How Vacations Affect Your Happiness

You hear people say a lot that you should invest in experiences and not things, that they bring you greater happiness. I love that someone out there has studied how it affects your happiness and what about it makes you happy. 

Apparently the greatest boost of your happiness is not the actual trip, not how you feel after the trip, but rather the anticipation of your trip. It boosts your happiness for eight weeks.

Source: How Vacations Affect Your Happiness

It seems like the best way to apply this information is to plan a trip every eight weeks.

Polynesian Cultural Center

We got the Go Oahu cards which allowed us to go to the Polynesian Cultural Center.

http://www.polynesia.com/

I learned while I was there that many of the Polynesian students who are able to attend college through their work at the Polynesian Cultural Center - they are afforded scholarships.

We upgraded the Go Oahu package so we could get a guide.

Notice the bananas above!

Our guide was from Fiji.

He was quite a ladies man.

The benefit of having a guide is that they make sure you get to all of the presentations for each country represented at the Polynesian Cultural Center.

Coconut tree climbing.

I loved visiting all of the different countries represented there.

They gave all leis before the luau.

The luau had dancing and performances.

And yummy Polynesian food.

After the luau I thought we were done. 

But no, there was a whole other performance.

It was really well done.

Lovely Hawaiian flowers.

Grand Canyon

I took a trip to visit Jeremy in Arizona. 

When he asked me where I wanted to go I asked for a few options.

Once he mentioned the Grand Canyon, the decision was made.

Despite all of my travels, I had never actually been to the Grand Canyon.



I had flown over it.

But never actually visited it.

It was majestic.

Here are a few more snap shots.

Some perspective of just how large the Grand Canyon is.

I loved this quote below.