Thanks for sharing that. What a great memory for everyone!
Congrats!

That was great, we did that a few years ago before all the kids were in school. Certainly a lot more fun for them, and an actual memory when they are a bit older like yours. And I love the little guy going through the surf, he does it better than 95% of triathletes!!! Under the wave people...(-;

We did the month before the race and had a house out in waikailoa, I think at some point soon we will do it again and just pull them all out of school. Did you kids already surf? Guessing so as dont you all learn to surf before walking down under..

Thanks for the video, got my mind right again on planning for the future...

What a fabulous holiday! We did miss you at the ST gathering, but it looks like fun got in the way...
The groms were shredding, by the way...
KS

---

Karen ST Concierge

Kind of on the topic of this thread, what do people from the US with kids do for Kona? Not that I'm qualified or anything (I'd like to be!), but does anyone take their kids out of school for one or even two weeks?

---

Dimond Bikes Superfan

Thanks. Yep, the kids are keen surfers which is why a trip to Hawaii was an easy sell. They all insisted on taking their own boards though which meant traveling with a bike and 4 surfboards!! A lot of kids surf where I am from but most don't start that young. My kids are usually the youngest by far when they are out surfing but there were heaps of little Hawaiian groms their own age. Its a great way to meet locals.

When the kids were in grade school, I went a week early and then my super-wife brought the 3 kids on Thursday and we all stayed the next week. We maintained an ongoing blog for the classes back home and we had them do reports on all the cool big island stuff. When they were/are older, they can't miss that much school so super-wife just flies out for a 4 day weekend.

---

David
* Ironman for Life! (Blog) * IM Everyday Hero Video * Daggett Shuler Law *
Disclaimer: I have personal and professional relationships with many athletes, vendors, and organizations in the triathlon world.

Nice video! We have 3 boys now ages 8, 6 and 3. We pull them from school every year and bring them to Kona for 2 weeks. They come with homework which gets done right when they wake up. The rest of the day is play. If we are doing something that requires we leave early in the morning they must get their homework done the day before.

Every year we do different things and stay in different locations, but this year we stayed in a condo in Kailua and went to 10 different beaches in 10 days all within 45 minutes from Kailua. All the beaches were public access and free. No resort beaches or private properties.

Nice to see other Keikis on the Island at the same time. Building memories on such a magical island is something we are sure they will never forget.

Perhaps next year we can do a kids ST gathering of some sort!

---

Emilio De Soto II
Maker of triathlon clothing, T1 Wetsuits, & Saddle Seat Pads and AXS since 1990
emilio@desotosport.com http://www.desotosport.com

Perhaps next year we can do a kids ST gathering of some sort!



As soon as I saw this guys post and video, the DeSoto family was the first thought in my head. We had such a good time a few years ago when all yours and my kids were just little nippers, it must be so much more fun now that they can do so much more stuff over there. I would say that if there was some ST Kiki gathering next year, I would be in. Of course we are in public school, so a little more difficult, but not impossible. I would not do less than 3 weeks with that length of travel, but you know me. Glad you had a great time in town, I'm still afraid to stay there anymore, I suppose my 30+ stays in town there over the years have given me my fill of all that triathlon energy.

I think of you and the family every year we go Monty. We did have fun with all of us together, especially you and me.

As for staying in Kailua, it is very possible to avoid all (or most) of the hype if you stay off Ali'i Drive or farther out. We dined in a lot but also went out of our way to find more local places some found in town even, just not on the high traffic areas and popular streets.

We all fell in love with the Island in a different way this year. So much so, I think we could live there!

---

Emilio De Soto II
Maker of triathlon clothing, T1 Wetsuits, & Saddle Seat Pads and AXS since 1990
emilio@desotosport.com http://www.desotosport.com