Hawaii

I'm back! The vacation was just what I needed.

My husband wants to go back to see the observatories, more beaches, more of Kauai, and more beaches. He promised to take me and the kids with him. How nice!

We saw so many beautiful places - too hard to pick out a favorite. We saw lava spewing into the water, Moloka'i by helicopter, and the wettest spot on Earth. I was also thrilled to see a black sand beach, a taro field, and a grove of Macadamia trees. I ate fresh papaya right after our tour guide knocked it off the tree.

And we also saw chickens. A lot of chickens. Roaming free throughout the islands. Woke up at 4 am because of a rooster who apparently had an early appointment.

My research went well. I went on a few tours. The tour guides were very informative and helped me with spelling. Other tourists asked why I was taking notes - it's a vacation, right? I had to pull off my tourist mask and bare my writer's soul. When I admitted I was getting my facts straight for a novel, one older gentleman kept after me the whole trip. "Did you write that down?" "Yes." "Are we taking a test at the end of the tour?" "No."

I guess my favorite moment was when we arrived at my mom's to pick up my kids. My son's face was awesome when he saw we were back. I love getting kids' kisses.