Miriam in Hawaii (Part 2)

Vacations are great because they provide a temporary break the monotony of the everyday.  First of all,  the setting change.  The place that says chores in every corner is behind you and you're headed to some place where everything says relax and have fun. Often times, our family vacations are a combination of relaxation and experience.  We always begin with a good hotel because when you stay in a nice place there is no requirement for anything more- everything else is icing on the cake. Our trip to Hawaii was no exception.  All that Miriam asked for is a nice place to stay with access to a sand beach.  We got both at Mauna Lani Bay Hotel And Bungalows.  

High tide or low tide, the beach offered Miriam fun things to do.  The morning's low tide gave her the chance to walk on the volcanic rocks and discover the wonderful marine life that reside in them.  In the afternoons we sat on the beach and waited for the sun to set while the water slowly rose beneath our feet.  We spent many hours doing nothing but experiencing God's creation.  It is amazing how the waves slapping on our feet brought so much surprise and laughter as we laid on the hammock.  

One of the things that Miriam and I enjoyed so much is the warm water both of the ocean and the swimming pools.  This is something I took for granted when I was growing up in the Philippines.  I always assumed that the ocean is always the same anywhere until I moved to to a place where the water is really cold even in the summer. So spent most evenings soaking in the pools and just being silly.  

Mauna Lani Bay, featured marine life throughout the hotel grounds. There was water everywhere and every water-feature contained different fishes - including the honu (sea turtle), sting ray, shark, and brackish water fishes of many colors.  Although we spent some time following turtles and fishes in the shallow waters of the sea, most of the species we would have seen there are already swimming by the stream that runs along the Terrace Bay (where we ate breakfast) and the Canoe House.

It was a short five-day vacation but I could not account for every things we experienced together. I am very sure that Miriam has a compilation of her own memories of that time.  The important thing is that we will always have something that is unique to just the two of us and we will remember them as a time when we had each other's undivided time and attention.  There are many other occasions like this throughout the span of growing-up years when we there were just the two of us -like a trip we both took to the Philippines, but this is will be the only one that happened when she's 14 years old.

Time is flying by so fast for my baby girl.