What a couple of weeks!

Well, we obviously missed providing you with last week's installment because we didn't think we could get internet access at our Honolulu B&B. Turns out we could get access via their wifi but we didn't find this out until the day before we left

It's been a hectic couple of weeks, starting with a trip to LA so that Annalie could help to run the IAE Operators Conference. Our flight was pretty uneventful except for the fact that we had to sit apart. We got into LA pretty late so there was just enough time for a few drinks in the bar and a game of pool before hitting the hay.

Monday was set up day for the conference so Annalie had to be on hand to help vendors and some of the IAE folks get to know their way around. For Ian it was about his only day off in LA so he headed up to North Hollywood to Universal Studios. He thoroughly enjoyed his freedom and the park was very impressive - much better than UK theme parks. Whilst on the set tour he got to see some filming taking place - Desperate Housewives and a series we've got over here called My Own Worst Enemy - we recommend it if it makes it to British shores.

Monday night was the opening reception and Annalie was on duty again, but she got the opportunity to go and see how things were progressing There were a few attractions such as a fortune teller (who was no good apparently) and a characature artist. We both had sketches done, which are pretty funny but we're not 100% convinced that they are that accurate.

When the Conference started, it meant that Annalie had to hang around the hotel most of the time for two days, just to be on hand "in case." Ian went out on the "spouse tour" out to Hollywood and the Kodak Theatre on Tuesday and the Getty Museum and Rodeo Drive on Wednesday.

The evening events at the Operators Conferences are legendary, and David didn't disappoint this time! The Gala Event included the Legends flown in especially from Las Vegas. We had Marilyn Monroe, Barbra Streisand, The Blues Brothers, Rod Stewart, Tina Turner and Cher. The dinner was held at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, a previous venue for the Oscars (that are now held at the Kodak Theater).
Ian decided to miss out on all this fun by taking the opportunity to go to watch an NBA Baseball game at the Staples Center. The LA Lakers were hosting the Chicago Bulls, so it promised to be a good game. He had a seat in the "nose bleeds" but got a great view. The atmosphere was made more electric by the fact that a big brass band were sat right across the aisle from him!

Wednesday night was mainly sponsored by IAE suppliers who set up their own activities, attractions, bars and food! There was a sumo wrestling game that we both attempted and had a great laugh doing. The suit managed to create a great set of bruises on Annalie's arm though that looked like Ian had got hold of her too tightly!! He didn't lay a finger on her - honest!!

There was also human ten pin bowling!! Needless to say that, considering the alcohol being consumed, this was not the favoured activity of the night. Rolls-Royce had a Casino that kept people interested. We combined forces (and chips) to ensure Annalie won the female title for the most chips. Her prize is probably not that desirable as it is a bunch of Rolls-Royce goodies - like she doesn't have enough!

Finally Thursday came around. David had arranged a charity event back at the Staples Center, but this time it was iced over in readiness for an ice hockey game. We couldn't entrust people on the ice with skates on(!!) so we settled for "broom ball." This is a game involving broom shaped sticks, a ball, ice hockey nets and people in trainers... on ice! Cue a casualty or two! Luckily the worst off was an IAE employee who probably tore his hamstring.

Lunchtime came arounf and we finally headed off to the airport to catch our flight to Honolulu Annalie checked in online in the morning and managed to secure exit row seats for us - so Ian was happy at least! Upon arrival we headed out to get our hire car and then followed the detailed directions to our B&B. It was dark when we arrived so we couldn't really see much, so we just headed out to get some dinner before turning in (well, we'd been up since 5am LA time - which is 3am Hawai'i time).

On Friday a storm threatened, so we made our way to probably the single biggest tourist attraction on Honolulu, the USS Arizona Memorial in Pearl Harbor. It is done very well and serves as a fitting tribute to the members of the military that lost their lives on board the ship. A nice touch is that the whole thing is free, you only have to pay for the audio guides if you want them (we recommend it) but that only costs $5.

After that we went to explore the USS Bowfin and USS Missouri as some significant features of the US Military post-Pearl Harbor.

The storm finally arrived late in the day so it didn't manage to ruin anything, but boy, it was one heck of a storm. It continued into Saturday and lashed it down, which ruined our plans to climb the Diamond Head monument, so we headed for the more rain-friendly Bishop Museum to learn more about Hawai'i and volcanoes in particular. After that we went for a spot of shopping as Ian decided Annalie needed a new camera for her birthday!

By Sunday the rain had gone but some winds still prevailed. We were dubious about whether our pre-booked activity would still be on but we needn't have worried. We headed up to the North Shore of Honolulu - famed for its big winter surf and the Lost beach! But we were going for something far more daring! Swimming in the middle of the Pacific with just a few feet between us and about 20 sharks was an experience not to be forgotten too quickly!! Thank heavens for the aluminium cage that surrounded us!

We then headed further up the North Shore to see some of the most famous surfing beaches in the world. The swell wasn't amazing but there were still a few feet. Sunset Beach was preparing for a big competition that took place this week.

After lunch at Haleiwa Joe's, we took Lee and Heather's recommendation and went to Matsumotos for the Hawai'in institution of Shave Ice for dessert. We followed their suggetsions to the letter, and ended up with what was probably the most calorific food of our entire trip! The condensed milk was a nice touch but we weren't struck on the beans!

On the way back home, we stopped off at the Dole Plantation (yes, that company that supplies LOTS of tinned pineapple!) to conquer the world's biggest maze - as recognised by the Guinness Book of Records. It took Lee and Heather 2 hours allegedly, but all we can say is that they can't have had a map! Unlike most mazes, the objective is not to reach the middle, but to find eight hidden "stations" tucked around the maze. When we first got in we didn't realise there was a map, but as we were leaving the first station we had found (by chance!) we bumped into someone who did have a map, so we quickly obtained one for ourselves. Our time stamp saw us leave the maze after 40 minutes. Sorry Lee!

We managed to get back to the Southern part of the island where we were staying in time for sunset. We'd been advised to check out China Wall, especially for sunset, so we found our way there and watched what we could as the sun went down behind the clouds.

Monday was Annalie's birthday and Ian surprised her with flowers to accompany the camera We headed into Waikiki for the first time with the idea that we might both surf at one of the world's most famous surf spots. From our vantage point on the beach, there were far too many people and not enough surf to make it worthwhile, so we just enjoyed the beach for some time. The disappointing thing about Waikiki is that, apart from the amount of surfers in the water and surf schools on the shore, you could actually be in Benidorm!

We had a drink under the Banyan Tree at the Beach Bar at the Moana Surfrider Hotel, before heading out to Diamond Head for that climb now that the weather was much better. We conquered the steep climb in quick time and, continuing our search for good viewpoints, we headed for Pali Lookout to get a view over the Eastern side of the island.

On Tuesday we ventured back up to the North Shore, which was fast becoming our favourite part of the island. The Western side, with Honolulu, Waikiki and communities like Hawai'i Kai, are very built up and could be anywhere coastal in the USA really. Ian tried to persuade Annalie to sign up for a surf lesson, but he ended up renting a board on his own to complete his surfing trilogy of all the world's oceans!

Annalie went off round the headland to check out the surf and stumbled across a filming set for Lost, so she didn't get very far! Once Ian had his fix on the waves, we headed off in search of some of the famed filming sites of one of our favourite TV series, which is filmed entirely on Honolulu, even using local settings to portray places such as LA, Sydney and even Korea. We found the crash site beach, "The Others'" camp, the "survivors'" campsite and plenty of other places that are actually quite innocuous! We had also booked ourselves onto an ATV (quad bike) tour at Kualoa Ranch, where Lost, Jurassic Park, and many other productions have been filmed. Ka'awa Valley is the main valley setting for the series and very recognisable.

On Wednesday we visited Hanauma Bay, an extremely popular snorkelling spot as it is a Marine Conservation Area. Unfortunately because of the large amount of people visiting, the visibility in the Bay is quite poor, so it was a little bit disappointing and we didn't manage to spot any turtles. We'd been advised that Shark's Cove on the North Shore is a better snorkelling spot but we didn't have time to go there too.

Thursday was Thanksgiving, so a big holiday in the US. We decided to go back up to the North Shore because Ian wanted to see some surf competition action and get some use out of his big lens on his camera. Unfortunately even the surfers had been given the day off, so all he had to photograph were amateurs.

Annalie wanted to go this way as well because she wanted to get lunch from one of the many shrimp "shacks" that line the road along the coast. She'd picked one out on one of our earlier drives and it always seemed very busy, which she took as a good sign. She stood in line for about 20 minutes to place her order (butter garlic sauteed shrimp) and lunch didn't arrive for around another 40 minutes! No wonder it's always busy. She also didn't realise that the shrimps would arrive shell-on, so she got into a right mess de-shelling them! Still, it was a good lunch and worth the wait.

That night we had a very kind invitation from Heather's parents to join them for a Thanksgiving celebration at their house. We were warmly welcomed by friends and family to have a wonderful feast that was certainly not wholly traditional but lovely all the same.

Friday was our last day in Honolulu so we packed up in the morning and decided how best to pass the time until our 11pm flight. Annalie kept trying to check in online again to get the exit row seats, but it wouldn't let her this time so we left it until the airport. We decided the best way to kill a few hours was to get in a round of golf, so we tackled a pretty easy (and cheap!) course near to our B&B, where Ian got yet another military discount! Even though it wasn't a challenge, it was a nice round and Ian only managed to win by 6 shots.

After a spot of lunch, Ian went in search of a fellow Fire Department patch from the Honolulu team. We had to go into Waikiki to find it though. Then it was off to the airport to drop the car off and start our convoluted trip home.

I think we'd better leave it there as you've probably fallen asleep already!! We've got to leave something to update you with next week! Photos will follow, once we finally get home...

The calm before the storm

It's been a very quiet week by our standards, but then given the exciting couple of weeks we've got coming up, that's probably a good thing.

Annalie has had a regular week in work and Ian has just had a handful of shouts to attend, plus his regular, fortnightly drill night. We had been thinking that if the snow had arrived at Killington that we might have headed up Friday night to come back Saturday night, but, although they've had a sprinkle and been making some snow this week, the weekend has turned out exceptionally mild (70 degrees here yesterday!) so it was just drab up there.

It was probably for the best as we leave for LA on Sunday afternoon so we needed to co-ordinate packing and also go out and buy some bits, for both the trip and also the ski season. We've both managed to pick up a whole new boarding outfit, which given the frequency of our boarding this year (and the fact that we've both probably put a few pounds on!!) we could probably do with!

We went out for a posh meal on Wednesday night as this week we marked seven years of being together (we can't quite believe that somehow!! Only seems like yesterday!). We tossed a coin between 2 Hopewell and Sauce and Sauce won. Annalie had already been a few times through work and has never been overly impressed, but she suggested it because Ian had never been and only ever had her word for it. Needless to say his opinion reflected that of Annalie's after he'd sampled it.

Saturday night saw us venturing out to the cinema for only about the second time since we've been here. This time to see the new Bond film, Quantum of Solace. We'd heard mixed reviews about it and can see why there are some Bond fans who don't rate it, but it was a nice night out all the same.

We'll certainly have more to update you with over the next two weeks. We fly to LA on Sunday for three and a half days. Annalie is convinced it's going to be just like working at an air show - long, long days, last to bed, first up, running around after people who are grown adults but can't act like it On Thursday afternoon we head out to Hawaii. We won't get there until late but we've got a packed itinerary starting on Friday - got to make the most of it!

We won't spoil the coming weeks with any previews of what we've got planned, but I'm sure the photos and stories will be fun! We do celebrate Annalie's birthday and Thanksgiving while we're out there, just like we did last year in California! Seems to be developing into a bit of a habit!

Happy birthday Ian :-)

Well, the obvious news story of this week is Ian's birthday we won't reveal how old he is but most of you probably know anyway He'd like to thank everyone for the cards and presents that made it across the Pond. For once he had a bit of a celebration, more than he normally does on his birthday anyway.

Firstly some of the guys from the Fire Department took him out to lunch in Wethersfield to a place that advertises "The world's biggest grinders"... and they're not wrong! A one and a half grinder fed three of them - with left overs! After lunch, they all headed back to the Fire House to pick up their cars, just in time to hear a shout and jump straight into the fire engines instead!

That night, Annalie completely surprised him by telling him she was taking him for a romantic meal for two, only to arrange for 10 other people to be waiting at the restaurant to surprise him He was completely surprised and touched by the turnout. It was a nice meal and there was another surprise in store for him back at Mhairi and Steve's flat with a big cake, complete with firefighter candles But he was embarrassed by the "Happy Birthday Hot Stuff" inscription It was a fun night and certainly not what Ian was expecting.

For once, Ian has been gainfully employed all week. In addition to an airport run on Sunday night, he has been plasterboarding (or drywalling) a basement for one of the IAE guys. It's a job that was first discussed back in the summer but it's taken a while for Marc and Mandy to get the relevant permissions from the council to go ahead with the conversion. Still, Ian's been able to exercise his creative side with a major DIY job.

This weekend we have taken a trip to the ski house together. There's no snow left so we didn't bother with our boards but we've got some of our stuff up in readiness for our first runs of the season. But Ian continued his week of DIY with a few jobs. We've been moving and building beds in the shared room, removing a random counter the owner installed and he's built a rack for skis and boards (from scratch - the clever devil )

The house is empty this weekend so we're enjoying the peace and quiet afforded by the place. The resort is dead though, you can almost see the tumbleweed! After we picked Ian's season pass up, we went to the Wobbly Barn again to pick up a season pass for that place. It is owned by the resort so if you have a season ski pass, you get a free Wobbly season pass. It's new this season so I think they're figuring out how to provide the most benefit to people, but at least it's something for nothing!

We've aslo been making the best of the hot tub It's actually unseasonably warm at the moment (although that means it's in the 60s hence no snow ) so the real benefit of the tub has yet to be felt, but we're both carrying stiff shoulders - Ian from work, Annalie from the gym - so it's welcome relief. The house is stupidly warm though as we can't find anything to control the heating and the owner hasn't yet told us how to turn it down.

On the way up to the house on Friday night, we made a chance stop at a diner and we found a fantastic serving of poutine. This is actually a Canadian "dish" comprising of chips (fries) covered with cheese and then smothered in gravy, mmmm. Ian introduced Annalie to this in Banff, and we've found something similar in a diner in East Hartford, but this was proper gravy so Annalie wolfed the lot. Luckily she'd only ordered a small portion - we hate to think what a large portion would look like

We're debating whether to come up to the house next weekend. It's the official opening weekend for the slopes and the resort is hoping to have low enough temperatures this week to make snow, so if there's good conditions, it may be worth it. The only downside is that we'd have to leave on Saturday night as we head to LA next Sunday - countdown to Hawaii begins

Oops, we forgot

After posting this week's update we realised that we'd left you all on tenterhooks regarding the result of the Wings Club auction and whether we'd actually won it. Well, it took until around 4pm on Monday, but we got confirmed as the winners So at some point next year we're off to New Zealand No really A bit Smiley overload but it's the best way to try and convey our excitement!

We've got until the end of October '09 to take the prize and we think we'll actually leave it until the death to take the holiday as it will be mid-spring and a good time to visit. We're planning to hire a camper van to tour around and Ian's already planning all sorts of extreme sports adventures. Not sure our insurance will cover it all

That's all for now. There's nothing else major happening this week. Just a small matter of a Presidential Election. So nothing exciting

Individual adventures

Well we thought it wouldn't be as eventful, but I guess we lied! This weekend has been a getaway for both of us, although to different parts of New England. So we've experienced Fall in four different states between us.

Ian headed off to climb Mount Washington in New Hampshire with one of his IAE friends, Paul. He's training to climb a peak in Argentina around Christmas for charideee so this was a practice run for him. Ian went along for the ride, moral support and for the enjoyment It is a five-hour drive from here and ended up being a seven-hour climb, but he's succeeded in reaching the summit of the highest peak in New England so it's something else achieved.

Annalie went off to the ski house in Killington with Mhairi and Steve in order to set up for the season ahead and before it truly gets started. We had made a conscious decision not to open the house up to members this weekend to ensure we could get the place sorted, but we offered two of our members the opportunity to stay anyway.

The ride up takes 2.5 hours and when we arrived we realised there wasn't much that needed doing. The owner had even left us stuff that we weren't expecting, so we had a much more chilled out weekend than we anticipated.

Friday night was a Halloween party at a local bar, the Wobbly Barn, fancy dress obligatory. Princess Leia was resurrected, while Steve went as a Will Ferrell character and Mhairi as a Ladybug - see the new Killington pictures. We tried to get some food before heading to the bar but the kitchen had already shut so we ended up drinking on an empty stomach (very wise - not!). Luckily we were all pretty tired so headed home after three drinks and spent a cozy night in our new winter home.

Saturday was filled with shopping for bits for the house and a lazy afternoon with a DVD. But Annalie managed to pick up her season lift pass so she's all set to go when the slopes open. Then we headed to The Lookout Tavern for their opening night. We only lasted three drinks again before we headed back to the house for dinner and another DVD (the high life).

On Sunday, the resort surprised us all by opening up some runs and lifts already. It wasn't due to open until the 14th so none of us had brought our gear up with us so couldn't take advantage. It's snowed a little bit this week, but there's only about 11-18 inches of natural snow. They're making the rest though so there's up to 30 inches covering some runs.

So we weren't too disappointed but if the conditions get better, we may go up for a run next weekend. Plus there's some jobs we want Ian to fulfill at the house

Elsewhere this week, Ian had drill night with the Fire Department on Tuesday and then it was back down to the Fire House for pumpkin carving on Wednesday. The House has a big Halloween party for the local kids every year so the Fire families gather together to prepare for this with pizza and beer and plenty of pumpkins to carve. Annalie held up our end early on as Ian had gone to volleyball without telling her so he wasn't even there when she arrived. He got there in the end and got his hands dirty inside a pumpkin, but still trailed Annalie.

Thursday night we trooped into Hartford for IAE's charity pub quiz, hosted by Mhairi. We teamed up with Dan and Fi, even though Fi had warned us about her quiz answering skills! Still, it wasn't about the winning but the taking part and the charidee. We did pretty badly, but it was a fun night all the same.

Not much else to report. The nights are getting very cold now and the clocks went back this weekend so we enjoyed the extra hour in bed. But it's now getting dark very early and we can feel winter edging its way towards us. On the one hand we're excited about it and the opportunity to snowboard every weekend. One the other hand, it's going to be a long, hard few months. Time to get the heating on maybe?