Everything runs together

Hawaii was a whirlwind of wonderfully beautiful things that I wanted to shrink down to miniature size and bring home with me. A summary that may not be in chronological order:

After the brief drama of a cancelled flight out of Milwaukee, I did in fact make it to Hawaii. I was lei'd twice with the most wonderful smelling flowers - which was great since I was not so wonderful smelling any more. I was tired.

I woke up at the crack of dawn and busied myself with smelling wonderful once more and drinking coffee. Did we snorkel the first day or the second? Let's say it was the first. Hanauma Bay is a preservation something or another. So you have to watch this video that was directed in the style of 1960's reproductive education videos. Then we donned our rented snorkel gear. I learned that the sharp intake of breath that most people do subconciously will make your snorkel stop allowing air to get to your lungs. Somewhat problematic when you keep seeing pretty fishies that you're afraid of because nature is scary. Scary or not - Hanauma Bay was one of the most gorgeous places I've ever been to in my life. And I learned that I am not too fat to wear a swimsuit. This is for two reasons. One - I'm not fat. Two - people who are fat were wearing little string bikinis. Ew.

I know for a fact that the luau was the first day. I tried every fruity drink available. They're all too sweet. I posed for pictures with tropical birdies. Then I watched amazingly sculpted Polynesian men shake their hips in a very sexy fashion. I also watched the sunset over the water, but did not get to see a green flash. I tried poi in two forms. There was a poi biscuit that was quite tasty. And the other form was like applesauce. It was not so good. And you could buy a souvenir drink that came in a coconut monkey bank. How awesome is that!

Day two gets a little foggy. We might have hiked Diamondhead. Or that was day three. But I know we went on a dinner cruise. They had shrimp appetizers, salad, lobster, beef tenderloin with mashed potatoes and a raspberry-chocolate desert. Lobster is not worth the work, or the eyes staring at you as you decide whether you can stomach cracking it open. Needless to say, Robert played with his lobster and I ate the meat from it. About the time the main beef course was wrapping up, the entertainment started. It was so off, we enjoyed the rest of the cruise from the deck. And we saw an amazing sunset and a pretty lighthouse and a tugboat and a lot of planes. And then I had heartburn. The worst heartburn of my life. No more lobster for Ashlee!

Day three we must have swam with dolphins. Bugs, Buster and Maui. It was at Sea Life Park overlooking some other pretty islands. We got to pet the dolphins, kiss the dolphins, and ride them via their fins and noses. All in all, it was ridiculously fun.

After that, we viewed the blowhole and hiked Diamondhead. Okay, so Diamondhead was day three. I think. That was really friggin awesome. Except the part where Robert is one foot taller than me and I couldn't keep up. But the view rocked.

That might have also been the day that we went the Cheeseburger in Paradise in Waikiki. Waikiki is very crowded, but it has all sorts of great places to shop. Can't wait to be there with lots of money:)

Day four we did a submarine dive and saw more fishies and a sea turtle and my red toes turn brown. The toenail polish turning colors is because of the filtered light in the sea. We were about 115 feet below sea level. Then we went to a lagoon and hung out. I started Barack's latest book and watched yet another sunset over the water. This time a huge rainstorm hit just before the sunset started. So we played in the rain too.

The last day we went on a kayak trip. Aside from learning that Robert and I do not do well in teamwork situations, I got to lounge on a peaceful beach and swim in Shark's Cove and swim in beautiful waters. Then I forgot to apply sunscreen during a bit of the trip. And my legs were SO painful.

A few regrets: The last day we stopped by Pearl Harbor. Next time, we have to get tickets to see the USS Arizona. The museum is powerful, don't get me wrong. Everything is amazingly somber. But I think seeing the Arizona would drive it all home in a more powerful way. Also, I think a little less planning and a little more hanging out with my friend would have been more relaxing and more fun. Lastly, I wanna learn to surf next time! I suppose I could have this time, but then there would have been no kayak trip. And kayaking was totally fun.

So here I am, typing this in my apartment and wondering why the stink it's only 45 degrees here. Stupid Milwaukee. Warm up!