You may have noticed how beautiful and romantic Aulani, a Disney Resort & Spa in Ko Olina, Hawai’i (O’ahu) is. It’s hard to miss. However, just because Disney has taken the best of Hawai’i and sprinkled it with pixie dust, doesn’t mean that it’s all walks on the beach and drinks with umbrellas (not that there is anything wrong with that). There’s plenty of fun for the kids, too!

In addition to the natural wonders of Hawai’i and the popular tourist sites of the island, the resort offers an array of family fun. Most of it is wet.

There are two water slides, a lazy river, snorkeling (in a mouse-made reef), and a water play area.  There are also indoor places to play, relax and hang out — some of which are no parents allowed! Well, I suppose they’re allowed, but they don’t have to be there, which is nice.

I recently had the opportunity to speak with many of the Aulani cast members and Walt Disney Imagineers that created the resort, and they shared some interesting facts and stories about the area. Videos below. Read More »

Sand angels are snow angels’ dirty cousins, but they’re warmer, so there’s that.

You don’t need hot summer days to enjoy some fun at the beach, but you do need some imagination and a carefree attitude — also, acceptance of subsequent baths.

The ocean doesn’t go south for the winter, so visit it!

This post is part of UpTake’s Friday Family Series. If you would like to see your family vacation photo here please submit it via the contact link in the sidebar, subject line: Family Photo.

Photo:  Whit Honea

Zuma Beach in Malibu, CA — it was 86 degrees today. Beat that!

This post is part of UpTake’s Wordless Wednesday Series. If you would like to see your photo featured here please contact us via the link in the sidebar using subject line: WW.

Photo: Whit Honea

“What’s out there?” one brother asked the other.

“Dolphins,” he said. “Wild dolphins.”

There was a seal, too.  It bobbed its head in an effort to ward off a pelican; it was a fight to the fish. We saw boats and surfers and the filming of a McDonald’s commercial, complete with fake palm trees stuck in the sand. The dolphins swam parallel to our path, and they, as the boy said, were wild.

It was a family walk along the shore of Point Dume in Malibu, CA.  To the north the waves bent to humor Zuma, and the south stretched somewhere past Santa Monica. The ocean went on forever.

That’s how we spend a weekday afternoon in Southern California. You should try it.

This post is part of the UpTake Friday Family Series.

Photo: W. Honea