Rest and Relaxation in Waikiki

Unlike yesterday this felt more like a vacation day. Getting up early to go jogging may not spell out rest and relaxation to many people out there, but to us, running on the streets of Waikiki with a view of the beach is quite invigorating and relaxing. It is exactly the activity we would start our days with if we had the time during the rest of the year when we are not on vacation.  
One of the places we like to visit and have brunch at when we are in Los Angeles is Dukes in Malibu, today we had the opportunity of having a delicious lunch at Dukes of Waikiki.  The fresh salads, combined with the great sunny weather (at that moment) and the relaxed feeling of the island made it just that much better. 

Early in the day we decided that the surfing lessons and the catamaran ride as well as our trip to Pearl Harbor will take place tomorrow. Today we just sat at the beach, read our books, got wet from the ocassional cloud downpour and took pictures next to a Banyan tree.  Not much to brag about today, but we know it will be getting busier and busier as the days go by, for now, it's Aloha from us three.

Unexpected Expected Weather

I don't know why we count the first travel date as a vacation day when all we do is rush to the airport, wait for our flight, fly for 5 hours (as we did today), layover in Maui for an hour and then head to our final destination for this leg of our trip.  All while on an empty stomach and with very litlle sleep...  Sounds more like concentration camp circumstances than a tropical vacation to us.  Fortunatley we arrived safely and finally sat and ate a decent meal (at Siams Square, Thai cuisine).  Not surprinsingly and as expected for us it has been sprinkling/raining most of the time since we arrived, but what else is new....  After more than 14 hours on the road we are finally in our hotel room at the Hyatt Place in Waikiki. We are looking forward to a more exciting stress free day tomorrow.  We anticipate having pictures and definately more interesting experiences to share with you tomorrow.  Specially since Alec is anticipating taking surfing lessons, and perhaps doing a few other fun family activities.
Until tomorrow, Aloha to all!

Countdown til Hawaii

We have finally completed the purchase of all the components of our summer Hawaiian vacation.  We are excited to know that we will be visiting 3 out of 5 of the most known and visited islands.  Honolulu, Kona and Kauai.  As of today it is 29 more days until we start our paradise hopin' summer 2012 vacation.

Hawaii

As much as we would love to travel to Europe this summer,  we will likely to travel to three islands in Hawaii.  The big island, Oahu and Kauai.  As soon as we purchase our airline tickets we will start posting on this blog. 
Aloha!

Vacation Search

As we approach the new year our search for our new vacation spot begins. We are drawn to Europe this time, specifically Italy, Switzerland and Germany. We will see what it will be...

Goodbye Summer 2011

It is our custom to conclude our summer with a small trip away from home. This year we decided to switch directions from our previous couple of years and head to La Jolla, a small quaint town by the ocean in the San Diego area.

We arrived Saturday evening to the Hyatt after a much anticipated sushi dinner at Harney Restaurant in Oceanside. Since we were all pretty hungry, we agreed that it was tasty and satisfying.

Sunday we had breakfast at the regency club at the hotel, not quite like the Irvine or Anaheim spread, but pretty good. After breakfast we went to the Birch Aquarium at Scripps (although we had been there before), Alec was excited to go since he says he wants to be a marine biologist when he "grows up. "

Since the aquarium is kind of small we had time to take a little walk in the downtown area of La Jolla afterwards. Although a little overcast, but fortunately no rain.

As a farewell treat we decided to sample the famous Sprinkles Cupcakes from the owner and judge of Cupcake Wars. Ian had his favorite; Red Velvet and Alec and I shared a Key Lime Pie, although a bit overpriced we all agreed they were pretty tasty. We liked them so much that we have all already decided what our next flavor will be.

If time could be bought it would be difficult to place a price tag on our final weekend of this summer. In fact the entire summer was priceless and wonderful.

Until our next outing we will continue to share any outing and significant trip the Leyva family takes in this blog. For now looking forward to summer of 2012 in Europe.

We Survived

If we are not mistaken our last entry was while we were in Scottsdale about to go on our grueling, insane, excruciating hike. I had asked for anyone reading our blog to call the search and rescue team if we did not post within the week of that day.
We were stuck in the hot arid dry mountain longer than we had anticipated and were indeed concerned with our welfare, but since we knew no one would call search and rescue, we just got brave and continued our walk ;-)
OHHHHHH what a hike that was, unforgettable on so many levels!
To begin with it was over 110 F. with absolutely no shade!!! Our intention was to leave for the hike no later than 8:00 A.M. but we got a late start and did not get to the mountain until 11:00 A.M.
Since the heat there intensifies by the minute when we started the temperature was already unbearable to walk, however, since we saw a few other LIVING families walking down the hill we decided to brave it and walk like troubled soldiers stranded in the Iraq. Why did we do it? We don't know other than the view is beautiful, and the actual terrain is not bad.
We hope to return and hike under better weather conditions and without a nagging whinny child (the child is not who you may think it is ;-)
After our insane hike up the Scottsdale mountain we decided to treat ourselves to a nice dinner at SWB a restaurant at our hotel. This made it all worthwhile. It was one of the most delicious southwestern meals we had ever had!
Even if we do not return to hike in Scottsdale, we have vowed to return and spend more time in this beautiful quaint dessert town that we are so in love with. Until the next one when we actually experience the reason for our visit to AZ.