A good chunk of the island of Rarotonga is surrounded by a shallow lagoon, protected from waves by the reef. This makes for some great snorkeling, with much of it easily accessible from the beach. Just from the beach we saw tons of colorful reef
Aitutaki is a tiny island with a huge lagoon. There are a handful of small resorts, but the island is probably one of the least developed places we’ve been. For dinner, there are just a few places to eat (we did find one we loved),
We booked two full day private boat tours with T’s Tours Aitutaki. It was a bit of a splurge, but felt so worth it. We had an awesome time doing several extended snorkels, so time exploring the motus and islands. An absolute treat.
Although we spent much of our time on this trip in the water, we also enjoyed some great meals, an awesome fire show, fun markets, and just exploring.
I had hoped to do a couple days of diving on Rarotonga and on Aitutaki, but for various reasons we only ended up doing one. Was a super fun day, with Hazel and I doing two dives in the morning, and then Kim joining us
Hazel’s big request for our trip this year was to revisit the Little Colorado, and her big wish was that we’d get the amazing blue colors. Lucky enough, there was no recent rain and we had a fun time swimming and exploring.
Girls had a day off for Cesar Chavez, so we headed to Big Bear for a day trip. Had the pleasure of having one of hazels good friends come with us. Conditions were pretty meh, but we had a great time regardless. With zero lift
We had some friends join us this year, which was super fun. Jr Guides Raft Camp is an incredible 3 day rafting experience for the kids. Although their is always an experienced instructor/guide in the raft, they truly put the kids in the drivers seat
In June 2024 I was able to help put together a trip for a 19 day journey down the Grand Canyon. It was my third time down, Hazel’s second, and the first for Kim and Margot. We had some excitement when I put the whole
When I heard about the April 8, 2024 Eclipse, I knew we wanted to go. I’d never seen a total eclipse. The fact that it would go nearly straight over my brother’s place in Texas made it an even easier decision. When I checked the
We had a couple of great days skiing Copper Mountain and Arapaho Basin during our Spring break road trip to see the eclipse. These were some of the areas I grew up skiing, so I loved revisiting them and sharing them with Kim and the
I had told Margot we could camp out to see the parade. My friend Joseph had an alternative that would have let us sleep at home tonight, but it wouldn’t be front row and Margot really really wanted to be front row. Plus she’s never
On our last day of our trip (sort of), we took a pretty neat swamp tour just outside New Orleans. We saw alligators, racoons, and wild hogs. The guide was great and we enjoyed the tour a lot. https://www.cajunencounters.com/
New Orleans. So far it’s mostly been an eating tour, but we also ran into a parade for the Sugarbowl, which Margot LOVED.
A quick to Texas to spend time with family, and then a road trip to other parts of Texas, Louisiana and then home just in time for the famous Rose Bowl Parade.
In 2022, we took an amazing trip to Baja in our van, with our good friends. Sadly Kim couldn’t make the trip. We all slept in the van, with three of us in the roof top tent, three on the platform in the back ,
In Laguna San Ignacio, we did what we had come to do. These lagoons are famous for offering a whale encounter almost unlike anywhere else in the world, with Mama whales encouraging their babies to come up close to the boat. It was something I
Big Bear Skiing and Snowboarding Compilation Big Bear Lake has several ski areas, and three that are covered on our ikon ski passes. While they may not be as incredible as Mammoth area or Tahoe, they are close enough for day trips and we’ve enjoyed
My favorite part of Cabo was spending time in the ocean. We did two days of snorkeling on our short trip. Didn’t see much at the Arch, but Cabo Pulmo the next day was really nice. It was Hazel’s first time using a snorkel and
Rappelling, Jumping, swimming and hikingMy college friend Jayson Owens was in town for a work trip, and we were planning on hanging out. We’ve only seen each other once in the last 20-ish years, but got along like it was yesterday.Chris Jain had a permit
Had a great time today with my sister Katy, visiting from Texas. We went kayaking, checked out the sea lions. Stopped and played on a beach. Followed with delicious burgers. My sister was vegetarian for almost her whole life, so I’m still getting used to
Hazel loved the terrain park, where they build jumps and things for doing tricks. She didn’t really jump, but she wanted to. She kept asking to go off some bigger jumps, but I wouldn’t let her. =)
