Guides | Papousse | Travel with kids made easy

Truth, Love, Parenting – Meet the Parents

drew

June 21, 2017

Truth, Love, Parenting – Meet the Parents

Papousse’s Meet the Parents series offers a behind the scenes look at adventurous parents who are inspiring other families to explore. Truth, Love, Parenting. is a parenting blog written by Drew Tupper, a husband, father, and teacher based in Victoria, BC. Drew is an advocate and educator for thriving families and healthy children. He and his wife also take their kids on fun adventures around Vancouver Island and beyond. We recently caught up with Drew to learn more about his peaceful parenting approach and tips for keeping your cool on the road.

1. We’ve been loving your peaceful approach to parenting on your new blog Truth, Love, Parenting. What prompted you to start sharing your experiences and tips for other parents?

I used to be an angry Daddy. I definitely didn’t start out as a peaceful parent, I transitioned to it. I was also loving, of course, but my default in difficult times was anger and frustration. It began as a self-improvement project and has taken off into a blog, public speaking, and a coaching practice. After adopting peaceful parenting strategies not only do we have a happier home, my kids are better behaved. There is an old way of thinking that assumes you need to be really firm and hard on your kids in order for them to behave. Not true. So, how could I not share this? How could I not help other people understand that they can have a happier home with more helpful children?

2. You mentioned you spent much of last summer travelling in a van with your kids. How do they like van camping? What worked well? Were there any challenges?

My kids are absolutely in love with the van camping, almost too much. They get excited and goofy which makes putting them to bed a challenge. We have a weirdo Japanese import called a Mazda Bongo Friendee. It is similar to a Westy. It too has a pop-top and can comfortably sleep 4. We travelled around Vancouver Island from Victoria to Quadra and Cortes Island and everywhere in between. The Discovery and Gulf Island are some of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been, and I’ve been on beautiful beaches in Koh Pi Pi Thailand, Sardegna Italy, and Mallorca Spain. Vancouver Islanders are absolutely blessed!

About other challenges, there is something about fresh air and sunshine that just sorts everything out. I’m sure there were some challenges but they don’t seem all that serious in the summer. What works well is going with the flow. Having the camper van helps with this. If all else fails, and we don’t get to our destination, we can pull over somewhere and sleep.

3. Do you have any tips for keeping things relaxed while travelling?

It’s all about preparation and expectations. Either be really well prepared or don’t set your expectations too high, one or the other. Like I mentioned, we tend to go with the flow and let the day/vacation unfold in a natural way, as the spirit moves us.

4. What are a few of your favourite places to camp around Vancouver Island?

Parksville, Saltspring Island, Quadra Island, Cortes Island, Denman Island, Hornby Island.

5. What destination is at the top of your list for a family vacation?

My dream is to take a year off and travel around with the kids. I’d love to go to lots of places. I am a sucker for Europe. I love it…the people, the food, the beauty, the architecture. But places I haven’t been which are on the list: India, South America and Africa.

Learn more about Drew’s peaceful approach to parenting on his blog — Truth, Love, Parenting. Get Drew’s latest blog posts and parenting tips via his facebook page: facebook.com/truthloveparenting

Fuerteventura, a Canary Island adventure

Beach

Canary Islands

Europe

Fuerteventura

Spain

Travel guides

Giulia
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May 24, 2017
0

Fuerteventura is the second largest of Spain’s Canary Islands. It’s a popular holiday destination known for its white-sand beaches and year-round warmth cooled by constant winds. Enjoy this little guide shared by our youngest baby contributor, Anna Giulia, of miniwanderlust2016.com

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I am the youngest mini baby blogger travelling the world. Currently in Fuerteventura, one of the Canary Islands.

Activities Meals Accommodations Travel Resources

Activities

I had much fun surfing, paddling and learning my first Spanish words.

Meals

I recommend H2O in Corralejo!!! Best vegan food ever and amazing fresh juices.

Accommodations

I have travelled all the island thanks to Airbnb!!! Best way to travel with a baby is having your “own” apartment.

Travel

You can come here by plane or by ferry. I came by plane with mum, but dad drove the car so he came by ferry (it took 3 days).

Resources

Hello Canary Islands Tourism Website
Visit Canary Islands – a guide to the Islands
My favourite spots in the North of Fuerteventura
My South of Fuerteventura tips
My review of Tenerife, the largest and most populated island of the seven Canary Islands

Packing tip

Summer clothes and don’t forget a jumper for the evening!

Little Explorer Reads: Amos & Boris

Adventure

Blog

Little Explorer Reads

Ashley DeGraaf
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May 6, 2017
0

At Papousse, we believe books are a fantastic way to adventure with our kids. Our Little Explorer Reads series introduces books to inspire you and the little ones in your life to explore.

We’re honoured to have Ashley from Ashley Degraaf Writer Photography (check her out on Instagram, ashley.writerphotographer) guest post with her favourite book for little ones.

Amos & Boris by William Steig

I have always been a book nerd. Now that I have kids I’m a children’s book nerd too. Searching out books with beautiful illustrations, funny rhymes, easy to read lines, comical or cute characters, and good stories and morals has become a big pleasure of mine.

William Steig’s classic tale of friendship and helping others no matter how different, with enough irony to even amuse parents, Amos & Boris fits in the realm of an all-around good children’s book in our house.

Before I explain why, here’s a little bit about the book.

Amos, a curious little mouse with a big sense of adventure, decides to build a ship and set sail on the sea inspired by his love of the ocean. He finds himself in need of rescue, as he falls overboard and loses sight of his ship, The Rodent. He’s rescued by Boris the whale who tells him he will take him to the Ivory Coast of Africa, where he was headed anyways. After they go their separate ways, and many years later, Boris finds himself in trouble and Amos finds a very clever way of returning the favour to his friend and rescuing him.

Reasons why we like the book so much:

The illustrations. The cover art itself is cool and well, this may sound strange to you, but the soft and simple pastel colours and the image of Boris the whale (with Amos the tiny mouse perched on top) fit our home’s nautical theme. I proudly display it on the top of our bookshelf in the kid’s loft space.

The text. I studied poetry in university and although I majored in journalism I dabbled in it for several semesters and fell in love. So of course, lines like, “…surf sounds – bursting breakers, the backwashes with rolling pebbles…” inspire that warm and joyful feeling when words take you to another place.

I especially loved this part:

“One night, in a phosphorescent sea, he marveled at the sight of some whales spouting luminous water; and later, lying on the deck of his boat gazing at the immense, starry sky, the tiny mouse Amos, a little speck of a living thing in the vast living universe, felt thoroughly akin to it all. Overwhelmed by the beauty and mystery of everything, he rolled over and over and right off the deck of his boat and into the sea.”

Although this may seem a bit sophisticated for a children’s book, and the idea too big for a little one to take in to some, I don’t think it necessarily is. It provides a brilliant image of those moments of observing nature’s beauty while abroad and that feeling of complete wonder, also that overwhelming feeling of a universe so big. It’s also a great segue to talk to your little one about the story of Amos’ journey.

The moral.

Discovery. Defying odds. Adventure. Helping others in desperate times. Being there for friends, no matter how different they are from you. How everyone plays a very important role in the universe. These all play a part in this simple story of a whale and mouse becoming friends. How cool is that? Your child might not pick up on all of that yet, but some parts yes, and more later down the road as they get older.

One day they might be the one reading it to their children too, totally immersed in all the lessons that can be learnt from this classic.

They liked it too!

And lastly, the kids love it and request it quite often. I guess that should be one of the most important aspects of why a children’s book is a favourite in the household, not that just mom thinks it’s a super groovy book that has cool images, poetic language, and great lessons.

Pura Vida in Costa Rica

Beach

Caribbean

Central America

Costa Rica

Destinations

Travel guides

Trip ideas

Tara Sawatsky
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April 5, 2017
0

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We went to Costa Rica for a month with our 7 month old baby. We spent a week on the Pacific Coast in Samara. It was a fantastic spot for families with calm, warm ocean waters. We then travelled to the Atlantic Coast, stopping to see the rainforest and “the Disneyland of hot springs” near La Fortuna, under Volcano Arenal. We ended our trip with a few weeks soaking up the rasta vibe in puerto viejo on the caribbean coast.

Activities Meals Accommodations Travel Resources

Activities

My partner Kevin and I went to Costa Rica for a month in February 2017 with our 7 month old baby Sylas. We spent a week on the Pacific Coast in Samara. It was a fantastic spot for families with calm, warm ocean waters. We stayed at the Tico Adventure Lodge. Sylas loved the pool! In the afternoons, we would hang out on the beach. We rented surf boards at Ticos Surf School. The person who ran the surf rental had a ten month old baby Valentina, so Sylas had a friend! We would definitely go back to Samara!

We then spent a week travelling across Costa Rica to the Atlantic Coast, stopping in La Fortuna and Chilamate. In La Fortuna, we visited Baldi Hotsprings Resort. It was the Disneyland of hotsprings and fun for both parents and baby, with super fast waterslides for us and a kid zone for Sylas. He had a great time in the hot water and so did we!

We ended our trip with a few weeks in Puerto Viejo on the Caribbean Coast. It was a magical place with several beaches and a cool rasta vibe. After attending a daily yoga class (Kevin and I would alternate days), we would load up the stroller daily with Sylas and our beach gear and set off an adventures, exploring nearby beaches, jungle, shops and restaurants. Sylas loved swimming in the warm aquamarine water daily. In front of some of the rasta bars, there were naturally occurring ‘baby pools’. The reefs created sheltered areas that were perfect for Sylas to practice his baby swimming strokes.

We spent lots of time relaxing on the beach and swimming as a family. We also went hiking and saw lots of wildlife. We saw howler monkeys, capuchin monkeys, morpho butterflies, sloths, yellow and brown pit vipers, and hundreds of iguanas (also known as ‘tree chickens’)!

Everywhere people were very warm and receptive to our baby. Often servers in the restaurants would come up to us and ask to hold Sylas and take him for a walk. A few times he was laughing in the kitchens of the restaurants and meeting people, while we watched and ate our dinner.

I saw many women breastfeeding openly, so did not at all feel uncomfortable nursing my baby. Instead, I felt very supported being a new mom in Costa Rica. Not to be mention the joy of skipping customs and security lines at the airport because we had a baby!

The slogan of Costa Rica is “Pura Vida” (pure life), and that’s what it was. It was so wonderful to enjoy our time as a young family in Costa Rica together, with “Pura Vida”. We are already planning our next adventure!

Meals

Sylas just started eating solids when we started on our trip, so we ate a lot of guacamole, rice and beans. These were all easy baby foods that our baby enjoyed! Our adult favourite was fried plantains, called “patacones” by the “Ticos” (Costa Ricans)!

Accommodations

Pacific Coast: Tico Adventure Lodge, Samara
Central Costa Rica: Hostel Arenal La Fortuna, La Fortuna
Caribbean Coast: Be My Guest Cabinas, Puerto Viejo

Travel

We flew to Costa Rica and rented a car when we moved towns. When we staying in a place for more than a few days, we didn’t have a car and walked or took local taxis. The people we met at Alamo in the Pacific and Caribbean coasts were so friendly. Driving felt quite safe and easy. We were happy we had our car seat. Roads were windy and slow going, but fun to drive!

Packing tips

A few things came in handy for our trip! A baby duck inflatable bathtub created a consistent bath time for Sylas. It also was a fun place for him to play in the shade on the beach. We’d fill it with ocean water. We also brought Phil and Ted’s “Traveller cot”. It was a great spot for Sylas to play and sleep (when he was not in our bed), and since it has mesh on all sides, it also kept out the mosquitos. We would put the DockAtot in it.

Since Sylas just started eating solids, it was also very useful to have our Gus & Guzzie Perch highchair. Especially at hostels we stayed in, there were no high chairs, so it was super useful.

We lost our Ergo baby carrier on the plane to Costa Rica. Luckily a nearby mall in downtown San Jose had an Infantino carrier for sale, that saved the day!

It was also super helpful to have our stroller, car seat, baby sunsuits, and lifejacket – and not to mention a bag of toys, baby dishes, food grinder, and more! As a result, Kevin and I brought few clothes.— which we didn’t really need anyway, given all the time we spent soaking up the sun on the beach.

Resources

Baldi Hotsprings Resort, La Fortuna
Puerto Viejo
Weather and best time to visit Costa Rica

Are we there yet? // Little Explorer Reads

Adventure

Australia

Blog

Little Explorer Reads

aldea wood
-

April 4, 2017
0

At Papousse, we believe books are a fantastic way to adventure with our kids. Our Little Explorer Reads series introduces books to inspire you and the little ones in your life to explore.

Are we there yet? By Alison Lester

Recommended ages: toddler to grade 4

A journey around Australia

‘Are we there yet?’ is a joyfully illustrated account of one family’s amazing 3 month journey around Australia. Grace and her two brothers get to spend the whole winter term touring the country with their parents. Sometimes camping in a tent trailer, sometimes sleeping with friends or family, their adventure is the perfect blend of entertaining and educational. The story is based on an actual trip taken by the author, which I suspect is what makes it feel so authentic.

Lester impressively weaves together accounts of over forty Australian destinations including famous cities like, Melbourne, Sidney, Cairns and Canberra as well as many natural attractions and lesser known spots. Every other spread includes a small map so you can track their progress.

The book is on the longer side for a children’s book but does a fantastic job of keeping both my kids (aged 2 and 5) engaged right to the end. Lester uses a repeating pattern that creates a predictable and calming flow, making it a relaxing bedtime story. She is also a superb illustrator and every time I read it I discover something new in her delightful paintings.

‘Are we there yet?’ will appeal to audiences of all ages. There are funny bits that just the adults will get, lots of sights and activities that will entertain kids of different ages and the funnest for my 2 year old is the repetition of the classic road trip mantra by little Billy – ‘are we there yet?’

The author has also sprinkled little gems of fun dialogue in a cartoon style throughout the story. These aren’t essential to the plot so can be skipped for shorter attention spans, or included for more enthusiastic audiences.

My Australian friend Kim sent my kids this book to encourage us to visit them and it worked! We are super excited to be planing a family trip to Australia. It was neat to learn more about places I’d heard of like Tazmania, the Twelve Apostles, Alice Springs and Uluru, Darwin, and Surfers Paradise. I was also amazed at how many interesting places I knew little or nothing about – the Flinders Ranges, Windjana Gorge, Wilson’s Promontory, Kakadu, the Bungle Bungles, Turquoise Bay, Katherine Gorge, The Great Australian Bight, and the Three Sisters in the Blue Mountains.

If you are planning a trip to Australia with kids I highly recommend trying to find this book. I recently discovered it has been adapted for younger audiences as well, under the title “Are We There Yet? Lift the flap and play I-spy!”

Other books I love by this author are Alison Lester’s ABCs, Magic Beach and Imagine. Near to Wilson’s Promontory is Alison Lester’s Gallery and Bookshop in Fish Creek. My friend Kim tells me it is amazing! Kim has also shared a family travel guide to Wilson’s Promontory which you can read here.

Contributor giveaway – Wild Flower Botanical Perfume Oil

Blog

Giveaways

padmin
-

April 3, 2017
0

We are giving away this dreamy FLORE Wild Flower Botanical Perfume Oil to one lucky Papousse.com contributor. Have you recently been on your own family trip? Inspire other parents with your travel story to be entered to win.
Share your story to Enter
Travel with your senses in Papousse’s current Contributor contest. Did you know that smell is one of the most powerful way to trigger memories? We promise, you’ll want your little one to remember cuddling you smelling just like this!

Wild Flower from FLORE Botanical Alchemy is a sweet joyous scent with warmth and the puckering flavour of sugared blackberries behind it. Features notes of Poplar Buds, Honey, Mimosa, Blackberries, Amber, Jasmine, Linden, Citrus, Sandalwood, Orris Root, and Cassie. These oil purfumes blend beautifully with your own body chemistry to create a scent unique to you. Purchased from Picot Collective by co-founder Bronwyn when she and her little one were roaming around Fernwood, Victoria, BC (check out her story here to see how easy and simple sharing a story can be).

BONUS: Our friends at Picot Collective in Victoria, BC are offering a special discount for all contributors on Papousse.com Submit your story to get the discount.

Courtenay’s Free Family Fun

British Columbia

Canada

Courtenay

Travel guides

Trip ideas

Vancouver Island

Ashley
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March 16, 2017
0

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My husband and I took our 3.5 year old daughter and 20 month old son to Courtenay, BC for a day trip. We had such a great time. There is so much to see and do for a young family on a budget – cute shops, a museum and a number of places to eat . We visited in early March, but I know the downtown really comes to life when the weather is optimal.

Activities Meals Travel Resources

Activities

Man oh man is Courtenay, BC great for families who want to have special experiences while on a budget. We hit up Cardero’s Cafe and the Courtenay and District Museum and Palaeontology Centre (and Costco, because we’re cool like that). We barely scratched the surface of what Courtenay has to offer. The kids loved the dinosaur bones and mum and dad loved the Americanos.

The Courtenay and District Museum and Palaeontology Centre is located at the bottom of 4th St, just across the street from the water. There are both stairs and a ramp, so the museum is easily accessed by people with strollers or with mobility issues. The entrance to the museum opens just off of the gift shop (just a heads up parents). The shop has a great selection of unique gifts. Speaking of gifts, let’s get to the gift the museum gives you – the museum is FREE. That’s right, I said it, FREE! That being said, they would appreciate a donation for entry (and when you see how beautiful the displays are and how well organized the museum is, you’ll appreciate where your donation goes to).

Taking little people to museums and galleries can be nerve-wracking, because you never know how bringing children will be received. The nicest part about visiting the museum was being told as soon as we entered that it wasn’t a library, to let the kids have fun and not worry about them being quiet. It was music to our ears and freed us up to have such a relaxed and wonderful visit. On the main floor there are dinosaur bones, footprints, fossils, a replica river to demonstrate where the fossils are found and a resident lungfish to name a few things. Upstairs there is a beautiful First Nation exhibit, a taxidermy bear and more displays celebrating the history of the greater Courtenay area.

Meals

We stopped in at Cardero’s Cafe on 5th St. Let’s face it, what family trip is complete without a java infusion for the parental units? The atmosphere at Cardero’s is warm and welcoming to families. My husband sat with the kids in big comfy armchairs while I got an Americano to go. While we didn’t eat at the cafe, it had a delicious selection of treats in the front display that I will definitely enjoy next time we’re there. The staff was super friendly as well.

Travel

We drove to Courtenay in our trusty van. Courtenay is located just off of Highway 1 on Vancouver Island. The Google Maps app helped in figuring out where to grab coffee and how to get to the museum. Though in a classic parenting moment, we loaded the kids up in the van after our Cardero’s Cafe stop and I checked the app for directions to realize we were only one block away. There is ample street parking downtown Courtenay with one or two hours free.

Our plan this year is to try doing more staycation-type trips. We are a young family with only one parent working (I’ve elected to stay at home with the kids), so we don’t have much room in our coffers at the moment for big getaways. We live in Parksville, BC, so Courtenay was just under an hour up the road and definitely able to be squeezed in post-nap for our youngest.

Packing tips

As we were only going for the afternoon, we didn’t pack much beyond diapers, snacks and water bottles.

A note about the museum – you’re only allowed to use your camera in certain sections of the museum. There is a gorgeous First Nation exhibit there where you need to be sure to put the camera away. There will be signs to let you know where it isn’t appropriate to snap pictures.

Resources

Courtenay & District Museum and Palaeontolgy Centre

Cardero’s Cafe

Parksville Winter Roadtrip

Beach

British Columbia

Canada

Parksville

Travel guides

Trip ideas

Vancouver Island

Bronwyn
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March 12, 2017
0

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On Vancouver Island you can easily do some great day trips from Victoria. We had some time so went to check out Parksville’s beach in the winter.

Activities Meals Accomodations Travel Resources

Activities

Parksville beach. This is the whole reason we made the trip. Parksville’s beach is always fantastic in summer because of the tide pools and how warm the water gets. The winter has been unusually cold, so we bundled up and still had a great time exploring. We found crab shells, rocks, sticks and mussel & clam shells. We filled our pockets and brought a few treasures home for future crafts and memories. There is also a special treasure hunt going for several months on the beach and we spent our time trying to find the beautiful glass bulbs that have been hidden on the beaches. The tide schedule changes in winter, so be out in the early morning if you’re hoping to do some tide pool exploration.

Swimming. We planned our stay at a hotel that had a pool. Part of the fun for us is to splash around. We came prepared with Co’s life jacket, but they were stocked up and ready for little swimmers. The pool was deep though, so we made sure we were always close by. If nap time hadn’t been off schedule we would have gone to the free skate at Oceanside Place Arena that takes place on the weekends.

Road tripping. Par of the fun of this getaway for us was being on the road. We stopped at Cabella’s in Nanaimo (Co likes to see the animals and there are some interactive screens to educate about wildlife… plus you can stock up on fudge for your vacate). We picked up a fishing rod for him that I can’t wait to take out on the boat this summer.

Meals

Pioneer House. We left early and made it almost to Duncan, BC where we stopped for breakfast. The restaurant is full of character and the décor was entertaining to all of us. There were also TVs playing sports, so my little one was very happy. The staff were great and the kids menu was good.

Starbucks. We stopped for a snack once we were in Parksville. (Note, we’d planned on getting salads there but Starbucks doesn’t offer them outside of Victoria on the island.)

Thrifty Foods. This island-wide grocery store is located centrally in town. We had a small half kitchen in our room, so we stocked up on some items that we could easily eat in the room like fruit, yogurt, crackers and cheese.

Pacific Prime Restaurant. We ate our lunch at the hotel restaurant. It was a bit pricey, but they were equipped for kids with colouring sheets and pencil crayons.

Accomodations

The Beach Club Resort. In the winter we were able to find a deal to stay over at this fantastic spot. The staff were especially amazing when we checked in.

Travel

We took our car. The route from Victoria to Parksville is simple; the highway takes you directly up. It gets slick when its wet or snowy and the Malahat portion should be driven with relative caution during poor weather conditions. In warmer weather there are all kinds of interesting side stops, but this time we stayed pretty much in the car entertaining ourselves by pointing out giant trees, the ocean, and snow and frozen waterfalls (very unusual here).

Resources

Malahat road conditions. Check in advance if there’s a chance of poor weather.

Nanaimo Science Studio. I learned about this Saturday activity too late in the morning, but would definitely plan to stop here in the future.

Carrum beach and playground

Australia

Beach

Travel guides

Mel
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March 11, 2017
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Carrum is a beachside town close to Frankston (outside Melbourne, Australia). Carrum beach and playground is an amazing park that’s right on the foreshore of the beach, and is set on sand not tanbark. The playground has a beachy vibe, with a play lighthouse and boat, amongst the usual swings and slides.

Activities Meals Travel Resources

Activities

We played at the playground, walked to the beach, chased the seagulls, had a splash, had another play at the playground, then walked to a local eatery. This is a great spot for kids. The playground has bathrooms, BBQs, fencing that keeps toddlers out of the parking area, as well as shade umbrellas. We also enjoyed the beach themed climbing structures and lounge chairs. We loved the beach as it is very clean, flat and safe – as well as sandy so we could play barefoot.

Meals

There are lots of cafes nearby. We ate at Burgled! The best burgers and milkshakes just a short walk away. There are plenty of options available depending on the time and day you visit.

Travel

We came by car (only 10 minutes off Eastlink), but it’s very easily accesible by train or bus as well.

Resources

Read more about my visit to Carrum Beach and Playground including tips for the frustrating parking machine.

Packing tips

Take bathers, and beach toys. Lots of kids played with buckets and spades in amongst the play equipment.

Maui in December

Beach

Cities

Hawaii

Maui

Travel guides

Trip ideas

USA

Kristine Lee
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February 19, 2017
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We went to Maui in December. We wanted an easy holiday with the kids, where we could spend the majority of the day outside.

Activities Meals Accomodations Travel Resources

Activities

We went right after Christmas to enjoy a healthy start to the new year with our family. The kids played in the pools and we went to the beach almost everyday without having to get into a car and drive somewhere.

We did enjoy a couple fun outings. Our favourite beach was Baby Beach in Lahaina. It’s hidden from the main road, but if you have young ones, it’s a must! The beach is long, so there are many private spots to hang out, there is minimal coral, and no waves! We also did a day trip to Paia. The hubby & I loved this. We left in the morning to avoid traffic, stopped for breakfast, played at a couple beaches along the way before we did a little shopping. We had a full day by 2:00 and drove back before the traffic got bad.

Meals

We enjoyed the full size kitchen so we could make many meals in the condo. But there are also many restaurants to try:

Lahaina

Shave Ice
Leoda’s
Honu, Mala, Frida’s (like the vibe at Mala & Frida’s best)
Star Noodle
Hula Grill
Choice Health Bar for their acai bowl
Ono Gelato – Italian Gelato with Island Flair Made on Maui

Kahana

Farmers market
Fish market

Paia

Nourish

Accomodations

We stayed at Honua Kai Resort in Kaanapali – 2 bedroom condo. We enjoyed the full size kitchen, the washer & dryer, and the large size units. The sound proofing is also great in the rooms.

Travel

We flew Alaska Air.

Resources

Packing tips

Pack light! We intentionally tried to only pack what we needed and still brought too many clothes. We also travel with our own car seats instead of renting.

Kristine lives with her family on Vancouver Island. Check out her instagram for more gorgeous photos.

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