Home Again
(photo found here)
Monday morning, and the vacation was, as most vacations are, all too brief. Now there’s laundry to be done, groceries to shop for, library books to return, and prescriptions to pick up. Back to the old grind, as they say.
But it was a great week. I would say that the high point of the week was Thursday. When we went kayaking on Tuesday, we mentioned to our guide that we really liked the snorkeling, and he suggested that we might enjoy the snorkeling at Shark’s Cove. So on Thursday, we rented a convertible and drove up to the North Shore of the Island, to Pupukea. Isn’t that fun to say? Pupukea? I know. So we drove up and got ourselves a refreshing shave ice (similar to a snow cone, but the ice is much finer, and the flavors more tropical, and I would say it’s better than either a snow cone or water ice), then rented our snorkeling gear and got in the water. It was so, so nice. We saw so many beautiful tropical fish, it made me want to come home and invest in a salt water tank (don’t worry, I’m over that now) so we could have a reminder of our wonderful day. Seeing a glimpse of a fish isn’t the same as swimming into the middle of a school of fish, which is what we did, and it was amazing. There were beautiful yellow and black striped fish, tiny shimmery tetra like fish, iridescent blue fish, and so many others. It was wonderful. The best part, though, was that we found a sea turtle, and swam along with it for awhile. They don’t swim so much as they glide through the water, and it was so peaceful and wonderful. Truly calming. We came out of that experience tired and I remember feeling stupidly happy, the kind of happy you feel when you have a big goofy smile on your face. And peaceful. Then we climbed back in the convertible, and went in search of some garlic shrimp. We found it, at Giovanni’s White Shrimp Truck, which I believe was featured in an episode of Lost, though then it was supposed to be in Australia, not Hawaii. Totally yummy, totally garlicky, really, really good. We gobbled that up, and then hopped back in the car for a scenic drive back to our hotel in Waikiki.
I remember once reading that if you need to calm yourself, if you’re feeling stressed or something (like when giving blood, or having your blood pressure taken or something), to think of something calming, perhaps a happy memory.  My happy memory for a long time was a day many years ago when Maya and I found a jellyfish alive on the shore in San Francisco, and put it back in the ocean, rescuing it from dying a yucky death. I think it’s been replaced though, with our memory of swimming with turtles and driving around the island together. Really a great family day. Sigh.
10 Comments
Starshine
Wow, J. It sounds truly wonderful! One of my favorite memories of our honeymoon was snorkeling with the sea turtles. Aren’t they so friendly and awesome to swim with? Oh, and shave ices rock!
Welcome home. The memories of Hawaii stay with you. We still haven’t stopped thinking about our honeymoon…except that we want to go back.
BTW, you should consider making a photo book on Kodakgallery.com to commemorate your trip. They are easy to make and turn out beautifully!
xoxo
Cherry
That sounds so incredibly wonderful! I’m so glad you had such a great trip full of great memories and experiences. Welcome home!
MRMacrum
I have always rated how successful a vacation was by how often I thought about it after it was over. Sounds like your Thursday in Pupukea ( I just had to write it so I could say it also) will rank this one up there near the top. If not, then you have had some super vacations all around.
Welcome back to the real world.
Autumn's Mom
Welcome back. Even you describing it was very calming. I’m glad you had a great week 🙂
Gina
That sounds so wonderful. I am so happy that you all had such a great time. As I said, you all deserve it.
Angie
Glad you had such a great trip. Welcome back.
lilalia
Thanks for the marvelous description of snorkeling. On of my family’s favourite things to do. Thanks as well, for the tip to have a day in your life that you can think of when things are not so good…
Nance
Sounds heavenly, the snorkeling experience. What a contrast to the PVD (Post Vacation Drudgery) that awaits us all. I am occupied with PVD today. Sigh. I’ll be thinking of our winery visits, wonderful plays, and the quaint shops we visited. Thank goodness for the vacation we can replay in our heads!
Linda Atkins
I’m glad you had such a great vacation, and such a wonderful day snorkeling!
lalunas
Mom & Weeve found that Giovanni shrimp truck a long time ago when Bay Watch was being filmed. Every time they have gone back to Hawaii that is a favorite spot.
So happy you had a wonderful time..