Aloha Reader, My oldest has been to Hawaii about 12 times. At this point he has opinions. On our last Kauai trip he decided he wanted to do a serious acai bowl taste test. Every morning, a new spot. He kept mental notes, compared textures and toppings, took the whole thing very seriously. By the end of the week he had a definitive ranking. Sunrise Coffee won, if you're curious. That trip is a good example of what Kauai does to people who are ready for it. It slows you down in the best way....

Aloha Reader, There is a version of a luau where you sit at a long banquet table under fluorescent lights eating mediocre buffet food while someone on a stage performs a show that feels like it was designed for a convention center. And there is a version where you're sitting outside at sunset, the food is actually good, and your kids are completely captivated by the fire knife dancer. The price difference between those two experiences is sometimes almost nothing. The experience difference is...

Aloha Reader, My youngest and I were sitting at dinner inside Volcano House, the lodge that sits right on the rim of Kilauea caldera, and the lava was glowing through the window behind our food. Not a photo of lava. Not a viewing platform. Dinner. With lava. In the background. I couldn't stop looking at it. Neither could he. At some point we both just put our forks down and stared. That moment is why I think the Big Island is the most underrated island in Hawaii for families. Most people skip...