Vacationing

Most of my "vacations" have been conducted at breakneck speed, seeing as much as I can in the little time I can afford to be away.

This one is quite different. Before I came I was determined to see everything in Maui. I had every town marked out for a different day. Day 1 found me driving south to Kihei. And yesterday was a fabulous 8-hour day trip to Hana with a friend. She's a photographer so she took 200 pictures while I navigated the often 1-lane winding road with occasional long drops to the sea below (we didn't take any of the drops). I love driving challenges. We encountered sun, showers, and downpours all in a matter of minutes at times and saw some lovely tropical foliage: bamboo, sugarcane, palms, coconuts plants, banyan trees, and hibicus plants. We saw a few waterfalls though things have been particularly dry. We watched as road workers scaled a rock wall preparing to dynamite an area where there had been a mudslide earlier in the day. The only downside was that the road, the heat, and my youngest child didn't all agree with my body. But it was worth it.

However, I've seen about as much of Maui as I feel I need to see. I'm going to few a short trips: to a blowhole just north of us, and to a beach just south named the No. 1 beach in Maui (Napili). But pretty much the towns all are pretty similar, a beach is a beach.

I needed a rest and my body needed sunshine, some mild recreation and rest. So this is good timing. But overall, I'm not a "relaxed" vacation kind of gal. I think that is why cruises have never appealed. I like a little time to sleep in, catch my breath, and then I want to go. So Mike confirmed with me that Rome was definitely the better honeymoon location. Hawaii is the perfect place to vacation when I'm tired and pregnant. But I admit, it doesn't really stimulate my mind. So I've had to fall back on CNN, The Wall Street Journal, and Fox News (though I've had my fill of the "iconic Farrah Fawcett").

I miss my kids but they are much more entertained with their grandparents and I'm glad they missed the 5 1/2 hour plane ride. Otherwise, I love watching them discover new places. Ben, in particular, would love it here. I watch other families and I'm glad that we will take most of our vacations as a family. And I'm really grateful that we get this one at this time, when they needed a break from their tired mom and I needed a break from feeling guilty that I wasn't doing as much with them, up to cooking dinner, and that I hadn't vacuumed in ten days.

I have a ton of work to do but I am working on taking a real vacation with minimal time on the internet. (My boss is freaking out right now.)

And now I'm off to the beach.