Another month down! Can’t believe how fast time is flying.  While the Mister and I don’t have a whole lot planned for this month (and not much time to accommodate a whole lot), I hope we can get a few excursions in.

Like I said, February went by so fast.

Work has been crazy. I’ve been given 9-5 shifts during the week for the rest of the season with no relief during the day. I’m hoping it doesn’t get too busy or I’ll get burned out really quickly. I’ve done two weeks worth and I look forward to the weekend more than ever before. Add in some extremely rude clients and a boss who doesn’t quite understand that I am not her personal gopher/Girl Friday…I’m counting down the days.  Sadly, I was so excited for tax season before it started. Now, I’d be happy if it ended yesterday.  But! This is hopefully the last year I have to do the whole tax office work thing. I’m confident that the mainland will offer more job opportunities for me.

Since we still don’t have a set date/destination, I am hoping to cram a bunch of stuff in before we leave. I don’t have a whole lot left on the Oahu front. I am still hoping we can check out the Big Island before we leave for good. I really want to see it since we very likely will never come back  once we get off the rock.

March doesn’t have anything set in stone excursion-wise, but we REALLY need to get out and about again. The Mister and I talked about getting together with a friend and his family tomorrow. We’ll see if we actually end up doing anything.

Nothing new on this front otherwise. Hopefully the next installment will be a tad more exciting.

Until then,

–A. xoxo

…just some things on my mind.

The world is a crazy place and my brain is buzzing on overdrive these days.

Firstly, let me say that I don’t normally get deeply into politics. I’m old school in my belief that one should not discuss politics in polite conversation. However, my thoughts are flooded with this unfolding drama.

I cannot believe Trump is a legitimate candidate in the presidential race.  What scares me the most is so many veterans are supporting this racist bigot. While I understand the appeal of a candidate who has no political ties, I cannot understand how any rational human being can support this man. He is detrimental to forward thinking. His views on minorities and women are deplorable. I honestly thought his candidacy was a joke. Sadly, some of my fellow Americans are swayed by his blunt words. I can only hope we as a country wake up before this clown takes over.

I won’t go into more detail as the amount of ignorance makes me physically ill.

Secondly, on a more personal note, I have come across a number of acquaintances and friends who are unexpectedly pregnant as of late.  While I want to be happy for them and get excited for them, I can’t help but feel that ugly green monster coming out.  These women have more than one child already (and some have children they have absolutely no control over). Most were completely accidental and some have been married for all of 10 months.  As a woman who wants nothing more than to be a mom, I can’t help but feel that jealousy monster rearing its ugly head. Since my family has a history of trouble getting pregnant and staying pregnant, I can only assume that my fate will be similar. Thus, I find it especially hard that some of these women (those that have multiple children on accident) are so quick to complain about how stressful this change is.  I would give my left leg to feel that “stress”!  I am ever more jealous of those that have been married for far less time than I have who are ready to pop within the first year of marriage. While these instances are complete jealousy speaking, I can’t help but want something similar. I want to be a mommy so badly, I find it completely unfair how easily these newly weds procreate. The lifestyle my husband and I live requires us to think a little more rationally about trying for a baby. Hawaii is expensive for us, let alone trying to bring a child into the world here. We have made the conscious decision not to have a baby here, but as our time is getting shorter on this island, the fever is raging again. Sometimes, however, I wish we were a bit more reckless and tried a little harder.  We discussed the possibility not long after moving here, but quickly reasoned against it. I can only hope that this next chapter brings us a two-legged kiddo to journey with us.

Finally, again on a personal note, I have been binging on the HGTV show Fixer Upper.  Again, with the military life, we will be renting for the foreseeable future (at least 7 more years come March). Thus, we can’t really make any place with live “ours”. While we have done our best with the current house we are in (what with floor rugs and new bedding), it’s still the same walls and someone else’s appliances. I am getting the itch to put down some roots.  Perhaps it comes from a childhood of moving place to place, but I can’t wait to decorate my own place with furniture that matches, pictures on the walls (we can’t put holes in the wall, per our current leasing agreement), and my own little garden oasis. I just can’t wait to make a house our relatively permanent home–at least one that we won’t leave every 3 or so years.

As I said, this post wasn’t really about the adventure we are on, but more of a pulse check of the way the world is running in our neck of the woods these days.

On a more lighthearted note, happy National Love Your Pet Day! I have four of the most wonderful furbutts I could ask for. They really do complete us.

So, until next time!

Cheers!

–A. xoxo

February is off and running. It’s already half way through! Thus far, we haven’t had time to do much.  The Mister had night duty for about 2 weeks so this is really the first weekend we’ve seen each other.  Our routine is all screwed up.

But that hasn’t stopped us from a little bit of fun.  As I mentioned in my last post, we went underwater scootering for Valentine’s Day. I managed to keep it a secret from the Mister until the morning of the tour when he asked me why he needed to wear his swim trunks.

Normally, we don’t make a big deal out of Valentine’s Day. We don’t go posting all over social media about how great we think each other is or the gifts we gave each other (honestly, this is probably the most we’ve shared for this day since we’ve been married).  Though, the Mister did give me a sweet stuffed giraffe with the standard chocolates this year.

This was just something the Mister had mentioned he wanted to do before we left the island and LivingSocial had a special deal and a 20% off coupon on top of that, so instead of spending $200 each, I managed to snag this tour for less than $175 total. Since lord knows where we will be next or if we’ll ever be back in Hawaii (highly unlikely), we wanted to check this off the ol’ bucket list.

The rest of this month will probably be fairly low-key. Tax season is still mid-season, so I’m keeping myself busy. It’s been a very trying year so far in that department, but it is what it is. I’m just rolling with it as best I can. It’s only like 8 more weeks. Then there will only be a few weeks left before I have to head off to the mainland for Baby Sister’s high school graduation. A couple weeks after that and we’ll be wherever the Army is sending us.  New adventures are right around the corner.

But for now, I’ll just leave you all will with this little blip to tie you over until I can get some new adventures to post about.

Until next time!

Cheers!

-A. xoxo

This still counts as January’s post right? Once again, I’m sitting on my couch on the last day of the month.  This time, I’m glancing at the Pro Bowl amazed by how many empty seats there are in Aloha Stadium. Shouldn’t surprise me, though, as nosebleed seat tickets were $95+ and parking/traffic was a nightmare. A camp friend is here for the festivities working the game, so maybe I’ll be seeing him as well this week.

As promised, here is our St. Barb’s professional photo from December!

So what have we been up to in the last month? Honestly, not very much at all. We went to see Straight No Chaser for the second year in a row on the 2nd (they certainly didn’t disappoint) and the rest of the month was pretty much a wash.

Work didn’t start for me until 20 January. Almost another 2 weeks after they’d told us we’d be back. My hours are very slim as well.  It is nothing compared to last season.  Luckily, I guess, we haven’t been as busy as last year either. Hopefully with peak season coming next week, that will change.  I’m still waiting on my W-2s from Kmart so I can get our taxes done too. I’m not having nearly as nice of a time as I did last season, but it’s only until April 15. Then, we should know when/where we’re moving to next.

The Mister is on orders for Fort Campbell, Kentucky set for July, but he’s still shooting to become a recruiter or, if that falls through, an instructor at Fort Sill, Oklahoma. Basically, he is trying to do everything not to go airbourne or deploy in the next few months.  He’s been to combat 4 times, so I don’t blame him for not wanting to deploy again.  I for one certainly don’t want him to deploy again either.  They’re no fun!

Luckily, we still have a few months to enjoy this island and finish seeing everything we want to see.  I’ll miss the lovely weather and neat sites, but I am ready to get off this rock and get going on a new adventure.

Anywho! Like I said, January was very boring after our show. We did have a fantastic time at SNC again.  As I’ve mentioned before, I’ve followed them since I was in college and love their stuff.  This time, we were in the same concert hall as we were for Jason Mraz and almost as close (we were row 8 on the floor).  I brought my good camera to snap a few photos, but the lighting really didn’t do anything to help my photos as we still couldn’t use a flash.  My phone had slightly better photos this time (new phone), but not so hot.  I didn’t snap any of the concert hall as it wasn’t a very great setting — nothing historical or beautiful about the Blasidell Concert Hall, it really needs an update.

See what I mean? This was from my Rebel and it’s usually really great (all my other photos from my excursions are from the Rebel), but the no flash and constant movement made it really unfortunate looking.  As I said last year, I wish I could upload a video I took of them performing Hozier’s Take Me to Church.  It was fabulous. A nice way to start the month.

We both had to go back to work after January 11 and that’s thrown the running around out the window.  We celebrated the Mister’s birthday on the 7th by going to see Victor Frankenstein in the Enchanted Lake/Kailua area.  It was a tiny, small-town type theatre that had inexpensive relatively new releases.  I think we spent like $12 for tickets total and we had a gift card for Chili’s from our landlords so it was a cheap birthday.  We’re low-key like that.

I did attend my first baby shower in ages last weekend. It was for the fellow wife who went to see the Floating Lanterns with me in May.  It wasn’t one of those over the top, babies in the ice cubes showers so that was nice. I won a couple of games (I know my baby animals and can unscramble words–whoo!) and got her a few things outside of her registry (like a Sophie the Giraffe teether).  I feel bad for them though. They’re leaving for Germany only a few weeks after their little one arrives, so she hasn’t been able to nest or figure out what else she needs.  I told the Mister I hope that doesn’t happen to us; he said I should go ahead and plan on that since that’s how the Army rolls. *Sad face*

Other than that, I’ve just been working a few hours a day for work and trying to get the kinks all ironed out for our office. We have a new management system and our area manager has never worked in a tax office before.  Needless to say, it’s a mess.  She asks us to call her every time there’s a cash transaction, which is completely asinine and when it gets busier, totally impossible.  So we’re all trying to adjust. But, as I mentioned, it’s only until April.  Hopefully it will be enough to fly all my furkids home and get our other car shipped back to the mainland.  We’re really tightening the purse strings until then.

That doesn’t mean I don’t have a plan for a few outings before then.  For Valentine’s Day, I already have a surprise planned for the Mister.  I won’t tell him what it is until we leave that morning.  We’re going to go submarine scootering.

I know that sounds weird, but it looks so neat and he mentioned he wanted to go try it before we left.  So, when LivingSocial had a deal and a bonus 15% off of their already cheaper price, I bought some. So it’s a 20 minute submersible scooter ride and about an hour and a half of snorkeling with turtles.  We’ve never snorkeled with a tour on Oahu, so it’ll be a fun trip.  I’m excited to see how he likes it.  If it sucks, the dinner at Outback (his request) should make up for it.

Other than that, I don’t have anything specific planned for this month. The Mister is working midnight to noon shifts for the next 10 days, so our schedules really won’t meet up until that’s over. That means I’ll be rooting for my Broncos in the Superbowl solo.  The Mister doesn’t really care for NFL, so that was mostly me alone anyway. Will update more when/if anything exciting goes down before then.

Until then,

 

Cheers!

–A.xoxo

 

 

Just let me squeak this last one in for 2015!

November was a relatively calm, uneventful month (at least in our neck of the woods).  We honestly didn’t do a whole lot.

A long lost camp friend came to Oahu for his sister’s wedding and was gracious enough to meet me to catch up.  We hadn’t seen each other since August 2010 when camp ended since he didn’t come back the next summer.  It was like no time had passed, we picked up right where we left off.  Sure, life had thrown us a few curve balls and we’d both settled down, but we were still able to chat like old times. It’s always nice to have someone like that around to reminisce and enjoy the nostalgia as much as you do!

We had another Thanksgiving with just the Mister and myself (and the fur kids of course) and went to see Mockingjay Part 2.  I really don’t know what else we did all of November. Blame it on the fireworks or the Christmas time hangover, my brain is so fuzzy!

December was exponentially busier and more fun-filled.  At the beginning of this month, work training got under way (and it never seems to end!). I was swamped with meetings and online training courses and more meetings.  I JUST finished up tonight so I can get back to work next week for tax season 2016!

The Mister and I attended our first St. Barbara’s Ball in Hawaii at the beginning of the month. We hadn’t attended before since the cost was so high last year and the previous year, we’d already attended in April.  We’re still waiting on the professional photo, but I’ll update that when we get it.

Later, we went to see Star Wars: The Force Awakens on opening night–because we are HUGE nerds. We loved it. We even prepped by getting Audie into the spirit too.

On 18 December, my parents and baby sister arrived for a long vacation! I hadn’t seen them since my grandma’s funeral in October 2014.  I was able to watch Nebraska take the National Championship in volleyball with my mom (a favorite for us).  A couple of days after they arrived, my middle sister arrived and my whole family was together. We went to the swap meet (I finally got my Hawaiian quilt!) to kick off the first day all together.

Then I took the family to Makapu’u Light House trail–the same one that Audie burned his feet on the first time we did it.  This time, the weather was much cooler and the trail was freshly redone so no sore tootsies. Since we went before, the trail had been repaved and new lookout points were added. We even got to get up close and personal with the lighthouse itself.

Mom managed to snap a photo of us girls at one of the overlooks, despite the high wind advisory.

On the way home, we stopped at Halona Blowhole.  It wasn’t as impressive as Nakalele but it was still neat.

It was kind of rainy for the next couple of days, so we were cooped up inside.  I did manage to take everyone to Lanikea to see the turtles. They got to see a couple, but none of them were as close as the ones we usually see. Mom even got to see a whale.

On Christmas Eve, I took the family to hike Diamond Head. It wasn’t nearly as hot as the last time I did it.

That night, we watched the original Grinch movie (a tradition dating back as long as I can remember). Once again, Audie dressed for the part.

Christmas came and we celebrated in true fashion. We ate a big meal that my mom and I cooked, watched the Duke on AMC, and did the traditional family photo in front of the tree. All my furkids had their special Christmas attire on.

The day after Christmas ended up pouring down rain, much to the annoyance of the Middle Sister (she had to leave early on the 28th to get back for work).  We salvaged her last day by going to Lanikai Beach. The breeze was really chilly and it was cloudy, but there were bits of sunlight and that seemed to appease her.

The 28th, we dropped the Middle Sister off at the airport and didn’t really do anything else (it’s a theme this time…we just wanted to see each other and not spend a whole lot of time running around. Plus, I had a last minute training session in the middle of the damn day so that kind of killed any chance of doing much on the 29th.

The rest of the family left this afternoon. It was a really hard day, as it always is when we say goodbye. Luckily this time it won’t be nearly as long as we’ll be off the island by at the latest July.

The day before everyone left, we drove to Laie Point. I’d never been but it was on my list to check it out. It didn’t disappoint!

Like I said, today was really emotional. My mom truly is my best friend so it sucks when we have to be apart for unknown amounts of time. Being 5000 miles from home has been rough on us both. I spent the afternoon weepy and sad. It was pathetic….but I love my mama! (and the rest of my family, obviously).

For New Year’s, the Mister and I didn’t do anything. Here it is 11:23pm on the last day of 2015 and I’m on the couch typing this. Audie HATES fireworks, so it’s been a very long night. He’s usually not so bad, but the neighborhood is way louder this year so he’s going ballistic every time one goes off.

As far as a resolution goes, I’m not likely to stick to one, so I don’t really make them. I guess I will make a better effort to get out and see the rest of the island before we leave and I definitely need to be more on the ball posting.

I start work roughly on January 11 (the first week they don’t give us lowly receptionists hours) so the chaos of TS16 will ensue until April 15. We do have some fun stuff coming up in the new year (and if we don’t, we will!). We are kicking off 2016 with Straight No Chaser again on the 2nd. I will be armed with the camera this time.

I will try to be better with posting, so onward to new adventures.

Until next time,

Cheers!

-A. xoxo

Hey all! Like my Arrow reference?? I’m genuinely sorry I’ve fallen off the wagon here for the last couple of months. I had every intention to post on multiple occasions but one way or another I failed miserably. So naturally, this will be a ridiculously long recap. Ok, not that long as we’ve been relatively boring the last few months but there were some great highlights and some tidbits of news.

August

We didn’t really do much at all in August. We spent a day at Lanikea Beach (normally our favorite beach) but it’s becoming really crowded with tourists. We also had a beach gathering with the other section chiefs from the Mister’s battery at Hickam AF base. It was a nice day but I’m rather miffed that I brought a ton of food and no one touched it. It’s not like I brought gross stuff either. I brought peanut butter chocolate rice krispy treats, chocolate chip cheesecake bars, pickle rolls, and broccoli cauliflower salad. But it is what it is. Like I said, we were boring in August.

September 

September was an exceptionally better month.  We were busy busy and were out and about quite a bit.

Audie celebrated his 2nd birthday on 1 September. Can’t believe he’s already 2!

Football season started on 5 September so our weekends have been pretty full with that.

Amazing Comic Con came to Honolulu for the first time ever 18-20 September. That was significantly better than the last one. We got to meet Stan Lee! We even got photos and autographs. There were some great panels and artists as well. We dressed at Scarlet Witch and Wolverine and Dean and Charlie. Again we failed to get appropriate photos but they’re easy to recreate at another con.

We had a blast! We’re really excited for the next one.

It wasn’t all fun and games in September. I did get back to work a little for H&R Block for preseason and my new store manager was really impressed. I’m actually looking forward to tax season this year. I was also hired at Kmart as a cashier and shortly after terminated my employment because the scheduling conflicted with H&R (and Kmart couldn’t seem to figure out that my availability didn’t extend into days I was on with HRB). I was also so poorly trained for that position that I couldn’t justify continuing work for minimum wage. I still feel guilty for quitting since it took so long to find other employment, but HRB really stepped in at the perfect time and has compensated me appropriately.

Additionally, during the chaos of work business, Taz escaped outside again and was gone for almost a whole week. Thankfully, she returned home and is safely locked in the house (the Mister really needs to work on latching the doors). She seemed very glad to be home and has since been extremely affectionate.

At the end of the month, I got to participate in a paint party for our FRG social. We did a FA themed design.

I liked it so much, I decided to do another paint party with one of the wives in October.

October

October was another packed month. We kept ourselves really busy with all sorts of things. We attended a Battalion Beach Day and once again, got stuck with a bunch of left over food. From then on, I decided not volunteer to bring food again. Two strikes. No more!

As I said, I attended another paint party. This time, we got to choose which sign and I decided to do two. Home state signs that we can hang on a wall one day.

Later in the month, we volunteered to decorate our car trunk for the Battery Trunk or Treat event. We did a Harry Potter theme and went all out with the decor and costumes. Even Audie got in on the action. We must’ve done pretty well as we placed 2nd in the contest.

I even convinced he Mister to spend a day at Arts & Crafts on post to paint some ceramic decor.

I volunteered more time to the FRG and designed t shirts to sell for a fundraiser for our battery Christmas party. We sold 28 shirts and raised about $300. It wasn’t the best turn out but not a bad gig for a little clip art work. I don’t mind it when my work is appreciated.

November

The month has barely gotten underway, so there hasn’t been a big push for stuff to do yet. We’re looking forward to Thanksgiving and a visit from a friend of mine from my camp days. I’ll try to be on the ball more this month.

I promise not to be so slow with the next one.

Until then!

–A.

I’m posting a bit earlier than anticipated this time.

Comic Con HNL is done and dusted. It was small and relatively disappointing. Still, we had a blast and can’t wait for Amazing Hawaii in September (which will be exponentially better).

We decided–last minute no less–to go as Amy and Rory from Doctor Who on the first day. We didn’t see many Whovians at all but a lot of people recognized the outfits. We did finds a decent 11th Doctor to take a snap with. I think we creeped the poor kid out though!

On the last day, we did Charlie and Dean from Supernatural, but there were so few people there, we didn’t even get a photo of our outfits.

We’ll be reprising those outfits for Amazing Hawaii, so no worries!

We did pick up some great artwork and a neat sign from a couple of booths in Artist Alley.

We ended up buying 7 prints from artist David K. Wong, including this awesome set.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We ended up buying across the board from him. We have a Calvin and Hobbes Star Wars, a Nightmare Before Christmas Doctor Who, a Deadpool, a Captain America Winter Soldier, and a Guardians of the Galaxy as well (I warned you, we’re huge geeks).

Despite being small and lacking in the turnout, we had so much fun. It was a nice weekend just to be out amongst fellow nerds.

Next up, we have the BN luau on Thursday. I’ll be back to add to this post afterwards.

———————————————–!!!UPDATE!!!——————————————–

The luau was just ok. Like I said before, we had already been to this one so it wasn’t all that great for the 2nd time. We had better-ish seats, but it was all the same. I’m still convinced we got swindled with the drink cards but whatever.

A lot of people didn’t show since they got the next day off regardless. I didn’t recognize anyone other than a few of the Mister’s soldiers.

It was way too hot (by Hawaii standards) to enjoy the show. Still, it was a nice outing that we rarely get. Gotta love something different!

I’m not sure if we have anything major going on this month. To my knowledge, we don’t have anything planned until September. If I can drag everyone out of the house, I think we’ll go to the beach this weekend. We’ll see how that goes…

If anything noteworthy comes up between now and Amazing Hawaii, I’ll be sure to post.

Until then!

Cheers!

–A. xoxo

Time for my obligatory monthly-ish post. I know, you’ve all been waiting with bated breath! All none of you. Still, I’m carrying on!

July is nearly over and I haven’t quite figured out where it went. We haven’t really done anything newsworthy…except maybe cage diving. More on that shortly.

July 1, my favorite orange boy turned 5. 5! Can’t believe my Jack Jack is five…

He’s really the best cat around. He thinks he’s human and comes when you call him. Couldn’t have asked for a better rescue kitty.

On the 4th, the Mister and I got up bright and early and went to Haleiwa to go cage diving. We figured we’d kick off Shark Week properly (have I mentioned how Shark Week is my FAVORITE week of the year?). So at 630am, we were hopping on a boat–with plenty of Dramamine in our systems, just in case–and heading about 3 miles off of North Shore Oahu with Hawaii Shark Encounters. We got dropped in to the middle of a current and got to see heaps of Galapagos sharks up close and personal. Now when I say current I mean current. It felt like the spin cycle in the cage. Even the captain thought it was rough. Regardless, we had a ton of fun, even if our fellow group members had zero control of their bodies (read: tourists).

After getting back from our excursion, we knocked out for most of the morning/afternoon. Then we headed to Ford Island for fireworks, our customary go-to for the 4th of July. We watched the show across Pearl Harbor, right over the Mighty Mo. Let me tell you, there are very few things more patriotic than watching fireworks over a battleship in a famous harbor. One of the few times I’m glad to be here.

Since then, we’ve been pretty boring. I’ve interviewed for a few jobs but no bites yet. This weekend we’re going to Comic Con HNL in Honolulu. It’s not a big convention but we’re still going to dress up. I think this one will be Dean Winchester and Charlie from Supernatural. I have a killer Avengers Age of Ultron Scarlet Witch outfit ready to go, but I think I’ll save that for Amazing Hawaii in September (where Stan Lee will appear!). I’m pretty excited, even if it is extremely geeky. It’s a fun way to be goofy with my husband–who’s just as nerdy as I am.

Still no news on the PCSing front. Originally, we were supposed to be done in Hawaii in June 2016. But…since the Mister is set to get out in 2018, he thinks they might keep us here. Part of me hopes not because I’m tired of being so far from everything, but being able to save some more funds for two more years would be nice. Guess we’ll just do what we always do: hurry up and wait.

Anywho! I will be posting some photos from Comic Con HNL when I get around to it. We also have a battalion luau at Paradise Cove in a couple of weeks. Not too exciting as we’ve already seen the same luau back when my family came to visit. Other than that, there are no immediate plans for anything exciting. September is our next big outing, but who knows what else will pop up between now and then.

I’ll keep ya in the loop as always.

Until then,

Cheers!

-A. xoxo

We’ve made it back from Maui in one piece! The fuzz butts survived a whole week without mom and dad and were great for the sitter.

While it’s only been one day back on Oahu, we managed to get the house back in order relatively quickly. I spent the day doing laundry and going through the hundreds of photos I took while we were away. Just when I think I’m done looking at all the pictures, I find others to look through. We really had a great week away.

Day 1: Arrival on Maui and Ziplining.

We took Island Air from HNL and made the quick hop to Kahalui, Maui. When we checked in for our flight, we were asked if we wanted to catch an earlier flight at no charge, so naturally, we jumped at the chance.  Once we arrived in Maui, we headed up to Haiku to go ziplining with North Shore Zipline Co. I’d never done it before, but the Mister assured me it was a great time, so I gave it a go. Boy was he right! It was a fabulous rush and our guides were AWESOME (shout out to Pirate, PawPaw, and Maverick).

We ended the travel day with some amazing food and tasty local brews at Maui Brewing Company’s Pub near our hotel.

Day 2: Snorkeling at Molokini Crater and Turtle Town.

We got up bright and early on the second day to hit the harbor. We hopped on the Quicksilver and boated out to Molokini Crater to check out the amazingly clear waters. It was by far the best snorkeling we’ve done so far. The water was so clear and the coral wasn’t right up against us. Though it never happens, I got really seasick between Molokini and Turtle Town. It’s the first time I’ve ever felt ill on a boat. It left as soon as it came on. I think it had more to do with that time of the month than the boat ride. Either way, I felt better before we left Turtle Town. I saw one turtle while snorkeling there, but once it was spotted everyone swarmed. I wasn’t going to fight with 50 other people to see a turtle. I can snorkel with those any day I want at Lanikea, without a boat ride! Once we got back to dry land, we headed just down the road from our hotel to get a couples massage. Boy did that feel absolutely amazing after a long morning in the water. The gals at Zensations in Lahaina are amazing.

Day 3: Historic Lahaina and Natural Wonders

On our third day, we got suckered into watching a Wyndham timeshare presentation in the morning. Since my parents have one already and have never used it in nearly 10 years, we had no desire to even consider buying in to that. The $150 off of our outings was well worth it. We did decide to try the Discovery package so we could try out the resorts on the Big Island and Kauai later in the year. It’s a neat concept, but we aren’t in any position financially to spend that much. After the presentation, we checked out some of the historic buildings in Lahaina, the former royal capitol of Hawaii.

Then we took in the sights at Jodo Mission. I just love the giant Buddha. I have a number of photos of this guy.

Then we drove along the northwest side of Maui to see the Dragon’s Teeth. Here, lava met the ocean waves when Maui was forming and created jagged sculptures as it cooled. We had to skirt the Ritz Carlton’s golf course, which is probably the closest I’ll ever get to the Ritz.

We continued up the road a bit to the Nakalele Blowhole where waves crash into the underground lava tube and water shoots up through a collapsed hole.

In the same area, we found the famous heart shaped hole in the rock. It seems to have weathered down slightly so the heart wasn’t very heart-shaped. Still, it was pretty neat!

Our final stop of the day was at the Olivine Tide Pools. We didn’t feel the need to trek down the steep hillside (mostly because we didn’t want to hike back up), but we got to see how cool they look from above.

Day 4: Road to Hana

We decided to sleep in a bit and take on the (in)famous Road to Hana. This narrow, windy, often one laned road snakes from Kahalui to Hana. It passes through rainforests, rocky cliffsides, and loads of waterfalls. It was a thrilling ride, but a lot of the scenery can be seen in other parts of the world. It was neat to see the waterfalls so close to the road though. On the way to Hana, we skipped all the stop overs so we could get to the Hana Lava Cave. This lava tube stretches some 27 miles all the way to the ocean. It was a cool self-guided jaunt through about half a mile of the cave.

On the way back, we hit all the cool stops we passed.

Day 5: Lana’i Jeep Expedition

We decided to make a day trip to Lana’i to see what the Valley Isle had to offer. We took the ferry and rented a 4×4 Jeep to explore. Thank goodness the Mister has experience with off-roading. We ended up on some pretty crazy (and sometimes scary) trails. We got to see so much of that tiny island, including: Shipwreck Beach, Keomoku Village Church, Pu’u Pehe, and the Garden of the Gods.

We came back and chowed on some Bubba Gump’s before heading back to the hotel.

Day 6: Haleakala,Pipiwail Trail, Pools of Ohe’o, Tedeschi Vineyard, and Ali’i Kula Lavender Farm

The day before the last day was jam-packed! We started out bright and early to arrive at the top of Haleakala Crater before sunrise. We left our hotel about 3am. The sunrise in the “house of the sun” was stunning. It’s truly a magical sight.

We took the back way to Hana (shhh…don’t tell our rental company!) to the other side of Haleakala National Park to the Pools of Ohe’o and the Pipiwai Trail. Since we arrived so early, the Seven Sacred Pools weren’t packed to the gills with people yet and the trail was essentially empty.

As I am not in the best of shape and the Mister could do 4 miles in his sleep, we were apart for most of the trail. It was an amazing trek. So diverse and the falls at the end were SO worth it. Plus, finishing before 10am made it much less hot and uncomfortable.

After conquering the trail, we headed back along the Pililani Highway, braving the rocky cliffs and blind one lane corners (our rental car company REALLY didn’t want us to try this).

We rewarded our hard work with a wine tasting at Tedeschi Vineyards. Pineapple wines are astounding! We bought three different bottles to bring home.

Our last stop of the day was at Ali’i Kula Lavender Farm. I envisioned rolling fields of purple flowers. This was not the case, but it was a beautiful stopover. The smell alone was so relaxing.

Day 7: Iao Valley State Park and Home Again

Our final day in Maui was our least busy. We slept in and checked out of our hotel at 11am. We spent part of our day checking out all the unique touristy shops in Lahaina. Then we traveled up to Wailuku and checked out the Iao Valley State Park, home of the Iao Needle.

The rest of the day was spent leisurely wandering Kahalui, waiting to go to the airport. We hoped we’d be asked if we wanted to catch an earlier flight, but no such luck this time.  We made it home with no broken wine bottles and our house wasn’t too destroyed from our wild fuzz butts (our sitter is absolutely fabulous–she loves these furkids).

I’m not sure when I’ll be posting next as we have nothing planned for the rest of leave. Hopefully soon I’ll have more fun news or at least some hometown tourism snaps.

Until then,

Cheers!

-A.xoxo

Back again.

Not a whole lot has been happening since the last post.

Went to the social that Friday evening. Met some of the other wives and got to flex the creativity muscle.It was a decent time, but there are a few wives that remind me why I rarely go to the FRG meetings. Drama seems to follow them around. No thank you! But I’ll keep going. We have a paint party coming up in a few months and lord knows I’m stoked for that.

My anniversary came and went. The Mister was still on “no phones” so I didn’t hear from him until a couple days before he got back. But on the upside, I did receive my gift in time! It’s gorgeous. I got him the complete reboot series of Doctor Who (1-8). I’m such a nerd, but I love it.

On Memorial Day, I went to the floating lantern ceremony again. I got to float a lantern this year! It was a great time. Took another wife and we had a blast. It was nice to get out and do something.

With the creative juices flowing, I got to try out the paint and new glass drill bit. The results were great! I love the wine bottle lamp I started. I’m excited to get the lamp shade decorated and the lights put in. I have a few other bottles prepped and ready to go. Can’t wait to see how they turn out.

Hopefully the next time I update, I’ll have a bunch more photos to put on here. We take off to Maui on Monday. We’ve got ziplining, snorkeling at Molokini, sunrise at Haleakala, hiking the Pipiwai Trail, the road to Hana, 4x4ing Lana’i, and some historical Lahaina tours planned. Busy busy, but this should be a once in a lifetime trip (since the Mister says we’ll never come back here once we PCS).

Until next time.

Cheers!

-A. xoxo