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We got up a little earlier today because we had a tour booked. I had customized the tour a year ago, as this trip was originally planned for last January, so we had been waiting a long time. We were supposed to go to Muyil to see ruins that were less crowded and more hidden…

We started the day with some critters on the walk to breakfast. The kids found a caterpillar, and then we saw some Agouti, which are adorable. We heard that the hotel has a lot of them because they eat mice. Next, we headed to the Jardin del eden Cenotes. The entrance was pretty unassuming. We…

We had an early flight to Cancun, so we decided to stay in LA the night before to make the morning easier. We booked the Cambria LAX because they have an option to leave your car there while you travel. Liam liked the Bluetooth speaker built into the mirror. We had to get up around…

Willow and I had just one full day in London, so we only had time to get a little taste of the city. We had breakfast at our hotel. The food was fantastic, and the atmosphere was really nice. It was a lovely way to start the day. Our first tube ride of the day…

Bill left really early with the boys to fly back home, so Willow and I were on our own. After finishing packing, we had breakfast in our hotel. It was lovely to have such a sweet breakfast date… and I’m going to miss those croissants. We took the Eurostar from Paris to London. It was…

Today we had no plans, so we slept in a bit. After breakfast, we spent some time in our rooms going through all of our things to separate them, since Bill is leaving with the boys early in the morning, and Willow and I are heading to London. We set out on foot to Luxembourg…

This morning, we had a rowing lesson to learn to row the traditional Venetian batele. These used to be the most common work boats that everyone used, but now it’s mostly motorboats in the canals. We each got a turn in the front, paddling, and in the back, steering. The organization we worked with is…

This was our last morning in Florence. We packed up, stored our luggage, and set out on foot. We walked by a wine window. Apparently, these were very popular ways to get wine during the Black Death epidemics in the 1600’s, and were also used for pizza and gelato during the Covid 19 pandemic. We…

We made more progress toward my goal of trying all of the pastries in Italy today. But we got Maritozzi again because they’re amazing. We took the bus across the river and up the hill to the piazza Michaelangelo, where he grew up. We had a fantastic view of Florence, and could see a section…

Yesterday, Liam was recovering from his stomach bug and River was down with it, so Bill stayed at the Airbnb while Willow and I went out exploring. We walked to the cat ruins (Torre Argentina) to catch a bus to the Trevi Fountain. This was originally designed to be a giant monument to Rome’s wealth.…

We camped at O’Neill regional park with a bunch of families from Laguna Preschool. There were a lot of kids who played really well together. We brought bikes so our car was even more full than usual. Beatrice made bows and arrows that the kids enjoyed playing with. There was lots of fun with friends…

We camped at Casper’s wilderness with a few families from Tapesty. Bart and Ellen brought fat glow sticks that made for excellent light saber battles at night. The hammock was a really big hit and the kids has a ton of fun swinging in it. Parents even got in on the fun. The kids played…

Note: this is from about six months before the posted date. We spent the first weekend in October at camp deBenneville Pines with Tapestry, OCUUC, and Laguna Beach. It was so nice to see old friends and be back at our home away from home. The kids spent the first evening exploring the camp and…

Today started very early for River. We played shuffleboard on deck so that the rest of the family could sleep in a little, and watched the ship pull into port. After breakfast we visited the Dutch side of St. Marten. It’s a tiny little island, half French and half Dutch. We decided to just take…

We didn’t have an island stop today, so we spent the day on the ship. Bill and Willow had a special daddy-daughter date for breakfast in the formal dining room. After breakfast we went ice skating. willow found a gem that matched her jacket! River is not quite ready for skating and needed a lot…

We hired a driver named Chris to take us around Barbados. We started in Bridgetown and drove up the coast through Holetown and Speighttown. The scenery was gorgeous, with palm trees and turquoise water. We turned inland to the Barbados Wildlife refuge. We started at Grenade Hall, which is part of the refuge. They gave…

We arrived in St. Lucia at 9, just in time to get our rental car. Cars are driven on the left hand side of the road, so the driver sits on the right. Bill bravely volunteered to try it. The road was steep and curvy and surrounded by lush vegetation, and around every turn there…

Today we went to the island of Antigua. We hired a driver named Cynthia to take us around and give us a tour. First we went to the donkey sanctuary. They rescue donkeys on the island, as well as cats and dogs. Caroline showed us around and told us about the animals and how they…

Our first day off of the ship was on St. Kitt’s. It was colorful. The kids were excited to hold a green monkey! It even sat on River’s head for a photo. Willow and I got our hair braided. We walked around the craft market and bought some locally made Christmas ornaments. We went back…

Today we boarded our cruise ship, Freedom of the Seas from Royal Caribbean. The morning was mostly packing and transportation, but we did squeeze in some Monopoly before leaving our Airbnb. Grandma and Liam are sharing a room with a balcony. The rest of us are in a room The ship is huge, over 1,000…

We spent our third day in Puerto Rico exploring Old San Juan. It is apparently the oldest inhabited city in the US – it was built in 1521. It’s an interesting mix of old stone streets and new asphalt construction. We started at the old fort, San Cristobal Castle. The views were stunning. It was…

On our second day in Puerto Rico, we went to the only rainforest in the United States. Shockingly, it was raining when we arrived. We were glad to find some of the trails open despite the government shutdown. Our first stop was La Coca falls. We drove in a little further to Yokahu tower. Willow…

We spent all day yesterday flying to Puerto Rico. Our Airbnb is nicely decorated, clean, and comfortable. We arrived late but the kids still ran around picking bedrooms. We woke up today to the sounds of roosters outside. There are lots of chickens and roosters, and even more feral cats in the neighborhood. They seem…

We went camping Labor Day weekend with three other families at Lake Kumeyaay just north of San Diego. The kids played lots of games like baseball and bocci ball, and got along really well. We spent a lot of time at the lake, which was right by our camp site. Liam and Jason both brought…

We started the day with some music in the forest. We played with magnet tiles for a little while. Liam and his friends caught a lizard. They named him Phil. All the kids wanted to pet him. There was cookie decorating in the lodge, and Bill made an emoji cookie. River made a keychain for…

Today started out with a stop in a gazebo. Last year at family camp, Hayden told River that it was called a gazebo, and River has said bazego ever since. I hope nobody ever corrects him. The morning included more tie dye and some fuse bead crafts. Bill and I participated in tea dueling, and…

We started the day playing in and near the lodge. There is a nuclear physicist at camp, so Liam had a great time talking to Dr. K. He answered all of Liam’s questions and explained the work his team is doing at Los Alamos. We played spoons in the lodge and some people got pretty…

Liam says “finger knitting is the tedious task of carrying a giant ball of yarn around.” He knitted something for his secret buddy. River always had at least one stick, and often two. Willow really loved the necklace mama made her. Liam played games of all kinds. Willow and River each worked really hard on…

We arrived at camp debenneville pines yesterday. It was good to see old friends and catch up. We took a picture of the kids on the same stump we do every time, although River didn’t want to go up high this time. We went to bed happy to be here. We played some ping pong…

We spent the day at Knott’s with grandma Sabrina. I’m not sure the kids really got the old-timey western vibe but they still liked climbing on things. We hit the log ride before the lines got long. River was a little scared at first but warmed up to it quickly. The second time, I managed…

We went camping in Big Bear the weekend that elementary camp ended so that it would be easy to pick up Liam from his first week of camp. Friends camped with us and the kids played really well together. We went to the Big Bear Discovery center and, although they no longer had some of…

We spent the weekend with the Grafs at Paso Picacho Campground near Julian. They had a really great program for the kids and some really fun things to climb on nearby. [wpvideo 5LgobWGR ] We had a lot of fun with our dear friends, telling made up stories and playing headbands. This was probably the…

This weekend we went camping near Palomar Observatory with Liam’s Cub Scout pack. The road was crazy and windy on the way up! Friday night we setup camp. Liam practiced his whittling and we saw friends from pack 321. The group site was beautiful but we were surprised to learn that the water was turned…

The whole time we were on Kauai, Willow wanted to get matching mommy and me dresses. We looked a bit there but didn’t find anything, and we looked on Oahu but had no luck. Then, this morning, on our last day on the island, we found some! She was so happy. She insisted that we…

We started out the day with snorkeling in Turtle Bay, which is a protected cove just a couple of minutes from our condo. Although it’s on the north shore, the waves are very calm even in the winter. Outside the breakwater we could see bigger waves crashing. Liam enjoyed snorkeling but Willow just wanted to…

Yesterday we said goodbye to the garden isle and took a 20 minute flight to Oahu. The difference between the islands was extreme – Kauai was so wild and natural with only very small towns. Oahu is much more populated, although there is still plenty of green. The view from our condo is lovely. We…

On Wednesday we started the day off slowly, playing in the pool and having lunch there. The kids really liked playing in the fountains at the edge of the pool. [wpvideo T4EGYQVG ] After baby’s nap, we drove to wailua to board smith’s family boats for a trip to feen grotto. We all felt that…

We took it easy on Tuesday so Liam could recover from a stomach bug (it’s not a real family vacation unless one kid throws up, after all.) We hung out at home, played games and watched movies. Then we left early so we could do some souvenir shopping in town before the luau. We went…

On Monday we went on a catamaran with Blue Dolphin charters. We started off on the south shore and went up and around along the whole na pali coast. We saw two different types of dolphins on our cruise, the pacific bottlenose and spinners. Some came so close to our boat that the kids felt…

We drove to the west side of the island yesterday to see what some call the Grand Canyon of the pacific. We were awed to see a rainbow in the canyon. The reddish earth sides of the canyon were really stunning. We stopped for lunch in pu’u ka pele picnic area, which was really green…

We had gorgeous weather yesterday. We went to Po’pui beach park to snorkel and play. It has a shallow protected cove for the kids and a reef full of fish. Liam and willow had a great time snorkeling and looking at all the fish. Grandmas underwater camera was really fun to play with. The kids…

Friday started out rainy, but we decided not to let that keep us in. We planned to snorkel but learned that the beach we were heading for was closed due to high surf. So we just explored the pier and went back home for lunch and River’s nap and time in the pool. After lunch,…

We got here on Thursday. We were greeted with beautiful and fragrant plumeria and orchid leis thanks to Sabrina. We pointed out the free roaming chickens to the kids, and someone asked if it was our first time on Kauai. We soon learned that there are chickens roaming all over the island. After a stop…

We are so excited to blog our travels and adventures so that friends and family back home can share in our journey, and so that we can look back later and remember all the fun places we have been. We travelled before we had kids, too. That’s at http://billandi.blogspot.com