TravelStream™ news feed for member ichbinseins on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/ichbinseins en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Thu, 30 Apr 2009 13:34:56 -0400 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/ichbinseins/2/1241062260/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/ichbinseins/2/1241062260/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/ichbinseins/2/1241062260/tpod.html Thu, 30 Apr 2009 13:34:56 -0400 Hawaii 2.0

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Waimea, Hawaii, United States

I woke up at 6 and went to go finish blogging previous day's entries in the living room. Mike woke up around the same time and made breakfast for him and Sarah, and then they headed out on their day's adventure - more snorkeling! Jon and I made waffles and chatted with my mom, and then she left for her adventure - a ride up the Na Pali Coast! I blogged, while Jon headed out to take pictures. He came back after about 10 minutes and wanted to hang out but I wanted to blog. Then, I was ready to hang out and he had to brush his teeth. OMG. We packed up for the horseback riding and headed out around 9am. Check in was at 10:30 on the north shore - almost halfway around the island. We enjoyed the drive, though we did get stuck behind long lines of cars a few times. It was beautiful though. We arrived at 10:15. We walked into the office to get checked in and there's this crazy looking rooster behind the desk. He had like a shaggy mane of feathers. The owner told us he was given to her by a neighbor and she named him Andy Warhol because of the blond hair. We went outside to sign our forms and we saw this cute Siamese cat named Sagwa (after this cartoon where Siamese cats live in the emperor's palace in China and can paint and write calligraphy with their tails). A little more walking and we saw a yellow-naped Amazon just like my parents'. His name was Mac and he was 55 years old. Interestingly, he didn't have much more yellow than Doc, who's 31. We went around the corner and saw 2 big pigs and Jon oinked at them until they oinked back. Once they started to "relieve" themselves, however, I left. After we chased the animals around, taking pictures for a bit, they got us all set up on our horses. Mine was Ace, he was a beautiful chestnut color with a diamond of white between the eyes. Jon was on shadow a dappled white and grey mare. The ride was great, our guide was incredibly knowledgeable and the scenery was beautiful. I don't think Jon relaxed until after lunch, but I felt right at home on the horse. Lunch was next to a waterfall where we had planned on going swimming, but the water was really cold and the day was overcast, so we changed our minds. They gave us tropical coleslaw, rice and chicken teriyaki, passion fruit juice and macadamia nut shortbread cookies. We sat there and chatted for about 30 minutes since no one was going in the water, comparing stories about where we were all from and what we thought of Kauai. Our group consisted of an older couple from Oregon who had been here before and a first-timer couple from Boston.  Our guide told us about celebrities in the area, local police, where the surf/snorkel spots were and about growing up in Dana Point, CA. he knew pretty much every question we asked him, including all the trees, birds and weather. On the ride back, the guide pointed out a pheasant in the bushes near Jon's horse and right then, it flew out, scaring some of the horses. He asked one of the guys if he was okay, and the guy said, "I may have peed my pants a little." We got back to the ranch way too quick and had to hop off the horses, but as we approached the barn, we saw a skinny-ish mare grazing out in the open on her own. We mentioned the escapee, but the guide said that she was a retired mare (about 30) and they just let her wander because they didn't ride her anymore, so why should she stay in a pen all day long. Then we saw this HUGE peacock sitting on a fence. It was beautiful so we took a bunch of pictures, but unfortunately, he didn't open for us. We gathered up our stuff, tipped the guide, and I was signing the guidebook when they let us know the peacock opened up. We headed around the corner and it was hilarious. He was wide open, shaking his feathers to draw attention to himself every 30 seconds or so and NONE of the peahens cared. They were just eating around him like dude, get out of my way. One of them even snuck up behind him and he had to kind of shuffle away (see video). We watched for a few more minutes, and then we started driving away. When I looked back, I saw the mare had walked up to the office to nuzzle the owner and above her in the rafters were 2 barn cats, including our Siamese friend. So I hopped out and took a picture. Jon and I were interested in driving to the "end of the road" because the guide said there were amazing views and good snorkeling. We called Mike and Sarah to see where they were because we had to meet up at some point to drop off their car. They were in Wailua (about 45 minutes from where we were) having lunch. We said we'd drive up north, then head back down and meet up with them. We got to Hanalei, a very cute, beachy town (think El Porto with jungle) and stopped for lunch at Subway. We picked up lighter fluid and bought some postcards (I know, it's dumb, we're leaving the next day, but I LIKE POSTCARDS) and found a picnic table to eat at. We started wandering in the gift shops there, looking for gifts for Adam and Jessica (and ourselves). Mike and Sarah called and said they were nearby (at this one lane bridge they couldn't seem to get across). We gave them directions and said to meet us at the shops. They showed up shortly thereafter.When we went to Oahu in 2005, we went to this little shop that sold bath stuff and I found this Mango Coconut shampoo that just screamed Hawaii. I bought some, took it home and used it so sparingly that I still have some left - 4 years later! The store we were inside in Hanalei had it, so I bought more PLUS a bunch of lotions. They were probably overpriced, but these smell so good and it's really nice to smell like Hawaii once you get home.Jon bought some gifts for Jessica and I bought some thing for Adam and his mom. Then we all decided it was time to head out. I asked Mike and Sarah if they were taking advantage of the perfect day for a convertible (warm, but cloudy so no direct sun) and she said she hadn't let him open it. My mouth must have been hanging open because she suggested I ride with Mike and she'd ride with Jon in the minivan. I definitely took her up on that. So, we headed out on the road and as we drove through Wailea, Mike pointed out where he and Sarah had eaten lunch (Bubba's Burgers). I mentioned that that was where the hiking/kayaking was taking place and that we'd have to go all the way back there tomorrow. It's definitely a good idea to stay on the east side of the island if you plan on doing ANYTHING. Somewhere north of Lihue and south of Kapa'a, otherwise you're not centrally located to anything.  We stopped at a pineapple store that Jon and I had noticed on the way up. The plan was to get a full pineapple freshly sliced, but it was after 4pm and she was out, so we bought a quarter of a pineapple freshly sliced rather than have to slice one ourselves.We eventually got to the airport, dropped off the Mustang and piled into the minivan for the ride home. We got home around 6 and none of us (except for Jon) were hungry yet, so we went to the breezeway to use the internet. We stayed there for about an hour, Mom joined us along the way, and then we headed back. We also returned Little Miss Sunshine because we weren't going to watch it,, but the plan was to play Scrabble that night. Mike had doused the BBQ with lighter fluid before we went to the breezeway and when he got back, we all prepared for the huge flames when he lit it. Disappointingly, they weren't that big...until he poured more lighter fluid on it. Boys... and fire...Jon and I were sent to the Pub to request condiments since we didn't have any and we came back with mustard, ketchup and BBQ sauce. When we came back, everything was ready - hot dogs, mac and cheese made by Sarah, mashed potatoes and salad. We tried to eat everything since we were leaving the next day. Then we finished off the Lillikoi Pie and Mike and Sarah wanted pistachio pudding. Jon and I tried it and decided it wasn't for us. Scrabble was definitely not going to happen tonight, since we were all pretty much done. Sarah went to read, Mike was on the compy, I was reading and Jon was being annoying (<--- natural state). Eventually, we all headed to bed.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/ichbinseins/2/1240637520/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/ichbinseins/2/1240637520/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/ichbinseins/2/1240637520/tpod.html Thu, 30 Apr 2009 13:30:51 -0400 Hawaii 2.0

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Lahaina, Hawaii, United States

In the middle of the night, I was awoken by Jonathan making some sort of noise and he said, "Did you hear that? Something FELL on me." I am super scared of things happening when I'm asleep - monsters, thieves, bugs, etc - so I pulled my arms and legs up onto the bed and looked around. It was then that we saw a HUGE cockroach skitter from under his bed beneath a pillow to under my bed. I started freaking out and making noises and Jon was like, "You'll wake up Mike and Sarah." I said, "Um, Mike will kill it, let's wake him up!" But Jon didn't want to and I wasn't planning on getting off of my bed since it was UNDER there. So, we sat there for a few minutes arguing over who was going to go for help or kill it or sacrifice their eyeballs to it. I leaned over the bed and started packing up my stuff, zipping up everything I could reach so the animal wouldn't enter my bag and lay demon-babies. I also pulled up all of the sheets onto the bed, so it couldn't crawl up and into them and eat my legs. Jon saw me and said, "It's not really safe, even though we're doing this, BECAUSE IT FELL." I realized he was right and that we were going to die. He leaned back and said, "Well, we're not getting any sleep tonight." I explained that that was unacceptable and that we could go out and sleep on the couch with my mom. He didn't think it would work until I mentioned the animal laying eggs in his ears. So, we took our comforters, phones and selves and ran out of that room as fast as we could. We settled in near my mom, me on the sofa bed with her and him on the couch next to us. We told her a bit of our story and tried our best to sleep.I woke up around 5 due to the combination of incredibly loud birds outside and nightmares about cockroaches eating me. Jon was sort of awake and we turned on the TV and I read magazines and Jon dozed. We decided that as soon as it was a decent hour, I would go downstairs and ask for a room change because neither of us could imagine sleeping in that room again. We even had my mom bring out our bags so we wouldn't have to walk back in there. Then, I showered and Jon slept.Once Mike woke up, he started making breakfast burritos with what we had purchased the day before. They were pretty good, but the cookware was stainless steel and since we didn't have oil, the potatoes stuck and burned a little. After everyone was fed, we talked about what to do. Some of us wanted to drive, some wanted to snorkel, and some wanted to wander. We finally decided on a plan that included a lot of these things. I went downstairs to change our room while people finished dressing and they said they'd have our stuff moved to a new room around 2pm and to check in when we got back. Our first stop was Maui Ocean Center, which Sarah had talked about non-stop for the past few weeks. Mike and Sarah missed the shark dive, but they had also dived the day before and seen the real thing. This aquarium doesn't look like much from the outside, but it's well organized and the exhibits were very clean and informative. They also had huge tanks for a few fish, no overcrowding here. They have a hammerhead exhibit with a tunnel you can walk through so you're surrounded by rays, sharks and fish. We discovered unicorn fish here - which are hereby addressed as Katefish. They also had a very cute turtle exhibit complete with baby turtles. The placards explained that baby turtles are "positively buoyant" and they spend the first parts of their lives bobbing at the surface and learning to dive down for food. We watched them try to break the surface and it did, indeed, look very difficult. Next stop was the Maui Tropical Plantation. They had a tour here that we decided not to do and instead we wandered around the grounds looking for cool photographs and wondering what the hell those trees were (mangrove?). We also quacked with the ducks. At this point, we all decided it was time to snorkel, so we headed south to Ulua Beach, where we snorkeled and saw a manta ray! We were all in the water together and had seen some puffer fish, a sea turtle and lots of cool coral. Just as we decided to head back, Mike saw a manta ray 15 feet below us. We took pictures and enjoyed the amazing sight of a manta ray in the wild (how many people get to see that?). Then, it started heading up towards Jon and I and we freaked out and booked it. It looked like it unhinged its jaws. Maybe we overreacted a bit, but we're still alive, so it worked.  This was a great snorkel spot, though once you went past the rocks, the waves were pretty high. I didn't have a water guard in my snorkel, but it only affected me once. However, the surge was strong. There is also a spot where people (locals?) jump off the rocks above into the water. For the snorkelers, this means keep an eye out for falling dudes and beware the murky waters in that area. After, we tanned for a while on the beach and then decided it was time to go. We continued to head south all the way down to the bottom of the island - La Perouse Bay -because my aunt had just told my mom that there was a really cool lava field down there. We drove past the swanky areas - Wailea and Makena - and ended up on a windy road right next to the rocks and sand barely big enough to fit 2 cars on. We took this for 15 minutes or so and were suddenly in the middle of a huge lava field. It was beautiful because to one side you had the ocean, to the other lava rocks with the green hills in the background. At the end of the road is La Perouse Bay - apparently the first place outsiders landed on Maui - which is basically a lava rock and coral strewn beach. It was pretty, but not overly interesting. On the way back, we stopped at the Grand Wailea Hotel, where Jonathan had stayed with his grandparents 12 years earlier. This was probably the most amazing hotel I've ever been to - it rivaled the Getty Villa in terms of artwork, architecture, views and class. The grounds were filled with gazebos, amazing landscaping, a lagoon pool, waterslides, a wedding chapel on a small lake, waterfalls and bridges over streams. The "inside" part - though nothing is inside in Hawaii - has famous sculptures and paintings, water features, marble and granite and a small shopping center. This is definitely a place to honeymoon and we saw 3 weddings while we were there. Once we were done with the Grand Wailea, we had hoped to make it to a restaurant called Joy's in Lahaina which we found in one of the guide books. However, it was already past 6 when we left the Grand Wailea and the restaurant was closed. We thought of multiple places to eat along the way and finally decided to use the rest of the hotel credit we had. Once back at the hotel, we out down our stuff and headed to The Beach Club where we dined al fresco and within earshot of the ocean. That's my favorite part of this - sleeping, eating, walking within earshot of the ocean. After dinner, Mike and Sarah went back to the car to check on something and Jon and I headed up to the room. We saw the Oliver kitty and another black one we'll call Cyber kitty. They were eating off of plates behind the restaurant, so I guess they really are hotel cats. Back up to the room, where I showered and slept, while the boys ate ice cream.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/ichbinseins/2/1240888260/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/ichbinseins/2/1240888260/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/ichbinseins/2/1240888260/tpod.html Thu, 30 Apr 2009 13:29:05 -0400 Hawaii 2.0

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Waimea, Hawaii, United States

I woke up at 6 and started packing for the flight to Kauai. Jon woke up a while later and eventually everyone was awake and getting ready. We left around 7:45 and got gas before we returned the car. About the car... each day we went to the beach, we had borrowed towels from the hotel and unfortunately, we forgot a huge pile of them in the car when we returned it. So, Hertz got our abandoned towel mobile. At the airport, we got food at this café where they served scrambled fake eggs, okay bacon, pretty good potatoes and very good biscuits. It was all overpriced and probably not fresh, but we were hungry. The plane was tiny, it was a turbo prop, 2x2, and the seating was first come-first served. We ended up sitting in the 3rd, 4th and 5th rows. The ride was pretty smooth, bar the lurchiness that comes with prop planes and the landing was very good. It took us about 35 minutes to get to the cottages where we stayed. Once we arrived, we were disappointed to find that the info I had read on the website didn't apply to ALL of the units. LAME. Yes, there was free wi-fi, but only in the breezeway by the lobby. Yes, there was laundry, but it was a pay facility nearby (only the bigger units have laundry inside). Yes, there was a gym, but it was a community gym down the road that we had "rights" at. LAME. The cottage itself, however, is cute. There's a living room with a dining table and a small kitchen. There are 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms and the windows are like permanently open. We all went over to the Breezeway to use the internet to plan our days here. Since there's only one car, we needed to coordinate scuba with what Jon and I wanted to do. Mike and Sarah found a scuba shop they liked, and we decided to head over there to book the tour since it was only 10 miles away. Here, 10 miles is like 30 minutes. Might as well be in LA. The shop was cool, Jon signed up for a pool training session the next morning and an intro dive and I signed up for snorkeling. Mom doesn't like the fishies and unfortunately, snorkeling would be lost on her even if she did, since she's blind. I've been there, I know. Mike and Sarah also booked a separate scuba dive for Wednesday. Jon and I booked horseback riding on Wednesday and the four of us are doing a kayak/hiking tour on Thursday before we go. Mom booked a Na Pali coast tour for Wednesday and the shop offered to pick her up and drop her off since we didn't have another vehicle. Hawaiian people keep surprising me with their courtesy, though, to be honest, they also keep surprising me with their non-courtesy. It's just that that would NEVER happen in L.A.We were hungry after the scuba shop, so we went to Wrangler's, a steakhouse in Waimea that the hotel recommended. They were pretty good, Hawaiians definitely like their steaks. For dessert, we shared the sampler, which had flan (meh), Kona mud pie (yum) and Lillikoi Dream Pie (extra yum). Then we headed across the street to Big Save Market to stock up on necessities. We got waffles, cottage cheese, multiple kinds of milk, jell-o, pancake mix, water, butter and syrup. We went back to the hotel, put away the goodies and Mike, Sarah and I set off to wander the grounds and take pictures. We headed down to the water first, marveling at the huge trees on the property and all the driftwood on the beach. Sarah brought her Kindle and shortly set off to find a good place to read. Mom came out and sat by the pool and read. Jon joined us outside and then Mike, Jon and I walked up to the lobby to see what kind of board games they had and to check on movies, too. We got Scrabble and Little Miss Sunshine. There was a kitty in the lobby, an orange tabby with a shaved area and a surgical scar on his side. He was sweet, but didn't care too much that we were there. When we got back to the cottage, Sarah and my mom were back and we talked about playing games, but just fell asleep instead.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/ichbinseins/2/1240976640/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/ichbinseins/2/1240976640/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/ichbinseins/2/1240976640/tpod.html Thu, 30 Apr 2009 01:45:50 -0400 Hawaii 2.0

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Waimea, Hawaii, United States

We all woke up between 7 and 8am, had waffles and muffins, and then we got ready for scuba/snorkeling. Poipu, where the scuba place is, is approximately 30 minutes from here no matter which route we try to take. This is because the roads are all one-lane each way with occasional passing and speed limits of 25-45 mph. We got to the dive shop really early, so we went to a local Starbucks to waste some time. Then, we headed back to the dive shop where Jon had a scuba training session in a local pool. Mike had forgotten his dive watch, so we went to get it while Jon did his training. I read that whole time. To me, vacation is having unlimited time to read, but I should have realized that bringing Jonathan would deter my reading. So, I enjoyed it while he was away - enjoyed a whole book's worth.Once we got back to the dive shop, Jon was pretty much done, so we all headed inside and got set up for the boat trip. They piled us into a van (there were 9 passengers, 2 instructors) and drove to the harbor - Kahuluiki? Not sure about that name. Then, we had to wait while they loaded up the boat with the tanks and all the gear. Sarah said that was pretty unprofessional because they usually have that done a head of time. In Australia, they had it done there too. Basically it meant we got to the reef later, had to wait when we got back and missed out on that dive time. Once on the boat, it was a 5 minute ride to the first site - Nukumoi . I was the lone snorkeler, so she told me to head towards the beach because we were out pretty far - way behind the wave break. The captain, Zac, told me they'd be there for at least 30 minutes so I headed out. The water was nice and cool when you first jumped in, but I got used to it really fast. I was wearing a swimsuit and a rash guard. I headed out towards the shore and was amazed - this was very different than shore snorkeling - there's a lot more diversity out there.  I swam out pretty far and at one point I thought I saw the blue damselfish, like Sarah has in her tank, so I stayed there for a few minutes, but it turns out they weren't the same. The water started to get very bubbly there and I couldn't see much, so I lifted my head and realized I was in the surf zone. Yeah, I decided to head back then. Swimming from the boat was nice and easy, swimming back to it was a little tougher. Once I got back, I noticed all the divers were congregating near the boat, but underwater. I took pictures of Mike, Jon and Sarah and some of the other divers who were holding hands. I enjoyed the amazing sensation of swimming through the bubbles the divers produce and I got some, hopefully, amazing shots of said bubbles.  Right before Jon's group was about to come up, there was a turtle nearby, so I hung out by him and took some pictures. Later, Jon and I agreed that the turtles are probably our favorite part about all of this. The fish are very cool because they don't care that you're there and they'll just swim all around you, right next to you. The corals are meh, here in Hawaii. I think Australia had the most amazing corals and the colors were ridiculous. But the turtles are great; they're adorable, they're majestic, and they're likely very old. They'll also generally stand still so you can take pictures.  After Jon's group was up and on the boat, I headed up too. Zac said, "Girl, you scared me. I couldn't see you for a while out there. I looked down and I looked up and you were gone and I thought, 'Oh no, I'm gonna have to call in a missing person.' I looked up and you were all the way by the surf zone, I saw these little feet kicking way out there." I said, "Oh, yeah, it started to get a little rough and bubbly over there."He said, "I've got a heart condition, girly, don't scare me." I love the way Hawaiians talk. It's melodic and he was kind of gruff, but it was clear he had been worried.Once everyone was back on the boat, they offered up granola bars and water. We started moving again and we all thought we were going to the next dive site, but we were actually going towards the harbor again. Turns out Zac forgot his phone and we had to go get it. Then, we headed to the next spot, took maybe 3 minutes. That place was called Sheraton Caverns and was basically a series of lava tubes that the divers were able to swim through. I jumped into the water and was immediately surrounded by fish. I looked up and there were two turtles right in front of me. This spot was like turtle city, I must have had 15 sightings or so. I saw a baby, too, right near the surface, just bobbing along. I surfaced every so often to see the boat and where I was in relation. Zac whistled to me and told me there was a pod of dolphins heading across the horizon and I should swim straight out. I did, but I didn't make it in time. Then another pod started coming straight at me from the other direction. I swam out a bit, so I'd be right in there way, but that must have spooked them, because they stopped about 20 ft away. Then they started jumping, doing vertical spirals and just being super dolphin-y. Then they turned around and went back the way they came. So, even though I didn't get to be IN a pod of dolphins, I got to see them very close and doing tricks. I was happy. Swimming against the current in the ocean is SUPER tiring though, so after the dolphins, I floated back towards the boat, looked for more turtles and then came up early on to the boat. Zac and I talked for a while before the divers came up. He told me  a story about how when his son was 8, they were out on the ocean like this, but in deeper water, and his son was about 110 feet away from him and a pod of dolphins came streaming towards him. They just separated, he said and went around him. He said he was hoping that would happen to me. He said, "You're a fish, aren't you? Why don't you dive?" I explained how scared I was the first time I tried it and how I really felt like I was going to die. He said that he understood but that I should try again with a good instructor. Which I agree is a good idea; I'm just not interested in doing that now. Zac and I talked a little more- about his family, and how he lived in Lakewood for 2 years, and how dirty the water is at home.The divers came up then and we headed back to the harbor where we waited for them to unload the gear from the boat and put it back on the van. Jon and I had to pee so we used the disgusting beach bathrooms - just like Hermosa 22nd St. The ride back to the shop was short and once there, Mike and Sarah got their dive books stamped, and Jon got his arm stamped by Noe, one of the dive masters. We were more than halfway to the airport now and since Mike and Sarah would be separating from Jon and I the next day, they decided to get their own car, so we went to hertz to pick one up. Jon and I slept most of the way there, and once Mike and Sarah got their car, Jon had to drive us back and we were both so tired. Luckily, Jon wakes up once he's driving. I'm the total opposite: if I'm tired, driving will put me to sleep. Mike and Sarah stopped along the way to get salad, papaya seed dressing (my new favorite), hot dogs (or MAN DOGS as Mike put it) and charcoal for the BBQ here, so we arrived before them. Mom had made hamburger helper, mac & cheese, and mashed potatoes. I took a few bites then went to the lobby to upload the last 2 entries (thanks faithful readers!) and to chat with Adam before he went to sleep. Sarah came to the lobby when I was about done and mentioned they forgot lighter fluid and she was going to ask the front desk about it. Unfortunately, they are not very full-service and didn't have any. We walked back together and decided we'd BBQ the next day after someone picked up lighter fluid. So we all dig into this feast that Mom had made for us. We were all incredibly hungry and tired. Jon fell asleep on the couch in between courses. After we were all showered, we had Lillikoi Pie for dessert - so good. It's passion fruit chiffon on graham cracker crust. After dessert, we talked about playing Scrabble or watching Little Miss Sunshine, but no one had any energy. We went to bed around 9 and hoped we wouldn't wake up at 4.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/ichbinseins/2/1240799700/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/ichbinseins/2/1240799700/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/ichbinseins/2/1240799700/tpod.html Wed, 29 Apr 2009 01:55:36 -0400 Hawaii 2.0

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Lahaina, Hawaii, United States

Today was our last full day in Maui and we decided to snorkel it up. Mom went her own way this morning and explored Lahaina, so we didn't have anyone to watch our stuff while in the water. This just meant that Sarah and I didn't bring purses and the boys ended up paying for everything :) After another delicious breakfast burrito prepared by Mike, we headed to the beach! We went to Coral Gardens which was supposed to be great, but ended up being boring - full of yellow, brown and orange corals and not very exciting fish. It was also very maze-like and the water was very shallow leaving us stranded sometimes on top of coral, worried that if we kicked too much, we might scrape them. Once we escaped the maze, we lay out for a while and tanned. After about 20 minutes of that, we decided to forgo Turtle Town since it was all the way down by Wailea and instead thought we'd head into Lahaina to get some grub and walk around. Mike also wanted to investigate the Ritz Camera closing sale. We decided to eat at Cheeseburger in Paradise at the corner of Front St and Lahainaluna Ave. I got the Royal Ahi'i with fried egg and bacon, Sarah got the Laren and Edna with avocado and pineapple, Jon got the Cheeseburger in Paradise which I think was basic and Mike got the one with teriyaki and pineapple. We also tried their shakes - delicious! Once we were finished, we walked down Front St towards the banyan tree and stopped in some of the tourist shops along the way to get souvenirs. Once at the banyan tree, we saw there was a fair with crafts and music to celebrate the Birthday of the banyan tree. We didn't see anything we particularly wanted, so we headed across the street to the Maui Swiss Café where Jon, Mom and I had stopped in a few days before. We all got ice cream there and met back up with Mom, then headed back to the hotel.Sarah still wanted to snorkel, so she went to the beach in front of the hotel. Jon and I decided to go swimming in the pool and Mike wanted to stay in the room. Just as Jon and I were getting to the pool, we saw Sarah coming back from the ocean. She said the beach out there was too rough and she didn't see anything good, so she came to the pool with us for a bit. Jon and I didn't stay long after she left, because the sun was going down, so we went back up to the room. Mike and I read/computered on the balcony while Jon and Sarah showered, then the boys got antsy for things to do. We decided on tennis and went to the front desk to ask for rackets, but they informed us that the courts closed at 5:30 - ridiculous. We went back to watch the ocean a bit before heading up.  On the way back, we saw the Cyber kitty prowling in the tall grasses and then he lay down in the sun, Oliver kitty joined him shortly and they were so cute. I definitely miss my cat. We headed back to the room and Sarah and I read until bedtime. Jon and I watched The Notebook too, and I cried. Saddest movie ever.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/ichbinseins/2/1240631640/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/ichbinseins/2/1240631640/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/ichbinseins/2/1240631640/tpod.html Sat, 25 Apr 2009 15:20:27 -0400 Hawaii 2.0

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Lahaina, Hawaii, United States

Mike and Sarah woke up at 5:30 for their scuba trip off of Molokini and were out the door by 5:55. Mom woke up at 4 and watched TV for a while. Jon and I woke up at 6:30 and headed out to the balcony to check out the weather and the view in the daylight. It was gorgeous, cool and misty.  Mom, Jon and I tried to get ready in time for the free orientation breakfast downstairs, but we didn't make it because Jon has nose issues - wherein he bled all over himself. Instead, we took a walk down to the ABC store to get butter for the English muffins we brought as well as some juice and snack food for Jon. It was misting and we were kind of chilly, but none of us used our jackets. We found a few restaurants along the way, but they were Filipino and Vietnamese and we weren't interested in Asian food for breakfast. We walked back to the hotel and decided to use our $100 restaurant credit there at The Beach Club. This place is pretty much an overpriced Coco's. There was a pretty big delay in the service and the meal for the 3 of us was about $40. They did have VERY good pancakes, though. After breakfast, we headed to the ocean to take a look at what was in front of our hotel and found a sandy beach that turned rocky as it got closer to the water. The rocks were covered with leafy green algae that made for a few good pictures. Once our pants were thoroughly wet and sandy, we walked back towards the room. On the way, we ran into a cat who looked just like Oliver and hung out with him for a few. Back in the room, we decided we'd catch the bus to Lahaina and walk around until Mike and Sarah came back from diving. The bus system on Maui is really cool - you can get around the whole island for $1 per boarding. Some of them are even free. So, we went to Lahaina and on the way, we saw a drug deal go down, involving a middle aged woman hitting up a 17-year-old for some weed. SIGH. Once in downtown Lahaina, it was hot and beautiful. We walked down Front Street all the way to the famous Banyan Tree. This tree has a circumference of a quarter mile and was actually planted on April 24, 1873. We took pictures in it and around it and went into some of the little shops. Most of them were total tourist traps, but we did find a Lush bath store and Jon and Mom got some soaps. Mom got a shave ice and we were lured in by a woman that said she could give us a snorkeling boa trip for $17. Unfortunately, to get that price, we would have had to sit in on a 90 minute seminar on timeshares.  Negatory. We ate at a restaurant called the Maui Swiss Café run by a Swiss woman who had a pretty cool accent. Jon had a ham and cheese sandwich and I had what may be the best crepe I've ever had (sorry Crepe Nazi). By this point, we were hot and it was going to be an hour's wait for the next bus back to the hotel, so we called Mike and Sarah and asked them to pick us up from Lahaina. They showed up about 30 minutes later and we all went back to the hotel to change into bathing suits. We went across the street to rent snorkeling gear and Jon bought his own snorkel. Then, we hit the road!First stop was Black Rock beach behind the Sheraton. The beach was pretty crowded, but we found a prime spot near the reef.  Mom stayed on the beach and the rest of us hopped in. The water was chilly at first, but you got used to it really fast. It was pretty clear until you got close to the rock walls, where there was stuff floating everywhere. We saw a huge sea turtle though and stopped to watch it for like 15 minutes. Sarah got some really good pictures on her digital, and we'll see how my underwater disposable pictures turn out. He was a very chill turtle, pretty much stayed in one place the whole time and didn't seem freaked out by us at all. There were also pipefish and nudibranch and lots of fish.We were there for about an hour and a half and at 4, we left for the next spot, Honolua Bay. However, we missed the turn off and instead found ourselves at a beautiful lookout above the turnout. This place was amazing. We were there for about 20 minutes and we saw whales out in the ocean! The view was amazing - there were grassy fields to one side and amazing cliffs and a sheltered harbor to the other. Once it started to get dark and cold, we went back towards the hotel and stopped at the Star Market across the street. There, we stocked up on breakfast foods and snacks and we bought a huge lasagna for dinner that night. Back at the hotel, we showered, made dinner and ate. We blogged, talked about going to the gym and then Mike, Jon and Sarah all fell asleep.  I followed around 10:30.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/ichbinseins/2/1240545000/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/ichbinseins/2/1240545000/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/ichbinseins/2/1240545000/tpod.html Sat, 25 Apr 2009 14:46:31 -0400 Hawaii 2.0

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Lahaina, Hawaii, United States

Thursday morning, I woke up at 6, took a shower and then called my mom to tell Larissa to come over with a DVD because she wanted Rosetta Stone. I guess my mom told Larissa what I said and she assumed my mom was technologically inept and what I really said was to bring a CD. Larissa brought a CD. No Rosetta Stone for her.  Jon came down the stairs at 6:49 and started to take his clothes out of the laundry, realized his jeans were wet and proceeded to sigh. We left our house at 7:10 after bidding the cat a teary farewell. We got to my parents' house, went in to make sure everyone was ready, and then went back outside to take our luggage from Rissa's car to my dad's. Mike called about then and told me the line for check-in was really long and that we should hurry. When we got to the airport, we said goodbye to Dad and Riss and got in the Skycap line to have our bags checked at the curb. We waited for about 10 minutes and then the attendant told me that even though my paper said E-ticket #XXX, we needed paper tickets and I'd have to talk to an agent. We huffed and puffed and went inside to get in line. We waited there for 5 minutes, where I got more and more anxious and unhappy because we had less than 10 minutes to check our bags in time for the flight. Then, the skycap came over to us, said, "Follow me" and started walking away. We followed; he took us to the front of a different line and got our bags checked in about 4 minutes. On to the escalator! where we found a HUGE security line that wrapped around the bridge. We found Mike and Sarah about ¾ of the way back and slid into line with them. Mike and Sarah had been there for about 30 minutes at that point and had been asked twice what time their flight was and assured twice that they would make their flight. Once we arrived, we waited for 30 more minutes. Throughout this time, agents kept taking people from our line and putting them in a priority line next to us. This, in turn, slowed down our line. A few minutes later, when we realized we were now at the end of the line due to people being moved over, I asked the agent if we'd still make our flight. She said, "Oh! Go in this lane" and pointed to the other one. We waited in that line for 5 minutes, then our line was led downstairs and BACK TO THE VERY FIRST LINE WE WERE IN THAT DAY. We were all skeptical over these arrangements and yet, what else could we do? We were put to the front of the security line and as we were waiting for our shoes and laptops to come out the scanner, Sarah lost it and yelled at the people who were moving slowly, "Take your crap and move to the end of the line!" The guy in front of her started to mutter about the crazy lady and a TSA agent approached her and said, "Ma'am, why are you raising your voice?" Sarah said, "I'm not yelling at you, I'm yelling at them." The agent said, "There's no reason to yell," and then proceeded to yell at the guy running the conveyor belt for going too fast. After we got past that obstacle, we walked very quickly to the other end of the terminal (which we were near BEFORE switching lines) and arrived just in time to see the CLOSED sign on the board and the plane reversing. We headed to the customer service line and waited there for 20 minutes before we were able to see an agent for United. In that time, I called Pleasant Holidays to complain (they were no help at all) and our travel agent (who was also no help at all). We were re-booked on the next flight out, at 2:40pm, and headed to find some breakfast. We found a Wolfgang Puck's and ate there, then went to find a place to spend the next 5 hours. On the way, we saw Kevin Sorbo, of Hercules fame. He was on his way to Cabo San Lucas. Dude is tall. From here began the treacherous task of wasting 5 hours of our lives in an airport. We all called United and complained about the service we received and were offered Miles or Vouchers. We tried to spread free internet access from one laptop to another. We slept, we walked, we drank Starbucks, we chatted with other stranded travelers and we tried not to lose our minds. Eventually, it was time to board and we got into line to get on the plane. The plane was a Boeing 757 and had two 38 rows and 2 columns of 6 seats each. We were in row 14, which was the Economy Plus section (more legroom) and had 5 of the 6 seats. The plane ride felt like it would never end. I barely slept, though Sarah and Jon were able to sleep for a while. We landed at 6pm local time and had to wait while they got the jetway working. We finally got off and noted that the airport smelled like... flowers? Hawaii? NOT LAX? We were soooo happy to discover that the airline had successfully stored our luggage, which we picked up and headed to Hertz. Mike and Jon discovered a yellow Corvette in the parking lot and inquired as to how much it was to rent that for a day - $275. We stuck with the minivan, and headed to the hotel. Mike added the address to his GPS, but couldn't say the name so he approximated it as Hoochie-Poonanny. Sarah took another look at it and decided that was very close indeed. So that's the name of our street.  It took us a few tries to find the right turn because Mike's GPS was a little wonky, however we prevailed. The lobby of the hotel is very nice, with a very Hawaiian feel. The rooms are okay, though I read that some are updated and ours definitely isn't. But it's still a good size and nice. I'll post pictures tomorrow once the room has been made presentable. Our room is a 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom condo/apartment setup. We have a full kitchen and a living room. After settling in, we went to the lobby to ask for recommendations on local restaurants. My mom stayed in the room because she was tired. The lady at the front desk said Hula Grill and Mike and I looked at each other and were like, that's it. So, we followed the directions - 3 lights, then right - and proceeded to get very very lost. We deduced that the restaurant was in a shopping center eventually. As we walked in, we were distracted by a Maui Dive Shop and spent 20 minutes there choosing dive options for the next day. Mike and Sarah decided on a very early two tank dive at Molokini. Jon and I decided to pass and said we'd go snorkeling instead. Then, we went to Hula Grill, where I got chicken (quite possibly the best I've ever had) and Mike, Jon and Sarah got fish.  After dinner, we came back to the hotel and went to bed. Jon and I watched Leno for a few minutes before I passed out and I'm assuming he went to bed shortly thereafter.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/ichbinseins/1/1213931280/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/ichbinseins/1/1213931280/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/ichbinseins/1/1213931280/tpod.html Wed, 25 Jun 2008 01:39:08 -0400 South Pacific Adventure - Australia and New Zealand in June 2008!

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Sydney, Australia

Today was the bridge climb! We asked at the hotel desk which stop we needed on the train, but the girls there wasn't very helpful, so we had to ask at the station. The woman there told us where to exit and said from there it was a 4 or 5 minute walk. Well, once we got off, it wasn't immediately apparent as she said and we kind of wandered. Then, when we found the right street, it was like a 15 minute sprint down the street. I was so worried we were going to be late and waste all our money, but luckily, we made it just in time to pee before we were briefed. So, they breathalyzed us, got us in our suits (Star Trek style, super hot), gave us tons of gear to attach to our suits by little clips and straps and we headed off. It was a beautiful day, clear and slightly breezy. There were two climbs we could choose from, the Original and the Discovery (Disco). We chose the latter. On the Original, you climb up the outer arch, so your ascent is mainly looking at the sky. On the Disco climb, you travel through the inner arch, so we had these beautiful panoramic views the whole time, as well as the architectural views from inside the bridge. We learned about the construction of the bridge and really interesting facts like how many people died and how the bridge was built in 2 halves and then joined together in the center. When we were first ascending, there were parts where the stell underfoot was mesh and we were over the water, so if you walked really quickly and looked down, the mesh blurred and you had a strange feeling of walking on water. The leader took pictures every so often along the way and at the top as well. We weren't allowed to bring our own cameras, so we had to buy the pictures we wanted. There were only 6 people in our group (normal is 12), so we had lots of extra time to look around and enjoy the view before we had to head back down. The other 3 people were from Perth, in Sydney for a holiday like us. I think we climbed something like 1, 068 stairs in total, though half of those were downhill. One of the facts that really sticks with me is about the height of the bridge. In one of our pictures, you can see a small brick clocktower with a green copper dome in the middle of the city. Now, it's dwarfed by the buildings around it, but when the bridge was built, it was the 2nd tallest building in Sydney. When we were a third of the way up the bridge, we were already taller than that building. It really gives you an idea of how the bridge changed the city and people's perceptions of it. As you can see from the pictures, contemporary Sydney has plenty of high-rise buildings. On the way down, Amy bumped her head, which unfortunately was only one of many injuries that she received that day. When we got back to the office of Bridge Climb, we changed out of our suits, put on sandals and bought souvenirs, postcards and our pictures. We all received certificates of completion and group pictures.While we were climbing the bridge, Mom and Riss had been shopping and were supposed to meet us at the Circular Quay (kind of like the Inner Harbor in Baltimore) for lunch and then we were supposed to go to Manly Beach. We called them and they were both tired and Mom felt sick, so Tricia, Amy and I decided to have lunch on our own and then head out to Manly. Right on the waterfront, there are lots of swanky restaurants and we thought we'd try one of those. We found one that looked yummy and sat down to peruse the menus. Then we relaized the downstairs area was the bar and they only served a limited menu, while upstairs was the full restaurant. We went upstairs and on the way, Amy tripped and smacked her leg on the stairs (injury numero dos). When we got upstairs we were greeted, and told it would be just a second, so we should have a seat. At the moment, the tremendously snotty bartender asked us if we had any other shoes. We told him not really, we have tennis shoes. He said, Are you sure? Because sandals are not allowed in here, like we were so annoying and incredulous to him. We said, well, we have sweaty tennis shoes, would you rather? And he said, Well, I guess it's fine for now, but next time... and gave us an evil look. Amy wanted to leave at that point, but I couldn't stand the thought of giving him the satisfaction. So we stayed, but after we were seated, Tricia didn't like the menu, so we ended up leaving after all, eliciting a snotty Ciao! from him as we left and a loud, "Cancel the bread!" We were all really angry after that and headed down the harbor to a different restaurant where everyone was very nice. We all got our food and then decided to share a huge tiramisu for dessert. It was so yummy and afterwards we got a 2nd dessert! We ordered panne cotta, because it looked lovely on paper, though in reality it was kind of like stiff pudding. Amy described it as the stuff that gathers on top of pudding you make at home, but the whole thing was made of it. It was made more tolerable by the berry sauce and chunk of choclate they put on top of it.After that, we took the ferry to Manly. The whole way, we made silly American jokes about Manly men and Manly beaches and Manly ferries. It was getting to be afternoon and the sun was hiding behind clouds, so we froze most of the ride there, but we still sat outside and enjoyed the air. Once we got there, we saw a little tiny ugly harbor beach and were disappointed. But then we discovered that once you step out of the station, there's a cute little walkstreet area called the Corso and at the end of that is the beach. So we strolled along the Corso, looking at the I <3 Manly shirts and shopping in the surf shops. While we were in Billabong, I heard someone say AMY! and I turned around and Amy was talking to Teryn Spragg, a girl who went to Costa with us. It was incredibly bizarre. Turns out that she came here on vacation a while ago and met a boy whom she fell in love with and so about 6 months ago, she moved here to be with him. It was very sweet and very strange to find her randomly in Australia. Tricia also knew her from church. After Billabong, we went to the Roxy store and while Amy was trying on sweatshirts, I was chatting with the girl who worked there, telling her how we were all related and that my sister was at the hotel not feeling very well. When Amy and Tricia came out to buy their things, the girl was so sweet and gave us free Roxy stickers worth about $5, even giving me extra to give to my sick sister. We got her Facebook info and plan to add her soon. From there, we headed to the beach and were amazed by the sight of pine trees lining the esplande. Pine trees. At the beach? Even with those strange trees, it was beautiful. We all went about knee deep into the water and we spent the next hour or so taking silly pictures and enjoying the sunset. Right about this time, these 2 guys (super un-hot AND like 40) walked up to us and started the lamest conversation ever. It went something like this: Hi, girls, my cousin here is from overseas and wants to know if he can take a picture with you.Amy: Um.....no, I don't think that's a good idea.What? I can't hear you.Amy: I don't think it's a good idea for us to take pictures with strangers.Oh, so where are you from? Are you Philipino? (To Amy)Me: (laughing) We're American. You're ALL American? She (points to Tricia) looks American, but not you two.Where are you from?Us: Los AngelesOh, I have been to America, I've been to New York and Chicago and Springfield. Me: We've never been to Chicago or Springfield.Tricia: I've been to Chicago.What do people in America think of Springfield? Is it like farm city? Or big city?Tricia: We have a cartoon that makes fun of it.Me: Most people probably don't think about Springfield.Because there are lots of theatres there, lots of play and shows.Us: Ummm (thinking the conversation just got weirder).At this point, we kind of huddled together, not facing them and discussed our action plan.Me: We should tell them it's getting late and we have to go. Does anyone have a watch?Amy: I don't want to leave, they should leave, just ignore them and they'll go away.We do this for a few minutes, they give up and say, Okay girls, it was nice talking to you, bye!We laugh and talk about the creepy guys for a few minutes, then we continue our day.As it started to get dark, we headed towards the bathrooms and picked up shells along the way. We started to see lightning at the horizon in 2 different spots and we watched them get closer together in timing. By the time we headed back to the Corso, it was raining and we stopped in a few stores on the way back. One store had a shirt with Tom from Myspace on it and it said, Don't trust him. He stole my wife. If it was black, I would have gotten it for Jon. But I did get a shirt for Rissa that said Thug Life and had a granny with 2 brokern arms and sneakers on. At this point, it was pouring and we were cold.Once we were safely in the ferry station, we got juice and postcards and settled down for our 20 minute wait for the ferry. The ferry ride back was unexciting, except it was raining outside and we were sitting in front of the door, so everytime someone left or came back in, we got a blast of icy cold air. Oh, and when Tricia and Amy went outside to take pictures, Amy hurt herself again.Once back at the Circular Quay, we realized that our train tickets had been to a different station, but we weren't going to walk back there at night in the rain, so we asked if we could use the same tickets since the other stop was actually farther away. The evil man said no and we had to buy new tickets, thereby wasting the others. We eventually got back to the hotel and went in where I showed Mom all the pictures and told her about our day. Turns out Mom and Riss had a good day as well, punctuated with lots of sleeping, which they like to do anyways.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/ichbinseins/1/1213819560/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/ichbinseins/1/1213819560/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/ichbinseins/1/1213819560/tpod.html Wed, 25 Jun 2008 01:38:18 -0400 South Pacific Adventure - Australia and New Zealand in June 2008!

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Sydney, Australia

I am writing this incredibly after the fact, so unfortunately, I don't remember all of the details. However, I do know that I woke up early and watched the sunrise from our balcony. I was ablt to chat with Adam a little bit online before he went to lunch and during.This was a very lowkey day, Mom went out early to change some money and then went shopping. I booked our bridge climb for that following day at 9:45 - for me and Amy and Tricia. Amy and I then went out shopping after that. We invited the girls, but they were sleeping so we left them a note and headed out. We ended up exhausting our local area, so we found a little sushi place and had lunch. I had chicken teriyaki and Amy had a lunch box. After lunch, we called Mom and she said that she and the girls were going shopping and that we were all invited to dinner that night with friends of Tricia's. So, Amy and I decided to explore Chinatown in our time before dinner. We asked directions, jumped on the train and set off. It took us a while to find it, but once we were in it, we knew. We stopped at a Chinese bakery and Amy got an amazing pastry that was so warm and fresh. We stopped in some little shops and tried on some clothes. Amy found some nice huge stud earrings as well :)Around 4, we headed back to the train station and took our ride back to the suburbs. We got in, changed for dinner and headed out to different suburbs, more eastern, towards the water. We met Tricia's friends, an 18 year old named Jennifer, and her parents Toni and Peter. We had dinner in a local pub, which was explained to us as like a bunch of little bars in one building. The food was pretty good and the conversation was hilarious. We talked a lot about the differences between our cultures, words and ideas and phrases that didn't quite translate. Then we talked about things they didn't have in AUS that they missed from the US. We made fun of them for saying aluminium even though it's spelled aluminum here, then we got made fun of leaving the h's out of words, like herbs and graham. After dinner, we said our fond goodbyes and headed back to the hotel. We had been planning on going out to a club that night, but just staying up till 10 was exhausting us all, so we stayed in.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/ichbinseins/1/1214098020/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/ichbinseins/1/1214098020/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/ichbinseins/1/1214098020/tpod.html Wed, 25 Jun 2008 01:32:52 -0400 South Pacific Adventure - Australia and New Zealand in June 2008!

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Cairns, Australia

We woke up early and drove about 30 minutes south to the Cairns harbor where we hopped on the Reef Experience boat where we were going to spend the whole day. The top deck, where we were, was surrounded by big blue bench seats that were super deep with stairs in the middle. Down stairs was the saloon as they called it, the bathrooms and the water fountains. We all got our masks, fins and wetsuits and settled in. The ride out to the reef was really fast and choppy and soon I was sick. Amy got sick as well, but soon after that, it was time to stop at our first point for snorkeling. We headed out there, the water was surprisingly warm, the air was really windy and it was pretty choppy. But below the surface, it was beautiful. The reef was so close, we swam right over it, only a few feet away. The colors weren't as bright as I'd thought they'd be, but I think the wind was making it cloudy underwater. After snorkeling for about an hour, we headed back to the boat and laid out in the sun. It took about 45 minuutes to an hour to get to the next spot, where Amy and I tried scuba diving. Amy had a great time, took to it naturally, and will probably do it again. I felt like I was going to die the whole time. I wasn't comfortable when we went down and water kept getting in my mask. I had to remind myself to breathe a few times. I saw angelfish and lionfish and beautiful, lovely things I would never have seen otherwise, but I was also terrified of what would might go wrong if something happened at the bottom. I don't foresee myself doing this again, but I'm glad I did. After scuba, they served lunch and we all laid back for our 2 hour ride back. The ride was back was at warp speed and incredibly choppy, luckily we weren't sick anymore. But we did get wet. The spray kept coming at us from an unprotected area between our backrests and the front of the boat. It felt nice, until the sun went away and it got really cold. I was sitting in between Amy and Rissa and was pretty well hidden, so I just sat back and listened to Jack Johnson while everyone around me screamed and yelled whenever they got wet. Mom got hit especially bad. No matter where she sat, she got hit, until we made her move back and sit against the backrest with us. When we got off the boat, we went to the bathroom and realized that we were charred. Tricia and I were bright red, Amy was super tan, Mom was pink, and Riss was only burnt on her legs. When we got back to the hotel, we showered and changed and Riss, Tricia, Amy and I went out for a farewell dinner at L'Unico's. Afterwards, Riss and Tricia went back to the hotel and Amy and I walked down to the end of the beach, then walked back up and ended up laying on the sand underneath the palm trees and the biggest moon you've ever seen and talked for what I think was an hour or so. When we started to get sleepy, we headed back and prepared for our 2:45 am wake up.
]]>