I admit, I’ve always had a love affair with pineapple. Growing up I had never had fresh pineapple (that’s what growing up in the Midwest will do to you), but I loved my canned Dole pineapple. I would open a can of crushed pineapple and freeze it in a Tupperware. Then, each morning I would hack away at it with a fork for breakfast. Totally weird—I know. So, I was really excited when we were offered an opportunity to visit the Dole...

We were fortunate enough to be hosted by the Waikiki Aquarium for a family visit last week! The Aquarium is located down Kalakaua Ave, next to a beautiful beach park. There is parking available on that Avenue, or the Aquarium also has limited free parking available for a time limit of 1 hour. You can see the Aquarium in 1 hour, so this is a fantastic option if you’re driving! At the entrance a...

The Meechok Plaza is located on the second ring road and the corner of the Mae Jo Road leading out of Chiang Mai. Fortunately for us, it was only about a 10 minute motorbike ride from our rental on the outskirts of Chiang Mai—and the drive didn’t require us to enter the city at all! The Meechok Plaza boasts of a variety of restaurants, McDonalds (not a restaurant…hahaa!), Rimping Grocery store (with a great selection of foreign...

I have to admit, one of the most appealing aspects of booking an 18-day Transpacific Cruise with our family was the thought of having a Kid’s Club for our girls (ages 8 and 5) to enjoy. I’m happy to say that Royal Caribbean’s Kid’s Club, “Ocean Adventure,” has exceeded my expectations! First of all, there is absolutely no extra cost for the Adventure Ocean Program, and it is for children ages 3+ who are fully potty trained....

Right now we are in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, crossing somewhere between Australia and Hawaii. Pull out a map and you will see that is a big ocean to cross! We were originally going to stay in Bali for 2 months and then fly back to the US via Hawaii. Tickets from Bali to Hawaii run around $1200 each. It’s not cheap to cross the big wide ocean. Then, we came across another option—a Transpacific Repositioning...

The 1st weekend in February, Chiang Mai hosts a Flower Festival near the Southwest corner of the moat. A parade winds through the old town, but instead of waking up early and trying to track it down, we decided to simply meet it at the end near the family park in the Southwest corner. This is where all of the street vendors set up their stands—including food, clothing, and flowers! The prices seemed to be reasonable....

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again… One of the best parts about traveling is when family or friends join you for the fun and exploration!! In this case, Jared’s parents and brother came for a week visit to Chiang Mai!  After a grueling 24-hours of traveling, they arrived early in the morning and we let them rest for the first day. The next day we took a songteow into town and helped them rent their own motorbikes. The...

After locating the perfect beach (Nai Harn) on the busy island of Phuket, we next set out to find the perfect rental for our 5 week stay in the area. We found it in “The Sands,” a property located just behind these trees in the top center (big condos are being built behind them on the hillside…but The Sands is a relatively small place that’s been around for a while). We contacted 6 different landlords at The Sands...

If you’re looking for a great beach in Phuket that isn’t too crowded (or too secluded), Nai Harn may be your match. We have seen the other popular West Coast beaches in Phuket, and believe that we hit the jackpot in finding one of the best beaches in Phuket! Nai Harn Beach is located on the Southwest tip of the Island of Phuket. While it does have its fair share of tourists, it’s beaches are usually...

Doi Suthep is a Buddhist Temple (Wat) towering on a mountain nearby Chiang Mai. It is a short drive from the city, and you can either hire a red songteow or taxi to take you there, or take motorbikes. We opted for the motorbikes—and were glad we did. As we climbed up the winding switchbacks, we were able to get a few glimpses of the city of Chiang Mai (pollution and all). This is the only Buddhist temple I’ve seen that...

After visiting “James Bond Island” and then doing a short stint in some sea canoes in Phang Nga Bay, our next stop was the village of Ko Panyi. This is a small Muslim village that is built on wooden stilts over the ocean, with a population of approximately 1600 people. The island’s inhabitants supposedly originate from two seafaring Muslim families from Java! Only the local mosque has the luxury of being located on solid ground, due...

If you’re just catching up with us, please check out Part 1 of our James Bond Island Series. Meanwhile, after leaving the famous James Bond Island, our long tail boat wandered over through Phang Nga Bay, and we docked at a big boat that offered Sea Canoe trips. This was not included in the price of our tour, but for the small price (and kids were free), we decided it was worth the extra money. The price escapes me, but I think it was...