Having been away for the past week or so, I have to admit that this was one of the best disconnects ever! My son and I just spent a wonderful time in Hawaii celebrating his accomplishments and graduation from Cal Poly, while also making sure our time away served as an awesome vacation. We had the best time ever. From the moment we landed in Honolulu, till we returned, it was go, go, go! Together we took over 2000 photos, and shared some of the best memories that will last us both a lifetime.
The first sign that our trip was going to be incredible was when Avis upgraded our car rental from a mid-size vehicle to a Mustang Convertible. The agent at Avis looked at Sean and said "here's my graduation gift to you." Every moment of our trip was like that. We stayed at a friends house in Kaimuki, a 4000+ sq. ft. home with a million dollar view of Diamond Head and Waikiki. The Aloha Spirit was overflowing from day one. Some of the things we were able to do included our Golf Game at Luana Hills, the most beautiful course in the world. (Like playing golf at Jurrasic Park) and yes, Sean beat me by 10 strokes. DOH! :-)
Click Here - More Hawaii Photos
We traveled and explored the entire island of Oahu, stopping to dine and swim at nearly every scenic location. From Sandy Beach, Kailua, Waimanalo, Lanikai, Hanauma Bay to North Shore and Waimea, you could find us snorkeling, swimming, and soaking up the rays. We surfed in Waikiki, shopped at the International Marketplace, and even picked up some goodies at the ABC stores located on nearly every corner. We both soon forgot it was a celebration, and turned it into a vacation in Paradise.
One day, we were actually followed by the Google Maps car while heading to North Shore and we're certain we will be on Google maps when you search "Chinaman's Hat." We had a great time in Haleiwa, and ate at Cholo's, a great Mexican food restaurant in town. Then we had some awesome photo opportunities with the turtles swimming around over on the North Shore. Last Saturday, we took some time out to fly over to Maui, grabbed the Molokini Express, and spent the morning snorkeling in one of the top 10 underwater preserves in the world. Molokini Crater, a must see for any diver or snorkeler.
A day at the Aloha Stadium swap meet shopping was enough to almost convert our carry on bags to check-ins, they were completely packed with gifts and souvenirs. There were so many places we visited, shops, scenic views like the Pali, the Dole Pineapple Plantation, and beautiful coast lines, there is no way I could list all we did in a single post. The best part of the entire trip was getting to be with my son, and celebrate Fathers Day with him alone, something we haven't done in years.
The only negative event that happened this trip was that a man passed away in his seat on the plane coming home. It made us realize just how special life is and that our time here should never be taken for granted. Sean's leaving tomorrow to go on a final cruise with his college buddies, then it's off into the working world for him. I could not be any more proud and pleased with what my son Sean has done and who he has become. He's a young man now, and is the legacy that one day I'll leave behind. The world will be good to him and he to it.
I am so grateful for the time we were able to spend together, and I appreciate all my AR family and friends supporting my leave of absence for this celebration/vacation. It was a very much needed break and disconnect for me and my son. Thank you. Now I'm back, rejuvenated, and ready to try and catch up with all I missed while away. It's great to be back home, but I will have to be going back to the Islands very soon
once again, my wife has made that very clear!! :-))
Mahalo and Aloha!
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Looks like it was an awesome trip. Now get back to work! :)
Wow, Brad Congratulations...I know you are so proud. I hope you had a good time and I am glad you are back. I am a big fan and read all the helpful information you give to all of us. Once again glad to have you back. Great pictures too.
Brad, great post - and fabulous photos. You sound like a very proud dad. Wonderful to share in your excitement and fun. ;-)
Congratulations to your son and you! Beautiful pictures of Hawaii. Thanks for sharing.
I hope you'll remember me if you learn of anyone moving to "The OC" and I will do the same!
Best regards.
Michael Caruso, Broker ABR ABRM CRB CRS GREEN GRI
2007 President, Orange County Association of Realtors
Looks like you had a fantastic time...how really neat that is. And thanks for the photos. For a minute or two, I was back there enjoying the sun and the warm breeze.
Hi Brad-Fantastic pics. What a truly blessed and wonderful trip and one for your memory book for years to come. Thank you for sharing. You are a great dad I can tell. <SMILE>
Hey Brad, What a wonderful way to celebrate your son's graduation! I loved looking at your Hawaii pictures--it's so beautiful there and some place that I would love to visit one day!
Have a great day,
Anne Rains
Well done Sean!
Bill
Brad,
What an achievement for you son; congratulations to both of you! We're glad to have you back.
Mike in Tucson
Hi Brad looks like you had an awesome time! The photos are incredible. Congrats to your son on his graduation!
Welcome back Brad! Looks like you packed quite a few activities into a short span of time. Celebrating your son's graduation in Hawaii is something he'll remember for a lifetime.
Chanda panda
Brad, looks and sounds like a fantastic vacation to Hawaii. I hope to visit there someday (and to look up some of our great AR members there when I do).
Missed you while you were gone. I'm glad you enjoyed yourself.
So..it looks like you're roughin is a little there. not a bad place to celebrate...well...anything.
Hi Brad: Congradulations to your son. It looks beautiful there. Tell me again: Why did you come back?
:)
First of all, congratulations to your son, Sean. What an amazing accomplishment for a young man. Second of all, those are some seriously beautiful photographs (and so many of them). Thanks for sharing. Third (and last) of all, holy crap, man. You look scruffy! That's a sure sign that you truly let loose and enjoyed yourself. Way to go. And welcome back!
All I can say is... AWESOME! Glad you guys had such a great trip...
Jer - thanks for the welcome back! Work... what's that? lol~ :-))
Joannie - it was the best! Thanks for being a faithful fan and friend.
Teri - my time away was filled with excitement and fun for sure.
Michael - thanks, but every photo taken and posted does it no justice compared to being there.
Marianne - I'm glad some of the photos were able to take you back, they'll do the same for me for years to come. :-)
Sharon - a great Dad can only be attributed to having great sons. All 3 of my boys are truly my life and inspiration.
Anne - Hawaii is a place you must visit in your lifetime. I was fortunate to live there for 7 years and still love it more than any other place.
William - I'll be sure Sean sees that! Thanks.
Mike - it's great to be back home, I know I missed a ton of "raindrama" and "fun" while I was away. Home Sweet Home!!
Bill - thanks, I took so many pictures but only have time to post a few... a couple hundred or so!! lol~ Missed ya man.
Chanda - we did more in the past 10 days than most people could do in a month. It was physically demanding and I'm exhausted. Bob Stewart said it best.... "Now I need a vacation from my vacation!" haha..
Brian - you'll love it there, be sure to take lots of sun block, and lot's of ..... MONEY!!
Loreena - I missed you and my AR friends too. Thanks for letting ActiveBrad take an ExtraActiveBreak! :-))
Konnie - it really doesn't get much better than this. Roughin it was the bomb! :-)
Matt - I came back for you my friend. I just couldn't stand being away from you guys any longer. lol~
Heather - Glad you liked the photos, I picked the one of Sean and myself that showed how good looking he is and in order to do that, I had to find the scruffy one to make sure he looked better than me. He gets his good looks from Dad you know!! hahaha...
Brad, What a wonderful vacation, fantastic pictures and memories to last a lifetime.
Brad, you make me want to go back to the Islands! They are so beautiful! So glad you had a wonderful time with your son! Congratulations on his graduation! You have much to be proud of!
Thank you for sharing!
Welcome back, Brad. Looks like you have a great time and created a memory to last a life time.
Not saying you weren't missed, you were but so thankful you got to do this with your son.
Congratulations to you Brad for keeping up your end of the deal you made with your son.
Congratulations to your son for graduating with a 4.0 average!
Welcome back!
I've been to Maui and your son is truly a smart man for picking there to play that round of golf!
I am glad you and your son had a great time together, Brad...may the Lord CONTINUE to bless your family as it walks the way Jesus does!!!!
(BTW I e-mailed Jeremy about the featured groups page I have been asking for........ he said it cannot be done to just ONE group...if one gets it, everybodies does...what is wrong with just ONE PAGE of featured posts?? Will the network screw up again??)
Brad,
Good to hear that you two had a blast. Little concerned about your golf game, though, on account of going down by 10 at Luana Hills.
Oh everything looks awesome! How great for you guys to spend time together like that! Congrats to your son. ~Rita
I hope you had a fine time... just so you know it has been 100* in Atlanta for days... with humidity that makes fish sweat.
Welcome home Brad. I'm jealous, it sounds like a wonderful trip and all the best to your son and congratulations on his accomplishment.
Welcome back Brad! I came here looking for pics of your trip and am not at all disappointed :-) But the 'google maps car'?! I've never heard of that. I thought it was all done with satellites! Cheers Brad!
Brad - It wasn't the same around here without you! :) I'm so happy to hear you're back and how wonderful your trip was. The photos are gorgeous and I can't wait to see more of them. The time you got to spend with Sean in celebration of his great accomplishments and most especially on Father's Day will be memories to last a lifetime.
How wonderful and how proud you must be. Your boy was going to college where I live and work ... beautiful San Luis Obispo! or as I like to call it Paradise. And Hawaii ... another real Paradise.
The pictures were fabulous and loved the close up of the two of you! Thanks for sharing.
I have a really dumb AR question for you ... no rush as I know you are probably swamped. Here it is "how do I get pretty graphics or header on my home page on AR?" Thanks so much and Aloha!
Thanks everyone for the welcome home and for the great comments, It took forever to upload all those photos to flickr, I hope you enjoy them as much as I did taking them. Some really capture the moment and the beauty of the Islands, but none of them really do justice the same as being there.
Connie - you can create any image/header/banner for your AR Blog, then go to the "Customize" link on your "My Home" page to add it to your Blog. Let me know if you need any help with that.
Alex - Jeremy is right, it's one for all and all for one. :-) We are always looking at ways to improve and enhance the network without creating glitches or bugs that will screw up the system. Just keep your eyes and ears out for future developements and improvements. :-)
BTW - I have completed adding the Hawaii photos to flickr. You can see them here!
It is nice to see a personal post from you. I trust the temporary disconnect was refreshing.
Welcome back Brad ...what wonderful, amazing memories and a Father's day, you or your son shared.
This post took so much time to put together. Thanks so much for sharing what had to be one of the greatest moment in your life. It is sad the man passed away on the plane but it is a reminder that life is fragile and we need to handle it with love, care and prayer. The photos are amazing and I thank you for sharing wonderful moments between father and son.
Hey. Write a wise saying and your name will live forever.
I am from Poland and now study English, give please true I wrote the following sentence: "Roundup bold, basic clocks getty, shopping, clocks casasugar home garden."
Waiting for a reply :-D, Miles.