Back to Reality

When our plane touched down at 5:30am on Friday and it taxied to our gate, I knew what our stewardess was going to say...and I dreaded it. It's the same phrase you hear at the end of every flight: "We know you have a choice in airlines, and we thank you for choosing United". But this one would be special. Not only would it signal the end to our trip to Paradise, but it would also be punctuated with a word I'm sure not to hear any time soon on the mainland: Mahalo, the Hawaiian word for "thank you". It's the one native word I had managed to work into my vocabulary, and this was the last opportunity to hear it and use it. In a matter of moments, I would be back in Chicago listening to everyone talk like a member of the Superfans ("tanks!", "what haive you", "over by der", etc.). Not something I was ready to go back to. But it happened. She said "Mahalo" and I returned the phrase as I left. We walked the gangway and were back to light jackets and jeans, fast-paced walking, and surely cab drivers. The dream was over and it was back to reality.

Here are a few notes from the trip:

• Our flight there was great. We were worried about how we would entertain the kids for 9 hours in a confined space, but thanks to in-flight movies ("Happy Feet" and "Night at the Museum"), my brother-in-law's portable DVD player (with spare battery), and the fascination with airplane bathrooms, we made it without a hitch. I listened to an hour of my audiobook, "1776", watched the above movies (plus "Casino Royale"), and took a short nap. We were there before we knew it.
• We stayed at the Sheraton Waikiki on Oahu. I woke up at 3:30am the first night there and couldn't go back to sleep. So I went for a drive up to Diamondhead and watched the sunrise. Pretty cool. And I made it back to join the family for a tremendous "everything" omelette (including spam and shrimp) at the Seaside Cafe!
• The kids, Prudence, and her sister swam with dolphins at the Sea Life Park. I'm just glad The Boy didn't stick his finger in the blow hole.
• We played on an incredible white sandy beach in Lanikai with some great snorkeling and a view of 2 small islands off shore. Very picturesque.
• We endured a long drive and day at the Polynesian Cultural Center. Don't get me wrong - there were some cool things to see and learn there, but at 5-6 hours with kids was too long. And I'm not sure how many times rednecks from Illinois can watch natives stomp, clap, and hula. To top it off, my brother in law had a bout of "Hawaiian revenge" from some Chinese food he ate at lunch.
• We couldn't visit Hawaii without a trip to the USS Arizona memorial. What a moving experience. We also toured the USS Bowfin and USS Missouri.
• Our family visited 3 beaches on the North Shore. Lots of surfing. None by me. I'd end up eating a rock like Greg Brady. But we did climb around some cool tide pools with water so clear it was like looking thru glass.
• On Monday we left for Maui. We spent the entire afternoon in Lahaina. They had a local craft show that took a lot of our souvenir money. Prudence ended up with a jewelry box made of koa wood, inlayed with shell in the color and shape of turtles. We also bought Christmas ornaments made of koa and shells for the kids. I bought a surfer-type necklace that features blue coral. Panda also chose a necklace. Em wanted dolphin earrings. And The Boy picked a men's jewelry box for his shark tooth necklace. I also bought my Hawaiian shirt there, as well as an orange & blue Maui cap. I paid $10 for the cap, then wandered down 2 stores and found it for $7. Later in the week I found the same hat in a K-Mart for $5. So I bought another one.
• Tuesday found us whale watching. On the way to the whale tour, Prudence spotted a momma and calf just north of Lahaina, so we pulled over to watch them swim and play. As they moved down the coast, we followed them. After a quick bite at Peggy Sue's (thanks for the tip, Aynde! The kids especially liked the juke box that played real 45s!), we set out on our tour and met up with another mom/calf pair. These 2 were flanked by a primary and secondary male escorts, so we got to see and hear a lot of whale pick up lines. Nothing seemed to work for the poor guys, but it kept the trip at a G or PG rating.
• Tuesday night was our luau at the Old Lahaina Luau. Great setting and show. Good food - if you like Hawaiian food.
• Wednesday we woke up at 3am to make the trek to the top of Haleakala to see the sunrise from above the clouds. it's a 2+ hour and -50 degree trip from our condo. When we arrived it was 36 degrees. The Boy did nothing but complain until the sun came up. But it was a breathtaking site. The trip back down the mountain was just as impressive. So many incredible views.
• Our last beach run was to Kapalua. The cove we swam in had righteous waves. The surfers could ride them easily to shore. The kids enjoyed body surfing and jumping into the waves, but they knocked Prudence on her butt. To top it off, we had another whale show. This time a calf breeched (jumped out of the water) at least 4-5 times. Incredible!
• Thursday we began the journey back at 7:30am (actually Prudence and I were up at 5:30am). We flew to Oahu to catch our flight home, but had a 5 hour layover there. So we rented a couple of cars and drove the 10 minutes back to the Pearl Harbor sites where the kids could expend some energy before the long flight home. With the time change, we arrived in Chicago at 5:30am. But we still had a long drive back to the Bloomington area. After picking up Lance (freshly groomed!), we arrived back at our house at 11:30am. The end to a LONG day.

Much sleep ensued on Friday and Saturday. And after avoiding a cold before and during the trip, I finally came down with a bit of a head cold on Sunday. Lance really brought us back to reality this morning. Beginning at 2:30am, he woke us up every hour or so with a bad case of diarrhea. Unfortunately we all had to leave the house this morning, so he left us a lovely mess to clean up when we came home. Yup, the vacation is truly over.

Pictures will be coming soon. You thought I wrote a lot. I need to weed thru almost 6GB of data to pull out the keepers from all the thumb shots. Plus I need to get my taxes done. The reality just keeps coming...