White Chocolate Chill-Out vs White Chocolate Molten Cake!!

This entry is all about food! Or more specifically DESSERT!

My twisted mind (ok, you've probably figured out that Craig is writing this) has all kinds of comparisons of this topic to our current Hawaiian weather vs the Mid-Atlantic regions weather!

Most know that I don't crave or have a preference for CHOCOLATE. However, I really do like White Chocolate and pairing it with Raspberry is just over the top! (Anyone needing Birthday suggestions (Oct 5th, thanks for inquiring) can get me anything white chocolate with raspberry).

Bennigan's has been carrying a dessert for the past few years called White Chocolate Chill-Out. It is described as: White chocolate almond and vanilla chocolate chip ice creams blended with crumbled Oreo® cookies atop an Oreo® cookie crust and dipped in white chocolate sauce. Whenever we would go to Bennigan's, no matter what diet I may have been on at the time, I would have to get this dessert. It's great. Unfortunately, it appears that Bennigan's is or has taken it off their menu.

Well, last night we went back to Chili's. Ok, you may be asking, "What is up with them going to Chili's all the time in Hawaii". Thanks for your inquiry. To make a long story short, as part of pushing FiOS on all our friends and their friends, the company has a program where you get "rewards". By selling like 5 of these I recieved over $400 in gift cards. I received over $200 in Chili's cards since I knew it was available in Hawaii. So needless to say, you will hear more about Chili's throughout our stay.

Sorry for digressing, oh, FiOS is a great product and when it becomes available in your area let me know so that I can get credit for the sale and perhaps can take you out to Chili's on my next gift card!

Yesterday was a working day for Craig. It started at 4 a.m. Hawaiian time and I went straight for over 9 hours. Grueling. The work days before had been okay, but yesterday felt like being back at work. I was more then happy to sign off and run out to the late afternoon sun and sand to redeem the rest of the day. I went on a 4 mile run to help clear my head (nothing like running by the ocean in Hawaii!). Jeannie had eaten some of her leftovers from a previous outing and was interested in just having some appetizer for wherever we went. So it was up to me to pick the place. Realizing that we have over $175 in Chili gift card value the choice was simple.

As we were leaving the sun was setting. I put the roof back and we dashed to the furthest lagoon to watch. And then we were off to Chili's.

The burger was fine and Jeannie decided to snack off of my plate and await the White Chocolate Molten Cake! Oh my gosh! Here is their description: White chocolate cake with a warm white chocolate filling, raspberry sauce and white chocolate curls. Topped with vanilla ice cream under a crunchy white chocolate shell.

I think I've found my new favorite dessert! It was more then enough for 2 to share. I don't know how one person could survive it. My body was shaking after just the first few spoons. It comes looking like a volcano with a huge scoop of vanilla ice cream on top that has been covered in white chocolate. The cake below (the base of the volcano) is rich and moist vanilla and there is a drizzle of raspberry sauce under the cake and surrounding it. Okay, if that wasn't enough, as you eat the cake portion you hit the middle and it is filled with a warm white chocolate sauce! My description doesn't do it justice! You must go have one!

To bring this entry to a close. I've given up my wintry cold Chill-Out for my warm Molton Cake (or as I like to call it "Lava Cake"). The best part is that for all of you in a chilly climate, it is available at your local Chili's! So why not go out to dinner tonight and have my new favorite dessert!!

Aloha!

p.s. The above references to Chili's, Bennigan's and FiOS are not a paid endorsement and should not be construed as referencing as such. Also, NO you can't borrow my Chili's Gift Card! We have another $140 of eating to go!

Day Five - Same old, same old...

Whoops - I think we may have nearly missed a day! It's Thursday evening as I write this but is already Friday according to my computer which is still logged into East Coast Time. So - Happy Leap Day!

On Wednesday we spent the day at the pool all day. Same as Monday. Will probably be the same most days! For dinner - you would be proud of us - we ventured out to something different - we went to Zippy's. This is a chain restaurant here on the Islands and serves many local dishes and, the true test, you don't really see tourists in there - it's all local folks. And we had a healthy dinner of grilled salmon and steamed broccoli. Aren't you proud of us? Ah well - hold that praise til we come back with our post of tonight's meal!

And on that note it's time to go to bed!

Day Four - The Convertible takes a Road Trip

Hello everyone! Well, all will be glad to know we ventured out on Tuesday. After lunch we set out to drive around the island and see some of our favorite sights. Heading north, we stopped at the Dole Plantation, watched a "How to Cut a Pineapple" demonstration and proceeded to buy ourselves a curved knife so we can repeat the process at home! Next we headed into the old town of Hale'iwa and the BEST place on the island for shaved ice - Matsumoto's. Normally the line for this little hole in the wall of a store goes down the street (don't go there on a weekend!) but we were lucky going when we did. All I can say is -Yummo! You get your choice of 3 syrup flavors (I opted for Grape, Lime and Strawberry while Craig had Raspberry, Tangerine and something else!) and then at the bottom you definitely choose the option of getting the vanilla ice cream AND azuki beans - it is the best part! Here's a link to the site if you want to read more about this landmark of Hawai'i! www.matsumotoshaveice.com

Next we drove up the coast and witnessed the powerful surf of the ocean. The waves were pretty high but we didn't see many surfers. The power of those waves on the rocks was breathtaking. Coming back down on the northeast side of the island we stopped at the home of Mrs. Dreier, Kumu's mom and had a lovely visit with her. We made our way back to "our side" of the island by taking the Likelike Highway (pronounced lick-y, like what our dogs do to your face!) It is a beautiful drive up and over the mountains and the temperature change is dramatic. Still, being the adventurers we are, we, of course, kept the top of the convertible down. Why have a convertible if you are not going to enjoy it fully, right?! We stopped at Wal-Mart on our way home so that, among other things, I could buy some hair clips for our road trips!

Dinner would not necessarily be considered the highlight of the day. Craig said he was in the mood for mexican food - translation - we ate at Taco Bell! What can I say!

Day Three - Complete relaxation

I (Jeannie) thought about taking a picture yesterday and posting it, knowing that it alone would say it all to describe Monday and vacation life in Hawaii. It was a picture of the view of a palm tree from the ground looking straight up. All you would see would be the gently blowing palm fronds, glints of sun peeking through, with a perfect blue sky in the background.

That is the view as I recline in my lounge chair, listening to soothing music and virtually all I filled my mind with yesterday. Sigh...it was a GREAT day.

Day Two in Paradise or the day Jeannie emerged from her sick cocoon...

Hello world...well, at least hello to our friends and family who will be the ones to read this.

What a nice surprise to awaken yesterday morning to my surprise Blog creation from Craig (and fully awake I was after about 11 hours of sleep to match the 11 hours of flight travel!) I thought the Blog was a truly wonderful idea but not something we had talked about doing (well, maybe there was a passing comment or two). Once upon a time I thought I was the primary writer of the family but after reading his opening post, I think it is a title we will both share. Great job, dear!

Of course, my initial excitement was - "What a great way to keep a log of all our travels and vacations!" and which point Craig corrected my thinking by declaring, "No we are going to blog about more than our travels - we are going to blog about our life!" Okay I say - but is our daily life really exciting enough to write about? I guess we will see.

First - an update on my health - I am much better thank goodness! A wonderful combination of prayers, rest, beautiful surroundings and...Zicam - my new best OTC drug of choice! It was recommended by one of our United flight attendants (yes, their service and care was exceptional) and after searching for it at several stores we found it at - you guessed it - Costco. I promise - we are done shopping for at least a few days!

So, to the task at hand - Day Two... we took time to enjoy the wonderful amenities of the Marriott Ko'Olina resort. Craig took his morning run along the lagoon paths next to the ocean and later we relaxed at the pool though passing showers cut short our sun time. After lunch we finished up our grocery shopping and then went back to the pool. And we have both found the steam room to be one of the best kept secrets here! Everything about this resort is delightful!

We had a nice dinner out at Chili's using our restaurant gift card. It is close by and I imagine we will make a few more visits there in the next two weeks. Truth be told...there is a White Chocolate Lava Cake on the menu that is calling Craig's name! Speaking of Craig - he went to bed early and Jeannie stayed up to watch some of the Academy Awards broadcast. All in all, a very nice day as we ease into vacation lifestyle. I should mention however that we have not been able to fully enjoy our wonderful convertible yet while we are out and about as there have been on and off showers all day. Ah, the sacrifices we must bear!

Well, the sun is shining today for sure and the warm breezes and refreshing waters are calling our names.

Paradise Bound

Welcome to our web site!

We've enjoyed reading others and decided it was our time to join this communication medium. And what better time to start than when headed out on vacation. Yes, vacation again! Oahu for two weeks at our Ko Olina timeshare.

The week before was full with Craig in Philadelphia, New Jersey and Tampa. We were concerned about weather delays since we were flying through Denver on Saturday. Little did we know that DC was to have a "MAJOR weather event" on Friday and Saturday as we were to leave. The hysteria began on Wednesday with the news stations reporting a MAJOR event. By Thursday night they were closing the schools and raiding the grocery stores for hybernation supplies (milk, eggs, bread and toilet paper). Being a true Harvey, we already have cases of the hybernation supplies (Costco had coupons the week before on all the "basic necessities").

Craig changed his flight back from Tampa to 7 a.m. on Friday. This would be in the height of the storm, but would allow more time for him to get home and get us to the airport for our 7:54 am flight from BWI through Denver to Honolulu on Saturday. Well, Craig arrived in DC with RAIN falling! And yes, they had already closed the schools on Thursday night in preparation for the big event!

We arrived at BWI with ample time (that would be 30 minutes before the flight in Craig's view and 1 hour and 30 minutes in Jeannie's view). And the adventure begins..........

We flew United Airlines on USAir miles. We "had to" fly First Class due to no economy reward tickets available. We did our normal routine where Craig checks in two bags and then takes the rental car back while Jeannie checks in any additional bags and begins to head to the gate. When Craig checked in, they had only printed one checked bag tag. The agent printed another and Craig had a funny feeling about it but didn't act upon it at that time. All was going well until Craig got into the security line. Something made him look at his luggage tags and low and behold "Houston we have a problem". One bag was going to Honolulu and the other was going to Kauai. He waited until he got to the gate to address the issue with an agent. Based on past experiences of lost luggage he braced himself for what they were most likley to say, that you have to wait until you arrive to declare the luggage lost. Well, to his surprise and delight, this was not the case! The agent called down and asked the ground crew to locate and retag the bag! We were amazed, but somewhat doubtful that it would really happen.

Being avid USAir flyers (not because of spectacular service but more for the chance to sit in more comfortable seats and beverage service!) we had low expectations for our flight. Craig had warned Jeannie that there would be a snack for the meals. Were we ever surprised and delighted with our experience. United has an excellent First Class experience and we felt like we ate our way to Hawaii on excellent food and service!

Jeannie had left on the trip with a bad cold. It got worse as we flew. But the flight attendants were wonderfully attentive and provided her with cool cloths and extra attention. It made the whole experience that much more special.

We arrived in Honolulu at 5 p.m. to high 70's and cloudy conditions. We made our way to baggage claim with some apprehension as to whether the mistagged bag would make it. However, based on the rest of our experience the bag miracle might happen. And low and behold it did! Go United! We look forward to our flight home!

We quickly got our rental car and headed to Sam's Club!! Yes, we needed to get our hot dog dinner and necessities! No trip is complete without visiting the local Sam's Club and/or Costco!! Craig had to get his traditional 10 pound bag of Maui Raw Sugar to take home (yes we lug a 10 pound bag of sugar all the way home just so he thinks it is a little taste of paradise).

We checked into the Marriott and have a view from the 9th floor of the mountain and marina.

Jeannie is still sleeping and hopefully will feel better after the long day and drain of her cold.

Craig is currently sitting on the balcony watching the sun rise and placing the finishing touches on this blog. It is a surprise Blog for Jeannie. I hope she likes and furthermore I hope she takes it over!

Aloha!