PHOTO ESSAY: What I Did On My Summer Vacation or "This is boring and walking is tooooo haaaaard!!!!"

Some of my best memories of growing up were the vacations I took with my family. We were the ones who would load up the back of the station wagon with big canvas tents, sleeping bags and coolers, always leaving long skinny space in the back of the station wagon to curl up and sleep at night, because you were allowed to do that back then.

I have very peaceful memories of laying back there, listening to my parents talking quietly, my brother asleep on the back seat and me in the far back looking up through the windows into the night. The reflections of the streetlights on the car windows looked like jellyfish tendrils passing our car from one streetlight to the next, on down the highway.


My parents made a vow that they would take us somewhere every year, even if that meant camping. And we traveled all over this great country, down south, out west, the east coast. It really instilled a love of travel in me that I want to pass on to my children.

But with twins, you often get into the habit of staying home too much. That “not being able to do some things because I have a baby” goes on a lot longer with twins than it does with one baby, and you begin to develop a habit of staying in because its easier than taking everyone out somewhere.


But we have been getting better at it, and we have all gotten better at moving as a group through public places without losing each other; or having to bring a diaper bag the size of a suitcase with us.


So, it was time to try a vacation together.


We want to become a camping family and take our boys to nature as often as possible, but we weren’t ready for cooking over a fire with wandering toddlers around or not having access to bathtubs quite yet.

So, we rented a cabin at Evergreen Lodge just outside of Yosemite National Park for three nights. It was a lovely old-fashioned Yosemite experience that reminded me a little of what those family resorts in the Catskills must be like minus the talent shows and dance lessons.

It was a little neighborhood of cabins in the forest, some as old as seventy-five years. There was a Rec. Room and a Lodge, where you could find internet access (at times) and shelves full of games and toys for the kids. There were ping pong tables and carved animals to climb on. Noah learned how to play Battleship (and won!).


We went on a little adventure each day that usually culminated in throwing rocks into water. We rarely hiked over a mile, but were able to find wild streams to wade in, lakes to swim in, tunnels to explore, forests to have picnics in, and meadows to wander through.

It was so wonderful being a family unit for once! We spend so much time splitting up the kids, one of us taking Noah out somewhere, or the other taking the twins on errands. And the kids just loved it too. Noah did find the walking “too hard!” and Luka burst into tears every night when we pulled up in front of the cabin instead of his house, but hanging out around the rivers and lakes and all those rocks? They loved every minute of that.


We are thinking of trying our luck at real camping next summer. With tents. Without bathtubs. Without walls.

I think we just might be able to handle it.

Just maybe.

PHOTO ESSAY: The Splurge: or Why I Am Frugal All Year

Tuesday will be Michael's and my eighth wedding anniversary, and in what is becoming a tradition (YAY!) Michael's mom came down to spend the night with the kids so we could go out for a weekend night on the town!

This year was awesome (especially in light of last year's event, rolling into a little bed and breakfast town just as the shops closed up, Michael trying valiantly not to vomit all night, etc.)! We stayed in the city this time, and got a half price deal on an awesome hotel in the Gaslamp Quarter of San Diego called the Hotel Solamar. We checked in to find a big room with the chocolate and blue design scheme I love so much, and a funky little bathroom.

They teased us with one of those nasty little snack drawers full of imported chocolates and tins of pistachios and such, for which they charge you an arm and a leg if you succumb. Our room looked down on the "JBar", a rooftop bar with a pool, lots of cushy chairs, cabanas and fire pit bowls. We had a couple glasses of wine before heading down to the street to walk to our restaurant for dinner. Its a good thing we chose a place within walking distance because the wine kicked in for both of us right away.

Candelas was so romantic, with its dark corners and dozens of candles and eclectic music. I had the Sea Bass after an amazing four cheese soup, and Michael had baked eggplant. Luckily, a portion of Michael's dinner was undercooked, because in apology, our server brought us an amazing dessert, Pastel de Tres Leches. Yummmmm...

After dinner we hung out in the lounge at Candelas, on their dark corner sofas, soaking in our lack of responsibilities. It was so nice not to feel like we had to hurry home. When we were done lounging, we headed back into the streets. It was dark now, but there were thousands of folks wandering the streets of "the Gaslamp" eating in the outdoor cafes, standing in line for bars. At street corners, waiting for the light to change, there were dozens of people on each corner waiting to cross. I haven't smelled so many clove cigarettes since about 1992.

Eventually, we headed back to the hotel and spent a little time at the JBar, but it was a bit too crowded and seemed like too much of a singles scene for us old married folks. So we headed up to our room for a little alone time.

I don't really have any pictures of that.

The next morning we headed down to breakfast at the JSix restaurant, and OH MY I had some of the finest french toast Evah! It was nice and crispy with lemon cream heaped on it and lots of berries.

I couldn't stop taking pictures of the lovely decor, and our waiter insisted if I liked photography, I should check out the "wall of fezzes" around the corner. You know I just had to!

We took a bit of a spin around the neighborhood to walk off breakfast, and even found a little mini farmer's market where we bought a loaf of Challah from an Austrian bakery for Michael's mom, but the town itself looses a bit of its magic in the harsh light of day.

We came back and checked out of the hotel, headed home to the kids, and were greeted with lots of hugs and kisses and relieved looks from Vera (just kidding, she is a pro!). It's almost single-handedly because of Vera that I still have my sanity, sometimes.

It was just so lovely, romantic and rejuvenating. And my hubby didn't miss a chance to keep reminding me how much I am loved and cherished. But then, we don't need a nice hotel and candlelight for that. He is always good for keeping the love flowing.

That's one of the reasons I married him.

Happy Anniversary, Sweetie. I love you, too.

And On the 11th Day, She Rested

Wow! That was fun!

My parents and nephew, Sam, left early this morning after a whirlwind trip through the touristy sites of San Diego! It was fun getting the kids out of the house nearly every day and off doing fun summer things.

I jokingly ordered an earthquake for my visitors before they left today, and it arrived about 4 hours after they took off! Ahhh, heck, I didn't feel it down here anyway, although lots of other folks did.

So let's see... we went to Old Town, the Midway, the Zoo, Sea World, a couple museums, heard some late night music at a coffeehouse, walked the boardwalk, drank some margaritas, took a harbor cruise, and just hung out together!

It was great getting to be around Sam again for the first time in nearly two years. I was his nanny when he was less than a year old, and now he is a young man of 14! He is secure with himself already, has a very dry and droll sense of humor, and is so easy going with Noah and the twins AND is an easy fit hanging with the adults. He can take a joke and gives as good as he gets. The kids just loved him.


So do I.

There is a boatload of photos over at my flickr page of their visit here. I haven't photoshopped any of them so they are off color and too dark or light in many cases, but I thought it would be fun for you all to see all the fun we had.

Oh, and if you want to read REAL blog posts about the things we did, you should head to my mom's blog.

Ten Fun Filled Days of Adventure!!

So, my parents have arrived! And with them, is my brother's son, Sam, who is 14 years old and amazing. We are going to have a blast doing all the touristy things there are to do in San Diego.

We knew they would be a bit haggard on their first day in, so we kind of took it easy around the house, and went through the list of all the stuff to do here, which we wanted to do, what days to best do them, etc. We made a schedule. We have a plan of attack. Watch out, San Diego, here we come!

Our first couple days out, we decided to take it easy and ramp up to the big stuff. So we started with Balboa Park where we took in the Air and Space Museum (I wanted to see the Star Trek exhibit but no one else was into it... I am such a geek!) and also the Reuben H. Fleet Science Center which is an awesome hand-on museum for kids that Noah has been begging to go to since his first visit months ago.

We made home-made Shrinky Dinks there! Did you know you can use Sharpie Markers, #6 plastic (the kind of clear plastic boxes sandwiches and strawberries come in) and a toaster oven set to 350 degrees for 30 seconds to make Shrinky Dinks!??? I am SO gonna make some more of these!

Today, Michael had to work, and we decided just to do some shopping and we plan to see the sunset at Sunset Cliffs tonight. Tomorrow is a big day. Not for me, but for them...

Tomorrow is Viva le Mexico day!! The last two times my parents visited, I left Michael home with the twins and took Noah and my parents down to Ensenada for strong Margaritas, funky trinkets, and cheap lobster. But Michael has never had the opportunity to go. So this time I am going to stay home for a long day with the twins, while my family and my hubby head south for mucho fun south of the border.

I have (finally) added some pictures from their trip so far at my flickr site so that Sam's parents can see that we are feeding him and taking good care of him.

Hawaiian Redux: Grass Skirts and Fire Dancers

Getting bored of the Hawaii Travelogue yet? Well, I am getting close to done. Then it will be back to adorable pictures of the kids and the mundanities of my life. Is that a word? Mundanities?

Anyway, on with the luau!

This was the stage overlooking the sea. That's the M.C. up there.


We were sitting pretty much front row center, at his feet. If you ever go to the luau at the Royal Kona Resort, DO pay the extra five bucks to get VIP treatment. Its worth it. We ate first, too.

Also, at the bar with the long line? Tell them you are getting drinks for your party and get enough for each of you to have three. That way, you don't have to stand in that crazy line again.


Check this out. Can you say Hot Foot?


I have said from time to time, after eating Mexican food, that my mouth was on fire. But it wasn't really. Not like this:



And because I know there are men out there who don't want to see shot after shot of "Mr. Abs of Steel" (Hi, DAD!), let's bring on one of the ladies!

Dang, she's pretty!

These next folks don't look too bad, either, but maybe its just the good Photoshopping job that was done on the picture.

Although, don't go congratulating me on the great Photoshop job on all these photos. I have a new apprentice and he is doing a great job!

My son, Luka, has been mastering layers and color balancing this week and is really coming along nicely on his sharpening skills, too!

As long as I keep him plied with coffee, he should make it through my unshopped photo catalog by next week!

Hawaiian Redux: Suey!!! Pig, Pig, Pig!!

With our condo rental, we got buy-one/get-one-free tickets to a luau at the Royal Kona Resort. I was a little leary, even paying for one ticket (Noah was FREE!!) because the cost is really darn hefty and the reviews for the luau were really so-so. But then I started hunting for other luau's and they weren't much better. So we went with it.

And I was really pleased!

Maybe its because I wasn't expecting much, but the food was very tasty, and there was lots of good stuff. The MC was very Don Ho-ish (well, that didn't come our right!) and the dancers rocked. We had read on the review sites that it was well worth it to pay the extra 5 bucks for the VIP seating when you get there, we did, and we got to sit in the very front row (getting there early helped)!!


They had the authentic traditional pig roasting in the imu (underground oven). Apparently, that piggy had been cooking, buried and covered all day long.




We all gathered around to watch them uncover the thing. As layers of blankets, leaves and dirt were pulled off the carcass, the audience appeared dubious about dinner.






Then, they pulled the massive thing out, laying prostrate on a metal mesh board, and dumped it out onto a tray, carrying it off to the buffet like a couple ambulance drivers with a new patient on a gurney.

Poor Wilbur headed back to the outdoor carving area to be chopped up and added to some yummy stews and other Hawaiian delicacies.

I'm sorry, what's that?

All those pork-snout pics making you a little queasy? Uneasy?

How 'bout some cake?

That should tide you over until the Hula Girls and Fire Dancers arrive!

Hawaiian Redux: Dive! Dive!

I know I haven't been telling you much about what is going on in our lives but its been kind of mundane anyway:

Noah's been going to school; having a few behavior issues. The twins are plugging along as usual, learning to share. I am trying to spiff up the living room decor a bit, and I will tell you all about those things later, but I want to finish working on my Hawaii photos.

I hope I am not becoming one of those people who forces folks to sit through their vacation slide show for 4 hours (or 2 weeks as it is now!).

While Daddy was at his Hawaiian doctor's conference, Noah and I went on a trip on a real submarine! The company is called Atlantis Submarines and they take a group out on a boat and head out to where the submarine is anchored in the ocean. This is no Disneyland-Submarine-on-a-Track ride! Its a real submarine that really dives and is driven by a pilot! You step over to the submarine from the boat, and climb down the hatch into the sub and head down under the water for a 45 minute ride. We eventually dived below 100 feet.

Since you lose color underwater, most of the photos are kind of bad, but I took video, too!

We really had a great time. We saw two sunken ships and lots of fish. The pilot explains a lot about what you are looking at and goes by each ship twice so both sides of the submarine get a good view. Its kind of pricey but our condo rental gave us a free kid's ticket with an adult fare.

Here is another view of the inside of the sub:


The next day we went to a luau! Stay tuned for pretty girls and muscle-y guys SHAKIN' IT!

Because Video is Fun!

For your viewing pleasure, I have uploaded some videos we took in Hawaii on the day we visited the Volcanos. The first was taken inside the Thurston Lava Tube. Don't know what a lava tube is? Noah will explain it all for you!

The second one was taken in Volcanoes National Park as well. This is an overlook into the Kilauea Caldera, and the Halemaumau Crater can be seen within it, spewing steam. This area is famous for the steam vents all around you where you stand. If you bend over and touch the earth, it's warm in some places.

Lastly, the view of the Halemaumau Crater from the Jagger Museum overlook, which 36 hours later, had small boulders raining down on it when the vent in the crater exploded.

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Hawaiian Redux: Hot Lava!

Okay, kids, gather 'round for the next installment of "Our Belated Vacation Photos!" When las we left you, we were on our way around the Big Island, having seen the view from Waipio Valley Overlook and checked out Akaka Falls. Next we were headed to Volcanoes National Park.

The full story that accompanies these photos can be found here and here.

We headed up to the Kilauea Caldera. Imagine an IMMENSE crater, which is like a bowl with a flat stone bottom, with several smaller craters inside of it. Some of those craters even have smallers ones inside of them. None of these has molten lava visible, but did at one time, which cooled, and turned into the hard stone floors of the current craters.

You can drive around the Caldera and there are many overlooks and scenic things. The southern half of the loop drive is closed because one crater, the one that is the actual home of the volcano goddess, Pele, has cracked open and is spewing steam and noxious sulphur gases (that can kill you) and these gasses drift over the southern half of the circle road.

So we got to see the steam vents (lots of land with steam just seeping up out of the dirt and holes in the ground). You could lay your hand on the dirt and it was warm even on that chilly, rainy day.

This is the Halema‘uma‘u crater (Home of Pele) and you can see the steam coming up out of the new crack. You can read here about how Michael and I saw this cloud actually form into the head and hand of Pele, looking quite furious and ready to attack someone with a stick (the best picture I never took).

We were thrilled to find that the Thurston Lava Tube was open, as it was the thing on the Big Island that Noah wanted to do the most.

Sorry the photo is blurry, but you gotta love those "jazz hands"! The green curly plant above was found in the "jungle" just outside the entrance to the tubes.

This volcano, while there is no lava coming out of its top, has cracks in its side where molten lava from which lava IS continuously spewing, and its moving in 3 or 4 rivers down to the sea. Its a rare thing to see lava spilling into the ocean and creating more "island" so we drove down to the coast past Noah's bedtime, and made our way with many other lava-hunters over the lava fields that had just formed a few years prior, to see the new flow.

This is the flashlight trail of folks walking over the lavabeds to the viewing area on the coast, where most just sat and stared for an hour or so.

It's kind of blurry, too, but kind of gives you an idea of what it was like. They checked each visitor for flashlights before we hiked in. Here is the lava flow dripping into the sea, as best as I could get it with no tripod.

I wanted to kick myself that I brought the point-and-shoot with telephoto AND video and forgot to use it at all, because I was so excited to see what I could pull out of my wide lens. Probably would have been all bouncy and undetailed anyway.

That's it for the pictures, but the story of the new crack in the crater is kind of interesting. Apparently, this crater, for a hundred years before 1924, was a pool of roiling orange lava. Visitors used to walk right up to the edge of it. Then, in 1924, it exploded, sending all that lava flying, the floor dried up, and has been steaming occasionally since then, but nothing until now. Two nights after we stood at the overlook at the Jagger Museum, the thing exploded again, sending a rain of lava rocks over the observation deck, the roof of the museum, and the road, closing it all until it was deemed safe again.

A time-line, for those of you still with me:

At 2:58 a.m. on Wednesday, March 19, 2008, scientists at the Hawaiian
Volcano Observatory recorded a small explosion in Halema`uma`u crater, the first
explosive event since 1924. Debris was scattered over a 75 acre area. A light
dusting of ash fell in a community several miles away in the district of
Ka`u.

On April 9, another small explosion occurred, depositing dense blocks and
particles of fresh lava on the Halema`uma`u overlook area.

On April 16 at 3:57 a.m., another small explosion from the vent occurred
producing a dusting of pale-red ash west of the crater.

The new explosion pit continues to vigorously vent gas and ash, with the
plume alternating between brown (ash-rich) and white (ash-poor).

Hawaiian Redux: Akaka Falls

We arrived on the Big Island a day and a half before Michael had to be at his conference, so we did the big trip to the other side of the island (and most of the way around) on our first full day.

We headed north around the island, stopping at Waipio Valley Overlook to see the view. We would be taking a wagon ride down in there on a later date.

We stopped at Akaka Falls and its sister waterfall, Kahuna (maybe that is a brother) but the path to those falls was closed. Akaka was gorgeous; a big surprise as you came around a bend, after passing by a couple of pretty, little waterfalls. It was extremely tall and dramatic.

Of course we handed the camera over to some strangers and asked them to take our picture together for an obligatory tourist shot. I always like doing that, especially when I see a couple on a romantic trip and know they are going home with photos of their individual selves. So I will often ask if they would like me to take a picture with their camera of the two of them. Then, I usually ask if they can reciprocate for us.

It had started to rain. You can see the little white spots of rain in the picture, and the skeptical look on Noah's face about how the rest of the day might go, weather-wise.

And OH! What's that? Yes, it is! An appearance by Mama's usually-hidden post twin pregnancy belly! A sweet gift from my youngest sons to always remind me of them, even when they are not with us in Hawaii. =)

Here is a video that will do the falls a little bit more justice than my 50 mm lens, which love it though I dearly do, could not pull back far enough to get the whole thing in a single shot. I do have some panorama pics that I might try to stitch together someday. Until then, video rocks.

After Akaka Falls, it was back in the car for the final hour to our main destination: the Kiluaea Caldera in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.

Hawaiian Redux: Place of Refuge

By the time we had flown in to Hawaii, gotten our rental car, driven down to the condo and checked in, it was still only about 2pm and we didn't want to waste any time just hanging around the room. We wanted to see this new and beautiful place.

Most of the places that we planned to go in our 5 days was north of Kona or north and then east. There was what sounded like an interesting park just south of Kona that told much about the ancient history of the islands, and since we didn't plan to go south again that trip, we decided to spend the afternoon there.

It was called Pu'uhonua o Honaunau, or "Place of Refuge". From their website:

In old Hawaii, you had broken a law the penalty was death. Perhaps you had entered into an area that was reserved for only the chiefs, or had eaten forbidden forbidden. Laws, or kapu, governed every aspect of Hawaiian society. The penalty for breaking these laws was certain death. Your only option for survival is to elude your pursuers and reach the nearest puuhonua, or place of refuge.

As you enter, the great wall rises up before you marking the boundaries between the royal grounds and the sanctuary. Many ki'i (carved wooden images) surround the Hale o Keawe, housing the bones of the chiefs that infuse the area with their power or mana. If you reached this sacred place, you would be saved.

Today, you may visit Puuhonua o Honaunau National Historical Park, and still fell the spirit of peace and forgiveness that continues to surround and bless this special place.

It seemed, from the brochures and the signs there, that this place was some kind of village as well. The king or the chief of the area lived there at times, and had a small harbor that only he was allowed to use. In this small natural harbor, we could see sea turtles puttering around.

There were reconstructions of what some of their buildings looked like as well as an ancient wall of lava rock, built by fitting lava rocks together like a puzzle. There were also many wooden carvings, called ki’i, that were carved images of their gods. Noah found a game board that looked similar to checkers, played with black lava rocks and white coral stones, placed on a flat table of lava with holes carved out for each stone.

It was a beautiful, peaceful, almost haunted place. A lovely way to begin our trip.

That night, we kicked off our vacation in style with dinner at a nice hawaiian bistro. Michael's mom had given us a gift certificate to this place she had researched to celebrate our birthdays, and the food was just divine.

We fell soundly into our beds that night. We had lots of big plans for our first full day.