Since we had a few more hours to kill before our room was ready, we rented a car (maybe $120?) for 4 hours & took off to drive around the island.  Having just arrived, we were still mesmerized by the beautiful shades of water that surrounded the island.

 Our first stop was the Temple de Papeto’ai, which was located on a lovely little peninsula that offered great views all around.

We could even see the Hilton off in the distance and pick out our bungalow on the end of the pontoon.

 From the point, we could see a people on a viewing platform high above us & we attempted to visit (find) it later that week, but ended up at a different peak.

 We stopped into this little hotel for lunch- I was hoping to find a place on/near the water with a view & after trekking off-road we arrived at this restaurant with a view.  It was a much smaller, more basic hotel & appeared to serve more families and groups of French tourists.

We kept on driving, admiring both the gorgeous peaks on the left and the stunning waters on our right as we kept remarking how much Moorea reminded us of Kauai.  We ran into our only rain (except for an over-night storm) as we passed through the south point of the island.

 It was neat seeing all the small cities & then driving through the “bigger” town with a port and a political rally going on.  We stopped to pick up snacks and mixers for our room & then enjoyed the view from this bluff with Tahiti behind us and another hotel below us.

  We really love to get out & explore when we get to new places, especially ones as beautiful as this with green cliffs & brilliant shores.

 A view of the reef, with the lighter waters being dotted with coral & the island of Tahiti in the background.

GOOD NEWS OF THE DAY: Squeezed in a 10 mile bike ride with hubby and cooked dinner tonight- I’m super wife!

 Getting to the French Polynesia isn’t too terribly difficult- only about an 8 hour flight out of LA.  We flew into LAX that morning, drove around town & had lunch in Marina del Ray, grabbed a quick nap & then headed back to the airport for our midnight flight to paradise.

 We landed on the mainland of Tahiti around 5AM, but the local band was there to greet us & we didn’t have to wait long in customs because we’d luckily snagged a seat up front on the enormous plane.  We sat around about 2 hours waiting for our connection, but we changed clothes & freshened up, grabbed some cash from an ATM, and got ready for the last flight.

Both the Air Tahiti Nui plane we took from LAX and the smaller plane we flew on to Moorea.  The inter-island flight from Moorea to Bora Bora had en even smaller plane.  I don’t think this airport gets much traffic, except for a regular Air France flight that brings Europeans.

 The Papette airport in Tahiti on the left, and the tiny airport on Moorea (which was mostly shut down).  There were only about 20 people on the 7AM flight with us.

 The island of Tahiti is very close to Moorea (you can see it in the distance behind H) & many people opt to take a ferry because it’s cheaper, but we already had to buy inter-island air tickets to get to Bora Bora.

 We were warmly greeted at our hotel & our room wouldn’t be ready until the afternoon, so we walked around to get our first look at this amazing property as most guests were still sleeping at 7:30.  Our room was going to be just off this pontoon where dozens of these black gulls gathered on the ropes all day long.

 It didn’t take long for us to be ready to hop into the pool for our first swim & then our first swim out in the lagoon.

The Hilton has an amazing lagoon- beautiful waters, tons of coral, hundreds of fish, and stunning backdrop of the mountains.  After a while, we decided to rent a car & drive the island while we were waiting & to pick up some groceries for the room so we could stock our own snack & drink bar.

 When we returned our room was ready & we were so ready to settle in for 4 nights after traveling for 30+ hours.

As we sat on our porch the first night, sipping drinks, playing cards & watching the sunset, we knew we were going to be in for an unbelievably wonderful trip.

GOOD NEWS OF THE DAY: Getting to celebrate both of the wonderful men in my life that I can dad today!

 Finally worked my way through the 1,600+ photos we took  on our 10 day adventure to French Polynesia.  It’s going to take a while to blog about all the incredible things we did & saw around Moorea & Bora Bora, but I like having an index like this & I’ll come back to link up all the posts when I’m done.

This was by far one of our favorite of all the trips we’ve taken- not too far from home, the most ideal weather you could ask for, a perfect mix of adventure & relaxing, super-luxurious, unbelievably beautiful landscape & underwater scenery, and  top notch service and food everywhere. It was VERY expensive, but we were prepared for that & not shocked or appalled.

The trip was nearly flawless for us except for hubby getting food poisoning one day & over-night flight delays coming home from Tahiti.  We successfully completed 2 beautiful dives on each island and thankfully I’m over my diving anxiety.  I finished 2 novels & hubby got to watch the basketball playoffs  most evenings.

Flights: IAH-LAX 4 hours , LAX-PPT 8 hours on Air Tahiti Nui, PPT-Moorea 5 minutes, Moorea to Bora Bora 30 minutes
Moorea Hotel: 4 nights at the Hilton Moorea Lagoon Resort & Spa  (review, hotel website)
Bora Bora hotel: 4 nights at the Intercontinental Thalasso Resort & Spa (review, hotel website)

Moorea

Drive the island, Jet Ski swim with Stingrays & Sharks, Snorkel off our balcony, gorgeous sunsets & sunrises, everything else

Bora Bora

Landing in Bora Bora, 4×4 Tour, Boat tour with coral gardens, ray/shark swimming & picnic, dinner at Bloody Mary’s, spa day, everything else

GOOD NEWS OF THE DAY: Only 4 weeks until my triathlon, but had a nice cloudy morning to train today.

Time for another monthly recap from Instagram.

 {Bought this} bad snack on a road trip // {This is really good} Pineapple corer is awesome //  {In my cup} Several wines
{morning ritual} Caffeinated water to wake up // Zoe hogging the yoga mat  // The Diane Krall concert
Jewel concert // Cool clouds over downtown // Silly Mia sleeping

 {paper} trying to organize decorating the houses // My velcro dog with me on the coach // {broken} Adios old dog bed(futon)
{starts with F} Fork in my pork // Margarita while reading // My usual morning {snack} of V8
Crazy dog on my furniture // Dogs were sleeping on the floor for a few days  // Siding going up on the houses

 Indulged hubby by seeing Gatsby {star} // {7 o’clock} another morning at the airport // Mia yaws her adorable yawn
Scuba refresher course before our trip // {need} tons of allergy meds for a few days in May // 1st flight to LAX on our trip
House shopping spreed with Dad // {mailbox} I’m a main-aficionado // Endless summer on our layover in LA {season}

 Our 2nd leg to Tahiti // Gorgeous sunset into the Pacific // Bridge & Groom headed to their wedding
First swim of vacation in the pool // After our dive in Moorea // Sharks circling the crepe bar at dinner
Play cards & having drinks on our deck // Enjoying vacation on our floats // Drinks & a view for lunch

 Sunrise on Mt Otemanu  // Taking reef photos on the backside of our atoll //  Time Square for a work trip
Atop Bora Bora on a 4×4 tour // {us} Sleeping on a Dreamliner red-eye flight home from LAX // Favorite color M&M’s
In the water picnic lunch // Ms. Mia being adorable // Cuddling with the pups when I got home

GOOD NEWS OF THE DAY: So excited to spend our first weekend home in over a month!

Back in early May, hubby & I a little weekend in town getaway up to the Woodlands to spend the night & attend a concert.  We started our afternoon with a delicious cheese & meat plate to accompany our wine flight at Cru Wine Bar.

As a birthday present, hubby bought me tickets to see Diana Krall at the Woodlands Pavilion.  I’d heard of her music last year & picked up a CD after people raved about her modern jazz music.  So on a gorgeous summer night, we sat outside & listened to melodic tunes.

 The show was very interesting…I’m not sure that a concert or venue like this is the best place for her music.  I really enjoyed most of the songs, but it was very laid back & subdued, especially among the older crowd.  Most of her music and the evening’s theme was very vaudeville.  She’s incredibly musically talented, both vocally and on the piano,  & had fun interacting with the crowd, but the overall moody was ultra chill.  Attending a jazz concert was a great experience & I’m glad to see more modern artists gaining popularity, but I think I’ll stick to listening to it at home & skip future concerts.

GOOD NEWS OF THE DAY: Barely missed a 5 hour flight delay and made my flight home by just 5 minutes. 

We’re on a concert junket these past few weeks, but by far the most amazing was the George Strait concert in San Antonio a few weeks ago. Although I do love George & can sing along to almost all his old songs, I wouldn’t consider myself a HUGE fan.  Our friend Pam was however & she had access to a VIP package, so the boys decided to let the girls go and sit FRONT ROW!

We had parking passes & then access to the VIP tent where we could see some cool memorabilia, grab a quick dinner, listen to music & cool off before the show at the Alamodome.  According to the news, there were over 70,000 people there & things often go crazy & crowded- there were dozens & dozens of people in every line, but especially for the shirts & souvenirs.

 The first opening act was Martina McBride & I really enjoyed her show.  I forgot how many of her songs I knew & she sounded great.   I couldn’t bring the big camera, but was pretty happy with how these photos came out with my little P&S camera.

 I spent the first hour in disbelief of our incredible seats- we were on the front row, about 3′ behind a barricade and the revolving state was just on the other side of the speakers & security guards.

 The next opening act was Miranda Lambert, who also put on a good show. I know a few of her songs, but didn’t really know many of the ones she sang that night.  We used the opportunity to hit up the bathrooms and grab some water before the real show.

Yes- this!  SO FREAKING AMAZING!  I wasn’t super duper crazy excited before the show, but being there that close to George Strait was simply incredible.  He sang lots of his old songs & I sang right along as he belted out tunes from the last few decades.

 He is and will always be, the King of Country music.  It’s the real-deal, 1980′s and 1990′s genuine, lace-up-your-boots and start dancing music that made him so popular.  The crowds went WILD, especially as he sang his more popular songs and he sounded just like a recording.

We were this close! The crowds grew a little rowdy at time & the security guards were doing their best to keep them back in their seats.  Martina joined him on stage for a few songs & he played for well over 2 hours as we jammed away late into the night.

Attending one of the last stops on his last tour was such an incredible honor & getting to sit front row was probably one of the most unique and ridiculous things I’ve ever done in my life.  I enjoyed it so much & I am just so happy that I had the opportunity to hear a living legend while he’s still touring.

GOOD NEWS OF THE DAY: Neighborhood pool is open & we’re ready to swim- at least when the thunderstorms go away.

Part of our relaxing vacation was to spend lots of time reading (and lots of time on planes), so I was able to finish another hefty novel, Freedom.  It ended up being a great book that I couldn’t put down and a reminder why I should read more fiction.

The story revolves around a husband and wife, with sections of the book telling the tale of their respective childhoods, how they met in college, raising their children, and then downward spiral of their marriage.  Although it came highly recommended and reviewed, many of the criticisms missed the main reason I enjoyed the saga.  I thought it was an excellent study of how people’s personalities and decisions (actions) in life are shaped and molded as children, as young adults, as parents, and finally as parents to adult children.  Watching the dynamics and patterns, often of ill-advised choices or irrational behavior, play out and repeat from generation to generation was fascination to me.  The good guys were bad and the bad guys were sometimes good, and I swung between being highly annoyed with the characters to feeling sympathetic to their struggles as most of their angst was self-induced.

GOOD NEWS OF THE DAY:  It’s a friends dinner night, with special out of town friends.

Being into yoga these days, I am a sucker for yoga novels & threw Downward Dog, Upward Fog onto my wish list.  Luckily, I received it for my birthday & it was the perfect book to take along on our big vacation last month.  I often feel like I *should* read more novels and less non-fiction (no idea why I believe that…), so a funny and fast read about a young girl who finds yoga in a mid-life crises sounded right up my alley.

The book was quite entertaining & just the right story for riding in airplanes and sitting around our bungalow.  Although a bit overly dramatic at times, I mostly enjoyed the story of a girl my age, juggling relationships, family, and a job all while going through a huge period of learning & self-discovery.   She dips her toes into yoga only to end up at a weekend silent retreat to that catapults her into extensive reading, explorations of spirituality, and the wonders of meditation.  Entertaining and funny, the book was engaging even if some of the main character’s behaviors and obsessions bordered on extreme.

GOOD NEWS OF THE DAY: Zoe went for a swim with the family yesterday.

 Back at the beginning of May, I snagged my friend Tina to go see Jewel in concert at the Arena Theater.  A few years back, after watching the Karaoke spoof which I adored, I decided to pick up her new album, Sweet & Wild, which included acoustics of all the songs.  I’ve listened to it quite a bit over the past few years & really like most of the songs.  I snatched up tickets when I found out she was coming to town, especially in a new (to me) venue that was so intimate.

 Set up in a round auditorium, only the front half the seats were filled & the back was closed.  There were a few hundred people there & I ‘m surprised there were not more, but she sang for almost 2 hours all by herself with her guitars on stage.  It was a great show- she told stories, took requests from the audience, and sang lots of songs.

I didn’t know most of the songs & was hoping she’d play more from the Sweet & Wild album, but I enjoyed the show.  She saved “Who Will Save Your Soul” till near the very end & was gracious enough to just do the encore without pretending to leave the stage & returning again.

She’s got quite a colorful history & lived an amazing life, but I totally cracked up when she started in with a yodeling demonstration- didn’t see that coming! We had a great girls night out & it was a lovely concert in a very intimate venue.

GOOD NEWS OF THE DAY: Really putting the flexibility of my job to good use these days working at home & running errands. 

Return to Love: Reflections on the Principles from A Course in Miracles

On a bit of a spirituality and self-help kick, I’d ran across numerous recommendations for this book.  Although the full text of “A Course in Miracles” sounded appealing, I thought I’d start out with the overview (cliff notes) version after so many people had mentioned how life-changing this book was for them.

I tried really, really hard to like this book, but I just couldn’t force myself to finish it.  After struggling through the first half, I decided to grab some light & fun reads for our vacation instead of this highly demanding book.  Perhaps I wasn’t ready or mature enough for the lessons.  Maybe it would have been better to read it slower & digest more or read it faster & improve the continuity, but I really struggled to wrap my mind around the concepts in the book.

Granted, the basis for everything was simply love, but the applications and extrapolations in each chapter found me reading and re-reading sentences very frequently.  I did really like the book, but I often felt it was over my head or it wasn’t all really clicking for me in a cohesive way.  I have a feeling this will be a book I re-visit in 5 or 10 years, but my head+heart just weren’t in the right place to really absorb the full message of the book.

GOOD NEWS OF THE DAY: Finally, re-grouping and recovered from our vacation, with tons of amazing photos to blog (hopefully soon).