Connor is FIVE!!

I can't be as eloquent as my friend Michelle,

so I'm throwing this whole post to hell.

If you can't say it well,

set it to rhyme.

And you're bound to tickle someone's behind...

Happy Birthday to my Little Man Tate.

You sure do make our lives something great.

On the day you arrived there was no way to know,

that someday you'd be such a kid "on the go".

You're so handsome and smart,

and man CAN YOU FART!

Sometimes your smile can just melt my heart.

You're a crackly bundle of power on fire,

and you simply don't stop 'til you get your desires.

Thank you so much for being our kid,

we are always so glad that we did what we did.

By throwing our caution and fears to the side,

you've taken our days on a wild, fun ride.

So, cheers to you son,

May your life be a breeze.

May your friends stand beside you,

and your loves grow with ease.

Hawaii 2008 - Day 7

Tried to get out early today to drive the Road to Hana. My guidebook says that we need to be passing through Kahului by 8am or so...but we didn't quite make it. I was tense because the book says that if you're not headed out the road early, you can end up just stitting in bumper to bumper traffic. Stopped in Pa'ia (the hippie capital of Hawaii) around 9am for a box lunch since there's nothing on the road out there. Went to a little juice store that packs lunches and rents coolers for $7. Had a little conflict with an elderly couple who were on line BEHIND me and then tried to cut in front of me. Ummm...I'm kind of hard to miss. Did you not see me standing right in front of you at the counter?

Headed out the road with the top down on the Jeep. It was an absolutely beautiful day--couldn't have asked for better. Saw all of the requisite coastal views and waterfalls (our fave--The Three Bears). Stopped for a quick hike and we all got a bit muddy in the feet. Spent alot of time grabbing Connor by the collar near edges of cliffs and trails. I have to say that my verbal skills are inadequate to describe the scenery. The pics have to speak for themselves.

Made it to Hana (technically) but didn't go into town. Instead we stopped at Waianapanapa Beach for lunch and to explore for an hour or so. It absolutely took my breath away. I can't believe that we came to Maui before and no one said that we absolutely had to see this incredible place. Literally, my mouth was hanging open. The sand is comprised of tiny tiny tiny black pebbles and the lava rock formations surrounding the beach are incredible. Plus, it was really sunny (but not hot) and the sunlight on the black rock made striking colors. We explored a short lava tube that runs from the beach down to the water. Very cool.

Headed back around 2pm and since we had already enjoyed the scenery, our driver (Bob) tried to move quickly. Some of you know that he has had defensive driver training. Let me just say that he was having a good time twisting and turning his way out that road. A really good time.

I let him go for about 45 minutes, but started to get a little nauseous. Finally, Connor shouted out "I think I"m going to vomit". At that point we had to pull over and get out to compose ourselves and Bob slowed down the psycho driving for the rest of the way. All my concerns about traffic were unfounded--the road was relatively empty both ways. Stopped at Hookipa look-out (one of the world's most renowned wind-surfing spots) and watched for awhile. I didn't take any long enough shots to appreciate this, but there were easily 50 boards out there along with regular surfers. Awesome sight.

Stopped at Safeway and picked up stuff for dinner. The condo complex has a whole huge gas grilling area out near the ocean and we are pretty sick of restaurant food. Headed back for a swim and then made teriyaki pineapple turkey burgers and salad for dinner. Met some nice folks at the grill due to the fact that Connor found a Daddy Long Legs underneath one of them and felt as if everyone entering the area needed to be made aware of the infestation. Hysterical. Almost everyone we meet is from California, closely followed by Canada. Hardly anyone from the East Coast at all.

Great day--lots of car time, but worth it.

Hawaii 2008 - Day 6

Woke up early and headed to the airport in Lihue for our 9:25am flight to Maui. Got smart and Bob dropped us off at the terminal with our 12 bags (I am not kidding. 12 bags for 3 people. That includes carry-ons and purse, though.) and he went and returned the rental car and took the shuttle back to the terminal. Loading and unloading all those things onto rental car shuttles is the most annoying thing.

Flight to Maui was quick but we encountered a challenge with the rental car upon our arrival. We had reserved a convertible but the 12 bags we just discussed DO NOT FIT in a convertible. Especially when one of the bags is golf clubs. So, no choice but to upgrade to a four door Jeep with a soft, zipper off top. (There goes another $300. In the way of compensation, we decided NOT to do the tour down the "Road To Hana" and to drive it ourselves and put the $ we would have spent on that toward the upgrade.) Then, of course, I couldn't start the Jeep. Running back and forth to the office, buckling and un-buckling Connor had me irritated. They gave me the wrong keys. ARGHHH. We finally pick up Bob and the two of us try to get the top down right there in front of the terminal. This brilliant exercise in front of an audience took 5 minutes and what dumb dumbs we are. We had to pull over halfway to Ka'anapali and put it back up because we clearly did it wrong and it was flapping all over our heads. We figured it out later, though.

Stopped at the Safeway in Lahaina for provisions for the condo. Groceries are VERY expensive on Maui. Loaf of grocery store white bread-$4. Gallon of milk-$5.50. Dozen Eggs-$4. Pound of butter-$5. Cereal-$5. Bought breakfast stuff for the week and teriyaki pineapple turkey burger fixins for dinner, some snacks, two six packs, etc. and spent $146. Yikes. Piled it in the Jeep and it barely fit. Seriously, Connor was in his carseat surrounded by grocery bags. You could hardly see the kid. You should have seen the bellman's face when we pulled up. The sheer volume of crap took his breath away.

Westin Ka'anapali Ocean Villas are beautiful. http://www.westinkaanapali.com/pr_photos.htm#

We have a one-bedroom premium villa and it is perfect. Westin modern asian decor--very sleek and soothing. We have an ocean view room out on the pool ring level. Perfect. Lots of beautiful fountains, lillies, and koi ponds, too. They have Fish Feeding Frenzy every morning--we'll have to make sure we see that!

Took Connor for a quick dip at the Pirate Ship Keiki Pool. Loved it. Lots of little slides and fountains and lots of kids to play with.

Got dressed and went to Old Lahaina Luau. Bob and I have been before and were excited to go again. Its a very traditional Hawaiian luau--no cheezy MCs, no fire dancers (that's Tahitian or Maori--not Hawaiian). We got there on time (for a change!) nd entered the greeting area. Its a huge luau complex outdoors on the ocean. Connor is very obsessed with ukeleles and there were some musicians at the gate. He couldn't stop talking to them.

The big excitement for the night, however, was yet to come. We lost Connor. Yes, we lost him. Long story short, I thought he went with Bob, and Bob thought he went with me. This was before the show and dinner during the drinks and mingling portion of the evening. About 5 -10 minutes after we separated we saw each other through the crowd of about 400 people and realized that he was gone. Need I say that a total freakout ensued? Bob went one way and I went the other. I began bellowing C O N N O R across the crowd and people were seriously staring at me. I went up to an employee and asked for help and she just stared at me like she didn't even understand english. Idiot. Bob went and checked the beach. Finally, a food prep guy sees me yelling and says "Are you looking for a little boy?" YES--THAT WOULD EXPLAIN THE BELLOWING, WOULDN'T IT? Turns out, Connor asked him for help and he said that he took him to the front check in desk. So, I run to the desk. He's not there but the girls working there say that the manager has him and has taken him to our seats (they have assigned seats). So, I run to our seats. At this point I am sweating and panting like a bull after the matador has pierced me 5 or 6 times with those little flowery swords. He's not at the seats. Then, I spot him and Bob across the crowd. Whew. Damn, was I proud of my son. He wasn't upset at all and was kind of laughing at us. After I hugged him to death, I asked him if he got scared when he realized he was alone and he said to me "Not really, Mama. I remembered what you said and I went and got a worker to help me. He took me to the manager and they asked me my name and looked up our seats and brought me to Daddy." Let me tell you, that kid got alot of praise that night from us. And we did alot of beating ourselves up over it. Simple failure to communicate. As it turns out, Connor headed straight for the musicians and stood there to watch them for a few minutes before realizing he was alone. My mission for this week is to get him to memorize my cell phone number.

After that, no matter how good the show, nothing was as eventful. We were seated in traditional seating (on the floor) at the front with a nice middle aged couple and a miserable, unfriendly family from Atlanta. They had a 4 year old son who played with Connor very nicely, but the mom and dad barely spoke. Weirdos. And we decided we're too old for sitting on the floor. Both of us could barely move our legs by the time it was over.

Speaking of handicaps, I don't think I've mentioned that my right achilles tendonitis is flaring up AND I've got one of those nasty little cracks on the bottom of my left food middle toe. Both feet messed up. Needless to say, my gait is really impressive right now. Something between a waddle and a modified mini-gallop. NOT SEXY. Not at all. I am far from a hula girl at this point. More like something from the bar in Star Wars.

Signing off for tonite. I don't think I can take much more excitment. :)

Hawaii 2008 - Day 5

Woke up around 6 am today and decide that I was done with Kauai. I just don't love it, you know? It's beautiful, don't get me wrong. But so is Jamaica and I don't love that either. A place has to have the "full package" or it doesn't go on my list. The weather here has been equivocal (never really rainy, but never really sunny except off and on) and the people have just really gotten under my skin. And I guess I'm not in the mood to be forgiving since so many other places have been so great in our travels. Sad, but I guess when you have limited vacation time and resources, its one strike and you're out.

Technically, today is our check in day on Maui, but since we had never been to Kauai before and our 5th night here was free, we decided to delay our arrival in Maui until tomorrow (Sunday). But, as I said, I woke up regretting that and called Hawaiian airlines to see if we could change our flight to get out of here today. Nope. Only one flight a day and the one today was taking off in an hour. Bummer. But in the scheme of things I guess I can't complain about the utter punishment of being stuck on Kauai for 24 hours longer than I'd wish. That would just be silly.

Had the breakfast splurge at the hotel's buffet. Connor pigged out on all kinds of bacon and eggs and then threw a fit when we left and he noticed he could have had Frosted Flakes! I had macadamia nut waffles with coconut syrup. Sickeningly delicious.

Bob headed over to the Prince course for a round of golf at 8:30am. He ended up shooting a 72 but said that some of the Robert Trent Jones designed holes were really tough. Sadly, one of the things that most delighted him was the fact that they cleaned his shoes for him. They were covered in red Kauai mud.

Connor and I drove to Opaka'a Falls--a beautiful waterfall that does not require a hike. We drove down to Waulua and stopped at a Long's Drugs because I lost my only lipstick. We picked up some cute magnets there and I got the coolest Japanese cosmetic item--polymer face blotting "papers"--but they're not paper, they're polymer. They work great. I need to get more before we go home.

On the way up to the falls we drove by an ancient Hawaiian heiau (temple) site. Local modern-day native Hawaiians (I assume) have posted hand painted signs that say KAPU (forbidden) on the rocks. I guess some idiot tourists either climb on them or take them. It was an eerie place. There are 7 of them leading the way from the coast up to the summit of Mt. Waialeale-the wettest spot on EARTH with an average of 406 inches of rainfall a year.

The falls were beautiful. Someone's home is literally on the top of them--too cool. I have no photos of them because I left the camera disk in the flashdrive attached to the crashed PC.

Drove back and stopped at an arcade for a quick play. Connor told me that he "loves me so much for letting him play". Forget Hawaii, the stinky arcade made his day!

Had another nice afternoon at the pool. Connor is officially a swimmer now. Jumping into water over his head without hesitation. Life jacket is pretty much off. This means no peace for mommy or daddy, though. With the life jacket we could sit on some lounge chairs and watch him. Without it, we 've got to be on top of him. That's okay--he's doing great.

Cleaned up and headed into Hanalei for our last Kauai dinner. Went to Kalypso's against the concierge's advice (she said everything was greasy) because it looked fun and kid friendly. Glad we did. I had some great mahi mahi fish tacos (not Wahoos-Laguna Beach good, but good) and the boys enjoyed their stuff, too. And we were greeted like they gave a crap we were there, the server introduced herself, and everyone was friendly. Ahhhhh.

Hawaii 2008 - Day 4

Disaster has struck. My PC has crashed-hard. Won't boot up and and says I have a corrupt Windows 2000 startup file. It's my work computer (since I actually need to do some work next week because we are gone so long) so I called tech support last night and held for 12 minutes before giving up. Ridiculous. This means that I'll be handwriting my blog and transposing when I can get me some internet, like I am right now in the Princeville Hotel's concierge office. Bob and Connor went into Hanalei to return our snorkel gear so I'm killing some time.

Yesterday (Day 4) was great. We're finally on Hawaii time and all three of us slept until 7am. The weather looked dismal and the forecast was dismal-er. But, we've learned from many vacations in the tropics to just forge on. Headed into Hanalei for a quick breakfast and to pick up some snorkel gear. Again, snippy service at the Pedal and Paddle store. We arrive and the door is open and music is on. I get within 1 foot of the doorway and the girl barks at me "You've got to give me 10 minutes. We don't open until 9." Ooops. Sorry little witchy woman. Didn't think to check the hours of operation on your front door SINCE IT WAS OPEN.

Went over to the Polynesia Cafe and got some pretty good, cheap food. Connor had two yummy, fluffy pancakes, Bob had a great omelette, and I had a tasty but tiny breakfast taco. And the coffee was fantastic. Connor had a quick ride on some grocery store ferris wheel and thought it was the coolest thing.

Went back to the Pedal and Paddle to get the gear from witchy woman. We walk in and look around and go up to the counter and say "Hi. We need some snorkel gear." She says "Rent or buy". We say "rent". She says (pointing at me) "Okay, first, you, leave the coffee up front or outside." No "please", no "would you mind". Just nasty. Lucky for her she was nice to Connor about 30 seconds later or after we got our gear I was going to let her have it.

By now, the rain stopped and it was warming up. We drove to Tunnels Beach and luckily found a spot on the dirt access road. It fills up and there is no where else to park if you get there too late. Got out and checked out this spectacular beach, but it was way too rough for swimming so we headed back out and up the road a bit to Haena Beach Park. Same thing--too rough, but we had time to check out the dry caves across the street which were very cool. Connor is recovering from his Wednesday sea cave trauma and this was good therapy.

Headed to the last beach you can drive to--Ke'e Beach. Ahhhh. Heaven on earth. A ringing reef protected beach with great snorkeling and safe swimming. And lots of chickens. I mean lots. Chickens everywhere. Had a light lunch on the beach of Wheat Thins and some tiny, tasty Hawaiian bananas. We stayed there until about 2pm.

Connor hit the pool hard for a few hours and we decided to stay at the hotel for dinner. Went to the Cafe Hanalei and watched the sunset and the beautiful views out onto the infinity fountain. Connor ate a hot dog and 3 chicken satays. I think he was hungry. Our waiter was either drunk, stoned, or mentally disabled. I coudn't figure out which. Seriously. He moved really slowly and really deliberately and laughed inappropriately and ill-timed. At least he was nice, though!

Hawaii 2008 - Day 3

Well, first, let's discuss the end of Day 2. Remember that nap I mentioned? WE NEVER WOKE UP. Well, almost. I woke up between 10:30 and midnight but Bob and Connor basically slept through. Bob and I ordered some pizza at 11 and I was sure Connor would wake up and be starving. To his credit, Bob said Connor would not wake up and he was right. So, at 5 am today when we all got up, we'd enjoyed 12-13 hours of sleep. Ahhhhh.

Bob played a round of golf today at the Makai course here in Princeville. He started at 7am but he played as a single, so it when quickly. He shot a 71 and was finished by 10:30am.

Connor and I dropped Bob off at 6:45 and headed out exploring. We had heard that there were sharks sighted at Anini Beach, so that was our first stop. A whale died there a few days ago and they buried it on the beach. The sharks can smell it. We pulled over on the side of a point just south of Anini where there were some nice rock formations and hoofed it out there. About 3 or 4 minutes after our arrival I heard a "WHOOMPHHHH" sound. I couldn't figure it out. It almost sounded like the boom of artillery but lasted longer and was lower in tone. Then, suddenly, after 5 or 6 of those sounds, I saw it. A massive humpback in full breech just off shore in deep water. It was far away, but the sound was loud and the sight was awesome. He/she repeated the breeches 3 or 4 times high, and straight up into the air. Then there was some cruising around and some major blow hole activity. Connor and I both saw our first whale together! No sharks, though. I wondered if that whale was looking for his dead friend or child. It made me a little sad.

From there, we headed to Kilauea point to see the Kilauea Lightouse on the northernmost point in the Hawaiian islands. Stopped at Kilauea Bakery for coffee and a pastry. The eats were good, but the young woman at the register had major attitude. Like we were really bothering her or pissing her off by being in the place at all. What's that about? I've noticed it subtly at one or two other places, but her's was the most blatant. The lighthouse itself was closed, bit the view was lovely.

We headed back and stopped at a grocery store for some provisions (water, sunblock) and left there with a boogie board and Oreos, too. Connor loves himself some Oreos, let me tell you. I'm fine with that, because I don't really like them. Got back to the hotel around 9:30am and hit the beach until Bob returned.

Headed out to the south side of the island around noon to see Waimea Canyon. Stopped for a quick burger at Duane's Ono Char Burger--a Kauai institution. I had the Teriyaki Burger and Bob had something traditional. They were not huge and good--not the best burger I've ever had, but far from the worst. Connor was asleep so we picked him up a small ham and cheese Lunchable which he inhaled when he woke up about 30 minutes later. We didn't have any sides with our burgers because in Waimea we were heading to Jo Jo's Clubhouse--the #1 shave ice place in Kauai.

It took about an hour and a half to get to Waimea. Jo Jo's was all they said it would be. I had the #2-Tropical Combo, macadamia nut ice cream covered with passion fruit, guava, and lychee shave ice. Bob had a custom combo with vanilla ice cream covered in cream soda, lemon, and vanilla shave ice. I have to say--it was awesome. Weird, but awesome. Connor passed on the shave ice and chose a bag of cotton candy that you can get anywhere on the planet instead. Whateva.

Drove just 10 miles on Waimea Canyon Drive to the main lookout. It was incredible. I understand why it is likened to Grand Canyon--except that it is verdant. We probably stopped 4 or 5 times on the way and every stop was breathtaking. Connor's favorite spot was the Mars landscape we encountered about half way. Piles of red clay everywhere with little waterfalls running through them. Very cool if you are a messy little boy. It was nervewracking trying to make sure he didn't dive into one of the gullies and get washed down the mountain, but he loved it.

Headed back and hit rush hour through Lihue. On the way we passed a coffee plantation and Connor asked what it was. We explained how coffee grows and he seemed really interested and asked if we could stop. Bob said no "its not on the agenda". To which, Connor answered, "Well, when we come here next time can we get it on the agenda?" Sure, sweetheart.

We didn't want to go to the hotel room and take the chance of colony collapse, so we pushed past Princeville and headed into Hanalei for a quick dinner around 6:30pm. Went to the Hanalei Dolphin--a great little spot along the river. Food was good but nothing special (except the greens salad that was terrific with house made Thousand Island dressing). Service was quick and nice, but again, the greeting was weirdly snippy. When I walked to the maitre 'd stand all I got was a nasty look and a "how many?". No greeting. No smile. Maybe its me, but I don't think so . I think its a native hawaiian/local vs. tourist thing. Which is really stupid.

It's 9pm and the boys are snoring. Mahalo, Hawaii, for a full day with no inordinate sleeping!

Hawaii 2008-Day 1 and 2

Day 1 was LOOOONNNGGG. The best way to look at it is this--We woke up at 10pm Hawaii time to leave for the airport and arrived at our hotel at 7:30pm the NEXT day. Most of the day was fine. Even the 9 hour flight from Chicago to Honolulu was pretty darn good. Connor slept about 5 hours of it and I slept about 4. It didn't get dodgy until the 3 hour layover in Honolulu. We were all pretty cranky by then and Connor definitely did not have his "listening ears" on, as they say in preschool. In fact, I think he took his listening ears off and put them in a shredder. For some unknown reason he developed a compulstion to roll his wheelie bag over on its side every 10 seconds and then drag it, trip, cry, repeat. Needless to say, his father did not react well do this and for some unknown reason developed a complementary compulsion to yell, take wheelie bag away, trip, cry and repeat. Ah, the joys of long haul travel with a 5 year old!

Landed just before sunset, jammed our stuff in the rental car and headed to the north side. Took about 35 minutes to get to the hotel but it was a nice drive. http://www.princevillehotelhawaii.com/ Lobby, as reported on TripAdvisor, is breathtaking. We're using points and got a bargain point rate and a free 5th night. The hotel is closing in September for a total refurb after which it will be rebranded a St. Regis and we'll never be able to afford to stay here again. It is beautiful. There were some "so-so" reviews on TA--glad we ignored them. Our room is very big and we have an ocean view out onto Hanalei Bay.

Ordered room service (Thanks, Nana!!!), showered, and went to bed around 9pm at which point we were all bumbling idiots. At midnight, the alarm clock went off. ARRGGHHH. I was very confused and had a hard time turning it off so I just turned down the volume of the Hanalei Moon CD that had begun to play.

Day 2 so far has been great. Woke up around 5 am and headed into Hanalei for our boat tour up the Na'Pali Coast. Grabbed some coffee at a cute little place called Java Kai and sat on their lanai until check in time at 7:15am. I had a Maui Mocha (coconut) and it was scrumptious. We'll probably eat in town since no one needs a $30 dollar breakfast at the hotel. Hanalei is a cute little area with juice huts and restaurants galore.

After reading tons of reviews we decided to take our tour with Na'Pali Catamaran. http://www.napalicatamaran.com/ The shuttle ride left at 7:30 am and took us about 5 minutes away to the beach at Hanalei Bay. We waded out and piled into a motorized outrigger canoe and they shuttled us to the boat. There were fourteen passengers on board. Our captains, Nick and Sam, were about 20 years old (if that) but they were clearly experienced and we felt confident in their hands. They were super nice to Connor and as the only little kid on board, he felt special. We headed up the coast and saw some breathtaking scenery. Conditions were perfect (low swell) to allow us to take our small boat directly into one of the sea caves. AWESOME. We backed right in and bobbed around there in the dark for a few minutes. This, however, Connor did not like one tiny bit. He had a mini freak out right there in the cave. But, he sucked it up and it was fine. He did continue to tell us for about an hour after ward that we'd "better not do that again".

Made it to a snorkel spot (forget the name of it but it is the only reef on the Na'Pali Coast) around 9:30. Moored just off a long, wide, inaccessible beach. We let Connor decide if he wanted to try snorkeling or not (no pressure, bra) and one of us was willing to stay on board with him. He decided he wanted to go in and they had big flat, wide swimming noodles (great idea!) for anyone who wanted one (me! me!) and of course he was wearing is life vest, too. So, Bob geared up and swam off and I geared up and got in. The water temp was brisk, but nothing you weren't used to in a minute or two. Connor jumped in to me and his little face looked like he had been slapped. His eyes were like saucers and he said "OH MY GOD THIS I COLD" in the most slow and measured tone I have ever heard him use. I had to convince him that it would get better in few seconds and it did. I then splashed around with him for a few before getting his snorkel on. He's been practicing in the tub at home for the past 4 weeks so he knows the breathing, etc. Once he was situated next to me and we were noodled up, I stuck my face in the water. Wow. Wow. Not a ton of remarkable stuff to see (some of the usual Dorys and Nemos) but DAMN were we in deep water. The deepest water I've ever snorkeled in. Usually I've been in 10-15 feet. This water was 30-40 feet deep and clear through to the bottom. It was interesting to me because you really felt like you were flying above the earth, versus swimming, the distance was so large. So, there I am still thinking "DAMN are we in deep water" and Connor says he's ready. He puts his face in. He turns his head left, then right. He pulls his face out of the water. He rips his snorkel off his face. He looks at me and says "OUT. I want to get out." He was not joking and I understood. I was a little freaked out, too. So, my regular date and I got back in the boat. Bob came back about 10 minutes later and then I went in on my own for about 15 minutes. Nice once you got used to it. When I got back on board, the boys were having a great time feeding tons of fish tons of Cheetos. According to Sam and Nick, Cheetos are the snack food of choice of the reef fish. Nick got in and dove down about 25 feet and popped a bag on the bottom. The feeding frenzy was terrific.

The other fun thing that happened was that we were met by two Mermen on the way back to Hanalei. Apparently, two friends of Sam and Nick had hiked in on the Kalalau Trail (11 miles each way) and were roughing it. As we were returning, Sam and Nick kept an eye out for them. They had swum out past the breakers to meet us and Sam and Nick gave them chips, cookies, sandwiches, and drinks in a dry bag. One of them swam back in to shore with one hand holding the back over his head out of the water. These boys are fit!! The whole thing was too funny. Clearly good friends taking good care of each other. I loved it. It added a personal flavor to the whole morning. By the way, parts of that trail are 1 foot wide on a cliff face. We saw a couple walking that section and the girl was going REALLY slowly and REALLY carefully. You fall, you die. And these people have massive packs on their back.

Came back to the hotel around noon and spent a few hours at the pool. The boys are napping now, and I am not far behind them. Don't know what we're doing for dinner yet, but we'll "figga" it out, as they say.