Lynne, it's good to have you back with us, and I'm so glad you had such a nice time with your family. That sure sounds like a lovely place to go. These ladies have really come up with some fun and lovely tablescapes to keep things moving on here. Each one is so special and unique, I just love them all. Luvs

We stayed at the Barcelo (The Colonial, not the Beach Club - there are actually 4 Barcelo resorts together) in March. We went for a wedding (so left the kids at home) on this particular trip, but we have stayed at AI resorts with our kids before (they are 11 and nearly 8). Our friends' stayed at the Beach club, and it seemed much busier and noisier than the Colonial. It *was* spring break time though, so perhaps there will not be as many drunken frat boys when you travel, :) Personally, I love travelling to an AI with the kids (we have been to AI's in the Mayan Riveria, Puerto Vallarta and the Dominican Republic; we also have a timeshare condo that is not AI in Mazatlan that we have been to several times). The buffet restaurants always had lots of choices as far as food goes (my son is a picky eater ), with lots of fresh fruit. The beach front buffets tend to carry lots of "American" food (hot dogs, hamburgers etc) that can be a change from the exotic food overload. The fish is always excellent. The entertainment at the Barcelo ranged from hokey-lame to very good. Pick chairs up higher but in the first row for best air circulation and view - it can be really hot sitting with all of those people. There was some noticeable hurricane damage still in evidence on the ride from Cancun to the resort, but the grounds themselves are in quite good condition. When we were there, there was some construction noise as they were rebuilding the pier/headlands. A lot of the actual sand had been blown off the beach, so it was quite rocky in some areas. Bring water shoes or sandals for the beach. There are plenty of chairs everywhere. The 4 resorts together are *enormous* - they must have close to a mile of beachfront, so there is plenty of room to spread out. Personally, I enjoy beach time with a bood and no one bothering me, so it was easy to get lost away from the other people in our group. There were virtually no beach vendors, which I actually kind of miss. I did find the prices for souveneir junk quite high at the resort, and very high on the shopping day we took to Playa Del Carmen. The fancy jewelery factory (don't be fooled by their promises of seeing "jewelery artisans at work" - it is primarily a giant showroom) near the resort actually had not bad prices, but a very small silver selection in comparison to the gold (mucho $$). We probably would not return to this resort again, but only because of the price, as we tend to be three star travellers, LOL. I don't have anything bad to say about the actual resort itself. Carrie

Molaki (hawaii) is the only island I know of with no crowd. It only has 6 restaurants. My nephew and his wife stayed 2 weeks there and had a hut with a view of the ocean. I didn't say on th beach because it was rocky and muddy where they were. But they rented a car and found a 3 mile long deserted beach. There are hiking trails, bike paths, transportation to the other islands. I think also ocean excursions. I researched this Island found out it was more like the old Hawaii than the more commercial islands. I would like to go there, but hate the thought of going alone.

I have small wide feet. Very difficult getting shoes. Years ago, for work, my go to was Naturalizer because they offered wide. When I stopped working and had my daughters, I was in Nike or New balance sneakers. My sneakers now are Nike. I had to order and send back so many pairs as the stores didn't carry wide. Now it's crocs (so many cute ones now a days), Bernardo flip flops, Easy Spirit, a Reiker loafer I bought years ago. (I had the sense to stockpile two extras and now I'm on the last pair. I have some Aerosole, but from years ago. Nothing seems to fit there. Added woe. The Easy Spirit store closed. Macy's bought Easy Spirit so they might begin to show more, but Macy's isn't really convenient for me either. I have one pair of Ecco shoes, but they aren't really comfortable. I wear the Ecco sandals all summer for taking long walks.