• Day 3: Exploring Hong Kong

    CathyWhile our families slept in and recuperated from jetlag, we took care of some more business. By noon it was family time—our last meeting finished in the hotel lobby, and then the entire family regrouped.

    Everyone in my family was there, except for my brother Mike and his family. They’ve been doing a lot of traveling and could not join us on this trip, which was a bummer for all of us, especially my parents. For them the best thing in life is seeing their four grandchildren play together.

    But I was so thrilled Mom and Dad could join us, because although they have so much energy and vitality, who knows how much longer they can do a trip like this?

    Lissa I wish I could travel more with my parents, but it’s difficult because they have a lot of aches and pains now. And in one day things can just turn so quickly.

    CathyNot to mention my parents are a lot of fun to be with—most of the time. But like most parents, it doesn’t matter how old you are, they still treat you like kids!

    And our husbands, all three of the guys work extremely hard, long hours, high-stress positions. For everyone to make this trip a priority and take this sort of time away really meant a lot.

    Darrell, my husband, took me on my first cruise on our honeymoon 13 years ago. He took off from his practice and brought our daughter, Nicki, who’s 8 now and in second grade.

    Lissa’s husband, Dan, who happens to be my older brother (even though I act like the bossy older sister) was there, and their daughter Megan, who’s 7.

    Kara, our business manager, has kind of been adopted into our family because she doesn’t have family in Hawaii. Her family’s in San Francisco. She calls my parents Mom and Dad. She and her husband, Keoni, have Keri, who’s 7 and in the same class as Nicki.

    The three girls are all just 11 months apart and they play together all the time because the three big girls are always working. We chose this time for our vacation because the girls were on spring break, and as every parent knows, everyone else’s schedule has to follow!

    So ours was a merry band of 11 traveling together.

    Now back to our very happy second reunion in the lobby—the kids seemed bright-eyed and bushy-tailed and raring to experience Hong Kong with us. Our parents and husbands just looked ready to come along for the ride.

    Fortunately, we had a guide. That was our friend Isaac from Honolulu, who also has some goods manufactured in Hong Kong. He volunteered to show us around the city. Isaac met us in the lobby with his daughter, who is a Brownie troopmate of our girls. Boy, were they excited to see a friend from home!

    Lissa Isaac took us on the subway under the harbor to Hong Kong island. This was our first subway ride in Hong Kong and the girls’ first ever and we all crammed in, hanging onto the railings.

    CathyFirst thing we did was go up the famous Victoria Peak. We caught a cable car up to the top. Unfortunately it was somewhat of an overcast day, but the view was still breathtaking. Darrell and I stole a private moment away in a romantic spot. It had been a while and I really missed him!

    Lissa I started becoming a shutterbug and snapped a bunch of photos of this steep ride up.

    We got out and took a one-hour hike around the peak. What was amazing, too, was there’s some private homes there, and the only way you get there is on this narrow path. They must be million-dollar homes with this incredible view!

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    CathyMulti! They’re not million-dollar homes. And you’re no longer able to build up there, so these homes are all grandfathered in.

    We took a walk around the SoHo district, quaint shops, cool restaurants, funky boutiques. Then we caught the Star Ferry from Hong Kong to Kowloon—

    Lissa And that was cheap! That was less than a dollar—2.2 Hong Kong dollars!

    CathyAnd that short ferry ride lulled the girls to sleep because everyone was still so tired. But we were all hungry, so we went to a touristy Chinese restaurant that the hotel had recommended. It was a little bit of a letdown after the authentic ones that Fanny and Michael took us to.

    During dinner all three of the girls fell asleep in our laps. Poor Keri—her face almost fell into her soup, she was so tired! The dads had to piggyback the girls back to the hotel.

    Time to get an early night in—we have a big day ahead of us tomorrow!