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),
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.
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
This was a literal bucket list item for me, to swim with whale sharks. I’ve been thinking about it for decades. It was incredible. Hard to capture the size of these sharks. These are juvenile, but whale sharks are the largest fish around. These were
An absolutely amazing trip. In early December I made the long drive to Cabo San Lucas, stopping just for gas, food, and sleep. Left the van at a storage place and flew home. After going to Texas for Christmas, we flew from there back to
After a great trip to Moorea a few years ago, we decided to head back and visit some of the other islands in the chain. IT was wonderful and included Hazel’s first scuba dives after certification, and Margot really getting into snorkeling. It’s always hard
Super nice weekend at Catalina Island. Feel lucky to live where we do. Be sure to check out the videos from the Zipline and from Hazel’s SCUBA certification
We all went to Catalina so that Hazel could get her scuba certification. Margot and Kim went to the Zipline, and I handed Margot my GoPro and asked her to film. She did an amazing job and produced just about the cutest video you can
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.
This trip started on a bit of a bad start. My post from Facebook. Got home late, like 1 a.m. Girls and Kim went to bed morose. I stayed up all night, planning and rebooking and at 6:30 a.m. I was waking them with the
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
We had a fantastic trip down desolation canyon in Utah. Due to craziness at work we drove literally through the night to get there on our launch day, and launched in the afternoon Friday. We spent a glorious full week on the river, doing
Desolation Canyon and Grey’s Canyon in Utah is a gorgeous stretch of river, running through canyons very reminiscent of a scaled down grand canyon and with similarly scaled down rapids, mostly class II and a couple III- at the low waters we had. We spent
Perhaps the greatest AirBNB ever, but sadly no longer available. La Flamboyant was an old sailboat anchored in the harbor in Mo’orea, and we had a few days there. An easy swim to an incredible reef, sharks and rays swimming under the boat while we
New Zealand had long been on my wish list for places to visit, and it certainly met my expectations. We had a wonderful couple weeks there, including visiting my dear old friend and getting to spend some awesome time with my cousin and his family.
Perhaps one for the most famous slots canyons in the world, you’ve probably seen photos. It’s a great, non-technical and gorgeous canyon. You do need a guide, it’s on Navajo land and a guide is required. We enjoyed it and it’s certainly worth a stop.
Perhaps one of the most recognizable landmarks in the American West, we spent a cold windy day here, exploring and doing the scenic drive.
One of the surprises of this trip, we really enjoyed this monument. It’s not huge, but pretty and interactive, you can climb inside some of the cliff dwellings. Well worth a visit.
Another amazing National Park. We all explored, and Kim and Hazel took a more advanced tour into less developed parts of the cave.
The Fort Worth Stockyards are a mostly historical site that was part of the old cattle drives, though there is still some active business there, it’s primarily a tourist spot now. Still worth a stop if you’re in the area, and the girls enjoyed seeing
For Christmas this year, we drove to Texas. We did the drive in a quick blast, with just stops for coffee, food and fuel, then had a nice several days celebrating in Texas. After we left, we took our time driving back to California, making
