We’re back in the air again and headed home to my ratties. Other than them, my bed and stuff like that, that’s all I’ve missed. Oh, and having two bathrooms. It was nice to know that the one bathroom thing was just a temporary deal for us and not the norm it used to be.

We’re about a half-hour into the flight and this one will only be 4.5 hours. Guess it has to do with the direction of the wind.

They served champagne before we even took off, then they gave us those wet hot washcloths, though I’m not sure why. Maybe they felt we’d want to wash up before dinner?

More kids are on this flight, but they’re not a problem from up here in first class.

The plane we’re on landed while we were waiting at the gate, and will be continuing on to Seattle after stopping in Sacramento.

We both agree that our Hawaiian vacation was way better than our Caribbean vacation. On a cruise ship, you’re pretty limited as to where you can go and what you can do, no matter how large the ship may be. I even got that tan I didn’t think I could get, after burning and getting those itchy bumps I’d get when trying to tan in Arizona. This trip was also so much better because we didn’t have all the traveling issues we had the last time around, having to take trains and taxis to airports and hotels and deal with layovers, etc.

For appetizers, they’re serving Thai green papaya salad, grilled calamari, and a warm Hawaiian sweet roll. The entrée I chose is the beef filet with Maui onion marmalade, roasted fingerling potatoes, and sautéed asparagus. Dessert is goat cheese cheesecake. I have had more alcoholic drinks in the last week than in a decade, but that’s only cuz it’s free.

Here they come now with their little bags of mixed nuts and dried fruit. My ratties will love them.

Later…

Just had lunch and it was pretty boring. The sweet roll was delicious, but the salad was lame and the calamari was weird. Tom wasn’t impressed with it at all. So we basically ate the rolls and called it done. The salad had strips of tomatoes, onions, carrots and half-moons of cucumbers.

I’m trying to go in order of events, and while writing passes the flying time, I’d also rather do it on a real computer with a real connection. Our connection was as slow and unreliable as Auburn was. To pay $17 a day, though, for a faster connection would’ve been ridiculous. All we needed it for was to check the accounts and so I could let people on Facebook know we made it over ok and were having fun. Naturally, most of my wonderful family had nothing to say about it. I told Nane that her mother ought to get over to Hawaii now and not wait till May when the whales head up to Alaska.

So glad I brought my good headphones this time around. Screaming kids or not, it’s nice to listen to music with good headphones where you can hear the music better over the roar of the engines.

A week turned out to be the perfect amount of time for our vacation. At first I was hoping to go for 4 days but that wouldn’t have been enough time to do everything we wanted to do. Anything longer would’ve been a bit much, not just cuz of the rats and my schedule, but because it’s so tiring after a while. We did so, so much and a lot of it was rather physical. We really exerted ourselves at times. My schedule did much better than I thought it would. I had Tom get me up at 7:00 yesterday and at first I was tired as hell. But an hour later plus a cup of coffee, I was fine.

Due to the energy, all the walking and swimming zapped from us, we both crashed earlier. I still woke up for a minute here and there throughout the night but woke up on my own for good at 7:00, an hour before I had to get up. All in all my schedule only jumped forward 4 hours while we were there.

My feet are swollen as hell cuz I’m not used to spending so much time on them. I almost wish I could be this physical every day, but what could I do? Run around the park all day or night? That’d get boring. Besides, at home, I do have other responsibilities.

I can tell I’ve gained weight despite all the activity. It’s going to take another month or so for my thyroid pill to kick in and for the doctor to adjust the levels and all that. Furthermore, I am older and I did eat like a pig. Sure was fun living on steak and seafood during the week. I had a lot of other things, too.

Later…

Dinner was absolutely delicious. Glad they finally took our trays so I can put my journal on the table. It’s easier to write that way as opposed to holding it in my hand.

I believe I left off with the events of the 1st, so I’ll start there. That was Whaler’s Village and Luau day.

We walked from our room to the Whaler’s Village, which was about a 15-minute walk. There they had lots of shops but they were pretty damn expensive cuz many of them sold designer clothes as well as handmade and one-of-a-kind items.

We gave the store our voucher for the free gift they had to offer. Unfortunately, that was for a boring skull necklace or earrings. I chose a pair of hot pink fish fin earrings, which I plan to send to Sarah. Mark and Becky will get shell necklaces and Tammy can have one of the sleeping dogs she loves so much. I’ll send her the golden retriever but will keep the cocker spaniel.

For me, I got a glitter eyeshadow palette from Sephora’s.

We got pizza and fries and then ice cream at Hagen Daz.

For anyone interested in looking these places and events up – the town we stayed in was Ka’anapali on the island of Maui. We stayed at the Sheraton Maui Resort. It was the Old Lahaina Luau we attended on our last night in Lahaina. Tickets are $109 per person, but it was included in our package. We flew in and out of the Kahului Airport in Maui.

Just took a break for dessert and why we got chocolate cake instead of cheesecake beats me, but it was still good. Fortunately for Tom, he liked both dinner and dessert. Well, except for the asparagus, of course, which I ate.

When the guy came around asking if we’d like more drinks, I asked if they’d be serving Mai Tais, but they only do that on the way to Hawaii. A moment later he surprised me with one cuz they had some left over from the previous flight.

Ok, on with the luau. It was fun to experience at least once, but not worth doing again. It was oh-so Hawaiian, though, with the hula dancers dancing with the ocean behind them and coconut palms all around, but overall the entertainment wasn’t that impressive and the food was so-so. Can’t tell you everything we had, though, cuz most of the food names were written in Hawaiian, LOL.

Earlier in the day, we wondered if it was going to be canceled due to all the rain. Yeah, for a few hours it came down hard. When I looked out to sea, the clouds had pretty much whited things out so you couldn’t tell where the sea met the sky.

After standing in line forever, we were given leis of purple orchids (oops, almost wrote “lies” of purple orchids). Then we were shown to our seats. Keeping in mind where our table was, we walked around a bit. The music wasn’t my kind at all, of course.

We saw a couple of guys crack open, juice and squeeze out some coconut for people to sample in little cups. Tom hates coconut, of course, so he wouldn’t dare touch any.

Then there were a couple of female dancers teaching some people some dance moves. In each hand, they held what looked like bushels of incense sticks and they made this rattling sound when they shook them.

Had to take another break for a minute cuz I felt a bit ill. Not like I was going to puke or anything like that, but I felt warm and like I couldn’t suck in enough air. I think the days of alcoholic beverages are over for me for a while. Sure drank a lot during the luau. Had a Mai Tai, a Honey Girl, and a Lava Flow. These drinks are mixes of fruits with either vodka or rum. Pretty sure I had some soda and water along the way too, LOL.

We were seated at a long table with 3 other couples – a black couple from Alabama and two from icy cold Minnesota. All were very nice.

By then it was getting dark and so they lit all the tiki lights. It looked so cool too, and the only unpleasant thing was this weird smell at times that reminded me of a filthy public bathroom. Don’t know what it could’ve been, though. We weren’t that close to the restrooms.

It almost felt like we’d gone to another country, not just because of the different climate, but because almost all the street signs and other things were written in Hawaiian. It’s a good thing I knew that kane was man and wahine was woman or else I might’ve used the wrong bathroom, haha. Other than that, aloha and mahalo, I don’t know shit.

We were then led to the buffet where it was hard to see because their lights were broken. The steak and seafood salad was good. There were a couple of things that looked like ground spinach in which one tasted awful and the other tasted great.

The costumes weren’t that impressive and neither was the dancing because they were moves anyone could do. Loved all the long dark hair and dark eyes, though. Gotta give them credit for remembering all the moves of their routines despite the lack of intricacy. Their timing was perfect too, when dancing in unison. So it’s harder than the exotic dancing I once did because there’s nothing to learn or remember. They just want you young and thin.

Later…

Just like the last time, all I really see out there are clouds galore.

Got 54 more minutes of flying time, so I’ll try to cover the rest of the trip while we’re still in the air. That was 3 more things, the submarine ride, another trip to the Whaler’s Village, and one last swim.

The submarine ride was spectacular and worth the $233 our tickets cost us. Look up Atlantis Submarines for more info and pics. Their site probably even has videos.

Took my second and last potty break before we landed in the dry 56-degree weather. I’m gonna miss those 80-degree temps! I was amazed at how many joggers were out and about despite the humidity. Most ran in the mornings and evenings. Guess who’s going to be able to run like that and get results just like they do? Yeah, moi! I knew something had to be wrong with all that running and dieting I was doing just to get no results whatsoever. I just knew it. I didn’t expect, however, to learn my thyroid quit working altogether.

Tom thinks he should lose 50 pounds and I should lose 25 if that’s what I decide to do. 110 would be ideal for me, but 120 is more realistic for my build, height, age and muscle density. Gotta laugh when Tom says I should soon be able to lose with exercise and eating “reasonably.” What does he think I am, young? Male? I had to restrict calories even before my thyroid went to hell, so why wouldn’t I now? Only difference is I shouldn’t have to damn near starve myself.

Looks like I’m not going to finish the trip in the air after all. I’ve written a lot as it is and need to give my hand a rest.

Here I come, ratties!