Tag: #travel

Run at your Pace

Posted on by Crystal King

Today was my second day running in Destin, FL.

Yes, I am one of those who runs on vacation. Running is my addiction away from everything.

As I was running today I noticed a lot more people out on the same path as me. They were just going on about their run and trying to get to their own personal goal.

I myself had a personal goal of 4 miles. I’m currently running 100 miles this month for a good cause called Stop Soldier Suicide.

I’m trying to get faster and run farther so I’m doing intervals while other walk and run.

I wondered, how many miles is she doing? How many miles had he ran?

Then I thought, that’s really none of my business. My purpose out here is for me.

Whether I run or walk , I have my own pace to do. Same as life, you don’t have to go anyone else’s pace. Go your own pace and finish your own race.

You’re here for your purpose and no one else’s. So whether it takes you 10 minutes or 1 hour, go at your pace!

My Jar of Blessings

Posted on by Crystal King

For the last few years, I have made a jar of blessings. This jar is very special to me, because it helps me recognize my blessings.

Not just any blessings, the blessings of that day.

Good times and bad, I date them and put them in my jar. Through out the year, I can go back and reflect on these thoughts and then remember how good my life is and how blessed I am. As I have always said, positive or negative, blessings over burdens.

I also use this to reflect on how many times God has come through for me, when I have a hard time trying to figure things out. Trust in him!

Supplies Needed:

  1. a jar or box – I recommend you decorate the jar or box how you want it; something that will always catch your attention and remind you of your blessings IMG_2984
  2. pen and paper – use your favorite color pens, but black or blue work just as well, post-its work but I have a small pad I use to add my messages, something easy to tear away
  3. a positive outlook to recognize your blessings and more blessings

What I do is on the top of each paper, I will put the date and then write down the blessing for that day. I don’t do this everyday, but when something really stands out to me, believe me, I’m jotting it down.

For instance, my son and I go on vacation every June. When I get back, I always write a blessing and a thank you to God for allowing my son and me to travel and return safely.

I add the date, so that I keep in mind that on that date this great blessing happened. I will continue this because sometimes I do fall short, and I need a reminder of how great my life is, and what a blessing it is to be alive.

My first thank you to God looks like this:

  • Date: January 2, 2018
  • Traveling grace to and from Georgia for the New Year
  • allowing me to see 2018
  • family and friends

I sign all blessing with an “AMEN” and “THANK YOU”

Give it a try, if you don’t want to do the entire year, try it for 3 months. See how many blessings you recognize for yourself and family. At the end of the three months, read your blessings and see how much God has blessed you and you also recognize how much you have to be thankful for.

God bless!

 

Maui, Hawaii

Posted on by Crystal King

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What a great vacation I had this year. Every year my son and I take a week vacation somewhere. I have tried to teach him to see the world, and to work hard and reward yourself. Well this was our reward, MAUI!! 

Through my work friend I found the nicest travel agent, Theresa D Chapman. She was so helpful and very patient with all of my request. You can imagine I had a thousand questions about Maui, I’ve never been. Also I don’t know when I’ll be going back, so I needed to make the best of this trip. She took care of everything. I highly recommend her for your traveling needs.

We flew with American Airlines, and the flight was great. I did expect the flight to be long, however it was manageable, no swollen feet or neck pain. Our luggage made it as well. There were no issues.

We stayed at the Royal LaHaina Resort. They were very kind and helpful. The room we wanted wasn’t available so they upgraded us to a cottage. This was a room outside, and bigger than what we wanted with a patio. Through out the stay I could not have been more pleased with their service. They have onsite help with car rental, excursions, and shopping. There is also a trolly service that picks you up and takes you around the area for shopping and good food. The trolly service is free, however tips are encouraged

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Now lets get down to the trip:

Luau. I attended my first luau while in Maui. The Luau was located at the resort and it was a great experience. From the pig, to the huge buffet, the entertainment, the romantic dance for all couples, it was just amazing. We learned a lot at the Luau, the history of the island and the culture. It actually started to shower during the event, but with the energy that was there that night, you didn’t even notice it.

Food. The food at the resort was great. We did venture out to a few other places for food and drinks as well. We ate at several restaurants and I was pleased with it all. From burgers, to fish, to steak, to lobster. It was all great. We celebrated a birthday on our vacation as well, and the restaurant, Fleetwoods on Front Street was very kind to assist with our requests. The lobster was so delicious, and the service was quick. Fleetwood’s also has live entertainment for your dining pleasure. Another place with tasty root beer floats, which was free for us, was the Cool Cat Cafe. Very laid back environment, with friendly service.

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Pearl Harbor. So with the help of our travel agent, she helped with getting our group to Honolulu. As I said before, I don’t know when I’m coming back so Pearl Harbor was a must for me. So she booked us a flight from Maui to Honolulu which is about a 35 minute flight with Hawaiian Airlines. We weren’t really happy with the guessing where we were suppose to go or who we were suppose to meet at the airport. I won’t mention the name of the tour group company, however I did write a review of a few improvements that could be done. The day trip consisted of Pearl Harbor, USS Arizona, USS Missouri, and a tour of Honolulu. The entire experience is a must see. Pearl Harbor is very emotional and has some graphic pictures, however it is something worth seeing.

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Maui Ocean Center. This aquarium would have been an all day activity as well, however we did not take advantage of the water park or the food and shopping. This aquarium did have a lot of information about the fish in Maui as well as an area where you could actually touch the fish. This was a great place to cool off and enjoy the indoors. The aquarium also has a tunnel where you can walk and the fish in the water. The picture below is a huge sting ray laying on the glass. He was very picture ready.

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Shopping. We did quite a bit of shopping on the trip considering I dind’t think we planned to. I highly recommend Front Street. That place is amazing. Its a long strip with several shops, places to eat, shaved ice and more. We had a great time shopping, We rented a car and trying to find parking really wasn’t all that difficult to do. Another good spot that is close to the resort was Whalers Village. They have several stores, including the ABC store where I was able to find all my souvenirs and goodies for my family back home.

Cost. The trip price and flight will differ depending on when you’d like to do. The day trip to Pearl Harbor did cost an extra $1000.00 for us including flight.  However I did follow a rule to spend $150.00 a day per person. So for my son and me $300.00 a day for food, drinks, shopping. I will tell you though I did not spend that everyday. There was so much to do and you can always go to the store and purchase drinks and snacks.

This trip was by far one of the best trips I have taken. I really enjoyed the beach, the air, the cooler nights. God really blessed me with this trip.

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