As told by Hillary: November 2013

I have a problem. It's taken over my life to the point that nothing else matters...not even recounting our amazing vacation that I've practically forgotten by now. That problem is...HOMELAND. It began so innocently on a Sunday afternoon in my basement...and now has led to obsession. I'm talking an under the covers in the middle of the night with my iPad and headphones like an adolescent girl obsession. Thankfully, I squeezed the first 31 hours (Seasons 1, 2 and half of 3) into a week long binge and have now come up for air (until my next fix on Sunday). If you're not watching this show, you should be. If you are watching this show then you should be held responsible for my not knowing that it existed.

Ok, ok...onto Hawaii. The second half.

Day 4: 10.22.13

We fulfilled Jay's only must-do of the entire trip on day 4. We got up incredibly early and flew from Maui to Oahu to visit the Pearl Harbor War Memorial. We got take an aerial tour of the islands on way! The Pearl Harbor Memorial was an honor to visit. It was reverent and sacred and touching.

Flag from inside the memorial of the USS Arizona.

We also got to see a submarine, a battle ship, and a quick tour of Honolulu. To tell you the truth, after the Pearl Harbor tour I was pretty much done. It was hot and humid (my least favorite combination) and our only meal option was an oversized hot dog. I tried to keep a good attitude while Jay and I crawled through every space on the sub and battleship but I guess that all that matters is that Jay enjoyed himself thoroughly. We got back to Maui a little after 6:00pm, grabbed something to eat at a nearby restaurant and were in bed by 9:00pm.

Day 5: 10.23.13

This was by far my favorite day of the entire trip! We had planned to rent a car and drive to Lahina to take surfing lessons and then drive around the island; however, after our long day at Pearl Harbor we decided to cancel surfing lessons and have a day free of obligations. We rented a mustang and just drove from beach to beach with no plan other than relaxing.

Here we go!

First stop- Ka'anapili Beach

Jay's jellyfish sting. Yikes!

Kapalua Bay

We saw a huge sea turtle here!

We found an awesome brewery/restaurant and I (the non-beer drinker) found a beer that I liked!

That night we went to The Plantation House restaurant and had an amazing dinner. It goes without saying that the seafood in Hawaii is out of this world!

Best piña colada of my life.

Finally captured Jay smiling!

Day 6: 10.24.13

This was our last full day on the island and we had plans to go scuba diving. We've both been before and really enjoyed it...but this time didn't go so well for me. We started with a lesson in the hotel pool and for some reason I really struggled to allow water in my mask and clear it. I kept sucking it up my nose and then shooting to the surface to get a breath. Strike one. This wasn't the start that I was looking for. Then we got down to the beach and our dive instructor gave me a wet suit with a really tight turtle neck. If you know me at all then you know that I can't stand anything touching my neck and that I get very anxious when it does. Strike two. Then we had to get all of our gear on (flippers, tanks, goggles, etc.) and walk into the ocean, past the rocks and reef until we were deep enough to descend. This was strike three for me. I was tripping over my flippers and falling under the weight of my tanks and after about 30 feet I declared that I didn't want to scuba dive. Yep, I panicked and bailed. Jay was less than amused and the dive instructor insisted on walking me all the back to shore which was pretty humiliating. I was disappointed that I left Jay to dive by himself and that I missed out but it turned out to be a pretty good choice for me. I rented snorkeling gear and just hung out around the bay for an hour until Jay and the instructor returned.

After the dive, we went back to the brewery and had lunch and then spent the rest of the day at the pool! Here are a few pictures.

Relaxing by myself.

Not my best work but who goes to the beach and doesn't get a 'name in the sand' picture?

That evening we went back to our favorite restaurant--Merriman's. The food was amazing but we really went back because everyone bragged about the beautiful sunset that we missed the first time. It was absolutely gorgeous and these pictures don't do it justice.

The bay as you walk up to the resturant.

Wow.

Cute guy.

By the fire pit.

I should mention that I had the best scallops that I've ever eaten and a fresh pineapple bread pudding...I'm sure this meal alone only cost me 3 of the 5 lbs that I gained on the trip.

Day 7: 10.25.13

Our final morning was spent gorging ourselves on breakfast and then packing. Our pick up was at noon which was perfect timing because the Ritz was hosting a very popular triathlon called Xterra that weekend and the hotel was filling up with bicycles and very athletic bodies. We went from Maui to Honolulu and then flew 8.5 hours from Honolulu directly to Dallas. We landed in Dallas at 5:00am CST and had to sit a couple of hours until our flight to Lubbock at 8:00am. We made it back to Lubbock at 9:10am and couldn't wait to get home to our pups!! We got home and then went straight to bed and slept until 1:00pm. We got up just in time to see Tech end it's undefeated season with a loss to OU and got a surprise visit from my sister-in-law and nephew!!