Hawaii

Over the past few weeks I was very fortunate to enjoy a blissful vacation in Hawaii. I fell in love with surfing, the unbelievably fresh local food and the incredible landscape. The combination of the crystal aquamarine ocean and the huge, expansive mountains was in a word, gorgeous. We visited Maui, Kauai, and Waikiki - and enjoyed a bit of a different experience on each island. I was so excited to take advantage of the terrain in our first stop, Maui, I immediately booked a hike through the rain forest. Equipped with backpacks filled with water, lunch and bug spray our friendly tour guide led us to wilderness. I anticipated it would be interesting but I had no idea that we'd learn so much. Here's some of the learning and findings from our Hawaiian rain forest experience...

Want the best of the tropics with a twist of mad-artist-cutting-off-his-ear? The Philadelphia Flower Show's escape to "Hawaii: Islands of Aloha" is far off (March 4-11), but tempting us with early sales combined with the Philadelphia Museum of Art's Van Gogh Up Close collaboration. Depending on your price range and what you want, the packages differ. Here's a breakdown of how you can get the most bang for your buck: