Far and Away

Well, we made it back from Hawaii and it was awesome.  I haven't downloaded any pictures yet.  In fact, right now I am sitting in a CLE in San Antonio learning about non recourse backed mortgage loans.  Fun, Fun, Fun.  I was hoping to get into the Oil and Gas lecture, but I kind of overslept a little and now I am in the lending lecture.  Gee.....I wonder why this lecture didn't fill up fast?

Okay......back to Hawaii.  This was my first time going and my biggest worry was the flight.  I am not scared to fly, but I was concerned with being on a plane with a four year old for eight plus hours.  Turns out, my concerns were misplaced.  Payton did awesome on the trip.  The flight was really long, but everyone did great.  Payton, Granpat, Stephanie, Cooper and I headed out on Thursday morning.  Derek arrived on Friday, and finally my dad arrived on Saturday.   We stayed at Aulani, which is the Disney resort on Oahu.  It is only a year old and it was amazing.  We had a three bed/ three bath condo with a ocean view on the ninth floor. The condo had a wall of sliding glass doors that went out to the balcony.  Every room had access to the balcony.  The view from each room was breath taking.

Of course when we first arrived we went to the local Safeway and stocked up on food and drinks.  Then we hit the lazy river and water slides.  I think the biggest thing was getting used to the time change.  I am serious when I say that I think the first night there we were asleep by 6:30 p.m.  Keep in mind that is 11:30 p.m. and we had woken up really early in order to make it to the flight on time.  We were pooped.  The draw back of going to bed so early is the fact that little miss thing woke up at 3:30 a.m. and was ready to go.

Here is a quick run down of the agenda while in Hawaii:

Friday -- Nothing but fun in the sun
Saturday -- Derek Golf
Sunday--Boys go sea fishing
Monday--Pearl Harbor Tour  (Glad we did it, but when we go back we will not be doing that again)
Tuesday-- Me spa day/ Derek Golf
Wednesday-- Derek and I went to Waimea Valley Park and to the waterfall (amazing) and then we stopped at the dole plant for some pineapple ice-cream.  We also drove up to turtle bay, but didn't see any turtles.

Wednesday Night -- the Luau
Thursday -- Nothing; but fire works viewed from our balcony.
Friday --  Head home.  Boo............

 Wednesday was by far the best day.  The Waimea Valley is a state park (?) or some natural preserve and it was beautiful.  The flowers and the smells.  I can't believe the smell of this place.  It was an easy hike and at the top was a waterfall you could swim in and play.  Of course we did it and it was great.  I really wish Payton would have gone with us, but that morning she decided that she wanted to stay and play with Cooper.

The Luau was also fun.  They has a ton of activities for the kids before the dinner and show.  Both Payton and I got lovely flower tattoo on our arm.

We also found a restaurant within walking distance of the condo called the Monkey Pod.  It had the best drinks and food.  I am not a huge drinker, but there were a couple of nights that I got a little buzzed and Derek may or may not have had to help me walk straight.  We also made plans on where we are going next year.  It looks like Key West.  Then the next year Europe and then back to Hawaii.  Yes, we planned out the next three years,



Here are my general observations about Hawaii:

1)  I don't think I could live there.  I think I would get rock fever.  It is so strange to be on an island with two main roads that literally just end into the ocean.

2)  I wasn't impressed with the food.  The fruit was good and the food at the Monkey Pod, but other than that not that great.

3)  There are a lot of tourist and people living there from Japan.  Everything is written in both English and Japan.

4)  I have no idea how people make a living there outside of tourism and the military.

5)  The weather was awesome; however, it is like that all year long.  Although it was wonderful, I like having a little bit of seasons.


Hopefully by next week I can actually load some pictures for your viewing pleasure.