Hawaii

Honolulu--mountain construction reminds me of Latin America

Cool trees

Feral chickens

North Shore

Our well fortified sandcastle (it survived multiple waves)

Sunset on the North Shore

Banyon trees

Makapuʻu Point Lighthouse

Brazilian crested cardinal

View from Makapuʻu Point Lighthouse--well, the top of the mountain above the lighthouse

The Makapuʻu tide pools

Mountains behind the Byodo-in Temple

Turtles at the Byodo-in Temple. My friend on the right, I get it

Beach near Laie

Diamondhead hike

Diamondhead hike

View from Diamondhead

Diamondhead hike

Diamondhead hike

Kualoa Ranch

Kualoa Ranch

Kualoa Ranch

Kualoa Ranch

Damage to tree after floods, Kualoa Ranch

Vacation travel

I just got back from a trip that was *shocker* for fun!! 😮 

Not that travel for work isn't fun, but it is different. I mostly see hotels, church buildings, and airports. I meet a lot of people, but don't see a lot of the country. And while it is a work vacation (no meetings, just me, my team, and the work!), it is work.

Anyway. This was personal travel AND not to visit family. I did go with family, but we went somewhere where we had no relatives. So, like, a for realsie vacation. And it was a different travel experience: 

• I didn't have to pack half a suitcase full of work equipment.
• I didn't go through immigration or customs. Not even once! (That was originally on the table, because we had planned an international trip, but things happened, and there's a baby coming, and plans changed).
• It was way easier to change the schedule. Not completely doable, because some things we had to book in advance, but there were lots of things we could shift around.
• We actually used the hotel swimming pool.
• And I took a swimsuit (2 actually, but ended up only using one).
• I did share a hotel room, and that doesn't happen on work trips...
• I didn't have to carry around paperwork everywhere I went.
• I slept better than I do at home, which is weird. But it was amazing.
• One hotel for the whole trip! (That has happened on a few work trips, but not often).
• And I only visited the airport to arrive and depart. Twice! Admittedly, I was in 6 different airports, because I left from one, had a layover in another, and arrived in a third, times 2 (for there and back). But on my last work trip, let's see: 12. In 8 days. And I was in some airport on 5 of those 8 days. This trip was 7 days and I was in an airport on 3 of them (and only 3 because I had a redeye flight home, so that trip extended over 2 days. Technically). 

Honestly, it was kind of amazing. I had forgotten/didn't know travel like this existed, and might become addicted. Or I might just decide staying home is where it's at. Depends on the day. I still like the work travel and feel really lucky, but this was definitely a nice change!

Possibility

There's something about a good staircase that really draws the attention. I don't know what it is, but a grand staircase feels like an invitation to explore. It's hard to not want to climb this baby, right?

I do love a good staircase anywhere. My sister had a house that had two staircases, which was amazing. It was like a TV house. And they were nice staircases, very well built, wide, inviting. 

The staircase in my house growing up was tucked away in the back of the house. There were 3 steps, then a landing, and then to make the curve, triangle steps but they seemed cramped and begging for caution. And then there was a low overhang at one point. I was rushing down the stairs once as a teenager and smacked my head on it, which drew blood. So that was fun.

I don't think I'd want a big ole staircase like the one in the picture there (hotel Barceló in Guatemala City) in my house, of course. It's a bit much for the day to day. But you gotta admit, if you walked into a hotel and saw that, you'd be impressed and think "This is a ritzy hotel." (Same for a house, I'm sure, and then I'd be wondering what I was doing there!) But a good staircase is definitely a bonus in any building.

Central America

Guatemala

I have been to Guatemala City several times, and someday, I hope to see more of the city than views from my hotel and where I'm working. But, for now:

The airport is in the center of the city, so you get lots of flyovers

View from the rotating restaurant

El Salvador:

We didn't do much sightseeing, so it's mostly from the road or from the places we were working. We spent time in Ahuachapán and Santa Ana. These are from the trip to Santa Ana.

San José, Costa Rica:

Panamá City:

There's lots of photos here, because there's the views of the city, the views of the canal, the nature...yeah, this is where we took a break from working. You guessed right. 

The city:

The canal:

Another one of the city, specifically the architecture:

The nature:

The ocean (not the canal):