I write this entry on the lanai of our villa on Kauai; Powergirl and I have been here with the baby since Monday afternoon. Naturally, we’re having a blast. But there have been both highs and lows to the first portion of this vacation.

First, the highs:

• We adore our accommodations, a three-bedroom villa at the Villas at Poipu Kai. The villa is bigger than our house, uber-modern and fully stocked with appliances and dishes and that sort of stuff. It’s also got a tremendous lanai with a view of the ocean. This kind of property would go for $600 or $700 per night in other spots. Here, we managed to get it for a rack rate of right around $300 per night. Check it out now, before prices rise for summer.
• Because it’s so warm here, we have a built-in excuse to dress the baby in as little as possible (don’t worry, we’re slathering her with sunscreen). This has led me to the conclusion that all babies—especially my baby—are cuter when they are half-naked.
• L has inherited my love of wildlife. I’m one of those dorks who really geeks out when he sees birds and fish and other non-human creatures here on Earth. Hell, my personal Web site is Whalehead.com. Anyway, two days in this de facto wildlife sanctuary and it’s clear L feels the same way. The girl literally squeals every time she sees a bird. When she sees a rooster (they wander freely here on Kauai), forget about it; she is enraptured for hours. She has even gotten excited about fish and geckos.
• The baby also really likes plant life. Back in Healdsburg, L has a favorite oak tree I’ve named Omar. Here on Kauai, she loves every single palm tree just as much (sorry, Omar). We have spent an estimated 3 hours each day just watching palm trees sway in the breeze. She can’t exactly say “palm tree” yet, but, “pah-treeh” is close enough.
• Finally, those swimming lessons appear to have worked. The kid loved the beach (a very shallow and totally protected one), and she is crazy about the pool, as well. I, of course, am all over encouraging this passion, and have been logging major pool time with her.

Now, the lows:

• I generally despise United Airlines, but our flight out here may have been the worst customer service experience of my life. Essentially, flight No. 41 from SFO to LIH was a 5.5-hour flight on a 757X, and the plane DID NOT HAVE ANY CHANGING TABLES. No baby-changing facilities. I’m not kidding. As if this weren’t bad enough, there were 12 children two and under on our flight. Guess how many diapers that means we parents collectively changed on seats in the cabin? You better believe United will be hearing about this in more ways than one (remember, I’m a travel writer).
• We nearly freaked out yesterday at 11:45 a.m., local time, when the Kauai government tested its tsunami warning system with no warning about the test. To put that differently, we heard the sirens and totally thought we were going to have a tsunami. I later learned that the entire State of Hawaii tests all tsunami warning sirens monthly at that time. I’m not faulting Hawaiians for making sure this valuable equipment is functioning properly; all I’m saying is that a warning would have been nice.

More about this trip and some of the reflections it inspires will come later in the week. If you need me before then, I’ll be the guy on the grass, chasing his baby daughter and sipping a maitai.