Want to daydream for a minute? Check out the #1 Resort and Spa in Fiji – Namale.
It’s 525 acres of paradise, brought to you by Tony Robbins. Modern Bride magazine named Namale’s Honeymoon Suite one of the best in the world.
I had the pleasure of staying at Namale for a week back when I was married. It was one of the most luxurious, laid back, relaxing, wonderful, beautiful weeks of my life.
Think Architectural Digest meets World-Class cuisine on a tropical island, and you’re off to a great start. Opulant villas and bures dot the property, some buit in rainforests, others on lava at the edge of the ocean. The website for Namale has photos of the property that are beyond description. Go click around and daydream a bit, then come back.
We drank from a kava bowl when we arrived. We played tennis, lounged in hammocks, snorkeled over a reef, sunbathed poolside, napped at the beach. The staff seemed to sense whenever we needed a cocktail or drink, and they’d bring it right to us, wherever we were. Sunsets were amazing.
While you’re checking out photos from Namale, I’ll tell a funny story. There was a New Zealander with a wicked accent at the resort when we visited. At one point, she asked us if we’d seen “Tony’s dick.”
“Excuse me?” my wife asked.
“Tony’s dick,” the New Zealander said. “It’s wonderful.”
“Um, I think I’m not understanding you right,” my wife said. “Can you say it again?”
This exchange went on for a bit, before the woman got a bit frustrated.
“Tony’s dick. His dick! It’s by the blow hole!!!”
Okay, then.
Turn’s out Tony Robbins built a deck that overlooks a blowhole. It’s a wonderful place to watch water crash up like a geiser through the reef.
And on that note, I’ll leave you with Namale dreams. If you can ever get there, go!
And be sure to enjoy Tony’s “dick”.
If you liked this Namale Fiji vacation post, you might also enjoy:
Subscribe to Dad’s House | © 2008-09 David Mott, DadsHouseBlog.com. All rights reserved.
July 10th, 2009
Posted in
vacation |
14 comments
When you’re a single parent traveling with kids on vacation, being around other adults helps a lot. Whether you travel with family or friends, or stay in a resort or condo where there are other families, the built-in connections to other people can’t be beat.
My kids and I have vacationed in summer rental houses with my brothers and their families, and we always have a great time. I can hang out with my brother and his wife drinking cocktails, having adult conversation. My kids can play with their cousins. Plus, when there’s an activity for adults and kids to do together – hitting the beach, horseback riding, water skiing, whatever – as a single parent I don’t have to be totally “on”. My brother and his wife can pick up the slack.
It’s a great vacation for the other adults, too. They can relax and I pick up the slack for them. For instance, when we get a beach house together, my brother and I do most of the cooking, and his wife can read and nap. Then his wife will take the kids to the park, and I can read and nap. It’s great!
When my kids and I vacationed in Hawaii, we stayed in a resort, a condo, and a National Park lodge. Very different experiences.
At the resort, it was very hard to interact with other families. Typically, the dads would go golfing on some exclusive course (I rarely golf), and the moms would hit the spa. Their kids would be dumped off in the resort’s Kids Club. Some children were happy enough with that, but others truly didn’t want to be there. (They’re your kids – spend time with them! Remember, parenting is a contact sport.)
I signed my kids up for one of these Kids Club at a resort in Hawaii, thinking they’d have fun while I relaxed. By mid-morning, they were begging me to take them out of it! (I did, and the three of us hung out together for the rest of the trip – and we had a blast.)
We had better results at a Family-oriented Club Med where the programs are much better run, and the activities are more fun. My children enjoyed that experience.
As for meeting other adults in resorts – I never had much luck outside of Club Med. Most women resort have a husband. Even at the beach, most singles who hit the tropics want to party, not hang out with a single dad and his kids.
Staying in condos was great for us. We could cook dinners at night if we wanted to, which was a huge money saver. It was fun, too. The kids played shuffle board while I cooked, and the condo was right on the beach. We made our own fun, and totally preferred it to a resort.
Our National Park experience was awesome, mainly because we saw lava flowing at Kilauea volcano.
Single parent vacations with kids are fun, especially when your travel allows you to conenct with other adults and families.
If you liked this single parent vacation travel post, you might also enjoy:
Subscribe to Dad’s House | © 2008-09 David Mott, DadsHouseBlog.com. All rights reserved.
July 9th, 2009
Posted in
vacation |
10 comments
One of my serious girlfriends, post-divorce, had family in Peru. We decided to visit them over Christmas and New Years one year. It was to be my Meet the Parents moment.
I’ve met girlfriends’ parents before, and I tend to be charming in person. But I’d never met a girlfriend’s parents when I was a parent myself.
Let’s just say, it’s weird.
I got along great with them, but there were definitely moments when I related to mom and pop better than to my girlfriend. It was that I’ve raised kids and know what you’re going through feeling that every parent shares. Strange having a deep connection with my girlfriend’s parents that they didn’t share with their own daughter.
Winter in California is summer in South America, and her family was vacationing at the beach. We’d sunbathe and body surf all morning, then after lunch my girlfriend and I would retire to our bedroom to “take a nap”. (The squeaky bed let everyone know we weren’t sleeping. What can I say? She was a hot sexy confident woman.)
My only previous experience of trying to get it on with a girlfriend while her parents were in the house came in high school. And in high school, we sure as hell didn’t say “we’re going into the bedroom to ‘nap’, wink wink, nudge nudge.” Her dad would have killed us.
But my Peruvian girlfriend’s parents were fine with it all, as they should be. Their daughter was an adult, and I was her boyfriend.
We partied like crazy on New Years Eve, and then my girlfriend and her brother and I flew high into the Andes to Cusco, with plans to see the ruins of Machu Picchu.
Word of warning – if you are flying high into the Andes, don’t do it with a hangover. I got sick, big time. Weak, dehydrated, pain in my gut – I thought I would die. Apparently, this is a common occurrence and most restaurants in Cusco serve “traveler’s soup” for people with similar symptoms.
A few days after arriving in Cusco, we took a train to Machu Picchu. (You can also get there by hiking the Andes trail, but that takes a week or more.)
Machu Picchu was amazing! It is ethereal, peaceful, close to heaven. The view is amazing – in fact, some say Machu Picchu has the best view in the world.
If you can ever go to Machu Picchu – do it! It’s an experience you’ll cherish forever.
Just don’t party too hard with your girlfriend’s parents before you go.
If you liked this Machu Picchu Peru vacation post, you might also enjoy:
Subscribe to Dad’s House | © 2008-09 David Mott, DadsHouseBlog.com. All rights reserved.
July 8th, 2009
Posted in
vacation |
6 comments
I love Hawaii. I’ve vacationed on Maui, Kauai, Oahu, and the Big Island. I’ve taken adult trips (wife, girlfriend, buddy) and family trips. So it was no surprise to me that vacationing as a single parent with kids in Hawaii can’t be beat. There are just so many kid-friendly things to do.
One of the highlights for my kids and me was visiting Kilauea, the active volcano on Hawaii’s Big Island. Yes, we saw lava up close.
We flew into Hilo, then rented a car and drove to Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. Forget luxury – we wanted to rough it in a lodge at the peak of the volcano. We were not disappointed.
The lodge is rustic, with photos everywhere showing what it was like when lava spewed out of the top of Kilauea. Volcano visitors like Mark Twain stayed at the lodge, and would trek to the nearby crater and watch the lava show.
These days, lava pours from the side of Kilauea, dumping into the ocean. It was near midnight when we checked in, but like Mark Twain, I knew the lava show would be more spectacular at night. I piled the kids into our rental car, and we drove down through the National Park to the ocean. Lava isn’t always visible at Kilauea, but it was this night. The road was closed, and we had to walk the last mile.
The scene was amazing, surreal. There were visible streams of glowing lava flowing across the dark landscape. Small fires blazed everywhere. Truly a vision of hell. Tons of people were roaming about, trying to get a closer view. Park rangers wore gas masks in the vog.
We walked right up to flowing lava. Red and white hot, oozing. We stood within a few feet of it. Unreal!
The next few days of our trip, rather than visit beaches, we spent all our time exploring Volcanoes National Park. We took ranger-led tours of lava fields, lava tubes, rain forests, you name it.
For a Hawaii vacation more memorable than any Mai Tai recipe or beach trek, visit Volcanoes National Park and the Kilauea volcano lava flow.
If you liked this Hawaii Kilauea Volcano vacation post, you might also enjoy:
Flickr photo by Luxtonnerre, Some rights reserved (CC BY-ND 2.0)
Subscribe to Dad’s House | © 2008-09 David Mott, DadsHouseBlog.com. All rights reserved.
July 7th, 2009
Posted in
vacation |
15 comments
Summer means vacation, and vacation means good food. But who on earth wants to cook?
Um… my brothers and me?
Rest assured, we have our own unique way of choosing summer holiday menus, especially when traveling.
Vacate Dad’s House today for a trip to the Silicon Valley Mom’s Blog, and learn all about our
Vacation Food Pyramid
This is not your father’s food pyramid! And it’s not King Tut’s either.
Then come back, pull up a hammock, and hang out all week as Dad’s House celebrates summer with vacation-themed posts. Happy summer!
If you liked this vacation cooking post, you might also enjoy:
Subscribe to Dad’s House | © 2008-09 David Mott, DadsHouseBlog.com. All rights reserved.
July 6th, 2009
Posted in
vacation |
6 comments
I tend to not blog about what happened yesterday or last night. I find that waiting a week or two gives me time to really parse an experience and examine it in depth before I share it with the world. I’d rather grow and evolve and become more self aware than simply rant or dish on the latest.
So you may not know that for the past two weeks I’ve been without my kids. They’re on vacation with their mom, and they return this weekend.
Let’s just say, I’m more than a little batty.
Don’t get me wrong, I’ve had my share of fun these past two weeks. I’ve gone on some dates, met friends for dinner and coffee, gotten in tons of cycling.
I’ve also had my share of alone time. Yes, I know I can head to a bar or coffee house and get my fix of people. Maybe even hit on a hottie single woman or two. But I really love when my kids are around.
I love hanging out with my children and taking care of them. Even if they are out till all hours with friends, forgetting to text me, I like knowing they’ll sleep in their beds in my house that night. I like cooking for them. I like grunting at them and making cocoa for them at breakfast. (I’m not exactly bright eyed and bushy tailed in the morning; definitely more of a night owl.)
So I will be happy as a clam when they are back in my midst.
Oh, and it will be nice to have someone else take out the trash and clean the toilets again. (Haha – welcome back, kids!)
If you liked this dad missing his kids post, you might also enjoy:
Flickr photo by Scott’s Spot, CC BY-ND 2.0
Subscribe to Dad’s House | © 2008-09 David Mott, DadsHouseBlog.com. All rights reserved.
July 3rd, 2009
Posted in
single parents |
20 comments
Whether you’re married or divorced, take this one question relationship test: who picked your wedding cake?
According to wedding planner Samantha Goldberg in an article she wrote for Cosmo, when the bride chooses the cake, it’s a sign she’s too controlling, and the couple may very well end up getting divorced.
The general concept sort of makes sense. Brides are often involved in every little detail of the wedding. What colors should the bridesmaids wear? Which flowers should decorate the church? What hors d’oeuvres should be served at the reception?
But if the bride is so controlling, she won’t even let the groom do one thing, like choose the flavor of wedding cake, it might be a sign the couple will have trouble making decisions together.
(In her article, Goldberg points out that it doesn’t have to be cake the groom chooses. She suggests it’s a good when the bride finds out how the groom wants to be involved, then gives him control in that area. That’s one sign of a happy couple.)
Thinking back to my own wedding, my bride was involved in every little detail, though she did consider my opinion when picking out our formal china pattern (flatware that we subsequently almost never used.)
The cake was more complicated. Together, we chose to split the cake into two flavors we thought our guests would enjoy. (Together! Great sign for a lasting marriage!)
But the top of the cake – the part we froze with the intention of eating one full year later to celebrate our first wedding anniversary, i.e. the lasting part of the cake that we shared in the privacy of our home – was something my bride picked out by herself. Carrot cake. She insisted on it.
We ended up getting divorced.
If you liked this wedding cake relationship test, you might also enjoy:
Subscribe to Dad’s House | © 2008-09 David Mott, DadsHouseBlog.com. All rights reserved.
July 2nd, 2009
Posted in
relationships |
24 comments
Entries
Follow me
