he didn’t look very convinced. As expected, he was quite nervous. We probably could have trapped him, but since he’d just be in the cage all night, we decided to hope he shows up tomorrow. Once in a while he does show up before noon–sometimes he shows up early afternoon. If he doesn’t, we’ll have to nab him at night, but let’s all hope for the best!!!!

Halfway home. What a relief. Keep your fingers crossed for us.

None of us are supreme swimmers so we took along two life jackets for our snorkeling adventures. Even if you can swim, the life jackets are well worth it. You can snorkel for hours instead of an hour if you have a life jacket–all you do is float along without worry and watch the fish and turtles.

We snorkeled at three beaches this time. All had clear water and fairly gentle access points (meaning the waves didn’t totally destroy you as you tried to get out to deep enough water to see fish.) You will need water shoes. There are virtually no sand beaches in Hawaii–it’s all rough sand and lava rocks so you’ll want the shoes right up until you put your fins on. If you want to spend the money, you can get those clever little diving boots that allow you to slide right into your fins with the protective little boots still on your feet, but those fin/boot sets tend to run more than the $35 or so for the regular mask/fin sets.

We took our own fins, masks and water shoes. You can rent them, but if you’re going to do three or more days of swimming, I’d recommend bringing you own. Get the snorkels that have the purge valves to help drain water out. Those things are golden and will make your swim a lot more enjoyable.

The water was crystal clear at every snorkel spot. Gorgeous!
	Turtles are often eating at Kahalu’u Beach Park. This is a pretty easy place to get into the water–you can stand in the water and see the fish without actually having to swim. The turtles are sometimes on the beach, and often feeding on grasses while you snorkel. This is a fabulous snorkel spot with public parking, showers, bathrooms, picnic tables and snack bars (sometimes.)
Kayak out across Kealakekua Bay and do some snorkeling at Cook’s Monument. The water gets deeper here quickly so there are different kinds of fish than in some of the shallower bays. Excellent clarity, beautiful swim!
	Place of Refuge (Pu’uhonau o Honaunau) had very good snorkeling. The National Park Service has an exhibit there (Pretty scenery; Its worth a very quick walkthrough, but I wasn’t nearly as impressed with it as the book.). The snorkeling is wonderful just outside the park although the fish weren’t as abundant as some of the other places and there is no shower to rinse off. There is a bathroom at the Park where we were able to wash our hands and arms. The Park charges 5 dollars to park. We walked to the beach area from there and it was worth paying for the parking because the locals know their beaches and the place was packed on the weekend.

Once again, Hawaii The Big Island Revealed had numerous beaches and descriptions listed. The authors pay close attention to swimming conditions, snorkeling, crowds and other factors. They even recommend several out of the way beaches that require 4-wheel drive to access!

I’ll be doing a series of posts on traveling in Hawaii over the next few weeks and include some pictures, info on whale watching, snorkeling, volcano watching and general travel information. My best advice if you are going to Hawaii is to visit Wizard Publications and buy the appropriate book for the island you’ll be visiting. These guides are second to none and include a wealth of local information; they’re humorous and contain a lot more activies than a normal guidebook.

Click on the pictures below to view larger images.

Our first stop was to head over to the Volcano side of the island to see if Madam Pele would grace us with the sight of a lava. We were lucky. During the daytime, steam was steady as hot lava hit the ocean. At night, at the bottom of Chain of Craters road in the Volcano National Park, the rangers had set up scopes. We could see the hot glow of lava coming down the mountain with the naked eye, but it was neat to see it through the scope also. After hiking an easy half-mile out across the end of Chain of Craters road (until you reach the spot where lava abruptly ate the road a few years back) there is another ranger scope. This one focused on the lava entering the sea and was worth the trek out there.

The best advice I can give is to plan at least one night near the Volcano park because seeing the lava well requires an evening or early morning viewing. Once the sun is up, the hot lava isn’t nearly as visible. We hiked out across the old lava from the end of Chain of Craters road at about 5:30 a.m. to get closer to the flows. This hike was murderously difficult–rough footing, 3.25 miles, in the dark (with glowing lava up the hill and glimpses of it in front of us) but very doable if you’re in shape. For the first 1/3 of a mile, the rangers had up markers. After that there were beacons every 1/3rd to 1/2 mile. You couldn’t always see the beacons because you had to climb up and down lava piles, but it certainly gave an indication of a general direction.

We arrived at the flowing lava at about daybreak (yes, we had flashlights and no, you could not hike in the dark without them!). The rangers had the most dangerous areas roped off, but of course, things change in lava land so you had better pack and use your common sense! Right at arrival we saw a great spot of red-hot, white-hot flowing lava.

After taking pictures we hiked up the side to see what else we could see. Note that heat comes off these piles. The lava is not flowing in wild, copious amounts; it’s a rather changing, fickle beast. The silver areas are fresh–notice the glowing red underneath. The top of the silver flows “pop” constantly with little flakes hopping off to the tune of crackles and snaps. When a light rain began to fall, the noise got a lot louder–hissing and sizzling entered the fray. It was absolutely fascinating to see.

After a short time–less than fifteen minutes, we headed back to the lava flow we had seen–only to find it…Gone! We had no idea the lava would harden? Change direction? Stop??? in such a short time or we would have stuck around to witness the change! We looked all over, but what we found was some lava flowing farther out.

The entire pile is like a living beast, groaning and edging its way down the mountain. Sometimes cavities form and you see the hot stuff in the crevices. When the timing is just right, you see the lava actually moving and flowing across the surface and back underneath. It’s well worth the walk out there if lava is flowing. Either hike in late in the evening and stay until dark or go in the early morning like we did. At night there were a few hundred people at the end of the road–less made the 3 plus mile hike out. In the morning? We were the only two souls out there…just us and mother nature; the lava, the pounding surf and on the last half-mile on the way back — rain.

You’ll see advertisements for whale watching all over Kona (mostly on Alii drive where the tourists hang out). The guidebook that I’ve highly recommended, “Hawaii, The Big Island Revealed” put out by Wizard Publications recommends a couple of professionals. I think the main difference between the ones in the guidebook and the ones on the street (besides prices) is that the two recommended in the book go farther, and do it all the time. Their experience means you have a better chance of seeing whales.

We went with Captain Tom of Living Ocean Adventures. He had a smaller boat than the other recommendation in the book, only taking out six people at at time. The other recommendation from the book takes out up to 40 but is about 10 bucks cheaper. In general you get about 3.5 hours out on the water.

The first thing we saw as we pulled out of the marina was a pod of spinner dolphins. They didn’t jump or play for us, but it was still a thrill to see them skimming along. These creatures are works of art; sleek, efficient and totally at home in their environment. (Click on the pictures for larger image.)

As for the whales, Humpbacks are in Hawaii from sometime in December to late March. Captain Tom advised that January 15 to about March 15 is the best time. While trying to figure out his prices, I got rather confused about whether it was worth paying extra to throw fishing lines out. After two phone calls and back and forth, I never really understood just what we were paying for but I thought we were paying an extra 100 dollars to fish. Turns out (I think) we were paying for a private charter so there were only us four on board.

As for the fishing, I’d advise against paying extra for it, if fishing is the goal. For one, I think the captain probably throws the lines out anyway, at least during the time the boat isn’t in the whale sanctuary. For two, if you really want to fish, I suspect the best way to do it is to troll specific waters where your chances are better. As with any fishing, there are always favorite places and the fisherman know and check these places. The humpbacks are not actively feeding in Hawaii–they are there to birth their calves, so don’t assume that where they are, so are the fish! And last, but not least, if you really want to fish, go to the marina FIRST and check to see how many of the boats have flags flying. Every time a fish was caught on a particular outing, a small, colored flag is raised on the boat and left until the next trip out–the major fishes each have a specific colored flag! If a lot of flags are flying, you probably have a better chance of catching something. On the day we went, I think I counted maybe four flags–and there were a LOT of boats.

Fishing aside, there were specific bonuses in going with Living Ocean Adventures. Captain Tom spends a great deal of time training you how to spot the whales. The most important lesson is that once the whales dive, they stay down about 7 to 9 minutes. This helps tremendously when you are trying to spot them, and we used these lessons later when we spotted whales from the shoreline. As with any wildlife, patience is key.

Captain Tom covered the obvious lessons, which included watching for the “blow,” watching for more than one whale, and watching for a baby whale. He discussed swimming patterns such as “blow, back/fin and then tail” before the whale dove again. Of course, as with all animals, the whales do not follow this pattern all the time, but it’s a good rule of thumb.
	Out on the boat, we did not get to see the whales “playing” but we were well-educated enough that we knew to look for “tail slaps” and “breaching.” From the shore on our last day, a whale gave us three tail slaps visible with the naked eye.

During a drive up the coast past Kohala, at the Lapakahi State Historical Park we saw whales breaching and tail slapping galore. The groups were far enough offshore that we had to use binoculars most of the time. Only one group was close enough to the shore for us to watch with the naked eye although we could see the blows all over without the binoculars.

As Captain Tom had told us, once one group started an activity, other groups in the area mimicked the actions. When the tail slapping started, it seemed to bounce from one group to another. The breaching (where the whales jump up out of the water and spash didn’t catch on with the whales closest to shore. I’m sure they had their reasons.

Watching the whales was a truly wondrous experience. It is expensive. I would love to do it again–but the price was about 75 per person (without the fishing or whatever). So it isn’t something I could do every day. But the call of something so intriguing, the chance to watch something so full of life–would be hard to resist.

Kona

On the Kona side, the hotel choices are numerous and “Hawaii The Big Island Revealed” does a great job of listing locations, amenities, and good/bad qualities. At the Wizard Publication website, there’s a map of the Island with the hotels listed along with many of the descriptions you’ll find in the book. Both the book and the website have pictures of some of the hotels.

We stayed at Kona Tiki and if you plan far enough ahead, you can get a room there. This place is Right On The Ocean, has extremely reasonable prices, is well-run, clean, and has repeat visitors every single year. I loved it. This is not a fancy resort, but it doesn’t have to be–it’s homey and covers traveler’s needs. There are only about 15 rooms so book early. They almost always require a minimum stay, parking is tight and again, this is not a resort–it’s quaint, clean and perfect for a budget trip.

Hilo Side

The Hilo side is expensive and it’s been our luck that we haven’t found a place to stay that we can rave about. We stayed 7 years ago at one of the Inn at Volcano Properties (Lokahi Lodge) but didn’t think it was that special for the price. This year we went even cheaper and stayed at their B&B at about 72 dollars per room (two people) and we wouldn’t do that again. There aren’t a lot of places near the volcano and the ones I looked at were all expensive for what you get, so set your expectations accordingly. You can stay in Hilo, but I didn’t find any compelling deals there either.

Food Near Volcano Park
Our favorite place remains Lava Rock Internet Cafe. There are many other restaurants in Hilo, but we stayed near the park and Hilo is about twenty to thirty minutes away. Lava Rock met our needs with a varied menu, reasonable prices (for Hawaii), and a friendly staff.

We stayed one night at Manago just south of Kona on our first night. We knew we wanted to drive to Hilo the next day and this was a great way to drive about 20 miles towards our destination, get away from the more crowded areas and stay at a good hotel that had no minimum night requirement. The place was clean, friendly and had a restaurant in the hotel that was reasonably priced with good food. We’d stay at Manago again and we’d eat at the restaurant if we were in the area. There’s a touch of Japanese feel to the place and also to the food (rice served at every meal if you want it, including breakfast!). We had third floor rooms with balconies and could see the coastline from our rooms. There was a shared “living room” in the lobby with a tv and internet access (charged by the hour). There was a grocery store within walking distance. The rooms ran about 70 per night including taxes.

Food in Kona

The Wizard Publications website also lists a few of the restaurants in the book along with updates to any of the restaurants included in the book. The book is worth buying on the restaurant info alone–it covers prices, good/bad, locations, etc. There are some restaurants in the book that are off the beaten path–and just so happen to be really good deals.

Specifically, we found Killer Tacos on the Kona side to be excellent food and excellent prices. It’s on Kaiwi Street–off the beaten path where you’ll never find it unless you use the book or look it up in the phone book and get directions. Meals ran about 6 bucks per person.

Not mentioned in the book was the food court at the Kona International Market. The market is mentioned in the book along with directions. We found the market itself to be overpriced and touristy compared to the one on Alii drive–which is also for tourists, but the prices and produce were better at Alii. Apparently the International Market was setup so that cruise ships could send shuttle buses with tourists to get them off Alii drive.

It was still worth going to just for the Food Court. It had some of the best food and prices that we found on the Island. We ate at Island Bar BBQ — chicken katsu with rice and macaroni salad for 5 dollars. At the Asian Chinese Restaurant, one order of fried rice was more than enough for two people at $6.75. The other Chinese dishes we tried were very good also, although some didn’t have a lot of meat in them. There were about four other places in the food court that we didn’t try. Another bonus was these places seemed to be opened inbetween the lunch and dinner hours. A lot of restaurants in Hawaii close between 2 and 5, leaving you with no food or the food you didn’t plan on if you weren’t careful.

Coscos has been a boon to the island and it’s a great place to pick up a pizza and sandwich makings for the week. The pizzas ran about 11 dollars and fed four of us. We had the leftovers the next day for lunch.

Manago–both the hotel and the restaurant were just as the book described–good values, clean, reasonable. The food was good, homecooked style stuff and priced in the 7 to 12 dollars a person range. They are famous for the pork chops which dad said were good. We’d stay there again and eat there again.

At Island Lava Java on Alii drive, just as the book said, the coffee was good, but not always hot. We found the prices for food were too high to bother with.

Teshima’s was a place we at at seven years ago–at that time it was Ono (excellent), but this time we found it overpriced for the portions.

One other place that I have to mention is the farmer’s market on Alii Drive–the one next to St. Michael’s church, right in the heart of things (there’s one quite a bit farther south on Alii that has less vendors and higher prices.) I suspect these markets are subject to change a lot, but while we were there this market had excellent produce (better than the grocery stories) and the best prices/quality on macadamia nuts. The mac nuts ran about 10 dollars a pound here–but they were very large, fresh and cheaper than any other place we saw them. The ones we bought were from Kona Marie’s Farm–they might ship if you call: 808 331-8021 or konamaries@hotmail.com.

If you are going to buy mac nuts, it’s worth looking for them at Farmer’s Markets or the coffee farms. The prices of other souvenirs at the markets were pretty good at the Alii market. The only downside is that the market is only open Wed-Sun. We’d have loved to go back there right before we left Hawaii.

Coffee Best place to get Kona coffee is to make a trip out to one of the coffee farms mentioned in the book. We went to Greenwell Farms. The coffee prices are generally a buck or two cheaper per pound, the coffee is much fresher and we got a free avocado or two that happened to be ripe. If you go to a farm, you know exactly what you are getting–100 percent Kona, not a blend.

Best Place to Buy Souvenirs

Try Wal-Mart (or K-Mart) in Kona. Walmart had a nice tourist section with very reasonable calendars, mugs, pens, notepads, wooden bowls, turtles, etc. The regular clothing area had some Hawaiian t-shirts–not quite as nice as those on Alii drive, but Walmart had great prices. They also have the chocolate covered mac nuts–you could get a bundle of something like three or four boxes for ten to twelve dollars.

My favorite book for Hawaii travel is: Hawaii The Big Island Revealed. Published by Wizard Publications and written by Andrew Doughty and Harriett Friedman. there are also other books in the series covering other islands.

Check Wizard Publications website for updates. This book covers activities including hiking, golf, swimming, kayaking, whale watching, etc. It rates places to stay and eat and we found it invaluable. This guide book is one of the best I’ve ever used for any vacation.

Hiking

We hiked Kilauea Ike, a three-mile hike on the Hilo side of the island that covers forest and crater floor. We started as the book recommended at the Kilauea Overlook. The whole time we hiked we wondered who the crazy people were that were down in the crater—not realizing we’d be joining them.

The floor of the crater creaks, smokes and wheezes in several spots. It’s a little spooky and felt like walking across the moon (not that I’ve had the opportunity to do that—yet!)

We took lunch and had a nice day of it.

Warning: It rains a lot on the Hilo side so you might need raincoats or other weather gear. During the other three days we were on this side of the island it rained often. On the day we hiked, the sun was out and we needed sunscreen once we were crossing the wide-open crater. The hike was a most excellent way to sample the volcanic flavor of Hawaii as well as get a taste of the rain forest.

There were no easily visible lava flows while we visited (darn), but we did drive to the end of Chain of Craters Road (20 mile descent to the sea). In the evenings and very early morning, we could see the hot, red reflection of lava in the clouds/steam above Pu’ u’ O’o crater. The roads through the Hawaii National Park are interesting and there are several things to stop and see along Chain of Craters Road. The mounds of lava that cover the end of the road is fascinating. The seaside is pretty spectacular also.

Best Place to get Macadamia Nuts

The coffee plantation we stopped at (Greenwell farms) had these nuts and they were fresher, better tasting and less expensive than buying them at the old Hilo Hatties tourist traps. I recommend a stop at one of the coffee plantations to obtain unroasted or roasted Kona coffee beans and macadamia nuts.

Other good places to get macadamia nuts are the bakeries listed in the guidebook, although the guidebook doesn’t mention that the bakeries might sell bags of these nuts. We got some excellent macadamia nuts at a bakery north of Hilo when we were coast driving.

Best Place to Eat around Hilo
Our favorite place to eat and the most reasonable turned out to be Lava Rock Internet Café. It’s not actually in Hilo, but rather Volcano Village close to Hawaii National Park on Old Volcano Road. Once we found this place, we returned several times.

We stayed in Volcano Village while in the area. There are a few choices, most of them very nice. We liked the property we stayed at (one of the Chalet Kilauea properties—Olena room) but it was around 100 dollars a night. We’d probably try their bed and breakfast listings on a return visit in the hopes of getting the price down.

Best Lava Tunnel

This was a great tunnel, but you do have to hike through the forest to get to it and reservations are required. While you can get a flavor for lava tubes by visiting Thurston Lava Tube inside the park, if you want to see one that hasn’t been “improved” and lit up, this one was great.

Look for the “Wild Lava Tube” guided hike. Phone number that worked for reservations when we were there: 808.985.6017. The rangers don’t charge for the tour and provide helmets with lights. Bring a set of D batteries as a donation or ask when you call if there is a fee/donation suggestion. Only 12 people go at a time and the trek requires climbing over some rocky and uneven ground in the tube. Pretty darn cool.

Punalu’u Black Sand Beach
This was a beautiful stop. There was a sea turtle basking on the sand when we were there. Fabulous! Swimming in the area isn’t the best because the visibility is poor. I tried it and promptly stepped on a sea turtle, which immediately rose to the surface knocking me over and scaring the daylights out of me. They have very, very large…beaks.

Additional worry: If you get very far past any of the jutting shorelines, there are riptides to worry about. While we were there, a swimmer got caught in one. Luckily he was from Australia (almost took the sea ride back!) and familiar with dangerous currents. He was able to swim out of it, but it took him a long while, and he didn’t recommend the experience. His comment, “I wondered why there were no other swimmers out past the area close to shore.” He didn’t get back in the water, and neither did I!

Best Snorkeling and Kayaking

The snorkeling we did on the Kona side—all I can say is Wow! We took masks and snorkels and were able to rent fins.

The kayaking we did is appropriate for beginners. Very beginners–we’re talking never kayaked in the ocean beginners. We rented a Kayak at Kona Boy Kayaks (there are many other places) and went across Kealakekua Bay to the Captain Cook Monument. The one-mile (each way) trip was very, very calm and there were spinner dolphins jumping about, which was a pure delight.

I did practice rowing at the gym, but the ride across the bay was pretty easy. The snorkeling at Captain Cook was spectacular. The water is deep so getting in and out was a bit of a chore—the waves want to smash you up against the concrete wall that borders part of the beach and the shoreline is rocky with little or no gradual decline. If a wave catches you just right, you can get a bit of a bruising. If you’re not comfortable in the ocean or where your feet don’t touch, save your snorkeling for some of the other beach areas.

Take plenty of water/gatorade and lunch! There are no facilities at Captain Cook monument—sunscreen, snorkeling gear, and WATER are a must.

Kahalu’u Beach had very accessible snorkeling and swimming. In many spots you can touch the bottom, although with all the corrals and whatnot, it isn’t recommended because you will damage them. There is a breakwater area that helps keeps the waves calm. We saw sea turtles, parrot fish, you name it. Very, very enjoyable. I highly recommend this area, especially off-season and during the week. Snorkeling here is one of our best memories.

Kona

We stayed at Kona Seaspray and our condo unit had a kitchen and washer/dryer. The kitchen proved a good idea since we didn’t find any real food bargains on this side of the island. All the places that we tried (as recommended in the guide) were good and as advertised, but they weren’t cheap.

We ended up taking advantage of the grocery store (Waikoloa Village?) and eating out once a day—lunch when possible because it was a bit cheaper.

Teshima’s had excellent Japanese Curry at a reasonable price.

The condo was right across the street from Kahalu’u Beach so we could walk across the road to swim. We’d stay there again. The only annoyance was the presence of large ants—they were everywhere, especially the bathroom and kitchen. From talking to other people, it was a common occurrence in hotels.

Hawaii is an excellent vacation, but it isn’t cheap—food, gas and accommodations all add up in a hurry.

I spent some time on Oahu (the main airport and capital are on Oahu, as well as Pearl Harbor, etc.) Oahu was nice and had good opportunities such as pineapple farms, waterfalls and forests as well as the snorkeling and surfing activities. It was slightly cheaper to stay there since it cut off the short flight to the other island and the accommodations had a better range of prices.

Hiking the Grand Canyon (North Rim to Phantom Ranch)

Planning

The most comfortable way to stay at the Grand Canyon is to plan twenty-three months in advance and get reservations to stay at the bottom at Phantom Ranch. You really can’t count on getting reservations closer to your travel plans because the reservations are almost impossible to obtain. Xanterra Parks and Resorts, the organization that handles reservations, begins taking reservations one year and eleven months (to the day) ahead of time. If you don’t call on the first day of the month, first thing in the morning, you may not get accommodations!

The benefits of staying at Phantom Ranch versus camping are many. Phantom Ranch provides towels, showers, bedding, a roof over your head, heater, swamp cooler, and running water. This means you carry less down into the canyon on your back! If you desire, and I do recommend, Phantom Ranch will provide meals including breakfast, pack lunch and dinner.

When to Visit

My favorite time to visit the Grand Canyon is in May, but September and October have nice weather as well. Both sides of the canyon are wonderful; the North Rim is slightly less traveled because it is farther from civilization—perfect for getting away. The top of the canyon on the North side is closed in the winter. Due to the elevation changes from the top of the canyon to the bottom, the temperature changes can be severe. We needed a light jacket for the top and shorts for the bottom—consider taking hiking pants that convert to shorts (the legs zip off).

If you are able to get reservations, plan to stay down in the canyon three nights. The first day will be for recovery and the second day for walking around and seeing the sights. If you stay only one night and have suffered from blisters, sore muscles or other complications, hiking the fourteen miles back out is going to be very difficult and may be impossible.

It is illegal to be in the canyon overnight without a reservation or camping permit and there are rangers checking. Make their job easier; be prepared and only go in if you have made plans to stay.

Food
Having Phantom Ranch supply meals means you carry less. The breakfast is hearty and served at 5:00 a.m. if you are hiking out of the canyon that day and at 6:30 a.m. if you are staying down in the canyon. Dinner is either steak served at 5:00 p.m. or stew at 6:30 p.m. Lunch is a pack lunch that includes such items as fruit, granola, bagel, and sausage.

Both times I hiked, I took enough of my own food to cover lunch. Reserve your meals in advance—everything in the canyon must be transported up and down by mule or human so while you may be able to buy a pack lunch, you probably can’t buy any of the other meals. Vegetarian meals are also available. Breakfast is approximately $17.00 per person; steak dinner ~$30.00; stew dinner ~$20.00.

Cost
Phantom Ranch prices change every year and even though you pay in advance, you are still required to pay any difference in fees as your time for arrival gets closer. On our last trip, September 2001, I had the reservations two years in advance and the price went up twice; I had to pay the difference.

That said, the rates are very reasonable. In 2001 a dormitory style bed ran about twenty-five a night, and the hiker cabin (much harder to reserve) was about $100 a night, but sleeps four people. All prices are subject to change so call for the latest pricing.

Training for the Hike
Hiking the Grand Canyon is an exceptional journey, but it is not an easy hike regardless of whether you chose to travel the south side or the north. Many hikers go down one side and out the other, but this takes planning because you’ll have to leave a vehicle at the opposite side or arrange for shuttle service.

The drive from the South Rim to the North Rim is between four and five hours long. Because of the larger number of day hikers and mule trains on the south side, I preferred going in and out the north side.

The North Kaibab Trail into the canyon is fourteen miles one way. The Bright Angel Trail on the south side is ten miles. The elevation changes are extreme in any case so expect switchbacks and steep hiking either direction.

To prepare for this hike, you should be training at least six months in advance and carry a pack during training in order to acclimate yourself to the weight. I walked two to four miles every day and did several six and nine-mile practice hikes on the weekends. In Austin, St. Edward’s Park provides some good elevation hiking. If not there, find somewhere that contains some steep ups and downs to get in shape. Don’t try this hike unless you are in good shape.

Emergency rescue in the canyon is expensive and sometimes, due to high winds, helicopters cannot land, so be responsible and be prepared.

What to Take
The Kaibab website and the www.grandcanyonlodges.com have a lot of good information. Read through some of the trip reports, pay attention to the time of the year and in general take plenty of food and water. You can live without a lot of other things. Some useful things to have along that aren’t always talked about:

Moleskin found in the foot care section of stores such as Wal-Mart or pharmacies. Moleskin is a must-have if you get blisters. It attaches to the blister or sore skin and acts as a protective covering and is much more effective protection than a band-aide.
Sports drink such as Powerade or Gatorade. Both of these can be found in powered mix form and the powder is lighter to carry. You can mix what you need whenever replenishing your water supply.

If you’re staying at Phantom Ranch, the dormitory style showers have all-purpose shower soap. The showers are locked so you must be a guest at the Ranch to use them!
Take lots of snacks. Jerky, summer sausage, crackers, cookies, and granola are good examples.

There is a pay phone at Phantom Ranch.

Take a decent camera, film, and extra batteries, but unless you want all the extra weight, leave multiple lenses at home.

Knife, flashlight, hat, sunscreen, sunglasses, light jacket, nail clippers, earplugs, handkerchief (dusty trails when mule packs come down); map if you want one (try Trails Illustrated), personal medications, and first aide items for headaches, diarrhea, constipation; potassium supplement in case of mineral depletion; water bottles with screw on caps (the snap on ones tend to leak); a change of clothes (hand wash and dry a set so that you only have to carry two sets) and toothbrush and toothpaste!

First aide items can be purchased at Phantom Ranch as well as beverages and some snacks.

Xanterra Parks and Resorts reservations: (303) 297-2757

Time Stands Still
The Grand Canyon is a spectacular place to hike, whether just for the day or overnight. It is the only place that I know of that you can walk all day, getting farther and farther from civilization, and end up in a pretty darn comfortable “hotel.” Only so many visitors are allowed in the canyon each day so you share your experience with a minimum of people. It’s isolated, beautiful and special.

Starting at the North Rim, you see the grandeur of the canyon and drink in its vastness. It’s hard to imagine hiking it when you’re standing at the top. The North Rim is heavily forested and sits at 8200 feet above sea level. The air is cool in the early mornings, and the surrounding vegetation provides a hospitable home to turkeys, deer, elk and other abundant wildlife.

As you hike down the canyon, the cliff walls are arranged before you in spectacular layers of white, red and browns that contrast with the green forest. Depending on the time of year and rainfall, there are many spots where you can see water running down the face of the cliffs.

When you leave the towering cliffs behind, the desert begins to insert itself. One world replaces another; the trees become more stunted and yucca, century plants and other cacti can easily be spotted, especially if blooming. This first five miles is steep and filled with downhill switchbacks.

At approximately 4800 feet above sea level, things level off a tad, and you’ve arrived at Roaring Springs. You’ll see a waterfall thundering into the creek, and moments later you arrive at the caretaker’s dwelling and pump station. This is a private residence, but there is a water pump and a rough picnic table. This makes for a good spot to rest, eat lunch and check for blisters! You’re not quite halfway, but the most brutal downhill stretches are behind you.

The North Kaibab trail begins by following Bright Angel Creek, and you’re now in a riparian environment, with mountains of rocky terrain visible in every direction and the towering cliffs seen off in the distance. The swallows in May dashed along Bright Angel, swooping and showing off their green-colored backs. Cottonwood Camp is about two miles from the private residence and is at about 4000 feet above sea level. The good news for your legs is that the remaining seven miles is a gradual decline to 2400 feet where the Colorado River carves out the bottom of the canyon.

Cottonwood Camp is another good spot for lunch if you didn’t stop earlier. There are tables, trees and drinkable water if the pumps are working. The rest of the hike to the Colorado is not difficult, but it is long.

Once past the campground, about a mile south, is a trail leading to Ribbon Falls. Ribbon Falls is well worth a side trip, but if you take this diversion, you are adding about a mile round trip to your fourteen-mile hike. It is a delightful resting place though, and the moss-covered cliffs that house the falls are magical and cooling. Soak your feet and climb behind the falls before heading back out to the main trail.

The trail soon leads to Box Canyon, and while Bright Angel Creek still winds at your feet, the canyon walls are now narrow and dark. Picturesque footbridges span the creek when crossing is required; sometimes the wall of the canyon comes right to the river and there is no way to continue except to cross to the other side. In the summer, Box Canyon can get extremely hot. When we hiked in May it was easily upwards of 100 degrees. Make sure you have plenty of water for this stretch and if you get overheated, douse yourself with water if necessary. This part of the canyon is like a fantasy trip to another planet. There is but one way to walk and the walls are watching you.

Once Box Canyon recedes, you will soon find yourself, with great relief, at Phantom Ranch. If there is time before your scheduled dinner, don’t hesitate to leap into Bright Angel Creek and let the natural pounding of the water be a whirlpool for sore muscles. I recommend jumping in dirty clothes and all since the ones you’re wearing will require washing anyway! The river is delightful and the view is made of all things still and peaceful.

After dinner, spend some time sitting outside. If you’re still able to walk, consider making a mile trip in time for a spectacular sunset at the Colorado River. Stand on one of two bridges that span the river and watch for river rafts making their way through the canyon. On your way back to Phantom Ranch, you are quite likely to see numerous bats flitting about. They are astounding to watch and quite entertaining.

During your days down in the canyon, there are numerous day hikes. Hike partway out the south side on South Bright Angel Trail or South Kaibab Trail. You could also make a day trip back to Ribbon Falls if you missed seeing it on the way down. There are other trails available, as well as Indian ruins and the beach area at the Colorado River. The rangers typically have informative sessions during the evenings to tell you about the geology, the trails, and the wildlife.

When you hike out, take your time. You have all day to get to the top and you’ll want to save your energy for the last few miles because they are the steepest and the most difficult. There are mule trains that come down both the south and north trails; carefully step to the inside of the trail and let them pass. Stop often and have the time of your life.

For travelogues on hiking the Grand Canyon:
North Side to Phantom
Rim to Rim

For all you coffee gourmet fiends–here’s something new to try! Roast your own coffee from green beans. We not only grind our own coffee and own an espresso machine, we roast green coffee beans to perfect brown little gems every week.

First, I must confess, I much prefer tea or hot chocolate to coffee. I use the espresso machine to steam milk for my frothy hot chocolate, but coffee-roasting, a little known hobby, produces some very high quality coffee drinks.

Roasting coffee is not at all difficult, although it does involve planning; green beans must be roasted at least one night before use because the fresh roasted coffee must “rest” for several hours. Rest is my word; coffee books refer to this as “degassing,” a rather less appetizing term.

When coffee is first roasted it smells more like roasted pecans than coffee. We usually roast enough beans for a week and then grind the roasted beans each day as needed. For die-hard coffee lovers that want the freshest coffee possible, roasting at home is the only way to go. The green beans last a long time without any change in flavor or quality so you can order more coffee at one time than you can when obtaining already roasted beans.

Expense
What about the expense? Getting started wasn’t terribly expensive, although a lot depends on which grinder and espresso or coffee maker you buy. There are various web sites out there that do a good job of selling these things. As for the roaster, we bought both the roaster and continue to buy green beans from Sweetmarias.com. Check out the web site; the guy that sells the beans is an entertaining writer, and he provides detailed information about coffee and all the various beans that he sells. He also offers the roaster and beans, a necessity of the hobby, for a very reasonable price. Another excellent site is: coffeekid.com.

Note: Green beans are cheaper than already roasted beans. Coffee roasting opens a whole new world of exploration; learning where coffee is grown, which regions supply the best coffees for your particular pallet and the hobby makes for great conversations. Of course if you have guests often, you could get stuck making an awful lot of coffee!

For more answers to equipment/roasting questions:

Coffee Taste and Equipment

Recipe for Roasting your own Espresso

Currency

Once again for currency exchange, we used an American Express office before we traveled to London. (Update: 2008, American Express exchange rate was no longer competitive–try other banks, check the airport or use ATM). Of course, since London is a large city, we also could have used an ATM card—Cirrus networks were widespread. We saw at least one that touted no service charge regardless of which bankcard you were using. Exchanging money by using an ATM is becoming much more popular and is worth a look if you are traveling. Research each foreign country to determine if there are ATMs that match your network (cirrus, pulse, etc). Make sure you know your pin number before you leave!

Getting Around London

Because we were in London a week, we purchased a travel card for use on the subway and trains inside London. We purchased ours before leaving the United States. There are several websites that allow you to do this, but beware some of them charge huge fees to mail you the travel cards.

We used: Ticket-on-line.com We had no problems or complaints. Note that they will not issue the cards until close to your travel date. The cards came with a few discounts to some attractions.

These cards allowed us to get on and off the underground without worrying how much any given segment cost. You can get day passes once you’re in London or just buy tickets to a given location, but we didn’t want to figure out fares every time we went somewhere.

Rush hour was crowded and a couple of times a particular segment was blocked or a train cancelled, but we were able to route around any problem areas. The 7 day passes were cheaper than a U.S. car rental for a week. Which brings up another point: I wouldn’t drive in London even if I were paid to do so. The lanes are narrow, the traffic is horrendous and yes, they drive on the opposite side of the road!

London is broken into “zoned” areas—the vast majority of museums and sights are within zone 1 and 2 so a travel card covering just these zones will work for most people. If you must travel outside these zones, such as to see Kew Gardens, just get the extra leg for that day. You’ll want to make sure your hotel is within zone 1 and 2 also—if it isn’t, get the more expensive travel card that covers zones 1 through 6.

Where to Stay

I had the most awful time finding budget accommodations. Prices in London are high—what with the exchange rate being 1.7 to 1 U.S. dollar, everything was almost twice as much as here!

The price in pounds sounds reasonable at first glance: the average budget room ranged from 60 to 100 pounds. Unfortunately, when you convert dollars, your room goes to 120 to 200 dollars a night. Also, be warned, the rooms are small and for the money, you won’t be spoiled. London has a lot of old buildings—the city has been there a while. That means that a lot of the hotels are remodeled Victoria homes or other remodeled buildings. Not all rooms are “en suite,”– meaning for those that aren’t, the shared bathroom is down the hall. You can save money if you are willing to share a bathroom or get a room with partial en suite. This might mean the toilet is in the room or just a wash stand, so make sure you know what you’re getting ahead of time. Also make sure taxes are included in the price you are quoted because the “VAX” is not a small amount.

For us, we wanted en suite and clean without anyone taking an arm or leg. I spent days researching prices and finally came up something outside the theatre and museum district, but that was part of the plan. We had our travel cards and we wanted to be away from main tourist crowds.

The Charlotte Guest house was within travel zones 1 and 2, in West Hampstead, ten to fifteen minutes by train to main attractions. The guesthouse supplied travel cards for stays of seven days or longer. The room was worn but clean. We were in one of their larger rooms and it did have a private bathroom and shower. The shower was so small, I met myself coming and going when I turned around.

We were on the third floor, so there was some sort of water pump in the bathroom that ran the entire time we took showers. It was a little noisy. The price was 55 pounds per night with travel card and included a full English breakfast or continental breakfast. The breakfast was in a very nice indoor patio and quite casual. Help yourself orange juice, milk, fruit, cereal and yogurt. The English breakfast was two eggs, toast or croissant, baked beans, sausage and bacon.

The people that worked there went out of their way to be kind and helpful.

The other place that would have been our second choice was a bed and breakfast website. A lot of the places on the site were also located a bit out of the main excitement area. We did not inspect any of the properties, but the person running the website answered my questions promptly and the price was a lot more reasonable than many other places I checked.

You might also try: Cherry court hotel This one was booked for the dates we needed it, but it was recommended on Rick Steve’s website and they did send a nice email. Rick Steve’s site gives a description and info. His site had a list of restaurants submitted by readers that I also found helpful.

Sightseeing

London had more sightseeing opportunities than we could cover in one week. Luckily some of the best museums are free. All of them have donation boxes and after you see these places, a donation seems a small price to pay! It is good that the museums are free because everything else in London is quite expensive. If you have more than a couple of days in London, get a guidebook, read it and prioritize what you want to see.

We used “Daytrips: London” by Earl Steinbicker. It gives good general information about what you can see in each museum, but isn’t much on outdoor sights and gives no hotel information. I’ve listed the museums in order of enjoyment, but remember, a lot depends on what interests you. There were also several other museums and places we did not get to see.

Museums

Victoria and Albert—A free museum with a lot of “life” objects from many countries: clothing, jewelry, furniture (including Chippendale), beds, art, lots and lots of porcelain, and other artifacts. Mind you these are not ordinary, everyday objects, rather the masterpieces of centuries past made by highly talented artisans. The V&A was huge and we spent over a day there; the emphasis of many displays was of European artifacts, but other countries were certainly represented. Favorites included a Wilkes detector lock, Wedgwood porcelain and some of the period furniture. There’s something for everyone at this museum.

British Museum – Also free. I liked this museum at least as well as the Victoria and Albert. Again, much to see here from all over the world, but probably the most fabulous were the Egyptian displays: mummies, coffins and stone sarcophagus; stone sculptures of sphinx, falcons, and various Egyptian rulers. The Rosetta stone is also here. The Rosetta was found in 1799 and was the key to translating hieroglyphs. (The stone contains the same decree in three different scripts: Greek, everyday Egyptian script and hieroglyphs. The known language allowed the hieroglyphs to be “translated” for the first time.) The sculptures, (Greek and Roman sculptures, Parthenon sculptures) were stunning at this museum.

Tower of London – About 13.50 pounds per person. This is not a cheap place to visit. We found a two-for-one coupon on the National Rail website. We had to have a rail pass that was good for the day and the printed coupon. It may be that the discount was available because we visited in November, which is off-season. Check the various rail sites for discounts. Here’s the link I used, but it will likely change or expire. http://www.londontrainsoffers.co.uk/phpversion/index.php

The Tower of London’s main attraction is the crown jewels. These are quite decadent.

Was it worth the entrance price? For us yes, but we had 2 for 1. The jewels were spectacular. The original Cullinan diamond was cut into nine different stones, and at least two of them are part of the crown jewels. The largest is called the Star of Africa (530 carats) and is in a sceptre that is on display. The second largest is in the Imperial State Crown—the one that Queen uses to open parliament—also on display. Since there were very few tourists, we were able to go through the display a few times and ask lots of questions.

In the height of tourist season there are two waiting rooms—count them, two rooms with films running to keep people from being completely bored while they wait to get into the display room. The waiting rooms have roped lines snaking through them—the same kind of lines you have while waiting for an amusement ride. A moving sidewalk trucks people along in front of the actual jewel display so you can’t stand there and gawk. I would go either very early or late in the afternoon (everyone else will be leaving) if you are in London during tourist season.

Also at the tower is a display that explains how the diamonds were cut. It is hard to find because it is located in one of the many “towers.” Ask one of the beefeaters how to reach the tower because it wasn’t obvious to us. Go to this display before you see the jewels if possible

Here’s a website that we found after we got back that has great information on the Cullinan diamonds.

Right after the crown jewel display there is a fascinating collection of opulent tableware—gold plates and goblets from various kings’ dining services. There are some very nice “salt shakers” and I am not talking K-Mart bluelight specials here. Some of these things were a foot high with all kinds of knobs and drawers and decorations.

One of the yeoman was kind enough to explain that in days gone by, salt was quite valuable, thus special plates that contained salt receptacles (and sometimes receptacles for other spices) were designed for the wealthy. Those on display were quite incredible.

There were also christening fountains, punch bowls large enough to bathe in and other tableware.

The armor in the “white tower,” is also at the Tower of London. It contains armor, swords, canons, guns, and the like. Quite interesting and worth a look. It’s the only other large display of relics at the Tower of London.

A few of the other towers contained information about prisoners that were kept at the tower along with some of the graffiti that the prisoners left behind. A dungeon room contains scant information on a couple of torture devices.

Museum of Natural History – Another free one, donations accepted. What more can I say besides, dinosaurs, dinosaurs, and dinosaurs! There were also whale bones/displays, mammoths and other animals, not all of them extinct. Very fun way to spend the day.

Kenwood House – Free, off the beaten path. Rembrandt paintings and many other famous portraits. This house is really a mansion and contains good period rooms with appropriate furniture. The library is fantastic and filled with old books. There are old clocks, a collection of miniature portraits and cameos.

One of the best things about this museum is that it is a bit out of the way in Hampstead and surrounded by a two very large parks. We got lost in the one park, but it was a great walk. If you have a nice day, this is a nice area to visit. We ate outdoors at the Kenwood House cafeteria and the food was good, if a little pricey.

Museum of London – Also free. I can’t say much about this museum because we only spent an hour or so here. It’s not that it wasn’t worth more time, but we had a business appointment that day and never got back to it. This museum struck me as a hodge-podge of items. Old printing presses, dollhouses, clocks, watches, coaches, displays detailing the great fire and the great stink of London (I’m not making that up either). If you want the history of London, this is the place to go! One of the more interesting displays was the sample dungeon.

Places to Eat

Everyone told us to avoid English food, so we did. The main complaint is that it is bland and the one time I ate English food, it was bland. Unbelievably bland. We did eat the English breakfast, which was also bland, but satisfying and hearty. (While I personally am of the belief that all eggs should be served with a side of salsa and melted cheese, I really don’t expect to be accommodated everywhere.) Eggs really aren’t that exciting anyway, except as an ingredient in chocolate chip cookies.

Oh—the food at the Kenwood house might be considered English cuisine and it was not bland. It was very tasty although because it was a tourist location, the portions were a little small. The prices weren’t bad for a tourist location.

We ate Thai food, middle eastern food and Chinese and every time they were fabulous. The prices were very reasonable also.

Highly Recommended Food Favorites

Number one favorite place to eat was Karahi Master located near our hotel. This place was FABULOUS. We had never eaten middle-eastern food, but this was a great introduction. For the more timid, they also had burgers and fries. The place was spotless, the owner, (Bass?) was extremely helpful, as were all the employees. The food was EXCELLENT, no matter what we ordered and we tried: curried rice, lamb kabobs, chicken kabobs, chicken curry, and another type of rice.

The naan, a type of bread that resembles a tortilla, was stupendous. I could have eaten about five of them and would dearly loved to have had one for breakfast with that bland egg and some salsa! Generally speaking the two of us ate there for under ten pounds total, but rather than order a dish for each of us, we tried one large dish and a couple of sides such as fried rice or the naan bread. I would go out of my way to eat here!

Second favorite: Banana Tree. Very reasonably priced Thai food. Food and service were very good. Generally we ate there for about twelve to fifteen pounds total. Worth a stop if you stay anywhere in the area.

There’s a lot of information available on the web about hiking Tesuque Canyon—but most of it seems to be the upper part of Tesuque. The lower part of the canyon is just as close to Santa Fe and makes for a nice morning walk. The trailhead is a little hard to find, but worth the effort if you’re staying in Santa Fe and want a fairly easy stroll. From the Santa Fe National Forest site, these are the directions to get to the trailhead for Trail 254 Winsor Trail Part 1 Tesuque to Aspen Basin:

Turn off of Bishop’s Lodge Road (County Road 73A) onto County Road 72A, at a sign here that reads Big Tesuque Canyon. Watch for the two small areas on the right identified as trail parking areas. Park here and follow up the road, go across the stream and behind the residences to a dirt road. Turn left on the road, and then follow the trail east as it passes through more private land to the forest boundary which is about a half mile from the parking area.

The sign for Country Road 72a is small—like a neighborhood street sign. It also has a “dead end” sign because the end of the road basically turns into the trail.

I didn’t follow the trail for more than an hour. It may be possible to turn it into a loop, but I didn’t have a map. I believe the USGS Map: McClure Reservoir shows this trail.

	At the beginning of the trail, you’re surrounded by tightly bound juniper fences on either side. Between the fences and the trees, you’re almost in a tunnel. The stream is behind the fences here. It’s a fairly easy walk with sounds and smells of horses and other livestock until you reach the forest.
	Once in the forest, the stream is still fenced off for riparian protection. This fence doesn’t last very long. The trail meanders upwards at a gentle rate and follows the stream. The colors in the fall were very nice indeed, especially along the stream where there were deciduous type trees. The hillside was mostly piñon, ponderosa and various juniper trees, including the one-seed juniper. There were some bluish-hued junipers that I didn’t recognize.
	After about a mile there’s a log down for a stream crossing. At this point, the trail on the other side of the water went in two directions. Going right took me back along the stream—but I don’t know if you would end up back at the starting point. Going left led further up into the mountains.

You can turn this hike into an all-day hike or just a nice morning walk.

As if I don’t have enough hobbies, I’ve decided to make my own mineral make-up. It started with me looking to buy mineral make-up (foundation) and not wanting to pay the premium. So instead, like a 60 dollar ho