Trading Cold and Snow for Sand and Surf

Waikiki Christmas lights

It's another cold clear day here in frozen Massachusetts, but I am enjoying looking over my photos of beaches and tropical flowers from our recent travels.  I haven't been adding to my blog much lately, as we are not long back from a five week trip to Australia, via Hawaii.

I was initially optimistic and thought I might find time while on the road to put up some posts. However, between catching up with my husband's family and friends and keeping our inquisitive boys out of trouble in other people's homes, I realized it might feel more like a holiday if I waited until I returned home!

Dipping our toes in some tropical water was a nice way to break up the journey...

We decided to make the journey from Boston to Australia more manageable by spending a day in Hawaii on the way over.  It was wonderful to have a good sleep after a long day of travel, and the next day we rented a car and drove around Oahu.  It was fabulous to pull out our summer clothes and see some beautiful beaches...

I loved the lushness of the island, and it seemed exotic to be driving past the pineapple, sugar cane and coffee fields...

My husband contemplating the menu at Giovanni's

A local recommended that we try Giovanni's shrimp truck in Kahuku for lunch, and we were not disappointed.  We had the garlicky shrimp scampi, which was easily one of the best shrimp dishes I have had.  (And it was certainly the best value at $13!)

I am getting hungry just looking at this again!

Next to the food truck were a few stalls selling sarongs and shells and the like...  

I didn't buy anything here, but in my next post I will share the treasures I found antiquing in Sydney, once we left Hawaii and made our way on to the next stop on our long journey.