Becky poses on Dec. 28 with my two newest stuffed animals, Flotsam and Jetsam (Christmas presents from Casey and Gerry), at Fish Pond in the frogs’ homeland of Kauai. :)

I stand in front of Kauai’s beautiful Wailua Falls on Dec. 28.

Here’s one of Kauai’s ubiquitous chickens and two very cute baby chicks, on Dec. 28.

Becky smiles at the National Tropical Botanical Gardens on Dec. 28. We saw lots of pretty flowers and other interesting plants, as well as a giant snail and an incredible scenic vista, and we drove around in a very old car that couldn’t make it up hills with more than a 2-percent grade. :)

Dancers at Smith’s Tropical Paradise entertain us during a luau on Dec. 27.

Becky feeds a peacock while crouching in front of a beautiful orange flowering tree at Smith’s Tropical Paradise on Dec. 27.

A humpback whale flips its tail up into the air! Here’s another whale tail, and here’s a whole bunch of whales — I count four. We also saw dolphins during our Dec. 26 boat ride, including this spinner dolphin swimming right alongside the boat.

Becky stands on deck and looks dramatically out into the ocean during our Dec. 26 boat ride.

A view of the beautiful Na Pali coast during our Dec. 26 boat ride. Here’s a scenic coastline view, and a shot of the sunrise from the boat.

I stand in front of a scenic vista in northern Kauai on Dec. 25.

Before heading to the beach on Christmas Day, we checked out these cool “wet caves” along Kauai’s north shore.

A classic tropical scene in Kauai on Dec. 25, Christmas Day.

What can I say? It was an incredible trip. Hawaii is not only my newest state, it’s also definitely one of my favorite states, if not the favorite.

I stand in front of Kauai’s famous Wailua Falls. Photo by Becky.

In the realm of nerdy Brendan milestones, this vacation established several:

*does not include airplane flyovers

(If you’re wondering, my northernmost lifetime point is somewhere in the Scottish Highlands, and my easternmost lifetime point is somewhere in or near Hamburg, Germany. All four of my ordinal-direction records were set with Becky.)

I also went snorkeling for the first time ever, saw dolphins at closer range than I ever had before, and saw nude sunbathers on a beach for the first time. Twice. :)

A spinner dolphin swims right next to our boat. Here’s a pic of several dolphins. Sorry, no pictures of nude sunbathers. :)

Well, I’ll say more about Hawaii once I get more pictures online. Right now, I’m still putting together the pieces of my broken hard drive, but the pictures have been rescued, and I will try to put more of them online by Thursday. For the moment, suffice it to say, Hawaii is awesome.

Hauoli Makahiki Hou! (Happy New Year!)

I accidentally left my cell phone in Arizona at Becky’s house. D’oh!!! That’s why I didn’t post any updates about my flight home today. But I’m back in Newington. Hurrah!

I’ll write a Hawaii wrap-up shortly.

On ground in Phoenix, AZ. Just left Barry M. Goldwater Terminal, now going to car.