Hawaii Vacation

Well, our very first flight out of Charleston royally screwed us up. The plane we were to take to Charlotte never came in the night before, so we had to take a later flight, which threw off every other connecting flight. Long story short, we got to Maui a day late.

Once we finally got there, it was well worth the wait. Kevin and I stayed in Kihei, which is absolutely beautiful. Actually, the entire island of Maui is gorgeous. Unlike highly commercialized Oahu, Maui is more laid back and less populated.

We spent most of our days snorkeling and soaking up the sun on the beach. I wish I could get more pictures up, but I'm having a little bit of trouble getting these pictures posted. This is actually the only one that worked. I'm just too tired and frustrated right now to mess with it. But, anyways...you get the idea.

In Lahaina we took a submarine down to 150 feet which was really cool. We got to see the sea life and coral up front. It's pretty much the same stuff we saw snorkeling, only easier to see. I tried to convince Kevin to swim with the sharks in a cage, but he wouldn't bite-no pun intended. I thought it would have been cool...

One day, we drove the Road to Hana--a winding road up a mountain. This road allows you to explore lush rainforest and waterfalls. I'd never seen rainforest or a waterfall before, so despite the somewhat boring and dizzy road, I was determined to keep going until we found one. We did get to venture off some into a rainforest and see a few waterfalls. Although my intention was to frolic in the water, I was ready to go and didn't have the courage to climb down neck-breaking slippery rocks in flip-flops. I decided to be satisfied by finally seeing a waterfall at all and called in quits. By the time we turned around and headed back to Kihei, I was completely green and carsick. Barf.

After 4 days in Maui, we proceeded to Oahu for tournament and training. I didn't participate this year, but enjoyed seeing our fellow students and instructors. I was sort of "beached out" by the time we got there, and spent the remainder of my week shopping and...sleeping?? I've been completely exhausted all week...more on that later...I was hoping to do a jump at the Schofield Airport, but the winds had been high all week. Not particularly safe to jump in, especially with mountains, ocean, and numerous powerlines around the dropzone. I'm somewhat disappointed, but safety always comes first.

It's been a good week; Maui is probaby the prettiest place we've vacationed at yet. I'm glad to be home, though; good to see my loyal dog, and my own comfy bed. Speaking of, off to bed I go...