Beautiful photos Mary! Glad you and your family had a great time. I'm with you, I'd rather snorkel than scuba dive-I can't even snorkel well-hubby makes fun of me b/c I cannot flap my feet and have to rely on moving my arms to swim around. Love the flower closeups and the waterfalls! Did you eat any guava? That was my favorite in Hawaii-yum. Must have been amazing to see the red lava-what an experience.

Aloha!
Monique

THANKS Mary! What breathtaking scenes and I imagine they were even more so in person. Cute tootsies; ) The stay in the rainforest must have been heavenly...did you hear the treefrogs? On PBS there was a segment about an overpopulation of a certain introduced treefrog and how deafening their collective voices are and if you can imagine,they are considered pests... How lucky Annie and David are scuba divers! I'd be most likely flopping around snorkeling too lol.
I can't stop scrolling back to look at the details. What size were those fern fronds-they look as if they are large or is that a macro shot? Thanks so much for sharing your trip with us. Such a well deserved break for your whole family. Welcome back....sorry it's not as warm as the islands!

~Babs

Mary, thank you for sharing your Hawaiian experience with us! Great pics, and it sounds like you all had a fantastic time, as I knew you would. Makes it doubly precious to have such a tropical escape in the middle of winter and also that your DH won the trip! How great is that? Thanks again for sharing these wonderful images, and welcome back!

Taryn

Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh..... more, more, more, more!!!! Mary!!! I absolutely adore every one of these photographs. How fabu-fabu. Looks like you guys had a wonderful vacation.

I'm talking to Doug as I write this and telling him we NEED to go back there.

Deanne

Mary, what fabulous photos. The Rhambutan are just the coolest. Thanks for sharing your memorable vacation with us.

Michelle

Oh, Mary!! I've never been to Hawaii but feel like a got a great tour! Just looking at your pics is a "warmer" on a day as cold as today.

Beautiful! Congrats again to your DH for being a wonderful photographer.

Martie

Fantastic! What more can I say ? except more...more !

Oooh-la-la, Mary! I think it may be time for me to start putting my foot down on these winter vacations to cold places and head for these warm, tropical paradises instead. Thanks for the glimpses.

Sue

Mary, how neat to be able to travel to Hawaii through the eyes of a friend. The scale of the waterfall and the plants where David is standing is awesome. It is all so extraodrinary. You have put a personal touch to a far away place for me. While the flowers are very pretty I am drawn to the carving amongst the rocks. Wondering who might have carved that. Oh duh, it just sunk in. That is a bum shot. LOL Norma

This is about as close to Hawaii as I'll ever get!! Thanks for thinking of us - truly a "paradise" -- wow!! I like your favorite view too!!

-Cindy

Oh Mary, it looks like you all had such a great time. And I can tell you were thinking of us. These pictures include all the Idylls favorite things: bum shot, pedicure shot, lots of beautiful flowers and even a couple of the local birds. I looked up the Nene, I didn't realize they were the state bird. And to top it off you even gave us a glimpse of both Annie and David enjoying their vacation. Thanks, I really enjoyed seeing these and I'm so glad you had a wonderful vacation.

Eden

Thanks everyone. Congratulations Norma on spotting the bum shot!

Babs, the stems of the unfurling fronds were about 3 inches in diameter. To give an idea of scale the leaf at the bottom was the size of a large canna leaf. The forest had a very primeval feel - I kept expecting a dinosaur to come crashing through the undergrowth!

Mary

Mary, the pictures are spectacular! I noticed the bum shot immediately and wondered about it's origins......please tell the story behind (snicker) that one.

Thank you for sharing a bit of your vacation. DH has no desire to ever visit Hawaii, so photos may be my only glimpse of it....I am thrilled to see the beauty of the islands through other's eyes & lenses.

T.

LOL Mary...I see you managed to get a bum shot! The vacation sounds wonderful and the pictures are gorgeous! You always seem to make the most out of your vacations...soaking in all the local culture. How cool is that Rhambutan? I've never seen or heard of anything like that and I think it's rather beautiful! I like the pic and the smile on Davids face standing next to the giant Heliconia. GORGEOUS pics...Thanks for the virtual tour! Ei

I must really be falling down on the job lately-that bum shot went right over my head...lol. In fact, I had to go back and look after all the comments.

Sue

So Mary, I'm enjoying these pics again and was hoping you had a few more for us? Yes that bum shot is a hoot!

Deanne