Hopefully, February will not be the month to which all future months are compared, because in that case John and I are screwed. For Christmas, John surprised the kids and I with a 9-day vacation to Hawaii. We had a wonderful time, and since that day the kids have asked no less than 5 times a day when we are going back. They ask daddy each evening how many onions he sold that day, in hopes of purchasing our very own island paradise.
Let me tell you that the 6 week wait between Christmas day and our departure was pure torture, for a number of reasons. The first was the sheer excitement of what was to come, as evidenced by the paper chain countdown that Kortni and the kids created.
The second was the knowledge that in SIX SHORT WEEKS, I would be forced to bare my pasty white body to the world in a SWIMSUIT!!! Ahhhhhh……the horror!!! Each Monday morning I would wake with a renewed vow. “This is the week I will hit the gym every day and quit drinking alcohol and abstain from cheese and dessert.” Then, Monday afternoon would come along, Reese would talk my ear off about dirt (or something equally as riveting) and lo and behold, a bottle of wine and cookies would appear. Eventually, I just gave up and hoped that my winning personality would be the only blinding light on the beach. Life is too short, right?
We flew bright and early on the morning of February 1, and after a few tantrums (John), and a few cocktails (me), arrived at Oahu’s Turtle Bay Resort a mere 15 hours after we’d left. Our accommodations were AWESOME…this is the view from our balcony.
We immediately jumped into our swimsuits and headed to the pool.
After we purchased the standard $100 leis from the hotel gift shop and outfitted everyone for dinner, it was time to take the first (of many) family portraits. This is the best of the lot, which isn’t saying much. As my Dad would say, we all look rode hard and put away wet.
Dinner was a whirlwind of wine, martinis, and Mormons….long story. Both Jackson and Reese fell asleep at the table, so we retreated back to the condo. Everyone crawled into bed exhausted but happy. I stole one last glance at the clock before closing my eyes….8:23. Who am I? Larry? First day of vacation and I am in bed before the sun goes down….used to be the other way around. Oh well….for sure the kids will sleep in tomorrow, right?
Nope. 6:05 am. Does the beach even open this early?
A fun day ensued with pool, pina coladas, and poke. Even better was that Jacce made the trek from Honolulu to join in the fun. Look at how much fun we had….
Sunday was a whirlwind of Super Bowl and the search for the infamous Haleiwa Thai restaurant. Monday took us to the Dole Pineapple plantation. Tuesday ‘s weather was a little nicer, which allowed John and I to take a Segway tour (harder than it looks) and drink tequila shots (!!) at the pool bar.
Wednesday’s adventure was to one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been, the Waimea Valley. We hiked in about a mile to the Falls in hopes of swimming. Thankfully, my husband chooses not to don the European style bathing suits, because that water was COLD, and I’d hate for him to be embarrassed. Swimming against the current of that waterfall was hard work, so we thought what better way to replenish our bodies than risking salmonella at the roadside shrimp trucks. In truth, it was pretty good and we only experienced mild gastrointestinal distress. Totally worth it.
Jackson’s only request of his tropical vacation was that we attend an authentic Hawaiian Luau, so that was on the docket for Thursday. Some keen Internet research on my part revealed that we did NOT want to go to the highly-rated Polynesian Cultural Center (a ten-minute drive) because they do not serve booze there. So, instead we hopped in the car for the excruciating drive in rush-hour traffic through downtown Honolulu to the Paradise Cove Luau. Six hundred and forty dollars later (!!!) we were drinking mai tais and eating rubber chicken at a table with 20 of our closest tourist friends. In all seriousness though, the kids loved it and the looks on their faces (and John’s) during the fire show was worth every penny.
Each day that passed brought forth anxiety about the vacation ending and thus we spent the next two days cramming activities into our remaining time . John and I took a helicopter ride over the entire island of Oahu, and booked the kids for the shortened version of the same. John played golf with his favorite partner, Bud Light, and we welcomed Jacce back for a Friday night of Caesar salad and lively political discussions.
Kortni and I crammed our entire week’s worth of exercise into one 2-hour rental of this gem:
Who is feeding these kids? My legs were on fire!!
Even though it was chilly, we spent our last afternoon at the pool sampling the cocktails and dreading the LONG flight home. John and the kids collected sand from the beach to take home for a reminder of our first real family vacation. We cleaned up some shopping in the hotel gift shop and boarded our shuttle for the 11:00 PM flight back to reality.
Hawaii~ Mahalo Nui Loa. A hui hou kakou.