The Perfect Vacation by Chris Keniston and Kathy Ivan

The Perfect Vacation – Chris Keniston and the Beach

My bucket list of interesting places grows longer every year. I'd love to walk the Great Wall of China.  I'd like to stand in the center of Timbuktu.  But I'd especially like to have lunch in an ocean restaurant in Bali.  Yes. I mean one of those places where the table and chairs are in the water. The crystal clear aqua blue warm water.

And if you can't tell, I am most definitely a beach person.  I love the ocean, the sand, the sound of the waves rushing ashore.  And have you noticed how the food always tastes better by the sea?  

My mother and I had the best ever Macaroni and Cheese in Bermuda. 

Now I know a lot of people love the mountains. Some of the views are mind boggling. A friend of mine recently sent me a photo from the Grand Canyon – also on my bucket list - that left me breathless.

Of course my biggest problems with mountains is they tend to come with other interesting and often frightening sights, like bears.

Welcome to Paradise by Chris Keniston

I love Paradise. Technically I love any beach with warm blue water, soft sand, and if you throw in a piña colada and a cabana boy- I’m in hog heaven.

Three years ago a dear friend invited me to join her on a vacation to Hawaii. One week in Kona. It didn’t seem right to travel that far and not go to Pearl Harbor, so I arrived a day early in Honolulu.

The first thing I remember is stepping outside the hotel door at oh dark thirty in the morning (all tours to Pearl start v-e-r-y early) and mumbling to the driver “what beautiful weather”. His response- “There’s a reason they call this Paradise.” Of course the writer in me immediately thought-- Gotta put that in a book somewhere.