Radio silence has been broken. Steven and I have returned from Hawaii. And so, for now, just the highlights:
- I lost my glasses. First day, top of the mountain. Goodbye, sweet glasses. You served me well.
- When they say this is whale watching season, they are not kidding! We saw an enormous amount of humpback whales. If you stood and watched the ocean for about 10 minutes, you were practically guaranteed to see one! When we went snorkeling, we stopped and watched some that came pretty close to the boat, too. We also ran into some dolphins who played in the boat's wake for a few minutes.
- The best eats in Hawaii are actually.... Korean. We must have eaten kalbi ribs at least 5 times. Also, mai tais = not good. I don't know if people like them, or just think they're supposed to drink them, but me no likee.
- There is an ice cream chain, apparently all over the place, but that I have never seen before, bringing SMUSH-INS to the masses! Cold Stone Creamery. There's one at the Franklin Mills mall. Who knew? I will always know Herrells is first, but sometimes a trip to Boston is just not in the cards.
- Steven and I rode the hawaiian roller coaster. Yes, that's right, I finally got to go surfing. And except for the fact that it rubs any exposed skin raw (yes, toes, I mean you), it's pretty easy. Maybe I will start surfing in Cape May this summer.
- We were refugees! The day we were supposed to leave Maui, someone drove an SUV into the airport and set it on fire. They closed the airport, and the Red Cross came, and set up a "temporary shelter" (read: a gym), and gave us the provisions we needed to survive (mini Brussels and POG - passion orange guava juice). Steven and I took some snacks, then went to the beach, leaving all the poor suckers who turned in their rental cars behind.
- If you want to know what Waikiki Beach is like, imagine Singapore. Then move a beach very close to Orchard Road. Voila! You are at Waikiki beach. Ok, it wasn't as hot as Singapore.