I'm in love with the Cook Islands. If you want a fabulous beach vacation, this is the place to come. I haven't had the best weather, but it is a gorgeous area. I toured another island, Aitutaki, on Tuesday. The weather on Raro was rainy, but Aitutaki had sun breaking through the clouds. We took the yellow boat to tour the lagoon. We snorkeled at a few different sites - zebra fish, trumpet fish, and a medley of others. I saw some huges clams - who knew the inner part where the shells meet come in such a variety of colors. [View Full Entry]

---

---

I am so glad I can sleep on planes! It makes that nine plus hour flight go by much quicker. It's been awhile since I have flown with checked bags, and I had forgotten the tedium of waiting in line for check-in, and then security. There is a reason you should arrive two hours before international flight departures; it took me 90 minutes for all of that (sigh!). The flight was fine, decent airplane breakfast. We arrived in Rarotonga while it was still dark. The attendant on the airplane PA was funny. Throughout the whole flight he speaks to us in [View Full Entry]

---

---

Seems I left Chicago just in time to miss the hot, muggy weather. I left Sunday morning (my dad loved that as a Father's Day present - hi Dad, Happy Father's Day, can you take me to the airport in the early morning?). Christen and I kicked it old school, and made plans before I left where and when to meet at LAX since I am without my phone. We had a lovely, lazy day out in/near Long Beach. Wandered around Belmont Shore which has some fun stores in which to browse. I was tempted to buy a few things, but [View Full Entry]

---

---