Now that I’ve moved back to Florida, I thought I’d compare the weather in the Research Triangle area of North Carolina, where we lived for over a year, to the weather in South Florida, which we lived in for almost 5 years. As far as the summer, the two are very similar. North Carolina is just as humid and hot as Florida in the summer. The only difference is the mornings. In NC it gets unbearably hot about two hours later than in FL, around 10am vs 8am, so you have a little longer to plan your walk or outing if you want cooler temperatures. Another difference is that FL has more summertime afternoon thunderstorms that provide some relief from the heat, and are just really cool to watch!
Both states have a similar phenomenon of summer going straight into winter. It is very hot and then bam, it’s cold. There isn’t much reprieve in the form of autumn days (though NC has amazing fall leaves for the entire month of November). The difference though is that the winter in NC is waaaaay colder than the winter in FL. In FL you’ll get a few days in the 50s; in NC you have a serious winter. Those from the northeast will definitely appreciate NC’s sunny winter (only February is grey) and will think the winter is quite mild. But Floridians will be shocked by how cold it feels when they walk outside, from end of October to mid-April. It gets depressing to not be able to walk around outside at all, since the days often never become a bearable temperature even at midday. It also feels exhausting and awkward to have so many items of clothing to keep track of: jackets, gloves, beanies, scarfs, sweaters. And the stark look of the bare trees is a big downer. One good thing about NC though is that there is tons of sunshine. The weather in winter in Florida is paradise- it is perfect, except for a few (like five) cold days.
Then there’s spring. In Florida, spring is summer already, scorching hot. In North Carolina, spring has some great temperatures (and glorious flowers), starting in mid-April, when the leaves finally come back to the trees. BUT starting in March and going until end of June, there is a pollen apocalypse in North Carolina that will almost kill you. It is SO BAD! So, in spring you also can’t go outdoors, and when you have to, boy will you pay. Even if you’ve never been allergic to trees before, you could find yourself very very sick in NC for 3 1/2 months in spring. Taking an antihistamine orally can give kids stomach aches, so many kids have to take eye drops that go through to their sinuses. And even if you stay indoors, you will still have to take an antihistamine every day just because the pollen manages to get inside your house. If you venture outside, you can have allergy fits that feel like you can’t breath and make you seriously scared.

For those who aren’t allergic to tree pollen and those who are used to serious winters, NC can offer some good sunshine in winter and a nice, warm summer. For those who don’t mind heat and humidity, FL can offer plenty of that year-round, some awesome summer thunderstorms, plus perfect days in winter.

Last weekend, we decided to go see the ocean. It was too expensive to stay at Wrightsville so we booked a hotel at Southport, somewhere we’d never been before. I was excited to check it out because Safe Haven, the movie based on Nicholas Sparks’ novel, was filmed there.
We drove the three hour drive starting at 7:30am, arriving at the Southport Pier and Waterfront Park. This is a cute area with benches and swings along the waterfront, and fishermen fishing off the pier. There is no shade at all in this area. We walked along it, and continued east along East Bay Street, then walked west to Yacht Basin Drive to eat lunch at Frying Pan. Here you are high up with great views, shielded from the wind by huge windows. We had ok food. Then we walked over to Flava’s for an ice cream. The waffle cone was stale, which was a shame. At this point we had run out of things to do already! So we drove over to Dutchman Creek Playground on the other side of the Intracoastal Waterway. This is an adorable spot, a curved waterfront area with a huge lawn and a large awesome playground. You can watch the little speed boats go by. Idyllic. We drove past South Harbour Village Marina, with boats and modern buildings. We continued on to Oak Island Beach, at Yaupon Fishing Pier. The beach was blown out, chilly (I guess end of April is not the best time for the beach), and the sand was streaked with icky black oil. I’m not sure what this is about, but there seems to be yucky black streaks in the sand on most beaches south of the Cape Fear River. I have noticed this at Myrtle Beach, the beaches near Charleston, and all the way south at Jekyll Island in Georgia. The only beach where I didn’t notice this was on Hilton Head Island- do they bring nice white sand in to Hilton Head Island because of the resorts? North of Cape Fear, such as at Kure Beach, the sand is coarse and golden brown, much prettier. Anyway, we were not impressed at all with the beach at Oak Island, and decided to head to our hotel, HIE Southport, ten minutes away. It was in the middle of nowhere which turned out to be not the best plan. This meant we drove a lot, and we missed nice things like the sunrise or sunset over the water. It was the kind of hotel where you have no balcony and can’t open the window so we couldn’t enjoy the cool spring air. But it was more affordable than a hotel with balcony, so that was the tradeoff.

Our hotel room wasn’t ready, at 1:30pm, so we waited in the lobby, then rested in the room. At 3:45 we headed back into Southport to check out the maritime museum, but found that it was incredibly musty. One step in and we turned around and headed back out the door. We walked around the town a little, past antique shops. A surf shop, Ocean Outfitters, turned out to be more of a souvenir store with tacky tshirts, not cool surf brands. We headed over to Fort Johnson,  the adorable area we had walked on East Bay Street earlier in the day. Cruising on the blue adirondack chairs, we enjoyed the sea wind, but there was no shade. Next, we walked around looking for a place to have dinner. The seating at Dry Street Pizza didn’t look that nice. Two Thai restaurants had a really weird bathroom smell when you walked in. Gee, hard to find a restaurant! So we walked back to Yacht Basin Dr, where we’d had lunch, and ate at Fishy Fishy, on the water. The view of the salt marsh was gorgeous. The food was ok, greasy, but tasted good. Expensive. My husband noticed a walkway on the salt marsh so we checked it out and discovered the most beautiful part of the whole trip, the absolutely gorgeous area along Brunswick Street, with the sweetest houses from the 1870s, looking out on the salt marsh. We walked along the boardwalk called Marsh Walk checking out amazing birds and the fantastic views of the cute buildings along Yacht Basin Dr, where’d we’d eaten lunch and dinner. I wanted to wait to see the sunset over the salt marsh but this was pretty tricky since the sunset wasn’t for another hour. Waiting around proved to be a bad idea- lesson learned about booking hotel in the middle of the action, not way out in the middle of nowhere.

In the morning, we left early to get the Southport Ferry to Fort Fisher, across the Cape Fear River! We arrived fifteen minutes early and then boarded the 8:30am ferry, which you drive your car onto. It was great fun! We enjoyed passing the little sand islands, watching the choppy water, and feeling the warm salty air. The ride is 35 minutes long. Once at Fort Fisher, we drove to the 1921 Fort Fisher Monument, where there are great views of the blue-green water over coquina rocks. If you walk north from there you come to an amazing maritime forest of twisty trees. What atmosphere! A lady was having photos taken of her in belly dancing attire. Across the street you come to Fort Fisher Historic Site, which you can walk around even if it’s closed. This was one of the nicest parts of our trip. We checked out the unusual mounds that look like the set of Teletubbies! We walked to the top of some stairs and checked out the gun. The views here are amazing- so expansive. It reminded me of growing up at Curl Curl Beach in Sydney, where land stretched out endlessly, covered in wildflowers. This was pure joy! After, we drove to Kure Beach which I was excited to see since it had delighted me last year in May. The colorful houses looked as cute as ever. I love them! We parked near the pier and set up a beach umbrella but the middle of the day wasn’t the best time to come since we were so sunburned from yesterday, red as beets. So sadly, we left the beach without me getting my ocean fix. We headed to Fort Fisher Aquarium, and checked out the tanks. It was quite shocking by now how many morbidly obese people we had seen on this trip, almost half the population. We ate lunch at Sea Witch at Carolina Beach, which turned out not to have sea views. It was typical bar food, which we were pretty sick of by now, and were starting to realize why everyone was overweight here, with only greasy choices for meals. We walked along the Carolina Beach boardwalk which reminded us of Myrtle Beach. Under a gazebo, we looked down at the beach which looked way prettier than Oak Island Beach, with blue-green water and nice sand. It was quite a festive scene down there with lots of people enjoying the sun, but we were too sunburned. It would have been better to stay near the beach and come down to the shoreline at sunset or sunrise, to avoid the midday sun. I wanted to visit the cute ice cream shop, Squiggley’s, again so we went there even though we had way maxed out our fat intake for the week. Kure Beach and Carolina Beach have the sweetest colorful architecture. We had run out of things to do at this stage, since we were too sunburned to do outdoor, shadeless activities, so we drove home.

We went on a four night road trip during Spring Break to try to get some warm weather and enjoy a swim! Our final destination was Madison Blue Spring, one of our favorite places to swim! It’s 8.5 hours away, but we drove more than that, since we stopped along the way to sightsee. In total we drove 1,300 miles in five days!

Boardwalk at Coastal Discovery Museum, Hilton Head Island.

The first day, we drove five hours to Hilton Head Island. We ate at the Crazy Crab Jarvis Creek for lunch, enjoying pretty views over the salt marsh. They even had a playground for kids! Then we walked around the grounds of the Coastal Discovery Museum, which I’m so glad we did! The grounds were just gorgeous, with big oak trees strung with Spanish moss. It definitely made us feel like we were in the South! We walked out on three boardwalks over the salt marsh and saw cannonball jellyfish and tiny crabs. We even saw a part of an orbit test vehicle space ship that was found on the beach! There was something for everyone, including a beautiful camellia garden and a horse by a cute stable.

Coligny Beach Park, Hilton Head Island

We were happy to find that our hotel, Holiday Inn Express Hilton Head, with a pool-facing room, was very nice. It really felt like we were on vacation! After resting, we walked the gorgeous bike path that is lined with azalea flowers to Coligny Beach Park.  It was a nicer beach than I expected, since the beach had seemed so grody at Myrtle Beach a month earlier, but we couldn’t stay because my daughter was hungry. So we ate at a Greek restaurant nearby, a cute place with photos of Greece all over the walls. There are quite a lot of retired people in Hilton Head, and there were also some young people at the beach,  enjoying Spring Break, plus a rowdy crowd at the Tiki Hut.

On the second day, we had breakfast at the hotel and then rented bikes at Forest Beach Surf and Cycle. Their bikes are nicely maintained and they tried hard to make sure we had the right size. I wanted to go back to the beautiful bike path along South Forest Drive so we biked it and then tried to bike to Harbour Town. We discovered that Sea Pines Development (which includes Harbour Town) won’t let you bike in, only drive in! So weird. For an island that is supposed to be wonderful for bike riding, this was a weird rule. So, disappointed, we biked back. We passed some cute things on our ride: turtles in a swamp under a boardwalk that we biked over, azalea flowers, cute cafes, and a pond with a fountain.

Harbour Town Lighthouse, as seen from the pier.

The rest of the family didn’t want to reward Sea Pines for their meanness, but I did want to see it, so we drove to Harbour Town for lunch. Since Crazy Crab had been great the day before, we ate at Crazy Crab Harbour Town. Yum! We had a nice view out the window of the harbour and a tree with rocking chairs under it. We checked out Calibogue Sound from the pier- pretty! And we climbed the small lighthouse, which was a great activity. Inside there are exhibits that you can check out as you climb the wide stairs. This makes for a whine-free climb with kids! Very smart! The views of the water from the top were lovely!

Next we drove to Jacksonville Beach. When planning the trip, I was going to have us stay in a hotel along the freeway in Jacksonville but I’m so glad I had a brainwave and decided to stay at the beach instead! It added half an hour of driving there and back but it was SO worth it! For this night, we splurged and stayed in the Courtyard Marriott Oceanfront Jacksonville Beach which ended up being a delight! It was so nice to just walk down to the sand whenever we felt like it. When we arrived we spent some time playing on the beach. It was wonderful to be back at the ocean. Then we ordered a pizza and relaxed in the room, still hearing the ocean! When it got dark, we went back down to the beach and looked at the stars. It was magical!

Jacksonville Beach at sunrise.

The next morning, we watched the sun rise over the water from our room! We had breakfast at a really cute area of cafes in Neptune Beach, at Southern Grounds Coffee Shop. I’m so glad we found this spot because it was lovely, with a patio where everyone was hanging out enjoying the day. Oh the lifestyle in Florida! They had a great selection of things to eat for breakfast too, pleasing everyone.

After breakfast, we walked along the shore at the beach- bliss. Next we drove to Jacksonville Zoo, a tropical wonderland of plants, flowers, trees, and animals. It was fun walking the different themed loop trails checking out the animals. Some of the areas, like the Lost Temple, reminded us of being at the Disney Theme Parks.

We drove north slightly to have lunch at Panera Bread at River City Marketplace, a nice modern development. It was very pleasant!

Madison Blue Spring- paradise!

Then we drove on to Madison. Our hotel, Super 8, was very cheap, making up for the expensive hotel the night before. After checking in, we got changed, blew up our float, and went for a swim at the wonderful Madison Blue Spring!

This spring is quite an odd thing because it is literally in the middle of nowhere. There is only farmland and a very small town nearby. We drove past the farmland, remembering our past two visits to this amazing place.

I was worried the water might not be clear since it is spring and there is always rain in spring. We had previously visited one October, and in the middle of summer 2016. But to my delight, the water was just as gorgeous as always, and there weren’t any bits of slime in it like you sometimes find at springs. The only problem we did encounter was that it was much deeper than usual, and the beach where we previously played was buried in water! There was a strong current pushing you from the headspring to the river, and without being able to stand, it was quite hard to get out without being pushed into the river where the alligators are! So it wasn’t a very relaxing swim. But by the end we did find a spot to stand, out of the current, and a way to climb back over the rocks to the headspring starting spot. It’s quite fun to catch the current down from the headspring, though it was a little more complex this time around.

Nonetheless we were elated to be in this tropical paradise, after being surrounded by sticks jutting from the ground (deciduous trees in winter) in the research triangle all winter. We took lots of photos and then headed back to the hotel.

The water in the spring is very cold so we were happy to have hot showers at the hotel. We headed to dinner at Rancho Grande Restaurant in Madison. This town is odd because there is a very grand Circuit Court building but the rest of the town is quite rundown. The restaurant was nice- colorful decor and good food, so that was a relief. We headed back to our hotel for a horrible night of being woken literally every minute by the AC going on and off. I couldn’t think what to do about it, but in the morning I realized that  I could have tried just putting it on fan mode without the AC. Next time we won’t stay in a hotel with a wall unit. Surprisingly, even in March, it was too hot in the room to leave the window open (I had chosen the hotel because it had windows that open, since I love fresh air). I guess with no cross breeze it just can’t cool down. The hotel had nice new floors (no carpet, which is a wonderful modern thing) and was renovated, so it’s a shame the AC unit was so ridiculous.

Circuit Court Building, Madison FL

In the morning we went in to town to check out Sunrise Coffee which had great reviews. Wow. What a shock. When you opened the door, a rush of intense dust smell hit you. It was like an antique store, full to the brim with furniture and doodads. And it was very musty. So we left, disappointed. This was the only part of the trip that didn’t go well, the night and morning in Madison, so that’s not too bad for a five day trip!

We were happy to leave the boonies and head out for the day. We ate breakfast at the hotel and then drove to Jekyll Island in Georgia. My husband thought this place was a bit of a tourist trap, like Harbour Town on Hilton Head Island, but it did have its pleasant aspects. Its late 19th century architecture- an incredible club house with a three-storey turret, plus mansions called “cottages”- was a delight to see. We strolled around. We skipped the Georgia Sea Turtle Center, which was expensive, crowded, loud, and did seem like a bit of a tourist trap. We ate lunch at The Wharf, which had wonderful views of the salt marsh. In the past I’ve always chosen counter service, quick places for lunch, but for this trip I chose places with views of the water, since I was missing the water very much. And I think this is a good idea. You do have to wait longer, but now that our daughter is older, we can do this. And if you don’t want to have two sit-down (waiter service) meals in a day, you can always get takeout in the hotel room that night.

After, we drove to Great Dunes Beach Park. The dunes were fabulous, large and white, but the beach itself was a real dud. The water was very icky-looking and the sand dark and hard-packed.

We continued on. I’d like to return someday to do the bike paths on this island because they look great, but I don’t know if I’d need to stay the night ever since there isn’t much to do. It makes for a good stop on a road trip, to break up the car ride.

Long driveway under canopy of trees at Wormsloe Plantation, Savannah.

We continued on to Savannah, stopping at Savannah Botanical Gardens and Wormsloe Plantation along the way. It’s kind of funny that the garden is called “gardens” because it’s very small, basically a long garden behind someone’s house. It wasn’t really worth driving through endless traffic lights to get to. Wormsloe Plantation was also a bit of a dud, though it does have an impressive driveway and front gate. To go inside and walk around the ruins is too expensive, and they also charge you just to drive down the driveway, so we just looked from the entrance gate.

Another new thing I’ve been trying is staying in a hotel where you can walk to nice things, rather than a motel along the freeway. This ends up costing more money, and you also usually have to pay for parking since you’re in the city, but it has its benefits. The good thing about it is that when you’re way too tired to drive and find a place to go or eat, you end up just walking near the hotel and seeing nice things, instead of having to eat at McDonalds or some other roadside place. So I’d conclude that I like this new trend! We had a great time! Our hotel was Fairfield Inn Savannah Downtown, and it was a perfect combination of being slightly out of the main touristy area but close enough to walk to everything. The windows didn’t open, but luckily there wasn’t a strong cleaning solution smell. It was raining and cold when we arrived. We ran through the rain to Pie Society. We passed the City Market, a pedestrian area, which looked really cute. Pie Society, a British pie cafe, was a disappointment. We brought the pies back to our room since the cafe was closing. We were so excited because we love a good meat pie, but the pies were overly salty and not very yummy. Too bad.

The next day we ate breakfast at the hotel and then walked around Savannah. We had been here before, in July 2015, when it was so stinking hot and full of gnats that we couldn’t enjoy it. This time it was incredibly cold, so also quite hard to enjoy. It seems that anywhere north of Florida and south of New Jersey it is either very hot or very cold, with only a week or two of good weather in between. I had thought the end of March would be a good time to visit Georgia but it was too cold to really enjoy a stroll around town.

The best part of the morning was a visit to Jepson Center, a part of Telfair Museums. The entrance fee was very expensive, $20, but the building is so incredible, a modern glass wonder. And the activities for kids inside were great, as was the art. So we enjoyed ourselves, topping a great outing off with lunch at Le Cafe Gourmet, which was also a pure delight! The lady spoke French and we enjoyed delicious baguette sandwiches like in France. This was a great end to our trip!

We then started the long five hour drive home, which was absolutely loaded with huge tractor trailers. Every truck we passed made my nerves on edge as they often crossed over the line to be within inches of my car door. This is a problem with road trips from North Carolina. Because North Carolina is in a central location, it is loaded with truck traffic. It is on two central truck routes, Highway 40 going east to west, and Highway 95 going north to south. And anywhere you want to go, besides drives on country roads, entails a very scary drive past hundreds of trucks. Road tripping in California was better, since the trucks take Highway 5 in central California rather than Highway 101 along the coast. And in Florida it was pretty good too since it is the end of the truck route, not the center of it, so there aren’t as many trucks left. Also, you can pay to go on the Turnpike which has very few trucks. This aspect of life in North Carolina was something I hadn’t anticipated, along with the insane spring allergies. And so lies the lesson that when you move somewhere there are things you could never have thought of that you will discover, some good and some bad.

It took a lot of driving to get down to some good weather, but it was a great trip!

Check out this ebook that shows you all the cool places to go in Maui and also teaches you a lot about Hawaiian history on the island!

Behind the Capitol building, at night.

We went to Washington DC! We had been wanting to go for many years so we were very glad to be living only a four hour drive away! We booked four nights in a hotel, JW Marriott, that was walking distance to many of the sights. Hotwire was a lot cheaper than the other sites for this booking.
When we arrived we were excited to be upgraded to a corner 9th floor room with a beautiful view!

View from our hotel room, of Willard Intercontinental Hotel and the South lawn.

The first day we were eager to check out the sites. We went straight to the National Portrait Gallery which is connected to the Smithsonian American Art Museum. We checked out the portraits of all 50 presidents- the Obama one is colorful and interesting- as well as the portrait of Michelle Obama, which was nicely staged. The building is just incredible. We checked out some more American Art, such as a cute folk art and a self-portrait underwater!

Portrait of Obama.

Portrait of Michelle Obama.

Next we headed to the North lawn of the White House and Lafayette Square across the street, a bustling area with street musicians, activists, and hoards of tourists. It was fun to see the White House from so close up! And to look at the impressive sculptures in the square.

We were exhausted so we had pizza in the room (this was actually incredibly hard to buy), and then at 8pm went to see the US Marine Band play outside the Capitol. This was the most magical part of the trip, as the light was just gorgeous shining on the beautiful Capitol building and the reflecting pool. We walked around the back to the Library of Congress and were treated to more beautiful golden-lit sights, far from the crowds. We checked out the Neptune fountain, which wasn’t anything like the Trevi fountain in Rome.

US Marine Band playing in front of the Capitol at sunset.

DAY 2: The second day we ate at a nice patisserie called Pret a Manger! Delicious warm pain au chocolat! Then we checked out the White House Visitor Center, which is not terribly impressive but does have a nice video with great quotes about the White House by presidents and staffers. We walked to the South lawn, where you can see the White House from the front but from a much further distance. It was interesting seeing the sniper on the roof, and all the secret service people everywhere, plus the pretty gardens and trees around the house.

Beautiful buildings on the way to the South lawn.

The front of the White House, as seen from the South lawn.

We headed to the National Museum of American History, to be there first and beat the crowds. This is the best approach in Washington DC, and the only time of day when the popular museums are bearable. The museum had some well-done exhibits about transportation. We ate in the cafe, which was mediocre and very expensive. But that is the problem with Washington DC- it is very hard to get food in the tourist areas. We hit up the National Air and Space Museum, which was ridiculously crowded at 1pm- bad idea! But what are you supposed to do in the middle of the day, if all museums must be seen at 10am before the crowds?? There are many more hours in the day than the hour from 10-11am. In search of a less crowded experience, we went next to the National Gallery of Art– we needed AC so walking around outside was out of the question. This was a pretty good option because there are couches to sit on, and it is not too crowded. It was lovely to see the Van Gogh and Monet paintings. For dinner, we had Hard Rock Cafe, which was not even like the same restaurant as the awesome ones in Honolulu and LA.

Self-Portrait by Van Gogh, in the National Art Gallery.

DAY 3: We took a picnic of Pret a Manger to go see the memorials in the early morning light. We couldn’t find parking but ended up at the Tidal Basin Parking, which is a great one to know about. Here we sat with a spectacular view of the Jefferson Memorial across the water. This was the second nicest thing we did, visiting the Jefferson Memorial in the morning. It wasn’t crowded and it was so lovely! The monument is gigantic, hard to even show in a photo!

The Jefferson Memorial, as seen from across the Tidal Basin.

Since we were near the Holocaust Museum and we wanted our kids to learn about it, we walked there and made it in time to be first in. Because we didn’t have tickets ahead of time, we had to ask for them at the desk, even though it’s free. There were some crowds in the adult section but the children’s section was almost empty. The children’s section is done so well, and you really get a feel for how Daniel’s life changed from a lovely life on a pretty street with a nice house, to being sent to the ghetto and then a concentration camp. It definitely makes you cry on more than one occasion but it is appropriate for children. Children can also go in the upstairs memorial area and light a candle, and look at the tiles made by children on the bottom level. The building itself is one of the most interesting parts of the Holocaust Museum. It has elements of a concentration camp in its materials and its crooked lines speak of uncertainty.

The architecture of the Holocaust Museum expresses the feeling of an uncertain future.

My son and husband, who went to the adult section, were depressed after, as expected. We ate lunch at Corner Bakery Cafe, a place we loved in Calabasas, which was disgustingly dirty and awful in Washington DC. Wow, bad.

That afternoon we walked past the North lawn again- this time even more hectic and incredibly hot- to the Renwick Gallery, another free Smithsonian museum. It was awesome! The building itself is gorgeous and the special exhibit was Burning Man. We saw many of the amazing sculptures straight from the desert and the Burning Man Festival! It was crowded but the crowd was very hip.

The colorful experience of the Burning Man special exhibit at Renwick Gallery.

Through the blazing heat we walked the long distance to the Spy Museum, which is supposed to be less crowded than the free museums. It was horribly crowded, dark, and cramped. Yikes. We decided not to go in. So we had a chocolate malt smoothie (the malt is extra and tastes incredible) at Shake Shack, a very crowded place, but relaxing with its large bay windows. In place of the Spy Museum, we headed to Newseum, which is in a beautiful glass building. Newseum has one great floor dedicated to kids, the second floor, where kids can make news themselves. But it is kind of frustrating because parents can’t see anything on the other floors then. We took turns. Some of the exhibits were very good, such as one about how dangerous the journalism profession is. We saw displays of award-winning photos. Overall, though, news is depressing.

This was kind of a depressing day because we did two depressing museums, lots of very hot crowded walking, and had two truly awful meals, the last being at Panera Bread, unbelievably disorganized and disgusting, not like any Panera I’ve seen.

Despite our exhaustion we found the energy to go to the Lincoln Memorial at night, just to cheer ourselves up! It was beautiful, with the obelisk of the Washington Memorial reflected in the pool. But it was tour-bus crowded, a madhouse. By this point I was kind of wishing we spent all this money on a tropical vacation, where you laze by the pool looking up at palm trees and sipping pina coladas…. Oh but then we wouldn’t have learned so much about our nation.

Washington Monument, the Capitol, and the reflecting pool, as seen from the Lincoln Memorial at night.

Lincoln Memorial and moon.

DAY 4: We had a lazy morning at the hotel for Father’s Day and then headed to the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, to be first there at 10am. This museum is notorious for being incredibly crowded so I was a little anxious. We found a long line outside, but once inside, for the first 45 minutes, it was wonderfully spacious and uncrowded. We looked at the gem section, which was the third best part of the trip. Wow! I have seen many gem sections of natural history museums and this was by far the best. Incredible! It just went on and on with more and more beauty. It was impossible to take it all in! But it sure filled me with wonder. I thought of my uncle in South Africa who is a geologist.

Malachite and Azurite, in the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History.

Sulfur.

There was an air quality warning and everything outside had an eerie orange glow. We walked across to the Smithsonian Castle to have a rest, but it wasn’t really much worth visiting. The building is quite nice but inside it’s musty. The gardens in the back smelled lovely, but they were too hot to explore. The food in the cafe looked gross. Next we caught an uber to Newseum, since the tickets are two-day tickets and quite expensive. There were still some things to see. My daughter got spy glasses in the gift shop, which were a big hit. We had a Father’s Day lunch at Hamilton, an attractive restaurant near out hotel. Wow, what a yummy breakfast burrito!

In the late afternoon we braved incredibly high temperatures (yes, don’t come to DC in the summer) and brown air to see the last of the memorials. We caught an uber with a very sick, coughing driver to the World War II Memorial, an impressive memorial around a huge fountain, then walked to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, which was covered in roses for Father’s Day- it was very sad to see people crying there. Next we visited the Korean War Memorial, which is beautifully done with sculptures of men fighting, rising up out of the bushes, and some incredible trees around a pool. We walked past the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial, where you walk in the middle of a cut-open rock, and then see his statue. It is located on the tidal basin, with some nice breezes off the water. Lastly, we really liked the Roosevelt Memorial which is quite extensive, with many sections showing scenes from the times, the years of the Great Depression. Unfortunately, the waterfalls need some chlorine and smelled very bad.

Roses at the Vietnam Veterans’ Memorial on Father’s Day.

People come to mourn their lost fathers at the Vietnam Veterans’ Memorial on Father’s Day.

We didn’t want to eat another meal in the tourist area again, so we really lucked out when we ended up in the George Washington University area called Foggy Bottom, by uber. Finally, a place with residents, not tourists! Cute students were everywhere dining in sidewalk cafes. We ate at Roti Mediterranean, a hip counter-service place with incredibly yummy yellow couscous, spicy lamb meatballs, and purple coleslaw. Wow, a taste sensation! We were so happy to be somewhere nice. We shopped at Whole Foods, and alas, there was a huge wait at the registers. Wow, these poor people who live in cities! We just wanted to be in the burbs where you just park your car in a lovely spacious lot, and then stand in line for maybe one minute to pay for your groceries! But then we wouldn’t see these amazing sights…

DAY 5: Our last day, we were very happy to get out of the city. We ate Pret a Manger one last time, and then drove to Mount Vernon, George Washington’s home. No one wanted to do it but I’d already bought tickets and I’m glad I did, because it was great! The gardens were lovely, the house tour was fast and well-done with a different docent in each room, and the museum was super interesting. I could have looked at it for three times as long. Washington had a very eventful life. The views over the Potomac River from the side arches of the house were lovely. I always love being high up over water.

Mount Vernon, George Washington’s house.

The drive home was very long because of traffic and accidents. Wow, we were so exhausted! While it’s great to see the capitol of your nation, I don’t really recommend it in summer or with young kids that much. There are way easier vacations to do. It is a struggle, especially with the extreme amount of walking and the lack of food in the tourist areas- lots of whining goes on, ruining the joy. I’m glad to have seen our capitol with my own eyes, and to have learned so much history, but I can’t say I felt refreshed after this vacation!

We’ve only been in NC for seven weeks but here are my favorite spots so far!

We just visited the coast for a night and I LOVED these places:

Kure Beach with its colorful beach houses.

Yellow house at Kure Beach.

Sand play at Kure Beach.

Wilmington town with its breeze riverfront and youthful vibe.

Airlie Gardens, which has huge old trees strung with Spanish moss, a glass bottle chapel, and perfect breezes off the water.

North Carolina Aquarium at Fort Fisher, especially the moving, eye-rolling dinosaurs in the jungly walk.

Dinosaur and baby dinosaurs at North Carolina Aquarium at Fort Fisher.

Closer to home, I have enjoyed:

Museum of Life and Science, Durham, also because of its dinosaur walk. You can’t beat its treehouse playground too!

Tree house playground at Museum of Life and Science in Durham.

Cocoa Cinnamon, Durham town, which has magical decor inside, and a young crowd.

Interior of Cocoa Cinnamon, a coffee shop in Durham.

Guglhupf Bakery and Cafe, which has a magical recessed patio with plants galore, decorations, and a fountain going down steps. It is so lovely to sit there while enjoying either a meal such as a Bratwurst sandwich or a delicious muffin from the bakery!

The magical patio at Guglhupf Bakery and Cafe, Durham.

Southern Village, which has a cute square with clock tower and flower boxes- just a great feeling- and a really fun playground.

Hanging out at Southern Village.

Of course, Duke University and UNC, which are fantastic to walk around. Duke University is especially gorgeous at night when the sun is going down, there are fireflies everywhere, and the chapel is lit up!

UNC campus is beautiful!

Sarah P. Duke Gardens, especially in the spring when there are flowers galore and lots of people walking around.

Purple flowers at Sarah P. Duke Gardens, in the spring.

WRAL Azalea Garden, Raleigh, also in spring. A peaceful spot with a cool breeze.

Weaver Street Market, downtown Carrboro– this place has a good feel to it. You can grab a pastry and coffee and just hang out.

Honeysuckle Tea House, an unusual open-air spot for drinks. Really feels like you’re in Bali, enjoying the breezy nature-filled vibe.

Honeysuckle Tea House, an unusual, open-air place for drinks!

There are greenways everywhere, great for a shady stroll, and three of the nicest are Bolin Creek, Lake Hogan, and Meadowmont.

Bolin Creek Greenway, so peaceful.

Highway 40 follows Route 66 for half of the journey.

When we moved from California to the Research Triangle, we took a ten day cross country road trip on Highway 40. It was a convenient way to move since we had to pay for hotels anyway while waiting for our UHaul UBoxes to arrive (these are an excellent way to move your stuff, by the way). This way we also didn’t have to pay for flights or to ship our car across, and we had a base, our car, while packing up our stuff. It’s always nice to have a base and not have to pack absolutely every last thing up. Of course, a road trip is a great adventure as well so that is the biggest perk! The only downside to this approach is possibly the risk of driving, since there are many huge tractor-trailers on Highway 40 and passing them can be really hair-raising.

Wisteria at the Japanese garden in Huntington Gardens.

I didn’t know exactly how each day would play out so I didn’t book hotels until the day before each stay. The first day, especially, I didn’t book a hotel until an hour before, because I didn’t know how long packing up would take and when we’d be on the road. Turns out we made it on the road by 1pm which meant we could achieve my goal of going to Huntington Gardens one last time before moving! This made me very happy! Even though we encountered LA traffic, we still made it with an hour and a half to walk around the gardens. They were looking a little more dry than when I visited in 2014, and the admission price had skyrocketed. The gardens were still beautiful though. Next, we battled more LA traffic (no wonder we never go to LA) and made it to Claremont for dinner. We ate at Crepes de Paris, each having a curry crepe and a sweet crepe for dessert. Wow delicious! It was so nice to sit out in the warm inland LA air at night, something you can’t do in Santa Barbara without a gas heater above. We walked around the main strip, Yale Avenue, which I fondly remembered visiting in my grad student days. Unfortunately we didn’t have time to walk around Pomona University. From the cafe we booked Holiday Inn Express in Hesperia, which ended up being a very comfortable place to stay.

View on the way to Kelso Dunes.

We woke up with views of the dry California desert. The hotel breakfast was full of Las Vegas goers with hacking coughs. This turned us off hotel breakfast for the rest of the trip and we tried to eat at bakeries or Starbucks whenever we could. Today was a long drive, which was necessary because there’s really nothing at all between California and Arizona. In fact, we should have packed some lunch because fast food at the towns in between can be really gnarly. We made a mistake of stopping at Kelso Dunes, the singing dunes, which my daughter had studied at school. I was excited she had chosen a stop so I didn’t want to say no. But it was too far off the highway, on a dirt road, and the trailhead was way far off from the actual dunes. This made our drive a lot longer! We arrived in Flagstaff around 4pm and met up at a great playground, Thorpe Park, with a friend of mine from high school in Australia, and her family. This was fun! We then drove to Sedona, ate dinner in the town at a restaurant we’d remembered from 2005 called Oaxaca (food not that good but views great), and then arrived late at our hotel, Greentree Inn. We found out that their double beds are literally the size of a single bed with a tiny bit extra. No way could we sleep with two people on one of those! So we luckily got the last suite and had a great stay. Sedona has very expensive hotels and they are often booked out on weekends.

Red rocks of Sedona, on the Oak Creek Canyon Drive.

Day 3 was a fantastic day! Sedona is one of the most beautiful places on earth! Everyone should visit Sedona! And it’s only about 45 minutes off Highway 40. Of all the longer detours you could make from Highway 40, this should be the one! We found a great place for breakfast, Wildflower Bread Company, which is like Panera Bread and has incredible views of the red rock formations from its patio. What a true delight! We came back for lunch- we just couldn’t get enough!

Then we went for a hike at Sugar Loaf Trail or Teacup Trail, a fantastic trail with views right from the trailhead! We were exhilarated! In the afternoon we visited Slide Rock, a favorite from when we lived in AZ in 2005. I remembered how much fun my son had there and I missed him, away at college. My daughter delighted in the cool water and we stayed for hours, looking up at the red rock cliffs and enjoying the fun scene around us. That night we drove to Flagstaff to stay the night in a cheaper hotel, which was too cold because it wasn’t insulated. Lesson learned: stick with the newer hotels. We ate dinner at Fratelli Pizza (yum) in Southside, a youthful part of downtown. Flagstaff doesn’t warm my heart. I’ve tried to like it before and didn’t. It’s cold, the air is thin making you feel slightly ill, it’s super dry making your skin crack, and even the supposedly nice parts are very stark-looking.

On Day 4, we met up with some friends from grad school who now have a cute little boy. It was tricky meeting up, as it often is on trips. We were hungry so we ended up eating and then waiting for them at the cafe where we ate, another branch of Wildflower Bread Company, in an attractive new development called Aspen Place at the Sawmill. We had a long drive ahead so we headed out. We had two amazing stops on this drive. The first was Meteor Crater Natural Landmark, a privately owned meteor impact site. It seemed like it might be a tourist trap but it was actually really well done, with viewing areas, discovery center, and video. It made you feel awe to look out at how gigantic the crater was. Our second stop was truly beautiful, Painted Desert in Petrified Forest National Park. This is an easy stop, just a few minutes north of Highway 40. You have to pay $20 but it’s worth it. The lookouts over the Painted Desert are just gorgeous and Painted Desert Inn, now a ranger station and museum, has the loveliest architecture, built during the Depression to make jobs for young men. Our daughter got a Junior Ranger badge here, a ton of fun.

We had learned our lesson in some horrid town in AZ, so we brought our lunch along with us, banana bread from Wildflower Bread Company. We bought milk at the meteor museum Subway, and had our protein and carbs. An early dinner with plenty of veggies would make this alright. We ate dinner in a suburban area in the western part of Albuquerque which reminded us very much of Anthem, where we lived in AZ for a year. We were happy to find Pei Wei, a fast casual Asian cafe where we used to eat in Florida! Yummy, healthy enough, fast and easy! At  nighttime, we arrived in Santa Fe, delighting in the look of our hotel, Guadalupe Inn. It was adorable with Our Lady of Guadalupe tiles on the wall, silvery pine trees, and Spanish balconies. But that night we coughed and sneezed all night- the room smelled very dusty when we walked in. This cemented the lesson we kept learning, that “corporate” establishments are a safer bet, no matter your values! We had planned to stay two nights since we heard Santa Fe is so wonderful but we canceled the second night. We’d now have to see all of Santa Fe in one day.

Georgia O’Keeffe Museum, Santa Fe.

Seeing Santa Fe in one day turned out to be fine because it wasn’t at all as lovely as I expected and had heard. It is not a detour I would recommend, as it adds an hour to the trip. You don’t see mountains from the town, nor any nice vegetation, just dry dry dry. The air is super dry too, and thin since the elevation is very high. The only cute part are the adobe houses with their colorful doors and window trim. There are also some good museums in Santa Fe, including the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum and the museums on Museum Hill, and the Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi is gorgeous inside. We said a prayer for safe travels at the basilica and were pretty happy to leave Santa Fe.

Warrior Statue at Museum Hill, Santa Fe.

On our way, we stopped at Blue Hole, in Santa Rosa NM- what a strange place! A sinkhole fed by a spring, with deep inky blue water, in the middle of a dry plain dusty town. There was no pretty vegetation around it like there usually is around swimming holes.We had a four hour drive ahead of us, which was so scary because of the trucks that kept changing lanes into us without looking. Sometimes there was nowhere for us to go except a barrier, and it was truly terrifying. After that I tried to schedule our drives in the early morning when less truckers were on the road. That night (Day 5) we stayed in Amarillo, Texas, at a super comfy and clean Holiday Inn Express, and ate dinner at Chipotle, where people were more friendly than we’d noticed in other states.

Centennial Land Run Sculpture in Bricktown, Oklahoma City.

On Day 6, we skipped the hotel breakfast and ate egg sandwiches at Starbucks, packing some lunch for the road. We got an early start and drove to Oklahoma City, arriving in the early afternoon. I wasn’t sure what to expect in Oklahoma City but we loved it! I would definitely recommend staying a night there on your Highway 40 road trip, and stay at Bricktown if you can afford it because it’s worth it! This stay made me realize that if you can afford to stay in the downtown, you should. Even though the hotels often don’t have windows that open in the town, you experience a much funner night if you stay near the action. Otherwise, you’re too tired from the drive, and after doing an activity in the town in the afternoon, you head to your hotel in the burbs and then don’t want to drive back into the downtown after that. In this case, you miss out on the nightlife the town has to offer, the lit-up bridges, the live music, the atmosphere. I regretted not staying in the town in Little Rock and I  learned my lesson for the next road trip!

Bricktown canal, Oklahoma City.

In OKC, we walked the Bricktown canal, which is recessed, and crossed by pretty bridges. It’s similar to the San Antonio Riverwalk but less touristy and less crowded. I liked it better. There were colorful flower beds and weeping trees, and in one spot,  hundreds of flower petals in the water. We walked one mile to the Centennial Land Run sculpture. Do not miss this amazing sight! The 45-piece sculpture extends for 365 feet and is so impressive! The horses, riders, and their muscles are done so well! We played mini-golf at Brickopolis, and then headed to the American Banjo Museum. Older kids with a musical bent love this museum! The first section tells the history of the banjo on a lit-up porch. Inside there are two stories of rooms with exquisitely decorated banjos. The best part, in the front room, kids and adults can play various banjos while watching instructional videos on how to play. My daughter loved this and so did I! The ukulele banjo sounded so good! We had dinner at Jazmo’z Bourbon Street Cafe, enjoying the super live music inside. We danced, and then shared a delicious rum and raisin bread pudding for dessert. What a fantastic day!! We only had to walk to our hotel to tuck in for the night.

Old State House Museum, Little Rock, Arkansas.

On Day 7, we headed to Little Rock, Arkansas, driving in the morning as I’d planned, to avoid trucks. We stopped in a cute suburban town, Conway, outside Little Rock for lunch at Panera Bread. There were houses that looked historic, – very sweet southern-style, but were brand new. It started pouring, big solid raindrops like the kind we remembered from Florida. How we love those! We parked in downtown Little Rock and ran to the Old State House Museum. What joy we felt to be in the South again! The big willow oak tree, cannon, ironwork benches and gate, fountain, and lawn of the greenest grass all delighted us as we arrived at the museum. This is a good place to visit if you’re interested in the Clinton presidency because many special events in the Clintons’ lives took place here. It was a good prelude to the Clinton Presidential Library the next day. We made the mistake of canceling our downtown hotel to get a cheaper hotel in awful North Little Rock, meaning that we didn’t see the three bridges lit up at night and didn’t eat at a good restaurant, but instead had pizza that tasted like crackers in a very basic place and slept in a lint-smelling hotel room at the Holiday Inn Express, an old hotel this time to our dismay. Travel ain’t all roses…

An extremely cold front came through on Day 8, so that we couldn’t do anything outside. Arkansas was not as pretty as I’d imagined, quite plain, with many bare wintry trees, all of the same type, and quite a stark riverfront. Downtown Little Rock had quite a few homeless people and wasn’t very appealing. We had breakfast at River Market, while a security guard warned us about the homeless man that was lingering around us. Then we drove to the Clinton Presidential Library and ran from the car through the freezing cold. The library was very interesting, with a video about Bill Clinton’s life, and exhibits about the amazing accomplishments he made in his presidency. There were letters from famous people, which were fascinating to read. And there were photos which told the story of Clinton’s life. It was interesting to note that a week-long Washington DC activity Clinton participated in when he was sixteen led to him meeting Fulbright, who went on to influence Clinton’s career at many turns, helping Clinton secure opportunities that helped him succeed. From the big windows in the museum, we looked out on the river and bridges. Downstairs, we ate lunch at the restaurant, which had a great view and good prices, though the service was slow.

Lagoon in Bass Pro Shop Pyramid, Memphis!

It was too cold to do anything outdoors so we continued on driving. We had big plans for Memphis, to stay in the downtown and see the live music on Beale Street, but when we got to our hotel, it turns out I’d booked the wrong dates and the price for that night was $300. The hotel, La Quinta, was in a dilapidated part of town with graffiti and abandoned buildings. No thanks! It would be too cold to walk around Beale Street tonight anyway. So we skipped the hotel and decided to drive further, but went to one place in Memphis, an indoor place, Bass Pro Shops at the Pyramid! This was more fun than I expected, as it felt like being in Disneyland with all the lights and amazing atmosphere. We took the elevator to the top.

We got some more miles in, driving to Dickson, a roadside town, where we stayed at a good hotel, Fairfield Marriott, and ate salads at McDs, the only choice in these kind of towns. Next up would be Chattanooga, a place I LOVED in 2015! I was curious to see whether I would still love it, coming from California where there are plenty of hills, cliffs, and mountains, as much as I loved it coming from Florida where everything is flat and I was starved for topography. As it turns out, I did! In fact, it just melted my heart so much. I love Chattanooga, just like the song!

Bluff View Sculpture Garden, high above the Tennessee River, Chattanooga.

In the morning we drove to Chattanooga and went straight to the nicest part, the Bluff View Art District. We visited Hunter Museum of Art, where you get the most amazing views of the blue Walnut Street Bridge and the Tennessee River, from bluffs high up over the water. Then we walked past sweet turn of the century homes and inns to the Bluff View Sculpture Garden, such a cool place on a steep slope over the water. The Bluff View Bakery turned out to be simply a bakery with nowhere to sit, so we drove to a bakery fourteen minutes away and were quite disappointed by our lunch. Next we checked in to our hotel, right on the river, and then walked to the Tennessee Aquarium! What a great place, with two tall buildings. You start at the top of the building and zig zag down a walkway checking out the tanks as you go, huge tanks full of interesting sea and river fish and creatures. I love the alligator gars! We watched an IMAX movie about salamanders and then went to dinner at Boathouse Rotisserie which is on the Tennessee Riverwalk. The food and interior of the restaurant was a bit too smoked for my liking.

Bluff View Bakery, Chattanooga.

On Day 10, we ate breakfast at an adorable bakery in the Bluff View Art District of Chattanooga, called Rembrandt Coffee. Yummy blueberry muffins that were not too sweet! It was too cold to walk around so we drove to Asheville, a town we didn’t like last time, to give it another chance. We stayed at a hotel right in the downtown so we could walk to everything. It was super cold though, so walking was very unpleasant. This, paired with the fact that everywhere you walk in Asheville, zombie-like drunk men stumble toward you and right into you. Asheville town is terrible! Maybe people like Asheville for the hikes that are an hour away but I can’t see why they would like the town. We ate at a roti place where the lady was almost abusive in her weird way of pretending she didn’t understand your order and like you would be too square to like the spicy food! What a dud place! The next morning we searched frantically in the cold for a breakfast place but eventually gave up and got muffins at Trader Joe’s. These were actually delicious, and we were glad to eat somewhere that didn’t smell like pee. Next we drove to our destination Chapel Hill!

Tulips at the Old Well, UNC campus.

Upon arriving in Chapel Hill we started sneezing and my nose was running like a waterfall. My daughter’s eyes swelled up. It turns out they have a very intense pollen problem in Chapel Hill that lasts for months. We walked around the UNC campus checking out the tulips at Old Well. That night, we ate at Five Guys burgers, and after my daughter threw up all night in the hotel bathroom. So it wasn’t a very auspicious beginning to our life in Chapel Hill. She was very sick for two days and we monitored her fever while one of us ran out to try to find a rental. First we looked at places for sale, but then realized that was impossible to do in a hurry. We found a rental quite fast, on the third day and moved in on the fifth day. What a gorgeous view it has, of forest stretching out to the distance! We were happy to live in luxury again, with a beautiful view, something that is out of reach in California.

We have lived here 5 weeks now and already I have added thirty sites to the new North Carolina map! The coast is next, and I can’t wait to see what it’s like!

We hadn’t been to Hawaii as a family for seven years! So we planned a ten day trip, of which six were for a conference for my husband. The first five days I was excited to explore the west side of Oahu, which I hadn’t been to since I was a child visiting my grandpa in the condos at Makaha Beach. This time we stayed at the Hawaiian Princess condos, and visited my parents. The view of Hawaiian Princess Beach was just incredible. The water is literally right by the condos! The second day, when we woke up, we saw turtles swimming near shore, from the condo! The first thing we did when we arrived was have a swim! The dropoff when you get in the water is very steep so it’s a slightly nerve-wracking swim because you can’t reach the bottom, plus the waves are huge. Still, we were happy to feel the wonderful Hawaiian water on our skin and look down at the crystal clear blue-green perfection. We had dinner and then went for a walk around the headland. Unfortunately there are a lot of homeless people on this side of the island. Not just people, but large encampments. We walked past a camp for two people. From the other side of the headland we could see cute Mauna Lahilahi Beach. I love dusk in Hawaii, so I enjoyed the sunset skies and soft breezes.

The next day we went for another swim of course! My husband lazed on a foldup chair while my daughter and I swam. I wanted to find a safer beach to swim though and decided to search soon. That afternoon we explored Bettini Gardens, some lovely gardens behind a medical center in the town. We felt happy looking at the tropical plants with the view of the blue ocean behind them. One walkway looked like loose dirt but turned out to be the craziest mud that stuck way out from our slippers making us look very comical. We checked out the grocery store and then headed back for dinner that my husband cooked and a lovely walk around the headland. Our son arrived! He explored the rock pools on the headland and took photos of the multi-colored sky.

Hawaiian Princess beach.

The boys went for a hike while my daughter and I swam, on the third day. I felt way too scared being responsible for a child in such deep water with large waves and without a lifeguard nearby. In the middle of the day we did an explore of the beaches to the north. We found the cutest cove ever, Aki’s Beach, where we saw turtles bobbing around in the water. Our daughter played at the shore while our son explored the rock ledge. Next we drove past Makua Cave to the south entrance of Makua Beach, a dirt parking lot. There was trash piled up in the parking lot 🙁 The beach was magical, with the most vibrant colors in the water that I’ve practically ever seen. Some local people were jumping off a large rock into the water.

Makua Beach, south end.

The drive really becomes stunning at the end as you drive along Farrington Highway to Ka’ena Point. The mountains loom above you, and there is open countryside all around. No houses are built here because the land belongs to a military base. When you come to the end there is a hike, which connects with the north shore side of the island. Why they don’t make a short road here so that you can drive around the whole island, who can guess? We stopped to look at Yokohama Bay, which is a strip of beach along the road, the north end of Makua beach, which has lovely shade trees and feels cozy, and Makaha Beach, whose condos I recognized from when I was little!

It was HOT and we were craving some shave ice, so we found a spot in town called Dan’s Maili Shave Ice and it really did the trick! It was a humble place with a cute lime-green fence protected by lime-green tires. Outside were picnic tables surrounded by potted plumerias. We bought lychee and melona (yum!) shave ice as well as mango bread and butter mochi for later. I was excited about buying butter mochi because I once ate it at a friend’s house when I was a teenager and it was AMAZING. That night we played ping pong, swam in the pool, played crazy eights, and found out that the butter mochi was as good as I remembered! In the morning we enjoyed the mango bread too. It has a texture you’d expect since mango is so stringy, and it’s kind of addictive. Though I like banana bread better probably.

Looking down at Hawaiian Princess Beach.

In the morning, before the sun became too hot, we went for a hike at Ka’ena Point. It was lovely, with the incredible mountain views, and the ocean right beside us. We turned around when we felt too hot, and then parked along the road at the north end of Makua Beach and my son and I had a wonderful swim in the ocean. It was shallow enough the reach the ground. What a swim! The mountains stretched above us and the water was crystal clear. On this vacation, we always felt worried about our rental car because, weirdly, there are stripped cars everywhere in Makaha, but this was a good spot to swim because you park right where you can see your car.

We went to Dan’s Maili Shave Ice again, and then grabbed a plantain dinner at Coquito’s Latin Restaurant. Lastly, we walked around the other side of the headland, enjoying the expansive views of Hawaiian Princess Beach and its perfect golden sand.

Makua Beach swim, north end.

The fifth day my husband had to go to his conference, so this was sad. We barely saw him after that, so the family part of the vacation was mostly over at this point 🙁 I checked out a beach with calm water for kids called Pokai Beach, which looked cute, except for the sketchy people in the street where I parked. My daughter didn’t want to go anywhere so we swam in the pool, meeting some friends.

The sixth day was our last morning in Makaha so it was sad to say bye to my parents. We had lunch with my Dad at a shopping center with some modern cafes in Kapolei and then he dropped us off in Waikiki. We were excited to begin the Waikiki part of our adventure and since my husband had already checked into the hotel, Hilton Hawaiian Village, and even gotten us an upgrade, it was easy for us to begin. At  night, we walked down to Happy’s Snack bar at the Hale Koa Hotel, the military hotel that is part of Fort DeRussy. My husband was exhausted from the conference, so even though the beach and surroundings looked wonderful we didn’t feel very happy. My daughter and I watched the hula show at the Hilton Hawaiian Village pool, which we couldn’t see very well, and which we paid $30 each for because it is no longer free, and then we watched some lovely, unusual fireworks on the beach.

Hilton Hawaiian Village- path by the beach.

That night my daughter felt horribly ill and threw up. I guess a burger sitting in a warmer is not a good idea. This was the problem with the second half of our trip- there is no reasonably priced food anywhere near Hilton Hawaiian Village, and this makes it very difficult for families with children who don’t want to walk miles to get lunch and dinner. I was kind of sad that one of my favorite places in the world, with such good memories, hadn’t worked out that well that evening.

View from our hotel room in the Kalia Tower.

The next day I decided to make things special, so my daughter and I went on an ABC store shopping spree! I remembered how colorful the ABC stores feel when you’re a kid, or even an adult for that matter! We walked far from our hotel to Kalakaua Ave and went to as many ABC stores as we could find (this is not hard to do since there is one every few minutes as you walk!) It was indeed magical for my daughter, and we bought hairclips and earrings for my birthday and a blue dress and necklace for her, which suited her so well.

I was curious to see the International Marketplace. In another lifetime it was a delightful place, with little lit-up stalls selling sparkling jewelry, handmade candles, and sarongs blowing in the wind. Now it is a highend mall. At first I was very sad to see the sterile mall under the banyan tree. There were still lanterns in the tree but it did not look anything like its former self. But toward the back, the mall is unique, with a rain fountain, and a concert lawn with giant pebble seats. A stream runs through the mall, its banks packed with pink anthuriums. We had the most delicious banana and chocolate croissant at Kona Coffee at the very back of the mall.

Giant pebble seats at International Marketplace.

Although exhausted, we continued on, crossing the road to check out the beach. We then bought musubis at an ABC store and ate them on the thin strip of sand in front of the hotels, part of the Waikiki Oceanfront Stroll. The colors of the water were just incredible. There were way too many people in Waikiki though, and I don’t think I’ll come in the height of summer again. Our hotel was especially crowded- the result of adding several new tall towers. It used to be the peaceful end of Waikiki but now it’s a madhouse. In some ways Waikiki had lost its sheen for me on this trip, but maybe it was just the crowds, or the fact that we were staying in a hotel (rather than my parent’s house) and therefore worrying about where to get food. By the time we got back to the hotel we had walked over two miles so we took a rest!

My husband had to go to a party to network at the conference that night, but luckily my son showed us a wonderful time! He picked us up and we bought Olive Tree Cafe takeout and ate it at Sandy Beach. I watched my son bodysurf the huge waves. It was lovely to be in Hawaii Kai again, the place where I spent my teen and college years. After, we went to Bubbies Ice Cream in Koko Marina and enjoyed the incredible mountain views and the romantic sheen of the lights on the water.

Koko Marina, at night.

On our eighth day, my daughter and I had a picnic at St. Louis Heights with my parents and son at lunchtime. St. Louis Heights has a forest of amazing Cook pines. It’s so beautiful! It was a wonderful time together! That afternoon, my daughter wanted to play with kids her own age, so we went to the hotel pool. She was so happy playing for hours that I didn’t want her to have to get out, so my husband came down for a minute to watch her while I grabbed some musubis at the ABC store for dinner. Big mistake. These only last for a day, and it was the end of the day. I got super sick and it ruined the rest of the trip and made the super cold Hawaiian Airlines flight home unbearable. That night, before I started to feel sick, my husband had an event that was part of his conference. My daughter was allowed in, but I had to watch from the periphery, which turned out to be kind of lonely. It was a beautiful night to be outside though, as it always is in Hawaii. I spent the rest of the night shaking with chills and body aches in bed, and Day 9 was spent this way too, which was pretty tricky because I had to find some way to get my daughter some food while my husband went to the conference and a networking party afterward.

By nighttime I was still feeling iffy, but ok enough to go get some fresh air. My daughter, husband, and I walked down to the beach and it was lovely to sit in the sand at night. Waikiki is the best for this! I remember doing this as a teenager, with my friends, all of us sitting on a huge blanket while a boombox played Violent Femmes!

Water at Tonggs Beach.

Our last day I was still kind of shaky, with body aches and chills, but I forced myself to go out because I really wanted to add Tonggs Beach to lotsafunmaps! I’ve always wanted to put that spot up on the map, especially with photos of the cute gingerbread-style houses nearby. So my daughter and I caught a lyft there, meeting my son. We checked out the little opening between that houses that is called Tonggs Beach. It’s not really a beach, but a wall right on the water. Gorgeous! I remember sitting here with a bunch of people when I was a teenager and being mesmerized by the color of the water. I’ve always wanted to come back and see it again, and now I have! I didn’t really get to walk along and see what else there was to see, though, because no one else wanted to do this. We walked past the fountain at Kapiolani Park, past stunning Hau Tree Beach, had a swing on the banyan tree’s tarzan ropes, and then walked around the Waikiki Aquarium. It was better than I remembered, with really beautiful tanks. We all had a great time, and my daughter got a stuffed animal, a hermit crab. After, we had lunch at Kahala Mall, another good spot from my youth. It was looking very attractive inside, and well-kept-up.

Gingerbread house near Tonggs Beach.

That night I was so happy because my husband was able to join us for dinner. It was me, my husband, my daughter and son, and my parents, and we had a picnic of Greek food from Olive Tree Cafe at Waialae Beach Park. This food is so delicious! Before we left we had to walk over to McDonald’s to get my daughter some food. I’m looking forward to the day when she will eat a variety of foods such as Greek food. In the happy meal, they gave us a set of playing cards, so we all played crazy eights at the picnic table! Then we walked over to see the stings rays, fish, and dolphins in the lagoon at the Kahala Resort, another fantastic memory from my youth. It was a great way to end the trip!