What Ana Does

Funny story... Doors Are ON! As soon as the weather its warm enough, Dave will take the doors off his green Jeep Wrangler and find any excuse to drive it -- it's the best day for him. BUT for me, I'm a ball of nerves! I mean, as you drive around you see the road change at your feet, there's no side rearview mirrors and no protection AT ALL in the event of an accident. I will usually sit in the back seat (where I won't fall out), close my eyes and hope for the best. It's crazy that that's even legal! So, this August while we were in Hawaii, we saw a lot of Jeeps everywhere we went. And one day we say a white, four-door Jeep Wrangler with ALL the doors off ... except for the passenger side door. Sure enough, Dad was driving, kids were in the back and MOM (we assume) was sitting safely behind a car door. The only one left on. AND I HAVE NEVER FELT MORE SEEN! She is my people. Related links: The Hawaii Adventure Details

I'm finally getting this post together with all the details from our Hawaii adventure. It's almost too much to put into one post, but I do love to document the places we stayed and ate so I can pass it on to the next adventurer. Let me preface by saying David booked the whole thing (he did a fab job) and he choose family-friendly resorts. In fact, I think his search keyword was "resorts with water slide" in Hawaii. Monday - Friday: Oahu After an 9-hour flight, we checked into the Hilton Waikiki Beach , which is on the island of Oahu , in the city of Honolulu and a block away from Waikiki Beach . Honolulu  has a bustling main street with shops, resorts and restaurants. This was great, because we had lots of choice for meals and could wander and shop -- but not the relaxing, tranquil vacation I was looking forward to. However, Waikiki Beach is known for great surf and watching surfers catch waves quickly turned into my favorite pass-time.  We would recommen...

It was 10 days of exploring, shopping, swimming, and sitting poolside. And it's going to take me a few days to download and write-up everything we did. In the past, we've done "explore" vacations in European and American cities, and we've done sit-on-your-butt vacations in Mexico and the Bahamas. But this trip pleasantly combined all that, as we went island hopping from Oahu and busy downtown Waikiki Beach, to the Big Island and an isolated, kid-friendly resort, to Maui at a resort near small-town amenities. Here are a few picture highlights from the trip ... Luau Was Spectacular! Maui Beach The Maui Coastline Related links: Other vacation highlights