Hawaii 2009 - Day Six

Our intentions were to wake up at a normal hour in order to get to the beach, but the beds at the Hilton are just too fabulous so we slept in a bit. We headed down to the little bistro to get muffins and quiches and smoothies. Kristine met us for a few minutes, and then we wandered through a few shops just because we could.

Ellen with a flower in her hair

We checked out and headed up to Hapuna Beach, consistently rated one of the top five beaches in the world. We spent a little while sunning and boogie boarding and being beat up by the waves. It was a bit of a hazy day due to Vog (something about volcano spewing) but we managed to get a slight color. Then we had to head back to Hilo so we jumped in the car and made the looooong drive. It's funny how it IS long, but when you are in Hawaii you don't care so much because it's pretty.

That night we made dinner while the kids played outside, and then settled in to watch "Lost" and relax.

Hawaii 2009 - Day Five

This morning started off a bit leisurely, but we got on the road about 9:00 to head to the hot side of the island. By "we" I mean, Jeanne, Ellen and me. We decided to take the scenic route in the opposite direction on our way to Honoka'a. This time we were able to pull off by the side of the road to take some pictures.

Scenic View - not me

We stopped at Tex's for lunch and continued our drive through Waimea and Paniolo Country to Kona. After getting checked into our room, we went out to the balcony to see this to the left.

Dolphin Compound

And this to the right:

Lagoon

I know - paradise. And as we were happy to be there, we went for a swim. Not in the lagoon, but in a beautiful pool with waterfalls and waterslides. It was lovely. We swam for about an hour and then went back to our room to get ready to go whale watching. I could have stayed in that pool for days.

Ellen on the boat

We launched from the beach and were soon on our way headed out to open water to see some humpback whales. Humpbacks are in Hawaii this time of year and then slowly head back up to Alaska for the summer. They are big.

Jeanne wore her little girl's lei so she could feel like an island girl
We do not look like we are in our (ahem) late 30's. I'm just sayin'.

Whale

After our excursion, where not only did we see several whales, but almost ran over one, we headed back to shore and back to our hotel for a lua'u. We didn't realize that knowing Kristine had quite so many perks. Not only did we get a fabulous room with a view and the kamaina discount (for locals), but we also got Ali'i status at the lua'u, which mean that instead of eating at the buffet we had stage front seats and were served by a waiter. This turned out to be a blessing and a curse.

Saying hi to the kahlua pig
The Lava Flow

We ordered tropical drinks - virgin, of course, and then proceeded to sample the appetizers - taco (marinated squid), Lomi salmon (marinated raw salmon mixed with pico de gallo basically), poki (marinated raw fish), and poi.

Ellen trying everything. Because we made her.

Kristine arrived shortly after we got our first round of lava flows and I was working on my second one when I started feeling....funny. I took another sip and realized that the second one that came did, in fact, have alcohol. We called the waiter over and asked him to make completely sure that he didn't bring us the wrong ones! I'm grateful that Ellen didn't end up with it!

Ellen, Jeanne, Heidi and Kristine
The Fire Dancer
Ellen being kissed by the dancers
We pale in comparison...

After the lua'u we were pretty exhausted so we went back to the hotel room and watched two reruns of "House". How's that for an end to the party? It was a wonderful day!

C-C-Crazy!

About 55 minutes ago my brother-in-law, Kelly, set off on a trek that makes my marathon running friends look like wimps. No offense to my marathon running friends. I could never run a marathon. I am 100% self-proclaimed wimp and not afraid to tell people that. Back to Kelly.

The trek that Kelly is doing over this three day weekend is the Susitna 100. The "100" in that means 100 miles. You read that right - 100 miles. Or one hundred miles. Either way you write it - that is a dadgum long way to go on foot. And did I mention that this race takes place in ALASKA IN FEBRUARY? I questioned Kelly about his sanity awhile back and he said, "Sometimes you need to do something stupid to know it's stupid." Huh. Yeah, I don't have to go 100 miles in the snow in Alaska in February to know it is stupid. However, if the crap comes down and the world is about to explode, I think we will try to find Kelly immediately.

He blogged about his gear check a few days ago. It just doesn't seem like enough. However, as he pointed out, anything extra is just stuff he has to carry. He also has blessed us with the ability to watch his progress. We have a cool link where we can watch the madness as it unfolds.

You should know - Kelly is in the military and has been on quite a few luxurious vacations to the Middle East so he is pretty prepared for stuff like this. It still makes me question his sanity. Bless his heart - I think he is questioning his sanity, too. I did have a dream that he finished it for whatever that is worth!

M.I.A.

I have been pretty out of it the past few days so I haven't gotten around to more Hawaii posts. I can joke about my toe, but it is pretty dadgum painful - and has lasted a lot longer than I thought it would. Being on the painkillers numbs my senses and makes me a little depressed and the fact that I can't wear shoes or drive doesn't help. My kids are bouncing off the walls. I feel pretty isolated and just...dull. It's hard to explain. I am beginning to understand what consistent pain can do to someone. Last night I really wanted to go to book club, but I couldn't even walk around the corner. I have to soak twice a day and then clean it. A few people have asked me why it should hurt so much - they have lost toenails before. I think there is a big huge difference between losing it and having it forceably removed and essentially ripped off. I know that paints a very gross picture, but, this is a very painful, raw, experience. I really wouldn't wish it on anyone.

Injury...grossage warning

We interrupt my Hawaiian travels to bring to the following broadcast: I have no toenail now on my right big toe.

Yesterday I was downstairs cleaning up from Christmas...

I was vacuuming, dusting, moving furniture, when I moved a big chair right over my toenail. It lifted my toenail up and out and I screamed and bled a lot. Dave hauled me to instacare where they stabbed me with a needle (which hurt worse than the original injury) to numb me and proceeded to remove my toenail.

Ouch doesn't cover it. They shoot horses for less than this.

When the numbness wore off I couldn't stop crying. The pain was worse than my c-section. It was like having my toe be repeatedly smashed by a hammer. I took advil and tylenol until Dave called in and asked if I could get something stronger. Then I took tylenol with codeine, which actually made no difference. Advil is the only thing that remotely dulls this kind of pain.

I took two tylenol pm to sleep last night and while Dave said I slept fitfully, I feel like I got a good night of sleep.

This morning I was completely dreading the process of soaking it, cleaning it, and rebandaging it. I prayed for a lot of strength and endurance. The soaking actually felt great! I soaked in epsom salts so I think that helped. It was the first time I had seen the actual toe, so I was a little freaked out, but I think I handled it well.

Dave told me he would clean it out so I laid down and he told me all about how he didn't like spaghetti as a kid until he one day mixed it with corn. After that it was his favorite food. He swabbed it with q-tips and hydrogen peroxide and then put neosporin with pain relief all over it. Together we bandaged it back up. It feels so much better right now than it did before the soak. I think it was because of my Davey's TLC. He's a saint. Seriously a saint.

Looks like my foot modeling career is over.

Hawaii 2009 - Day Four

Ellen and Jeanne - Richardson's Beach
After a slow morning, we gathered up boogie boards, snorkeling gear, and beach towels, and headed to Richardson's Beach. There is a small cove and sandy area that is great for snorkeling and just general swimming. Jeanne's kids were in school other than Aidan, who is a great little hanger-outer. He's very easy to take places.

Ellen getting ready to snorkel

We decided to bring a picnic with us so we ate that first and then Jeanne started off with the snorkeling and we took turns swimming and playing with Aidan. It was great because the beach had a lot of trees so we didn't have to worry about getting burned.

Ellen on the lava rocks

Ellen and I decided to climb around some lava rocks so we could see what the water looked like on the other side. It was such a gorgeous color - very hard to capture on film. While we were hiking around we looked down and saw a giant sea turtle in a tide pool. It was just hanging out and occasionally would flap it's arms and legs.

Giant sea turtle

Heidi with the giant sea turtle

We headed home so we could be there when the kids arrived, and then after Matt got home we headed to Rainbow Falls and the Boiling Pots just up the road.

Ellen and Heidi - Rainbow Falls

There are walking paths around there so we wandered around taking pictures and enjoying the scenery.

Jeanne, Heidi and Ellen - the Boiling PotsFearless Ellen!

We headed home to make dinner and have Family Home Evening and then we went to bed. It was a fun, but tiring day. Snorkeling takes it out of you!

Hawaii 2009 - Day Three

We woke up with the sun and spent the morning getting ready for church and eating healthy scrambled eggs. We attended the Honoka'a Ward with Kristine and she gave an excellent lesson. After church we headed home where we had a chicken salad and Ellen declared that she hadn't eaten such healthy food in her entire life. So we made popcorn.


Then we got back on the road and headed to Hilo with a detour on a four mile scenic route that was GORGEOUS. We decided that we needed to drive it in the other direction at some point, too. And stop for What's Shakin' Smoothies, a little restaurant at the end of the drive. We arrived at Jeanne's house and decided to go down to Coconut Island before dinner to walk around the gardens. There are a bunch of large banyan trees that were planted by famous people so we took a picture with the one planted by Heber J. Grant. See pictures.

L to R - top: Heidi & Jeanne, Ellen & Abby, Ellen, Abby & Brina
L to R - middle: Ellen & Jackson, Warning, Heidi
L to R - bottom: Heidi, Ellen, Abby & Brina, Heidi, Ellen, Brina and Aidan

Jeanne made roast, mashed taters, and green beans for dinner and then Ellen, Jeanne and I stayed up way too late talking about all sorts of things. Because we could. Late night talks are the best.