Happy Thanksgiving!

Surfin' safari

The whole clan went for a walk-about to the north shore of Oahu because I've always been intimidated by the idea of surfing so figured that meant I should get over it and take a lesson. My brother and sister-in-law let me rope them into joining me, and then everyone else decided to come along and watch, and once we were there my sister decided to take the lesson as well. We started with a short on-shore how-to:

Nephew Emmett: cutest surfer ever.

Before I necessarily felt ready, we went out on the water....

And amazingly, it was way way easier than I thought it would be.

We stayed out until the sun was setting and there was no choice but to end a golden afternoon.

House at beach

Welcome to beautiful Kailua, Hawai'i! 

My mom is calling the style of the rental house "beach shabby," and it's true, it's a little worse for the humidity and wear on the inside, but hey!: it sleeps all 11 of us.... 

...and how could you say anything negative with a view out the living room window like this one?:

So this is what we're calling our backyard for this week on Oahu:

And the kids are LOVING the beach, though they're having a hard time embracing the fact that there is sand EVERYWHERE, including in places they didn't know they had. I love the little kiddo footprints next to the adult ones.

And they love the water, with the amazingness of Kailua beach making up for the fact that we're on the windier side of the island. My dad's friends who steered us toward this spot said that it was the "calmer" side of the island, which my mom interpreted to mean "less windy," though it turns out they meant "less crowded." I don't really care; I'll take it all...

Blue skies, no chance of rain

That's what someone was saying as they walked past me on the last morning in Mexico. With this view. I'm back in Denver now. Just trying to maintain the glow a bit longer.

Mexican miscellany

The second half of my week wasn't only spent by the pool at the Hilton, I swear. A few random moments that are actually connected to being in Mexico itself... 

Moving day, Mexican-style

The salsa bar at Felix's in Cabo San Lucas--super-friendly place enough off the main tourist drag that it was possible to truly enjoy a meal there before fleeing from town, which was otherwise WAY TOO MUCH. (Though it was interesting to learn that Cabo Wabo is actually a bar rather than just a nickname for Cabo San Lucas.)

Pretty gazebo seen while fleeing Cabo San Lucas after dinner.

Meat-roasting spit at Las Guacamayas restaurant on the outskirts of San José del Cabo.

Okay, I have to put a disclaimer on the next two. As someone who has repeatedly humiliated herself in half-a-dozen languages at this point, I want to be clear that I'm not including these to poke fun. I just truly love and appreciate the interesting linguistic things that happen in translation, and Las Guacamayas was fertile ground.

It's a little hard to read the best line. But: doubts? When has anyone ever invited you to share your doubts? So existential-sounding. And you gotta love anyone who does events in the domicile. And then this one, from the guy roaming the restaurant with his guitar:

No; tank you.