A Tale of Two Trips: Disneyland and Hawaii July 2014 Long Way Home: The End 9/13 p.40

[natebenma]

Boy, people were trying to scam you out of money left and right that day.
I wouldn't have paid the $15 either.
And the excursion thing...I would call and complain about him. That is ridiculous. He obviously gets some kind of commission on what you book...minus the coupon.

And we had MORE attempted scamming the next day!!!

I was not tempted to pay extra for the picture, even though it was a really good one. I am SURE I heard $10, and although my hearing is really crappy, Mark heard it too.

Ultimately, we ended up getting what we wanted for the excursion, but if it didn't work out for us we would have complained to Pleasant Hawaiian Holidays.

Dee, were you wearing a sign that said, screw me on the cost or something? WOW! Twice in one day.

I'm glad you got it all worked out.

Good Lord...I've not been to a Benihana in 30 years. I'll have to suggest it to Mark one weekend since the only other time we do that type of food is when we are in Naples.

That's a good picture of you and Mark.

Your sunset pictures are gorgeous, Dee.

I must have been radiating some sort of "sucker" vibe.

The tour rep really wasn't going to lose out on anything by giving us a hard time, since we weren't going to do anything expensive, but we were persistent.

The photographer guy probably figured, a trip to Hawaii is expensive, this meal is expensive, what's 5 more dollars? NOPE!

The boys love hibachi-style dining. We haven't been to Teppen Edo in Japan since 2004, but there is a local place here that we go to with my dad, brother and his family about once a year and the resort we go to in Mexico has one which is included in the all-inclusive price.

I wish the picture of Mark and me was not so dark.

Glad you liked the sunset pictures. We didn't seem to see many sunsets while in Oahu- bad timing I guess. Some coming up in Maui though.

Oh my goodness Dee, that whole booking with the coupon story is priceless. $100 coupon and $100 minimum. Awesome deal. I have to appreciate the guys trying though even though he was clearly over-matched.

I've never been to a Benihana. I do like the concept of having the food cooked right there. Sounds like a fun time.

We were just shaking our heads... Did that guy really think he was going to pull one over on us? It was a riot the way he kept changing the price of the excursion.

And then trying to convince us that it wouldn't be good.

Hibachi dining is a blast, especially if you have a large group. And the food is always so good and plentiful.

Holy crap. So many annoyances. Glad you got that coupon to work, but what a pain.

And the picture! Seriously? I would have said no too! I ca't stand that crap.

Beautiful sunset pic! Love it!

Cute pic of you and your dad!

Well, a ton of annoyances in Hawaii is still better than everything going right back at home!

I was not going to reward that photographer's smarmy tactics by purchasing his photo for more than he said it would be.

Thanks for the positive words about the sunset pictures and the photo with my dad.

We booked our first couple of trips to Hawaii using a travel company like Pleasant Hawaii, but then we started making the reservations on our own. I have a great mistrust of those coupons, and your experience justifies my viewpoint. I'm glad you were able to get them to honor the coupon.

We really didn't know anything about the places to stay in Hawaii, so it was helpful to use a company familiar with the areas. We were very happy with the Hilton Hawaiian Village in Oahu and we were thrilled with the place we stayed in Maui.

I'm so glad we were able to use the coupon for the excursion that we really wanted to do.

Catching up...first I must say I really like the picture of you and Mark at Benihana the boys took. Very nice. I wouldn't have paid the $15 price changing photographer either. Also, your food looks really delicious and the boys look happy.

Rebecca

We had a good meal at Benihana, although it was not the best hibachi experience we have ever had.

Thanks for the nice comments about the picture. I wonder if there is a way I can lighten it up.

 

[luvpoohandcompany]

Dear goodness how many times can people attempt to scam one family in one day!!!!!!! Good for you sticking to your guns and not letting them away with it Love the photo of you and Mark-you both look so relaxed and happy Shame the chef's skills weren't quite up to it but hibachi (sp?) looks fun Going to try talking my wee crew into it next time we are on your side of the pond
Stunning sunset photos too

 

[natebenma]

Dear goodness how many times can people attempt to scam one family in one day!!!!!!! Good for you sticking to your guns and not letting them away with it Love the photo of you and Mark-you both look so relaxed and happy Shame the chef's skills weren't quite up to it but hibachi (sp?) looks fun Going to try talking my wee crew into it next time we are on your side of the pond
Stunning sunset photos too

Apparently, a lot!!!

I can hold my own in a battle of the wits, but Mark is the real master! I am pretty glad that for the most part, I am on the same side as he is.

It is a shame that we don't have a picture of the 4 of us from the restaurant, but I'll settle for what we have.

Hibachi dining is so much fun! I hope you can convince the crew!

 

[natebenma]

Hi everyone!!!

So sorry I have been MIA on this report and on everyone else's. I have (barely) managed to keep up with the Beach & Yacht Club FAQ.

Last week was tech week for Spamalot, and we had our first 3 shows Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The time commitment really kicks my butt! We are at rehearsal every night until 10 and I have lots of things to get ready for props and concessions for the shows.

If you are familiar with the story of Monty Python and the Holy Grail, this is a musical loosely based on the movie. Ben is the Black Knight. And the killer bunny.

The show is absolutely amazing! Ben has been in 12 other community theatre shows and 2 at his middle school, but this is the best production we have been involved with. Every single member of our cast is immensely talented, the script is hilarious and the music is fantastic.

It has been a lot of work, but so fun to watch!

Here's a few pictures:

Spamalot

Theatre Décor





Ze Wooden Rabbit



Always Look on the Bright Side of Life



Ben as the Black Knight (who gets his arms and legs cut off, but still refuses to concede the fight)





Company Bow




*****************************************************

In other news, you may have heard that our area was hit with Blizzard Juno yesterday. It took Mark more than 4 hours to get home from work on Monday (he left the office at 2:45). We estimate that we probably got between 27-30 inches of snow here. Boys had yesterday and today off from school. We will see about tomorrow. Mark is staying home today to clean up and because the commuter options are still not very reliable.

Fortunately, we have not lost power or heat during the storm.

I figure that this would be the perfect time for me to relive part of our trip to Hawaii.


Just to bring you back up to speed... We arrived in Hawaii on Wednesday afternoon. We spent most of Thursday at Pearl Harbor, then managed to snag a free excursion to Hanauma Bay for later in the week and we dined at Benihana, where we would not pay an extra $5 for a family photo.

On Friday morning, in the update I'm about to post, we will be visiting Diamond Head State Monument.


.

 

[natebenma]

Coming up in this update, we will encounter the scariest adventure of our entire trip.

No, it was not Mickey’s Fun Wheel of Death.

Not going up in a helicopter.

15 hour travel day on the way home? Nope!

It was not even opening our Visa bill after the trip...

***********************************************

It was another early, but absolutely gorgeous, morning.









We were headed here:





Diamond Head is a 760 foot extinct volcanic peak that was once used as a military fortification. Taking in the panoramic views at the top of Diamond Head is one of the must-do activities on Waikiki Beach.

Although there is a bus system that we could have used to get around from place to place, we were not exactly sure where the bus stops were or the frequency of the buses that early in the morning, so we opted for the convenience of a taxi.

We were at Diamond Head by 7 am.










We started our climb.





Even that early, there were people making their way down.

And even more impressive, there were people running up and down the trail. No, thanks!!!


Ruh-Roh!




We stepped to the side of the path to take a picture of this unusual tree with the roots.




One of the people in a group behind us exclaimed “I don’t know what they are looking at!”

Um- We can hear you!!!



















We climbed up to a tunnel




A light at the end of the tunnel




Near the top, you need to tackle a couple of sets of stairs:









At the top of the spiral stairs, you enter into a bunker.




Continued in Next Post http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=52975411&postcount=446

 

[natebenma]

Killer Views!

Looking down:




But the real money shots are looking out at the expanse of Waikiki Beach








Looking the other way




The sun was very bright, so we didn’t get any great pictures in this direction




A few family pictures at the top









Ben snapped these pictures on the way down. Somewhere along these stairs, Ben found a $10 bill.










We made it!!!





After our climb, we made a couple of purchases at the gift shop- some t-shirts and a hat. The certificate I posted earlier in this update came “free” with purchase.

***********************************************

And what about that scary story I promised you?

When we were finished, we made our way to one of the cabs waiting out in the parking lot. As we were about to get in, a guy came over and said

“Hey! What are you doing? I am next.”

We didn’t want to get in to the middle of a taxi turf war, and the first cab driver didn’t seem to care, so we went with this new guy to his cab.

Which resulted in the weirdest cab ride I have ever been a part of.

The car was cluttered and I think there were rips in the upholstery. The radio was tuned to some doomsday station telling listeners what they needed to have on hand for the upcoming storm.

The driver was not actually paying a lot of attention to what was going on in the road and a couple of times he did not immediately proceed when a stoplight turned from red to green.

He was too busy trying to sell us stuff.

He held up a big jug of water “Have you purchased water yet?”

“We’re good!”

“I can give you a tour of the Island. I have been here for 30 years and I can take you to places that even the locals don’t know about.”

That scared me a little. No, make that a lot!

We passed by a guy on the road who tried to flag down the car.

Taxi Driver asked us “Do you want to share a ride?”

Heck no! I can’t remember how large the car was, but there were already 5 of us riding. Let’s leave the extra stranger on the side of the road. In reality, we actually did that guy a favor!

“Have you seen the movie America? (He said it like ‘Merica?) Makes me feel patriotic.”

What?!?

He pulled the car over to the curb and said “We’re here.”

Unfortunately, it wasn’t our hotel.

I think there are two Hiltons on Waikiki, and I think I told him the correct one at the start of my journey (Hilton Hawaiian Village Waikiki Beach). Maybe I didn’t. But my money is on me.

He sighed and we were underway again. We probably should have just gotten out there and found our way back on our own, but by some miracle we actually ended up at the correct resort.

I paid the driver. Cash. No WAY was I giving this guy my credit card.

In retrospect, we should have stuck with the first cab driver we approached. I’m sure as we left, he was shaking his head at the dumb tourists. Was this the stupidest thing we have ever done on vacation? I’d like to say yes, but unfortunately the answer is no. But this was probably one of the poorer decisions we have made while the kids were with us.

Nonetheless, we made it back and had the rest of the afternoon ahead of us.


Next up: Walking Wonderful Waikiki- Click Here

 

[luvpoohandcompany]

Wow the views from the top of Diamond Head are unbelievable! You truly deserve a certificate for making it to the top mind you-soooo many stairs to climb
Hawaii looks very different to what I'd imagined along the seafront-much more built up. The beach and ocean look gorgeous though.
Scary taxi driver indeed-and yeah I'd be NO NO NO too on picking up random strangers on the way to hotel! We have had a few scary drivers in our time one of which my husband actually told to either start paying attention to the road or to let us out at which point the driver grunted and decided it was a good idea to perhaps hold on to the steering wheel when heading down I4

Now you have wondering about all your past scary adventures lol
Glad all ended well (as long as you didn't go AWOL with any scary people)

 

[KatMark]

Dee, so fun to see the pictures from Spamalot. It sounds like a great production and that you are all having fun with it.

I am sorry to hear about all the snow you have. They are predicting anywhere from 4 - 10 inches for us this weekend...guess I'll be shoveling while Mark works on Sunday. We've been lucky and only had an inch or two here and there all winter.

The pictures from Diamond Head are breathtaking. Absolutely beautiful. A few steps? I'd need oxygen after climbing all of those (definitely NOT in good shape).

How nice that Ben found $10.

Oh my...that was one crazy cab ride. I'm glad everyone was okay after it.

 

[jmskinner]

Glad you are surviving the storms aftermath. We only got a few inches, and this snow lover is very disappointed.

Sounds like a lot of people try to take advantage of tourists there...the guy at the excursion booth and the photographer.

And that taxi ride does sound scary. We watched a guy while we were at Universal trying to get people to take his ride. All of the other taxi's waited in line for the next guest.

Love the pictures from your hike, amazing! And what is with boys and finding money. Jacob is always finding money. He did a camp where they went to one historical home and he found a Coke bottle from the 20's sticking out of the ground.

 

[DisneyKid4Life]

Oh my Snowmageddon. 27-30 INCHES!!!??? Goodness. I heard about Boston getting hammered with this, but just WOW. We got a Blizzard yesterday, but thankfully nothing like what you did. Of course, I've been more nervous about my Thursday flight being cancelled. So far so good though.

But yes, this does seem like the perfect atmosphere to "go to Hawaii"

WOW... Just WOW. What a view from up there. I guess it is worth the walk.

And OOH Score on the $10 bill. Now you can go back to Benihana and get two family photos!!!!

OK, cab ride from HELL!! "I can take you to places that even the locals don’t know about." Yeah... pull over.

 

[KatMark]

And OOH Score on the $10 bill. Now you can go back to Benihana and get two family photos!!!!

Good one, Rob.

 

[HockeyMomR]

Dee - hello! what an appopriate time for you to update as you look out your window at 2+ feet of snow. I think I prefer your view at the top
Of Diamond Head. Beautiful!

Good on Ben for making his hike profitable. Glad you made it safely back to the hotel. Scary taxi ride for sure.

Rebecca

 

[natebenma]

Wow the views from the top of Diamond Head are unbelievable! You truly deserve a certificate for making it to the top mind you-soooo many stairs to climb
Hawaii looks very different to what I'd imagined along the seafront-much more built up. The beach and ocean look gorgeous though.
Scary taxi driver indeed-and yeah I'd be NO NO NO too on picking up random strangers on the way to hotel! We have had a few scary drivers in our time one of which my husband actually told to either start paying attention to the road or to let us out at which point the driver grunted and decided it was a good idea to perhaps hold on to the steering wheel when heading down I4

Now you have wondering about all your past scary adventures lol
Glad all ended well (as long as you didn't go AWOL with any scary people)

The hike to the top of Diamond Head was great. The stairs were the most strenuous part, but the rest was not bad.

Honolulu and Waikiki are the most built-up areas of all of the places on Hawaii. The boys actually liked the city feel of where we were staying. Things were a lot mellower (and more what you expect in Hawaii) once we got to Maui.

We really don't like to drive, especially on vacation, so this is the price we have to pay sometimes.

Stupidest thing we ever did on vacation was following some guy off our resort in Jamaica (walking) when he promised to give us a private tour a beautiful garden nearby on the last day of our trip. Which he did. The place he showed us around was really cool, we were never in danger and we tipped him when we were done, but it was a stupid thing to do.

Dee, so fun to see the pictures from Spamalot. It sounds like a great production and that you are all having fun with it.

I am sorry to hear about all the snow you have. They are predicting anywhere from 4 - 10 inches for us this weekend...guess I'll be shoveling while Mark works on Sunday. We've been lucky and only had an inch or two here and there all winter.

The pictures from Diamond Head are breathtaking. Absolutely beautiful. A few steps? I'd need oxygen after climbing all of those (definitely NOT in good shape).

How nice that Ben found $10.

Oh my...that was one crazy cab ride. I'm glad everyone was okay after it.

The show is great! It is also bittersweet for me. I think this may be Ben's last show

He is an excellent actor who is always prepared for his roles, but he is very worried about high school. He wants to get good grades this year so his teachers will approve him for all honors classes (he hasn't gotten anything less than an A- in middle school so far). He didn't audition for his middle school drama club play, Fiddler on the Roof. He will work crew for the show. I was disappointed, but I really can't fault him for his motivation.

I hope you continue to have a winter with light snowfall. We are expecting more snow tomorrow and Saturday morning, and a possible bigger storm on Monday. Always Looking on the Bright Side of Life, if the storm on Monday is significant, Mark and the boys will get to stay home after the Superbowl.

We were glad we did the Diamond Head hike early in the day (7-8 am). I can't imagine how hot it would be later in the day!

Finding the money on the trail was nice!

Glad you are surviving the storms aftermath. We only got a few inches, and this snow lover is very disappointed.

Sounds like a lot of people try to take advantage of tourists there...the guy at the excursion booth and the photographer.

And that taxi ride does sound scary. We watched a guy while we were at Universal trying to get people to take his ride. All of the other taxi's waited in line for the next guest.

Love the pictures from your hike, amazing! And what is with boys and finding money. Jacob is always finding money. He did a camp where they went to one historical home and he found a Coke bottle from the 20's sticking out of the ground.

I don't ski and I don't like the cold. You can have all of our snow that you want!!!

Let's just say we were meeting a whole lot of people who were not making the best impression on us!

I didn't want to disrupt the taxi driver protocol, but we should have been suspicious of this guy's aggressive tactics.

Mark and Ben are pretty good at finding money. Mark also finds some pretty cool stuff when he is snorkeling, too.

Good for Jacob!!! What happened to the Coke bottle?

Oh my Snowmageddon. 27-30 INCHES!!!??? Goodness. I heard about Boston getting hammered with this, but just WOW. We got a Blizzard yesterday, but thankfully nothing like what you did. Of course, I've been more nervous about my Thursday flight being cancelled. So far so good though.

But yes, this does seem like the perfect atmosphere to "go to Hawaii"

WOW... Just WOW. What a view from up there. I guess it is worth the walk.

OK, cab ride from HELL!! "I can take you to places that even the locals don’t know about." Yeah... pull over.

We had another storm like this a couple of years ago, but it was over the weekend, so not as disruptive. The governor of our state (wisely) put a ban on non-essential travel on roads.

As we speak, I believe you are indeed on your way to Florida. Have a fabulous time!!!

The views at the top of Diamond Head were totally worth the walk!

Seriously, we kept looking at each other in the cab and thinking "Is this really happening?" I was waiting for someone to say "Smile. You're on Candid Camera!"

And OOH Score on the $10 bill. Now you can go back to Benihana and get two family photos!!!!

Good one, Rob.

That totally made me snort!!!

Dee - hello! what an appopriate time for you to update as you look out your window at 2+ feet of snow. I think I prefer your view at the top
Of Diamond Head. Beautiful!

Good on Ben for making his hike profitable. Glad you made it safely back to the hotel. Scary taxi ride for sure.

Rebecca

Mark commented yesterday that it was too sad to look at Hawaii photos because we are not there.

I'm glad Ben found the money, but we spent like $40 in the gift shop and $8 on smoothies in the parking lot, so yeah, we ended up in the red.

I'm glad we survived the taxi ride so I could bring that story to you.

 

[momabbate]

Wow! What I hike up to the top, but that view seems well worth it. It would have taken me all day. Way to many breaks to catch my breath.
Wow! (My vocabulary is in a rut.) That cab ride sounds insane. Not a story I will share with hubby.
Wow! That is great with all the scams for Ben to find $10.

 

[eandesmom]

Last week was tech week for Spamalot, and we had our first 3 shows Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The time commitment really kicks my butt! We are at rehearsal every night until 10 and I have lots of things to get ready for props and concessions for the shows.

Tech is insane. It's funny, it's almost better once the show actually starts!

LOVE Spamalot. Super sad to hear Ben isn't doing the Spring Play. While I get his rationale, I am curious about something. Does he really have to be recommended for honors to get in them? Here that is certainly preferred but at the end of the day you can sign up for whatever you want unless there is a prerequisite of some sort. I hope he picks it back up in HS, colleges what to see more than just killer grades.

In other news, you may have heard that our area was hit with Blizzard Juno yesterday. It took Mark more than 4 hours to get home from work on Monday (he left the office at 2:45). We estimate that we probably got between 27-30 inches of snow here. Boys had yesterday and today off from school. We will see about tomorrow. Mark is staying home today to clean up and because the commuter options are still not very reliable.

UGH!

Just to bring you back up to speed... We arrived in Hawaii on Wednesday afternoon. We spent most of Thursday at Pearl Harbor, then managed to snag a free excursion to Hanauma Bay for later in the week and we dined at Benihana, where we would not pay an extra $5 for a family photo.

I felt like I was reading an alternate Hawaii update. Having been there so much for work I just never see that kind of scamming and it really bums me out to hear a friend experiencing it. I suppose an excursion desk, any excursion desk has an element of it though. Still, at the end of the day you did get a deal.

Scary cab drives though, they are everywhere. First one could have been horrid too.

It's a pretty quick bus ride from where you were and had you been dropped at the other Hilton, it's not a horrible walk. But I am glad you made it!

I love Diamond Head. It's a great little walk/hike and the views on a clear day can not be beat! I would really like to fit it in on our Waikiki day but I think it's going to have to be a separate trip which is a bit of a pain but we will figure it out. Preferably not right before we go to my cousins like our last trip, we cut it close and basically ran up, ran down, changed in the bathroom and drove to her house.

All sweaty and icky!. LOL.

 

[MEK]

The play looks awesome! How fun to be involved with that!

Ugh to all the snow you got. I was wondering how you made out up there. I heard Boston got pummeled. We got nothing. Wait, no, we actually got a dusting. Sort of comical considering the roads were empty Monday afternoon and then nothing happened.

Diamond Head looks so super cool. That looks like quite the workout.

OMG to the cab driver. I think I would have gotten off at the wrong Hilton. What a nightmare!

 

[natebenma]

Wow! What I hike up to the top, but that view seems well worth it. It would have taken me all day. Way to many breaks to catch my breath.
Wow! (My vocabulary is in a rut.) That cab ride sounds insane. Not a story I will share with hubby.
Wow! That is great with all the scams for Ben to find $10.

The stairs are the worst part of the hike. The trail is actual a fairly gentle slope. We are so glad we did it.

The cab ride just got weirder and weirder. "Want to share a cab?" Seriously!

I'm sure Ben's $10 went to something totally worthwhile. Like candy.

Tech is insane. It's funny, it's almost better once the show actually starts!

LOVE Spamalot. Super sad to hear Ben isn't doing the Spring Play. While I get his rationale, I am curious about something. Does he really have to be recommended for honors to get in them? Here that is certainly preferred but at the end of the day you can sign up for whatever you want unless there is a prerequisite of some sort. I hope he picks it back up in HS, colleges what to see more than just killer grades.

It's true- tech week is worse than the shows, however I am baking cookies at 5 am before I run 3 more errands for the show, so performance days are tough too!

Spamalot is such an awesome show! We have been with this theatre group since the beginning, so we are seeing some of the kids who started out 5 years ago performing in some pretty edgy roles.

I am sad that Ben is not doing his school show. He doesn't like to sing, so that limits his roles in musicals, but he is a very professional and talented actor and learns the entire show pretty early on. So he will be great at crew.

I think the issue with the honors classes is that they discourage freshman from taking all honors classes and that is what he wants to do. He wants the support from his teachers that he can handle it. I believe class signups are next week (parents are not involved).

I felt like I was reading an alternate Hawaii update. Having been there so much for work I just never see that kind of scamming and it really bums me out to hear a friend experiencing it. I suppose an excursion desk, any excursion desk has an element of it though. Still, at the end of the day you did get a deal.

Scary cab drives though, they are everywhere. First one could have been horrid too.

It's a pretty quick bus ride from where you were and had you been dropped at the other Hilton, it's not a horrible walk. But I am glad you made it!

I love Diamond Head. It's a great little walk/hike and the views on a clear day can not be beat! I would really like to fit it in on our Waikiki day but I think it's going to have to be a separate trip which is a bit of a pain but we will figure it out. Preferably not right before we go to my cousins like our last trip, we cut it close and basically ran up, ran down, changed in the bathroom and drove to her house.

All sweaty and icky!. LOL.

With all of the issues we encountered, I don't think this is a pervasive issue with the people in Hawaii. I just think we had an extraordinary bad streak within a short time.

That's good to know about the other Hilton- that comes into play in the update of our trip to Hanauma Bay.

I hope you can make it with the boys to Diamond Head and not have such a wham-bam hike like you and Jeff did!

Every time I saw Koko Head, though, I though of you and said "My friends CLIMBED that!!!"

The play looks awesome! How fun to be involved with that!

Ugh to all the snow you got. I was wondering how you made out up there. I heard Boston got pummeled. We got nothing. Wait, no, we actually got a dusting. Sort of comical considering the roads were empty Monday afternoon and then nothing happened.

Diamond Head looks so super cool. That looks like quite the workout.

OMG to the cab driver. I think I would have gotten off at the wrong Hilton. What a nightmare!

Spamalot is so much fun! I love Ben's roles in the show. I love watching all of the actors excelling in their parts.

It is really difficult to move around. Our downtown has snowbanks in the road, but people are continuing to park so the roads are very narrow. It was gridlock in Boston last night, but fortunately Mark walks across town and then takes a commuter train, so his trip was ok yesterday. We had more snow overnight, calling for light snow all day, snow overnight (3-6") and then a storm on Monday. Originally we thought it was going to be enough to cancel school and work the morning after the Superbowl, but now the storm is being downgraded.

Diamond Head was really the perfect hike for us- just strenuous enough. Loved all of the views!

The cab ride was definitely one of those "That is going in the trip report!" moments!

 

[eandesmom]

I am sad that Ben is not doing his school show. He doesn't like to sing, so that limits his roles in musicals, but he is a very professional and talented actor and learns the entire show pretty early on. So he will be great at crew.

Evan LOVES crew. I would love to see him try the stage but he is happy where he is at for now. I hope at some point he will give it a shot, he is such a natural.

I think the issue with the honors classes is that they discourage freshman from taking all honors classes and that is what he wants to do. He wants the support from his teachers that he can handle it. I believe class signups are next week (parents are not involved).

The whole thing is so funny. Both in the MS registration and then at HS it was a mixed message. Like you have to check boxes A, B, and C to even remotely CONSIDER taking an honors class and if you can't do taht, then don't. And then they have concerts where all the band members will stand and show how many honors classes they have, plus athletics, plus being in band to convince kids they don't have to give up music to be successful in honors.

UGH.

Eric will do all honors his freshman year. Though at our school math is just track based, advanced tracks aren't considered honors, it just goes straight to AP. Evan did all honors his freshman year but we let him bail on science this year and just keep the english and social studies. I figured AP world history was more than enough, and it is. It will be interesting to see what he does next year. He could end up with 2 AP classes...or none.

With all of the issues we encountered, I don't think this is a pervasive issue with the people in Hawaii. I just think we had an extraordinary bad streak within a short time.

That's good to know about the other Hilton- that comes into play in the update of our trip to Hanauma Bay.

Ruh Row....

I hope you can make it with the boys to Diamond Head and not have such a wham-bam hike like you and Jeff did!

Every time I saw Koko Head, though, I though of you and said "My friends CLIMBED that!!!"

I am not going to even attempt to do that with the boys, I'd be a wreck worrying about them falling off! I do need to find a hike for us to do, I'll be annoyed at myself if I don't.

It is really difficult to move around. Our downtown has snowbanks in the road, but people are continuing to park so the roads are very narrow. It was gridlock in Boston last night, but fortunately Mark walks across town and then takes a commuter train, so his trip was ok yesterday. We had more snow overnight, calling for light snow all day, snow overnight (3-6") and then a storm on Monday. Originally we thought it was going to be enough to cancel school and work the morning after the Superbowl, but now the storm is being downgraded.

Ugh, I am glad for the downgrade but oh I bet you will be glad to get out in a few weeks.

 

[natebenma]

Evan LOVES crew. I would love to see him try the stage but he is happy where he is at for now. I hope at some point he will give it a shot, he is such a natural.



The whole thing is so funny. Both in the MS registration and then at HS it was a mixed message. Like you have to check boxes A, B, and C to even remotely CONSIDER taking an honors class and if you can't do taht, then don't. And then they have concerts where all the band members will stand and show how many honors classes they have, plus athletics, plus being in band to convince kids they don't have to give up music to be successful in honors.

UGH.

Eric will do all honors his freshman year. Though at our school math is just track based, advanced tracks aren't considered honors, it just goes straight to AP. Evan did all honors his freshman year but we let him bail on science this year and just keep the english and social studies. I figured AP world history was more than enough, and it is. It will be interesting to see what he does next year. He could end up with 2 AP classes...or none.




Ruh Row....




I am not going to even attempt to do that with the boys, I'd be a wreck worrying about them falling off! I do need to find a hike for us to do, I'll be annoyed at myself if I don't.




Ugh, I am glad for the downgrade but oh I bet you will be glad to get out in a few weeks.

Well, Spamalot is over! Best show we have ever done- the script, the songs and the incredible group of talent gathered together. We have worked with some of these actors in shows over the past 6 years and it has been amazing to see the growth and we have met some new friends. Still not sure if this marks Ben's final stage performance. As they say "Too soon!"



I'll be interested in seeing what Ben's schedule looks like for next year. I think if they discourage him from all honors classes, I can step in and challenge that. If I want to.

So much for the downgrade of the snow on Monday! We got another foot-and-a-half of snow. No school Monday or Tuesday. Mark stayed home too. Traffic in the city was ridiculously gridlocked. Commuting options like the subway and commuter rail were working sporadically and it was taking travelers in cars HOURS just to get through the city last night. Snow everywhere.

I can't believe we are going to Florida in less than 2 weeks. We have been so focused on other things for the past several months that this has snuck right up on us.

 

[Wood Nymph]

You are having really bad weather this year. I heard that Boston got 47 inches of snow in the last 10 days. We got 19.3 inches on Superbowl Sunday, which was a lot, but I think everyone stayed home that day and the streets got cleared off pretty quickly. I suppose they don't have any place to put all that snow you have in Boston.

Spamalot sounds like it was a lot of fun. It must be a lot of work for Ben though, with his school work on top of the rehearsals and performances. Maybe once he is comfortable in his high school routine he'll have a better idea of whether or not he can become involved in the theater again.

The view from Diamond Head is fabulous. Now I wish we had taken the time to hike that trail when we were in Oahu. How long of a hike was it? Too bad you didn't have more shade. We loved to hike when we visited Hawaii but we usually looked for shady places to hike.

You seemed to have found a lot of shifty characters in Waikiki. I would have used cash to pay the cab driver, too. We also use cash for the WDW cabs. It just seems like the safest thing to do.