Quoted: We're back from Hawaii.

We spent the first five days on the north shore of Oahu, in the top floor of a house right on sunset beach. I highly recommend the house. http://www.halekimo.com. Each floor has 3 BR 2 BA. There is an awesome large wraparound lanai with a grill. Hammock on the lawn. Gate right down to the beach. The store is 3 miles down the road - super convenient. The two downsides are that the beds aren't the most comfy in the world (well, we are spoiled with our super deluxe king mattress) and the bedrooms back onto the main road. You don't hear much if you sleep with AC but if you sleep with the windows open it can get noisy on Friday night. North Shore is also a bit further out of sightseeing spots in Honolulu (1 hr) if that's something you're keen on doing, but the drive is easy - much of the way on freeway.

It rained off and on for the first two days, which was just fine since we were just laying around relaxing. Then the sun came out. We didn't do much in the way of sightseeing. It was just nice to be at the beach. We did take a surfing lesson from "Uncle Brian", who also took Alexa out to catch a wave (we have this on video). He's a character and definitely added flavor to the week. He was nice enough to pick some local flowers and bring them back for a lei making session. He's the kind of guy who knows everyone, you know? Full of social energy. And also, happily, got to spend some time with Kate-san and to finally meet Alex. If we weren't moving to Singapore, we'd probably seriously be considering Hawaii.

On Maui, we stayed at the Huelo Point Flower Farm (http://Mauiflowerfarm.com). Its located on a beautiful spot on a cliff. I'm glad Alexa wasn't more mobile than she currently is or I might have been worried. This spot is definitely off the beaten path and best for people who want to get away from it all. We spent time on Baldwin beach (which was nice because the waves were more toddler friendly than sunset beach), lazing at the house (has a hot tub and a pool), and pottering around local town of Pa'ia. We also drove down to check out Lahaina and Kaanapali. We found it very resorty but the beaches were pleasant. The Hyatt Luau was entertaining but missable. Corinna and Kane did the sunset bikeride down the volcano side, and they went with my parents for a car ride down to H