Fantasy Islands--The Epilogue

The Journey to Hawaii began the first week of August last year. I was sitting at the computer in Orange Beach, Alabama and the thought came to be about taking Patti to Hawaii for our 35th wedding anniversary. Then the thought entered my mind to take the family. I suggested it to Patti and she said, "How?" That became my adventure for the next eleven months.

I made airline reservations for us while we were still on vacation at the beach. We were then committed to at least going to Hawaii. Then came the reservations for an NCL cruise of the islands. That just seemed like the wise thing to do and now we know it was definitely the right decision for us.

Once we had a flight and knew where we were staying(Pride of America), the rest was just research concerning what we were going to do while we were there. That was fun and we all got in on the act. I planned almost every detail, but my family knows that I'm like that. They may laugh at me, but also sort of expect it.

Why did I feel that this was so important? First of all, we wanted the kids with us when we celebrated #35. Second, we thought it would be great for all of us to be together for an extended period of time. As it turned out, it was even without children. Third, we wanted them to experience some time with just their spouses, just relaxing. I think it accomplished those things. I would highly recommend it to anyone, especially if you really enjoy being together as a family.

What could be an encore? I'll keep it to myself for now...