In May 2025 we had three small trips, back to back.
Puerto Peñasco
First we spent several days in Puerto Peñasco, Mexico, a fishing town at the top of the Sea of Cortez that became a US destination resort town. We were there with our son his wife and two grandchildren along with our daughter-in-law’s parents. It was fun to have all the grandparents there with Nathan and his family. It was a little early in the seasons, so it was a bit cold and a bit windy but a fun time nevertheless.
Poipu, Kauai, Hawaii
We drove back up to Las Vegas and flew to Kauai to spend time with our longtime friends, Duane and Beth. They own a beautiful condo in Poipu which overlooks the ocean. We sat on their porch and watch the beautiful sunsets along that stretch of coast. We took some hikes, some drives, visited a secluded beach spent some time bobbing in the ocean and their condo complex pool. Just a great, relaxing time catching up on life.
Laie, Oahu, Hawaii
Next, we hopped a short flight to Oahu to stay in Laie up in the north of the island. Garlic shrimp, more time on beaches and ocean swims.
There wasn’t much lodging available in the area when we were arranging lodging, and the little that was available was pretty expensive. So we opted to try some “glamping”. We stayed in a big tent, with a big bed, a couch and a chest of drawers and a cooler. A string of party lights connected to a battery/solar charger proved light in the tent in the evening. Passable communal bathrooms, a water cooler and well, that’s about it. This was all located on a patch of grass on a banana tree farm.
The bed had obviously been well used by someone who slept in the middle, so we both kept rolling into the middle while trying to sleep. The tent was quite hot during the day but we were always out somewhere doing something. However, the mornings were filled with a cacophony of birds singing.
We went to some beaches, ate at the famouse Giovanni’s shrimp truck in Kahuku. The waves were pretty intense on the North Shore and I got absolutely pounded by an unusually large wave. I lost my hat, so all the photos after that fateful event feature me wearing a replacement white Adidas hat.
The highlight was a gathering of the BYU-Hawaii’s Cambodian Club where we were able to spend time with quite a few folks that we knew during our mission in Cambodia (2018-2020). Many had participated in the BYU Pathway program we helped introduce in Cambodia. That process had eventually opened the way for our friends to be students at BYU-Hawaii.
We abandoned our tent for the last night and drove into Honolulu to stay in a hotel in the Ala Moana area. Fifty years ago, I spent a week living on a racing yacht in the harbor there, so it was interesting to see how things had changed.
Here we could do a bit of tourist shopping for the grandkids, and take nice long showers and get a good night’s sleep before our return flight to Las Vegas.
Next up, Susie spends some time in France with friends walking and biking part of the trail that runs adjacent to the Canal du Midi. Then in May, we have a long trip planned to Italy!
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