We check out the River Walk and the Alamo in San Antonio Texas.
A few months back, we had the pleasure of spending time in the Hawaiian Islands with some friends. It was a hectic and fun vacation that ended much sooner than we would have liked. The day after our epic road trip around the island of Oahu, we finally got the chance to don our masks and snorkels and check out Oahu's premiere snorkelling destination, gorgeous Hanauma Bay. With the wind in our hair and the sun overhead, we buckled the kids in tight and drove our convertible Jeep the short trip from busy Waikiki to the Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve.
At the suggestion of our hotel's tour desk, we arrived at the park around 8:30 a.m. Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve only...
On our last night in Oahu, we stumbled onto a luau at the Hale Koa Hotel. Though the authenticity of their Polynesian cultural experience is up for serious debate, Waikiki's Luaus can be a cheesy good time if you're willing to let your hair down a little.
We picked up some last minute tickets for the evening's luau and set in for a fine night of over the top tourist tackiness and family fun.
A luau is a great way to sample traditional Hawaiian food, watch the hula girls and fire dancers and to enjoy a ...
We love the road trip. There's something about being on the road that makes anything seem possible. With the sun on your face, and the wind rushing past, any turn can bring a new adventure.We rented a Jeep, rolled the top down, tossed some sunscreen and swimsuits in the back, and set out to find adventure on a family drive around Oahu.Oahu's coastline has crystal clear water, beaches around every turn and a backdrop of lush volcanic slopes. We spent most of our drive staring out the window going "Oooh - ahhh... look at that!" The scenery alone, which ranged from aquamarine ocean to soaring cliffs to sleepy seaside towns like Waimanalo, made our road trip...
Every once in a while I get it into my head that I'm an adventure sports person.This is kind of the equivalent of Elmo entering a mixed martial arts cage match. Possible? Maybe. Wise? Probably not.I love all the so-called adventure sports: kayaking, snowboarding, rappelling, windsurfing, scuba, and so on. It's a one-sided relationship. I love them, they kick my a**.In the last few years, we’ve seen paddle boarders of all shapes and sizes on almost any body of water we visit. It looks fun, serene, and above all, fairly easy.Charles and I decided to lose our stand up paddle boarding (SUP) virginity in Hawaii. Given that stand up paddling (Hoe he’e nalu in the Hawaiian language) originated in Hawaii, Oahu seemed like a great place to start.The theory is simple: You stand upright on a specially designed paddle board (a very stable, modified surfboard) and use your paddle to...
Not really having a plan except knowing we wanted to spend some time in the southern states, we booked a cheap flight from San Jose, Costa Rica to Miami, Florida. The weather was gorgeous and we were looking forward to North American style dining, shopping and ease of travel. It also didn't hurt that the local language was English again. At a minimum, the kids were definitely excited to be able to watch cartoons in English now.
After a few quiet days laying low and acclimatizing ourselves to the US, our wanderlust finally kicked back in. I hadn't been to Florida since I was in my mid teens and really didn't remember that much about it. One thing I do remember is that we didn't go any farther south than St. Petersburg. This trip I was adamant about seeing the Florida Keys and going for a hike in the Everglades.
We managed to rent a car and headed south for a few days of exploration. The kids and Micki were excited to see...
This winter we decided to make it a work season. We usually enjoy celebrating Canada's coldest season simply by not being here. Hockey lovers, skiers, snowboarders, snowmobilers, cross country skiing lovers and all those other winter pastime people are pretty much crazy in our minds. Sure, if you're stuck here anyway you should make the most of it and provided the weather is nice all of those can be quite enjoyable. We however, would much rather be just about anywhere else during the season of snowstorms, windchill warning days and "the greyness" as we like to call it.
Since we were trapped here for the winter and Micki's contract was scheduled until May we decided that a short warm vacation was in order. We never knew how much of an adventure we'd have before we even got on the plane though...
If you're in Las Vegas with little kids, Circus Circus is the place to be. Our little ones were completely transfixed by the idea that we were staying in a Circus hotel. They'd never heard of anything so cool.Personally, I love the hotel's tagline Act Your Age Somewhere Else. That's my philosophy pretty much anytime.We easily whiled a way a few days taking in the in-hotel entertainment. The circus acts were great, with a few shows a day. They featured David and Dania, the quick change artists from America's Got Talent, along with a pretty talented assortment of acrobats and clowns.