October 10, 2015: Elisa's Lancaster, PA Trip - Day 2

Tanya's Daily Scoop
NEXT TRIP DEPARTS IN: 35 Days!

Good Bye Hawaii -
​Hello SoCal

Well well well guys we are baaaaack in the super HOT SoCal.

Come on already, can someone turn down the heat?!

Oh how I enjoyed the weather on the Hawaiian islands.
Sure it's warm, but there's always a wonderful sea breeze that keeps you comfortable day and night.
No need for layers. 
​Heck, most times there's no need for much more than your beach wear!

We had an amazing last day yesterday.

Figures...just about everyday there was amazing! ​

I asked the kids to name a few of their favorite things about this particular trip and they actually couldn't...they said that there were just too many favorites and they couldn't narrow it down! 

Well I'll take that as a job well done at planning the perfect Hawaiian vacation! (And I'll pat myself on the back while I'm at it.)

So anyhow, back to yesterday...
We started off the day by taking a short hike to Queen's Bath. While this was my third visit to Kauai, I had never heard about Queen's Bath until this trip...hence why it is not on the itinerary! ​

The original "Queen's Bath" was located in Kalapana on the Big Island of Hawaiʻi. It was formed after a lava tube collapsed and filled with fresh water supplied by natural springs. In ancient times only the Aliʻi (Royalty) were permitted entry to the sacred waters. In 1983 Kilauea Volcano erupted and in 1987 the original site was destroyed by lava flow. Only after the original site on the Big Island of Hawaiʻi was destroyed did the location on Kauai become better known as "Queen's Bath". This tide pool was used for what it sounds like; it was a royal bathing place. It was also used as a place of relaxation when an Aliʻi needed to "wash off the stress". (credit wiki)

Frog in Camo!

It was an overcast morning, even a bit drizzly at times and at first the ocean seemed WAAAAAY too rough to imagine anyone floating about or snorkeling in this perfect pool, but we continued our adventure to at least catch a glimpse of what could have been and what possibly could be for a future trip.

​And as we continued to climb up and over the lava fields (not knowing how far we had to go), we saw a couple of people in the distance.

We headed towards where they were at and spotted what appeared to be "the bath". Then we approached from the "other" side and had seen people swimming in the "bath" and the very calm almost glass like water.

It was a go!

However, Cosette and I had opted to not wear our swimsuits and wound up regretting that decision, as we sat of the sidelines watching Dominic have what I'm sure will become a very memorable and outstanding unforgettable experience of a lifetime! ​

Snorkeling in the Queen's Bath was delightful, and Dominic spotted plenty of little fishies in the water with him. 

We've already decided that we NEED to come back, so that Cosette and I can try it out for ourselves! I just hope that the fish don't freak me out - I am just too easily freaked out!

Anyhoo, onward with our day...
It was time to go to the Pali Ke Kua Beach, but once we got there the rain started to come down even harder.
​We hid under an umbrella sort of tree for a bit, and then when the rain let up we decided that it was a good time to go fetch some lunch!

We finally saw the Nene!!

We opted to go to the Hanalei Taro and Juice company for some yummy fresh Taro based smoothies and Taro veggie Burgers! Mmm.

At this point we were donning our trusty packable rain jackets and I was still curious about the Hanalei Beach Park and Pier, which we went to - but the lighting was just miserable and so no pics.
(That's how I roll..)

​There were plenty of peeps hanging out at the end of the pier and jumping into the water from there - which was NOT permitted (but I don't think they cared)! LOL

We headed back to Kapaa which happened to be bright and sunny, did some shopping and then just prepared for today's journey back home.

On our connection

And quite the journey it was...
Between flights being overbooked, and flights being cancelled. I really don't know how we managed to get back home today!
The airlines wanted to send us home on Sunday (tomorrow) - which is out of the question...
Dominic, Dave, and I have a marathon to bike!!

Above Maui

Aloha Hawaii - until we meet again

​Yup that's how tight I book things! I told you I liked to keep busy!
But we made it, safe and sound. 
We had a beyond fantastic trip and look forward to doing it again!

As for today, we are then heading to the fitness expo in Long Beach to pick up our race bibs..then the plan was for Dominic to go to class (but he changed his mind), and Cosette wants to visit the stables, we also plan on going to the JPL - NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory Open House.
-Highlights include a life-size model of Mars Science Laboratory, demonstrations from numerous space missions; JPL’s machine shop, where robotic spacecraft parts are built; and the Microdevices Lab, where engineers and scientists use tiny technology to revolutionize space exploration.
And then hopefully we get a good night's sleep before the start of our early morning race/ride.

The plan after the race is to head to downtown San Diego and go to the Little Italy Festa - which I'm anticipating to be much fun!

Here's to keeping busy!

Hope you have a great weekend!

Time for me to keep movin'n'groovin!
​-T

Garden State Fun

Elisa's Daily Scoop
CURRENTLY TRAVELING IN
LANCASTER, PA

Greetings from Lancaster, Pennsylvania!!!

What a nice trip I've had so far and it's only been one day.  Yesterday, me and Gianna left Long Island for our mini road trip at around 1:00pm.  

Although it was slightly later than I had planned to leave, everything fell into place just fine. We started our trip via the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway (278) - which I generally steer clear of - but I'm so glad we went that route to get to the Verrazano Bridge rather than the Belt Parkway since  the views of New York City were just so incredible!! 

Driving over the Verrazano Bridge

View of New York City Skyline from Brooklyn-Queens Expressway

Here's a short video from the road, which will be incorporated into a much longer YouTube video of this trip, that will be uploaded to our channel at th end of the weekend:

Our first stop was in Edison Township, New Jersey at the Thomas Edison Center at Menlo Park.  Originally, when I put this on my itinerary, it was all about seeing the World's Largest Lightbulb.  

What I never expected was how much I would thoroughly enjoy the Museum!

CLICK THE IMAGE FOR INFORMATIN ABOUT THE THOMAS EDISON CENTER AT MENLO PARK

What the museum lacks in size, it more than makes up in terms of the intriguing information it provides about one of the greatest inventors that ever lived. 

The museum is on the grounds where Thomas Edison built his laboratory, where he and a team of inventors worked, creating over 400 patented inventions.  

Our tour guide was full of information, enthusiasm and inspiration!! She had a way of connecting with our group of 8 and was particularly drawn to Gianna.  

As the youngest visitor, it became clear how far we've come with technology as the revolutionary things Edison did were so basic compared to the world my 11-year old lives in that it didn't impress her much. But, I was blown away by his genius as both an inventor and a businessman!!

​During his lifetime, Mr. Edison accumulated 2,332 patents worldwide for his inventions. 1,093 of Edison's patents were in the United States, but other patents were approved in countries around the globe.

Gianna writing her name in morse code with our museum guide

This phonograph is 115 years old

Some of the thousands of patents owned by Thomas Edison

Patent for the Phonograph - which gave him the title of "Wizard of Menlo Park"

Selfie with Tom

Some of his greatest accomplishments were the perfection of the incandescent light bulb and the development of a complete electrical distribution system.

But the ​invention and progression of the phonograph, is what earned Edison the title of the “Wizard of Menlo Park” for which he gained international fame.

The Thomas Edison Memorial Tower, Menlo Park, NJ

The World's Largest Lightbulb atop the Thomas Edison Memorial Tower

In 1938, The Thomas Edison Memorial Tower and Menlo Park Museum were built to commemorate the great achievements made by this great inventor.
 
The Tower is 118-foot-tall and is topped with the World's Largest Light Bulb, which is 14 feet tall, weighs eight tons.  

In 2010, the museum was closed and given a makeover, reopening in June 2012. At that time the light bulb was switched off and the tower was refurbished.  On October 24th of this month (2015) a "Re-dedication Ceremony" will take place, at which time the big bulb would be switched back on -- lit by LEDs, not Edison's incandescent light bulbs. 

​All I can say is how delightful this sight was.  I truly enjoyed it and had this to say at the museum:

Our next stop was Trenton to see the New Jersey State House. We hit some traffic on the way from Edison, so we didn't have a great deal of time.  

I had never been to Trenton before - the only thing I knew about it was that it was part of Mercer County, which Tedd told me because of the court house that is located there.

We did manage to walk around a bit, where the grounds of the State House and across the street are lovely. After some photos, we hopped back in the car to get on the road for another 84 miles to Lititz in Lancaster County.

Commemorative plaza across from State House in Trenton

Because me and Gianna were both getting tired, I decided to drive straight to our Bed and Breakfast rather than stop for dinner.  Fortunately, they had a wonderful little spread of cakes and cookies, so we had a light snack and called it a day.

I will tell you more about this B&B later in the weekend!  

Well, it's off to breakfast downstairs on our first day here in Lititz. 

One quick rant...the upload time here at my B&B for these videos is forever!!  I'm not complaining because with a little patience, they did upload, but very frustrating!

​I do hope you enjoy our videos and that they make you feel more connected to Tanya and me!!

Today me and Gianna are off to the Julius Sturgis Pretzel Bakery factory tour.  Then, to Shady Maple Smorgasbord for a mind-blowing lunch!!
Let the eating begin!!!

-E
xoxo