Capturing the Moment

  Long exposure of the dense rainforest and stream of Iao Valley. Wow! What an amazing few weeks in Maui. There are many adventures, both on and off the beaten path, that are so worth it. It may seem like after a long flight you might want to just sit at your resort pool with a mai tai in hand, but if you are the go-getter type, then the island adventures are just waiting for you, as they were for us. Most of the resorts, and our condo are on the dry side of the island. This means maximum sunshine and calm waters for snorkeling and whale watching. Which we did a lot of! You can whale watch from your balcony even, if you are there November thru April. But I would suggest getting over to the wet side of the island at some point. This is where you find lush valleys, beautiful exotic flowers, rocky rivers, and beautiful waterfalls. Iao Valley is the easiest valley to go explore, only minutes away from the airport. I often send people here on their last day, especially if they have a la...

     Winter Challenge is on! Luckily, where I live turns into a winter wonderland at the end of every year. This year we are off to a great start. Stowe, Vermont is a quintessential New England small town. The church dominates Main Street, Christmas lights are everywhere, and the mountain is covered in fluffy, white snow. One of the biggest draws of Stowe for me is the outdoor community and all the activities that are available. At this time of year you could switch between skiing, snowboarding, cross country skiing, and snowshoeing.    I've been hitting the slopes in the mornings, trying to beat the crowd and advance my snowboarding skills. But now, with the kids out of school, its time to get them on the slopes. Today was our first day as a family, so we kept it easy. It was a blustery, cold, snowy morning, but the kids did great. We started with a run on the magic carpet, then the older two took to the adventure triple lift with Heidi. I stayed for a few more...

View into Smuggler's Notch at the top of Vermont      September 22 means the first day of Fall, and that is a big deal here in Stowe, Vermont. This part of the Northeast of the United States, is quite famous for its beautiful fall foliage. To celebrate the turning of seasons I hit the mountains with the whole family. First we grabbed our Epic ski passes for an early season trip up the Gondola at Stowe Mountain Resort. This took us very close to the highest peak of Vermont, called Mount Mansfield. We had a great view from the top. The kids really wanted to do some rock climbing and some mountain goating, which is what they call hiking on the boulder strewn trail heading up towards the peak. It is pretty impressive to see how there hiking skills and coordination have really improved.     After waving at every gondola on our way down, we had one more stop to check out. At the entrance to Smuggler's Notch, there is a beautiful boardwalk trail which heads into a beav...