Every summer that I've lived in Chicago I create a summer bucket list of things I want to do during the season. This year I am simplifying the process by sticking to just my favorite things to do in the city instead of trying to do everything. Completing my check list will be a bit more challenging with two kids, but I'm up for the task! My favorite things to do in Chicago: Standup ... Read more
Our Stay at the Hilton Waikoloa Village Resort in Hawaii
We're typically low-key travelers who prefer affordable places to stay that are easy to get to and conveniently located near the activities we enjoy. However, the booking of our Hawaii trip was a bit last minute because we had to cancel our Puerto Rico plans. That meant that almost all the Big Island hotels in the Kailua-Kona area were near capacity and we had to book whatever was left. We decided ... Read more
An Unforgettable Hawaii Beach Day | False Ballistic Missile Threat
When you wake up one morning, grab breakfast and begin to get ready for a beach day, you don't expect to hear what sounds like an Amber Alert ringing on your phone. I looked at my screen and read aloud the words I was seeing: Extreme alert BALLISTIC MISSILE THREAT INBOUND TO HAWAII. SEEK IMMEDIATE SHELTER. THIS IS NOT A DRILL." This is not a drill. How could this be? I immediately suspected a ... Read more
Family-Friendly Snorkeling at Kahaluu Beach Park
When we decided to visit the Big Island again, I wondered if the beaches would be suitable for a toddler. Many of the beaches we had visited during our Hawaii honeymoon in 2014 were rocky and the waves were sometimes rough. We were pleasantly surprised by how family-friendly Kahaluu Beach Park, a popular snorkeling beach in Hawaii, turned out to be. The park doesn't have a huge chunk of sand, ... Read more
Stay at the Islander Resort | Islamorada, Florida Keys
When searching for an affordable, beachfront hotel option in the upper Florida Keys, I came across the Guy Harvey Outpost Islander Resort. The photos caught my eye, and the resort had decent reviews on Booking.com. I booked a three-night stay for us to explore the Keys during our recent trip. (If you'd like to try Booking.com, consider using my link.) When we drove up to the resort, an ... Read more
Tortuga Lodge, Tortuguero, Costa Rica
Our first stop in Costa Rica after flying into San Jose was Tortuga Lodge in Tortuguero. It's a village on the Caribbean side of the country that is known for the turtles who nest and hatch on its beaches. The village is only accessible by boat or plane. Our options were to rent a car, drive to a nearby village and take a boat, or we could take a 30-minute $90 flight (for both of us) to ... Read more
Taylor and Capone’s Beach Day
The beach has gone to the dogs. Ask Taylor and Capone, they'll tell you all about it. We took them to Montrose Dog Beach, their favorite place in Chicago, over the weekend, and they had a blast. In fact, they had so much fun that they napped for the rest of the day. Taylor's not as young as she thought she was during their beach day, and now she whines when she gets up because her body aches. ... Read more
Our Stay in Pahoa
After visiting Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, Graham and I drove to Pahoa to check into our rental on Kehena Beach. We encountered the only traffic of the trip on the drive along Highway 130. (It became clear how the entire town could be cut off from the rest of the island if the lava flowed over it.) Our beach rental was the Whale House, which is just across the street from the ocean. It was a ... Read more
Our Maui Wedding Ceremony and Reception at Gannon’s
In what seemed like a blur, I made my way to Gannon's for our wedding ceremony after a day of snorkeling and getting ready. Gannon's is a restaurant at a golf club in Wailea, and it was recently featured on "Top Chef." It's a beautiful and relatively affordable venue for a wedding on Maui. My coordinator, our guests, the groomsmen and Graham were there waiting. Graham had decided to make the ... Read more
Wedding Day Snorkeling in Maui
Our wedding day came and went much too quickly. I woke up after finally getting enough rest to find Graham was gone. He had woken up early to purchase pineapples for our wedding table and get me an iced Granita from Lava Java in Kihei. There was a beautifully written letter waiting for me on the bathroom counter. I couldn't believe the day had arrived! This was actually the first time in a ... Read more