Aloha Hawaii

Hawaii for a week with my parents and sisters was amazing. And I'm going to tell you all about it and show you the highlight reel. If you want more pics, check out the album I put up on Facebook. If you're Facebook pals with Amber and/or Lindsey, you can see even MORE pictures! Huzzah!

Sunday: Fly to Hawaii. This means from Louisville to Chicago, then to LA (where your plane is broken and you have to wait 2 hours for them to get a new one), and then to Hawaii. All in all, it's a grand total of 12 hours of flying, plus however long your layovers are. Sweet. There is a 6 hour time difference, so when you land in Hawaii and they tell you it's 11 pm, your body will think it's 5 am. Super fun! But you're in Hawaii, so who cares?! (Dad picked me up, we drove the hour back to the place we were staying, and he pretty much immediately passed out. I, however, was delayed by Amber feeling sick and giving me the chance to mommy her since she's obviously missed me doing that since I moved away from her. Poor girl. I am a great commodity, and it is hard to live without me!)

Monday: Eventually wake up, get ready, and go to a beach. Lay out, read, nap, whatever. Watch a sea turtle beach itself and watch everyone swarm him. Go snorkeling with Dad and then with Amber and Lindsey. Then nap on the beach some more. When everyone's had their fill, go to Costco in your beach attire (why not?), buy a bunch of food, and then drive back to your place. At this point, let Jessica make dinner while everyone else plays tennis. Why? Because everyone else likes tennis and Jessica likes making dinner. Win-win!

The sisters chillin in the ocean.

Amber and Dad snoozing beachside.

Tuesday: Get the girls together and take them to go zip lining across the island for 3 hours. Mom and Dad - you  can drop us off and go for a walk together or hang out or... well... keep it PG, kids. For the girls: as you are zip lining across the island, be sure to pay attention to the things your guides say. Mostly because they make wicked funny, incredibly inappropriate comments and jokes along the way. Oh, and once you get over the fact that you're dangling in the air from some string and a prayer, enjoy the beautiful scenery. Once everyone's done and Mom and Dad finally show up to pick you up, go back, eat lunch, and go on a hike up the Na Pali coast, which is only accessible by hike, boat, or helicopter. Then come back and let Amber, Lindsey and Mom hang out while Jessica and Dad make dinner.

 Lindsey zipping like a boss.

Lindsey and Amber zip racing.

The girls and the Na Pali coast.

Wednesday: Spend all day on the beach. Hang out in huge waves for as long as you dare, and then come back for the inevitable suntan/nap, read beach time. Hike 100 yards up the beach to a snorkeling area and see some wicked big fish. Watch out, though - the larger waves make it a little harder to snorkel. When you get back, hang out in the hot tub where you'll find out the power is out on the whole island. This bips your dinner plans, so you'll drive around town trying to look for a place with a generator that can feed you. Then you remember you have salad stuff in the fridge so you'll come back and make and eat it by Kindle-light. Then go to bed and be almost asleep when the power comes back on. You'll figure this out when the garbage disposal comes on and you'll know this since you're the short one and therefore the one assigned to sleeping on the couch.

Dad, Lindsey, and Amber being run over by the waves.

Thursday: Get ready and head to the other side of the island. Get lost (since Dad doesn't look at maps because he knows where everything is on the island) and show up late for your kayak tour. Once you finally get there, you'll partner up and kayak 2 miles upriver. Once you get there, you'll hike a mile into a sacred waterfall that was reserved for the kings and queens of the original Hawaiians. You'll get to swim in the waterfall, eat lunch, and then hike and kayak back. Fair warning: kayaking solo is easier than with a partner, but it's lonelier, so choose your battles! Again, Jessica will make dinner like a boss.

Lindsey and Amber, kayaking their hearts out. 

In front of part of the waterfall.

Swimming in the waterfall.

Friday: Wake up wicked early, head into town, and meet your tour guides for the zodiak boat tour of the Na Pali coast. PS - no one will tell you this, but you'll all get a little seasick, the waves will be crazy, you'll have to wear rain slickers, and when you get to the part where you snorkel, you and Dad will be the only ones who get in, even though you are having bajillions of colorful fish and turtles eat croissants out of your hand. On the way back, you'll have to help another zodiak boat because the guide is stupid and had some of his tourists swim into a beach they couldn't get off of. So you'll get to do some search and rescue, since your tour guides do that on the side. By the way, your tour guides are terrible liars, but their stories are funny, so just grin and nod. When you get back, get some lunch, go to a beach, and do the nap/read/swim. By the way, this is the one and only time Mom will get into the water, so enjoy that. Then let Jessica make some dinners.

Lindsey, Amber and Mom trying to survive the zodiak.

These two got so ridiculously tan!

Saturday: Hang out at the pool until it's time to come back and clean up to head to the airport. On the way, stop in town to get a souvenir for Deg (he did have to stay home, after all), stop at a restaurant that overlooks the ocean, drive up to Waimea Canyon to see the famous waterfall, find a random hat and wear it, get to the airport, and watch your family, who is on a different flight, run through the airport to get to that plane on time. Hang out for 2 hours, get on the plane at 11 at night, and try not to die of exhaustion while you find it impossible to sleep on the plane.

Dad in the hat.

Mom in the hat.

Sunday: Finish your flights, finally get home, and pass out from being so wicked tired. Oh and realize that your phone is dead and that you'll have to buy a new one and that your SIM card is dead and you have no more phone numbers. (That being the case, if you want me to have your number, wanna email it to me?)