A WINNER! Where In The World Is Ms. Toody?

Are you ready to find out who won the

"Where In The World Is Ms. Toody?" contest?

Every agreed that I was in Hawaii...
 I guess it was the pineapple that gave it away :)
Guesses ranged from Oahu to the Big Island to Maui to Kaui. 

I was actually on two islands, and the winner had to come closest in miles 
to where I stayed in both locations. 

 
The clues for my first destination seemed to WAY too easy,
with quite a few people guessing Waikiki Beach.
And they were right! 
We spent the first three days of our vacation at the Moana Surfrider Hotel at the world-famous Waikiki Beach, on the island of O'ahu.

Many people recognized Diamond Head at the top of the photo...
and some people recognized the US Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor 
in the lower left hand corner. 
 Only if you were really familiar with Waikiki, 
would you recognize the Banyan Tree and the statue of Duke Kahanamoku, 
on Kuhio Beach in Waikiki.
And, of course, there were the surfboards.
 

 The second set of clues was deliberately a little tougher.
Guesses included Kauai, Maui and the big island of Hawaii.
The answer is...
Maui!
But where on Maui?

The winner nailed it!
 She identified Black Rock at the top of the photo, 
which was literally on our hotel property
(you can't get closer than that!),
as well as Ka'anapali Beach, which was where our hotel, 
the Sheraton Maui Resort, was located.
She even guessed that the mountain view photo was taken 
on a helicopter tour of the Lao Valley. 
Bingo!

As for the other clues...
The water in Maui is a unique shade of blue...which is why I included that picture;
The waffles and sugar cane juice sign was taken on the road to Hana, 
and the photo is a clue to all of the sugar cane that grows on Maui;
the Hibiscus and shave ice were two other generic Hawaiian clues.

So...who was the winner? 
It was Fiona B, from Las Vegas!

Here is her answer:

Location 1: You were at Waikiki Beach, Oahu. The other photos in that first set are all on Oahu like Pearl Harbor, Duke Kahanamoku at Kuhio Beach, and banyan tree.Location 2: You also visited the island of Maui. The beach/stayed at is located on Kaanapali beach and the rock picture is Black Rock. Black Rock is where you can dive off and snorkel. The mountain view looks like a helicopter ride around Iao valley or Haleakala mountain. 

The reason Fiona was so accurate was that she lived on Maui for a few years 
while she was in high school, but says, 
"in my heart, it is still home."
I'm so happy to be sending her a little box of Hawaii!  
Her mother-in-law reads my blog, and suggested that Fiona enter the contest...
so, Fiona is going to share the prize with her MIL!

Fiona just turned 30 on Christmas, and is a new stay-at-home working mom.
Check out her websites...
Las Vegas Coupon Momma, where she teaches people simple couponing methods, helping them to shop economically, 
and Origami Owl, where she is an independent designer for a jewelry company.

Honorable mention goes to Dayle at A Collection of Days, who was the second and only other person to pinpoint both Waikiki and Ka'anapali Beach.

Thank you to everyone who played along...

I had so much fun shopping for goodies, and I can't wait to send them off to Fiona !

I will definitely do this again the next time I go away, 
whenever and whenever that may be.

And now that I have disclosed my whereabouts over the holidays,

I can finally publish my December Photo Diary...

even though we are half way through January!