Today is Will's Birthday!
SEVENTEEN! AHHH!
This is another of those moments where I wonder where all the time went?
Gah. I'm starting to get old.
Will was born in the wee early hours of May 23, 1996. For those of you who didn't know, I actually chose to have a home birth. One of the craziest things I have ever done in my life. And yet, one of the best, too! It was such an amazing experience!
And he was such a BIG baby! 9 lbs. 4 oz.
Then he was such a skinny and lightweight kid. There was a time when he was on doctor's orders to GAIN weight. Yeah. The rest of America is struggling with childhood obesity and I'm buying protein shakes for my son to drink with his meals.
Will was the antsy kid who was loved by his teachers, despite aggravating them to death. I remember one elementary teacher telling me that he purposefully asked Will a question he thought Will couldn't answer because he had been sure Will hadn't been paying attention. The teacher was trying to trip him up. Will gave the correct answer.
Because Will is wicked smart.
His mind makes the most intuitive leaps I've ever seen.
We were working together on his pre-calculus the other day, and I was struggling to wrap my mind around a particular equation. I can't remember what it was, exactly, but it was full of sines and cosines and angles and variables. He suddenly burst out with, "Oh! It's just like y=mx+b!" Once he said it, I could see that he was right, but my mind probably would have never made that leap.
I'm better than he is at the routine, mundane algebraic mechanics, but his mind wraps around the abstract parts of higher math in a way that makes me almost jealous. It makes me sad that he says he dislikes math.
As a kid, his favorite TV show was NOVA.
Now Will is pushing 6'2". He is still super skinny. But muscular too, in a wiry kind of way. As he finishes growing in height, I'm pretty sure he'll spend his late teens and early twenties filling out and getting more broad chested.
*****
For his birthday today, Helena and Matt took him to see the new Star Trek movie. Once everyone was home, we picked up Will's girlfriend, Brenna, and we all went out to dinner. Will's dinner choice was Hibachi House.
Once home again, we did a rather horrific rendition of the "Happy Birthday" song (no, really, it was bad) and embarrassed the crap out of him before giving him his presents.
My present to him will be a laptop. We are going to sit down and find one together. The nicest refurbished one that I can afford.
Bill's present to Will is a rifle. Sort of. It is more of a loan than an outright gift. It is an old gun that has been in Bill's family a long time.
Now Will is doing what he wanted to do all along for his birthday... spending time with his girlfriend. He and Brenna are downstairs watching "Mission Impossible". Helena has gone home, Matt is off in his room, and Bill and I are in the living room being old people (I guess).
But he will always be my little boy in my heart.
I love you, Will! Happy Birthday!
Matt Came Home!
So many big changes around here!
Matt contacted us asking to come back home. We were thrilled! He said he hoped to be home before Will's birthday on the 23rd of May. He just didn't quite have enough money to make it up here, yet.
Then we found out about a possible job opportunity for him here... if he could get here quickly.
He still didn't have enough money to get himself here, so we chipped in and paid for a u-haul to get him part way. Matt drove the u-haul to St. George, and Bill drove down to meet him and bring him the rest of the way home. In hindsight, it probably would have been cheaper to just rent a u-haul for the full distance, but we weren't the ones making the reservations, and really, we were piecing together the finances to get this done.
This all happened on Mother's Day.
I told Helena and Will that their dad had been called away on an emergency job. Something about a broken pipe and a flooded basement. They bought it completely, because that kind of thing has happened before. They were a little disappointed, because it was Mother's Day, after all, and we planned to spend it together.
So, it was extra fun to see the looks on their faces when Bill pulled up in his work truck, towing a trailer... with MATT! Oh! The looks on their faces were priceless!
Now Matt is home! He is living in Helena's old room, for now. He is broke and doesn't have a job, yet. He has applied several places, including the job opportunity I already mentioned, but hasn't heard back from anyone, so far.
Having him back home is a bit of a struggle and an adjustment for both us and him. He is used to being on his own and having no one care about where he goes or what he does. We want to know those kinds of things. No, we're not just nosy. He is borrowing one of our cars until he can get his feet under him. He is living in our house for the same reason. We love him and are so glad to have him back home, but we are realistic about the fact that he is 25, and should really be finding a place of his own as soon as possible.
So, keep him in your thoughts and prayers. Keep your fingers crossed that he gets a job soon and can save up enough to get his own place. Pray that he finds a good living situation that is nearby and affordable. Pray that he finds a good deal on a reliable car. Pray that he does start school (one of his goals while he is here) and that he does well at it.
But, oh, it is good to have the whole family here, again!
Matt contacted us asking to come back home. We were thrilled! He said he hoped to be home before Will's birthday on the 23rd of May. He just didn't quite have enough money to make it up here, yet.
Then we found out about a possible job opportunity for him here... if he could get here quickly.
He still didn't have enough money to get himself here, so we chipped in and paid for a u-haul to get him part way. Matt drove the u-haul to St. George, and Bill drove down to meet him and bring him the rest of the way home. In hindsight, it probably would have been cheaper to just rent a u-haul for the full distance, but we weren't the ones making the reservations, and really, we were piecing together the finances to get this done.
This all happened on Mother's Day.
I told Helena and Will that their dad had been called away on an emergency job. Something about a broken pipe and a flooded basement. They bought it completely, because that kind of thing has happened before. They were a little disappointed, because it was Mother's Day, after all, and we planned to spend it together.
So, it was extra fun to see the looks on their faces when Bill pulled up in his work truck, towing a trailer... with MATT! Oh! The looks on their faces were priceless!
Now Matt is home! He is living in Helena's old room, for now. He is broke and doesn't have a job, yet. He has applied several places, including the job opportunity I already mentioned, but hasn't heard back from anyone, so far.
Having him back home is a bit of a struggle and an adjustment for both us and him. He is used to being on his own and having no one care about where he goes or what he does. We want to know those kinds of things. No, we're not just nosy. He is borrowing one of our cars until he can get his feet under him. He is living in our house for the same reason. We love him and are so glad to have him back home, but we are realistic about the fact that he is 25, and should really be finding a place of his own as soon as possible.
So, keep him in your thoughts and prayers. Keep your fingers crossed that he gets a job soon and can save up enough to get his own place. Pray that he finds a good living situation that is nearby and affordable. Pray that he finds a good deal on a reliable car. Pray that he does start school (one of his goals while he is here) and that he does well at it.
But, oh, it is good to have the whole family here, again!
Helena's Place
Right after Bill and I got back from Hawaii, Helena packed up and moved out.
That sounds bad, but is actually an awesome thing.
When you say someone packed up and moved out, it makes it sound like there was some emotional blow up and the move was done in anger. That is so far from the truth!
We knew she'd be moving out. The only reason she waited until after we got back from Hawaii was so she and Will could stay together and look out for each other while we were gone.
So, as soon as we got home, she began packing.
Helena's best friend's name is Megan. Megan lives in an apartment in her grandparent's basement two towns over. Helena moved in with her and another girl, named Lindsay. I think it is the best possible first step to independence. There are grandparents upstairs to turn to for help, and the rent is cheaper than anything else she would possibly find, again, because it is grandma and grandpa discounted. Three college aged girls living in a basement apartment. Sounds like such an adventure, doesn't it?
The catch? There are only two bedrooms and apparently the girls don't intend to share a room. So, Helena has a bed set up in the corner of the kitchen. Weird, right?!? But the girls are all happy with the arrangement, Megan's grandparents are fine with it, too... so, okay!
Helena left a bunch of stuff here, and her bedroom has not turned into a guest room, yet. She still comes over often... at least once a week she comes home. She even stays overnight from time to time, especially if there is too much "month at the end of her paycheck" as the saying goes, and she wants to save some money on gas or food. She even comes home to "shop" in my pantry occasionally.
Helena leaving was really hard for me. I missed her horribly, at first. I got all sad and would just go stand in her half empty bedroom and look around at the things she left behind. I'd get all nostalgic and weepy, remembering times gone by. Oh, I wish they didn't have to grow up! But I also often wish they'd just grow up so I won't have to be responsible for them anymore! I know. I'm messed up in the head.
Now that some time has gone by, I am better about it. I'm not so depressed that my little girl is off having college aged adventures. But, still, my mood always perks up when Helena comes home.
That sounds bad, but is actually an awesome thing.
When you say someone packed up and moved out, it makes it sound like there was some emotional blow up and the move was done in anger. That is so far from the truth!
We knew she'd be moving out. The only reason she waited until after we got back from Hawaii was so she and Will could stay together and look out for each other while we were gone.
So, as soon as we got home, she began packing.
Helena's best friend's name is Megan. Megan lives in an apartment in her grandparent's basement two towns over. Helena moved in with her and another girl, named Lindsay. I think it is the best possible first step to independence. There are grandparents upstairs to turn to for help, and the rent is cheaper than anything else she would possibly find, again, because it is grandma and grandpa discounted. Three college aged girls living in a basement apartment. Sounds like such an adventure, doesn't it?
The catch? There are only two bedrooms and apparently the girls don't intend to share a room. So, Helena has a bed set up in the corner of the kitchen. Weird, right?!? But the girls are all happy with the arrangement, Megan's grandparents are fine with it, too... so, okay!
Helena left a bunch of stuff here, and her bedroom has not turned into a guest room, yet. She still comes over often... at least once a week she comes home. She even stays overnight from time to time, especially if there is too much "month at the end of her paycheck" as the saying goes, and she wants to save some money on gas or food. She even comes home to "shop" in my pantry occasionally.
Helena leaving was really hard for me. I missed her horribly, at first. I got all sad and would just go stand in her half empty bedroom and look around at the things she left behind. I'd get all nostalgic and weepy, remembering times gone by. Oh, I wish they didn't have to grow up! But I also often wish they'd just grow up so I won't have to be responsible for them anymore! I know. I'm messed up in the head.
Now that some time has gone by, I am better about it. I'm not so depressed that my little girl is off having college aged adventures. But, still, my mood always perks up when Helena comes home.
27
That is Will's score on his first try at the ACT.
I think it is pretty fantastic! He out-scored both his Dad and his sister, and this was just his first try, going in cold turkey. Most kids naturally improve their score by about 2-3 points on their second try just by being more familiar with the testing procedure. He probably beat me, too, but since I never took the ACT, I guess we'll never know.
That's right. I never took the ACT.
I took the SAT. I'm sure the scores are floating around the scrapbook pile somewhere.
Will plans to take the ACT again in the fall and hopes to get a 30.
It is gratifying to see test scores that verify what I've known all along...
Will is one smart kid! He has the high intelligence and IQ that will allow him to be whatever he choses to become in life. Not everyone is so blessed.
He actually does not do well in school. His grades are average, or even below average. There will be no scholarships waiting for him upon graduation. He simply does poorly in a traditional academic setting. It doesn't have to be that way. He could succeed if he put his mind to it and decided it was something he wants. That is frustrating to me. He has no desire for academic achievement. He puts up with school for my sake. I want him to go to college, but I have a hard time visualizing him as successful in traditional college classes based on his high school performance. Still, I hope he does go, and I know he can be successful at it... if he has the right frame of mind about it.
Last year his math teacher tried to limit our registration choice to College Prep Math (instead of Pre-Calculus) due to his grades. I had to go in and see the counselor about it. His counselor took one look at his test scores (not the ACT, but the state core tests) and agreed with me... that Will needed to be in Pre-Calculus. The counselor was able to bypass the math teacher's meddling and unlock the registration for us. Will's grades in Pre-Calculus are not great, but he definitely has learned a lot in that class this year.
So have I. I have done all of Will's homework side by side with him this year. You see, I never took Pre-Calculus, or Calculus. I got sidetracked into a College Prep style math course in high school, myself. In fact, while in college, I took TWO YEARS of college French in order to avoid one class of advanced mathematics. Stupid, huh? There I was, conjugating verbs, reading French literature, and writing essays in French (oh, the agony) for two freaking years just to avoid learning one semester of what turns out to be really awesome math stuff! Yeah, I'm a special kind of stupid.
Anyways, this turned into quite a ramble of a post. I'm proud of you, Will. You are one smart cookie!
I think it is pretty fantastic! He out-scored both his Dad and his sister, and this was just his first try, going in cold turkey. Most kids naturally improve their score by about 2-3 points on their second try just by being more familiar with the testing procedure. He probably beat me, too, but since I never took the ACT, I guess we'll never know.
That's right. I never took the ACT.
I took the SAT. I'm sure the scores are floating around the scrapbook pile somewhere.
Will plans to take the ACT again in the fall and hopes to get a 30.
It is gratifying to see test scores that verify what I've known all along...
Will is one smart kid! He has the high intelligence and IQ that will allow him to be whatever he choses to become in life. Not everyone is so blessed.
He actually does not do well in school. His grades are average, or even below average. There will be no scholarships waiting for him upon graduation. He simply does poorly in a traditional academic setting. It doesn't have to be that way. He could succeed if he put his mind to it and decided it was something he wants. That is frustrating to me. He has no desire for academic achievement. He puts up with school for my sake. I want him to go to college, but I have a hard time visualizing him as successful in traditional college classes based on his high school performance. Still, I hope he does go, and I know he can be successful at it... if he has the right frame of mind about it.
Last year his math teacher tried to limit our registration choice to College Prep Math (instead of Pre-Calculus) due to his grades. I had to go in and see the counselor about it. His counselor took one look at his test scores (not the ACT, but the state core tests) and agreed with me... that Will needed to be in Pre-Calculus. The counselor was able to bypass the math teacher's meddling and unlock the registration for us. Will's grades in Pre-Calculus are not great, but he definitely has learned a lot in that class this year.
So have I. I have done all of Will's homework side by side with him this year. You see, I never took Pre-Calculus, or Calculus. I got sidetracked into a College Prep style math course in high school, myself. In fact, while in college, I took TWO YEARS of college French in order to avoid one class of advanced mathematics. Stupid, huh? There I was, conjugating verbs, reading French literature, and writing essays in French (oh, the agony) for two freaking years just to avoid learning one semester of what turns out to be really awesome math stuff! Yeah, I'm a special kind of stupid.
Anyways, this turned into quite a ramble of a post. I'm proud of you, Will. You are one smart cookie!
Over the Limit
I am still training for the marathon. It is less than a month away.
Several weeks ago, I ran 16.5 miles and my knees REALLY did not like it! I ended up walking the majority of the last two miles and I was very frustrated. The following weekend, I decided to cut my long run down to 10 miles, just to give my knees a bit of a break. That was working out great, until I pulled something in my lower left leg about 1.6 miles from the end of the run. Gah. I limped along, calling each family member in turn, to see if anyone was close enough to home to come and pick me up. No one was even remotely close. So, I limped on home for 1.6 miles. I iced it all day, but it still took about a week before I was able to "run" again. Now I am back to running, but I seem to have lost all ambition. I should be running 20 miles by now (in my training schedule), but I don't seem to have the motivation to do more than 7 or 8 miles at a time. :~/
Ah well. I still plan to "run" the marathon in a few weeks. My time on it will probably be terrible, but at least I'll be able to check it off the bucket list and go back to the kinds of workouts I enjoy doing!
I do enjoy running... for about an hour or less. After that it just becomes WORK. I'm not a marathoner, after all. I need to stick to the 10K to Half Marathon distance.
I also enjoy riding my bike... when it isn't a race.
I can't wait to get back to swimming, too! I've spent all this spring focused almost exclusively on running, with only one cross training workout per week. I can't wait to just go back to swim/bike/run/kayak/weights... and doing them whenever I want!
But all of that isn't really what I wanted to talk about today.
Despite all my exercising, I haven't lost ANY weight.
I know it shouldn't matter. My heart is healthy. My body is healthy. That is what should matter.
But I want a flat tummy. I want the flab and fat gone. Bottom line.
So, I have decided that I simply have to gain control of some kind over my diet.
Did you know that I gave up soda last November? Okay, I admit, I drank one in Hawaii. But I discovered that it tasted terrible! Woah. I used to LOVE the taste of Dr. Pepper! Now it just tastes like bitter chemicals to me. HURRAY! I am actually really glad for that "cheat" soda, because before I drank it, I struggled with my willpower every time we ate out, because I was remembering that wonderful taste. Now, it is super easy to go for a non-soda beverage, because I know soda won't taste good.
I thought giving up soda would be the magic bullet for weight loss. People are always saying, "I gave up soda and dropped 20 lbs!" Yeah, not me.
So. It is time for a new challenge. I feel like I have won the soda fight, and it is time for a new battle.
I am going to track my sugars.
That's it. No calorie counting. No worrying about ratios of proteins and carbs. Just count those stinkin' sugars.
So far today I am up to 57 grams. That is just breakfast (oatmeal w/butter, 1 tsp. of sugar, and cinnamon & a glass of milk) and lunch (frozen burritos w/sour cream & salsa & a glass of milk).
How many sugar grams am I supposed to have in a day?
Well, sha-poopie.
I'm already at the limit at 3:00 in the afternoon. That's without any treats, too. Dinner will take me over.
This is gonna be a hard fight.
I can tell immediately that I'm gonna have to curb my milk addiction. Milk has 12 grams per cup. So, I'm gonna have to cut my portions in half, I think.
I'll let you know how it's going in a month or two.
Several weeks ago, I ran 16.5 miles and my knees REALLY did not like it! I ended up walking the majority of the last two miles and I was very frustrated. The following weekend, I decided to cut my long run down to 10 miles, just to give my knees a bit of a break. That was working out great, until I pulled something in my lower left leg about 1.6 miles from the end of the run. Gah. I limped along, calling each family member in turn, to see if anyone was close enough to home to come and pick me up. No one was even remotely close. So, I limped on home for 1.6 miles. I iced it all day, but it still took about a week before I was able to "run" again. Now I am back to running, but I seem to have lost all ambition. I should be running 20 miles by now (in my training schedule), but I don't seem to have the motivation to do more than 7 or 8 miles at a time. :~/
Ah well. I still plan to "run" the marathon in a few weeks. My time on it will probably be terrible, but at least I'll be able to check it off the bucket list and go back to the kinds of workouts I enjoy doing!
I do enjoy running... for about an hour or less. After that it just becomes WORK. I'm not a marathoner, after all. I need to stick to the 10K to Half Marathon distance.
I also enjoy riding my bike... when it isn't a race.
I can't wait to get back to swimming, too! I've spent all this spring focused almost exclusively on running, with only one cross training workout per week. I can't wait to just go back to swim/bike/run/kayak/weights... and doing them whenever I want!
But all of that isn't really what I wanted to talk about today.
Despite all my exercising, I haven't lost ANY weight.
I know it shouldn't matter. My heart is healthy. My body is healthy. That is what should matter.
But I want a flat tummy. I want the flab and fat gone. Bottom line.
So, I have decided that I simply have to gain control of some kind over my diet.
Did you know that I gave up soda last November? Okay, I admit, I drank one in Hawaii. But I discovered that it tasted terrible! Woah. I used to LOVE the taste of Dr. Pepper! Now it just tastes like bitter chemicals to me. HURRAY! I am actually really glad for that "cheat" soda, because before I drank it, I struggled with my willpower every time we ate out, because I was remembering that wonderful taste. Now, it is super easy to go for a non-soda beverage, because I know soda won't taste good.
I thought giving up soda would be the magic bullet for weight loss. People are always saying, "I gave up soda and dropped 20 lbs!" Yeah, not me.
So. It is time for a new challenge. I feel like I have won the soda fight, and it is time for a new battle.
I am going to track my sugars.
That's it. No calorie counting. No worrying about ratios of proteins and carbs. Just count those stinkin' sugars.
So far today I am up to 57 grams. That is just breakfast (oatmeal w/butter, 1 tsp. of sugar, and cinnamon & a glass of milk) and lunch (frozen burritos w/sour cream & salsa & a glass of milk).
How many sugar grams am I supposed to have in a day?
50-60 grams.
Well, sha-poopie.
I'm already at the limit at 3:00 in the afternoon. That's without any treats, too. Dinner will take me over.
This is gonna be a hard fight.
I can tell immediately that I'm gonna have to curb my milk addiction. Milk has 12 grams per cup. So, I'm gonna have to cut my portions in half, I think.
I'll let you know how it's going in a month or two.
Suicide
On a Sunday morning, one week after we got back from Hawaii, a classmate of Will's committed suicide. Although Will and this boy were not best of friends, they were friendly and had known one another for years. Will sat next to him in a couple of classes and thought of him as a really great guy. A nice, friendly, smiling kid. A well liked kid. So his sudden and tragic death really shocked Will, and the entire community, for that matter.
We received official notification of his suicide from the school through e-mail only an hour or two after word had spread on Facebook and Twitter. The school notification was to let parents know that the counselors at the school would be available all day on Monday for students who needed help with grieving and coming to terms with his death. Will ended up spending the entire day in the counselor's office. He just couldn't bring himself to go sit in class with his friend's empty seat right next to him.
Will really struggled with his emotions. At home, his emotions switched from anger to love and endearment and back to anger all day long. It hurt to see him so upset, and I worried about him.
I also went through a surprising amount of really strong emotions, even though I had never met Will's friend. I couldn't get his poor parents and siblings out of my mind. I was close to tears for days. I watched Will closely and wanted nothing more than to just hug him and love on him. But, he is nearly 17, and doesn't appreciate a clingy mom.
The funeral was held on Wednesday. Will asked for permission to leave school and attend the funeral, which I granted. He seemed to be much more at peace after the funeral. I wonder how often he thinks of his friend. I worry about his mental health. Is my own son at risk for suicide?
The weird thing is, I am currently completing a suicide prevention course the district requires of me in order to renew my teaching license next month. When I started the class a couple of months ago, I barely paid enough attention to take the quizes and check it off so I could move on with my recertification. Suicide prevention isn't seen as a high priority for elementary teachers. It is a secondary schools issue. Now I am laser focused on everything presented and wonder if anything more could have been done to save the life of Will's friend.
A month has gone by, and Will never speaks about it. I know that it has left a mark on him, though, as it must have for all the students in the Junior class.
Such a terrible waste of a beautiful, young life.
Hawaii
Okay. Here I go at trying to do the promised updates.
First, Hawaii.
No, I will not load this post up with pictures. Sorry. If you were hoping for that, the pictures are on Facebook. I've been frustrated at the fact that blogger has a limited capacity for pictures and every time I load a new one, it deletes an old one. If you click on an old post of mine, you will see where the photos have been replaced with a black rectangle with a gray dash in it. Thanks, Blogger, for destroying my blog. I would have switched to a different platform by now... but let's face it, I'm struggling to find the time to blog, let alone transfer to a new site.
Anyways, back to Hawaii.
Bill and I flew out on the Monday after Easter. It was Spring Break for Will and me. That was critical to the timing. Technically, our 20th anniversary has yet to happen (it's on May 8th... tomorrow!!), but there was no way I was going to take off during school and hope that Will would actually get himself to school for a week. So, we went during a school holiday. I felt horribly guilty about leaving the kids. I wanted to take them with us, but there was no way we could afford to. As it was, we stretched our resources to the limit just so we could go. Besides, taking the kids along is a real anniversary kill-joy. So, despite the guilt, we left the kids at home to fend for themselves.
That got some raised eyebrows from some of my coworkers and friends. They thought I was nuts leaving two teens at home alone for a week. But, hey, they are 19 and 16 (nearly 17). They don't need a babysitter. I was fairly confident they could handle themselves while I was gone. And I was right.
This was the first time I have flown since prior to 9/11/01. I know. It really has been that long. I have sent my kids off on adventures, but I have always traveled by car. It's not that I was afraid to fly, but I don't have to travel for work, and it's just too darned expensive to fly for fun! So, this was my first personal experience with the TSA security circus.
Flying has changed, but I thought the screening process was pretty non-intrusive and quick. Maybe because I wasn't singled out? Anyways, we were through security pretty fast and sitting down to a meal in the airport while waiting for our flight. It was cheaper to eat in the airport than pay for a meal mid flight. Oh, I will say this about security... on our flight home I packed a water bottle filled with sand into my carry on, not thinking anything of it. It tripped security measures. They had to pull it out, inspect it, pour some out onto litmus papers and test it with chemicals to make sure it wasn't, you know, bomb stuff, then send my carry on through the scanner again without the bottle... oi. In the end, they gave it all back to me with a smile and wishes for a safe journey. The whole thing was very friendly. I'm sure they've had to test plenty of bottles of sand. {rolling my eyes}
I spent the flight to Hawaii watching movies on the screen in the seat back in front of me. Nice! When we got to Hawaii, there was a glitch getting to the car rental place, due to poor communications. But, we finally go there and picked up our RED Mustang convertible! Bill hated it, but I enjoyed it very much! Except I think the steering wheel gets in the way of seeing the speedometer.
Well, I'm not going to really give you a blow by blow of the entire week. You'd fall asleep, and who really wants to read all about someone else's vacation?
I'll just say that it was sunny and wonderful and fun beyond all reason! Life is lived at a much slower pace there. We spent every waking moment outside, and even kept the sliding glass door of our room wide open all night long to enjoy the breezes and sounds of the surf. We surfed and snorkeled, hiked, biked, ran, and sunbathed. We did the traditional tourist stuff; Pearl Harbor, Hanauma Bay, Valley of Temples, and the Polynesian Cultural Center. But we also did normal people stuff like grocery shopping for half our meals and jogging the local workout trails. We were even given the locals discout (Kama aina discount) once by a friendly server at an off-the-beaten-track hole-in-the-wall Jack In The Box.
Maybe it is because we just went through all the fuss of security at the airport, but I did notice the complete LACK of security at the resort. We stayed at Turtle Bay Resort on the North Shore. The lobby was open air and there were no locks to the stairwells or elevators. However, despite that, I never felt it was a problem. Turtle Bay Resort is on the North Shore of Oahu. It is a rural setting. So peaceful! It really was the perfect place to get away and unwind. I'd go back in a heartbeat.
The only black spot on our whole vacation happened only hours before we left the island. We had checked out of the resort and finished touring the Byodo-In temple (the Buddhist temple in the Valley of Temples), but we still had a couple of hours to kill before heading to the airport. Since there was a movie theater across the street from where we were, we decided to take in a show. We were practically the only people in the theater, since it was a mid-day weekday showing. When we came out of the theater, we discovered that someone has hit our rental car and drove away! AURGH! We called the police, the rental agency, and my insurance. Everyone was very kind about it and even that stressful event didn't ruin my vacation.
Now we're home and I'm wishing I could live in Hawaii. But, at least I only have a few weeks left before summer vacation begins here at home and I can fill my days with fun in the sun, homestyle!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)