So as I mentioned, I sort of gifted myself a trip to visit Leanne in Maui for Christmas. Of course, it was a joint gift to myself, from myself and my husband, but it was Leanne who found the can't-pass-it-up/such-a-great-deal plane ticket. These elements combined made it happen. And after I bought the ticket I totally freaked out and felt like an irresponsible jerk leaving poor McKay home alone while I went off to enjoy a week of rest and relaxation. But I got over that. And then, for some reason, I was convinced that I was going to die in a plane crash...or get bitten by a shark while snorkeling...because apparently if I don't have something rational to completely stress over, I'll settle for ridiculous hypotheticals.
The plane ride over totally sucked. I hate flying alone. And it's even worse when you're in the dead center of the plane, middle section, middle row, middle seat. It made for a nice little obstacle course getting to the bathroom. And SO embarrassing when you fall asleep and your head keeps lolling about. I finally turned to the people next to me and told them never to buy a ticket for the middle seat in a row. They laughed politely and shifted further away from me in their seats. Fine by me.
I then proceeded to eat an entire bag of goldfish crackers. Which is not all that hard to do, because those things aren't ver big. I didn't feel silly so much about eating the entire bag as I did about the ridiculous amount of goldfish cracker crumbs that ended up all over my shirt. The crumbs I didn't happen to notice until about 2 hours later. Nice.
Yadda yadda yadda, I arrived in Maui, Leanne and I had a glorious reunion...
The next day we went snorkeling which was absolutely fabulous. We were two of about 14 people on a boat that could fit about 150. It felt like a private charter. We inadvertantly made fun of some of the Canadians on board (Leanne and I have a tendancy to insult people without meaning to when we are together...this was one such occasion), so it was a little tricky trying to avoid them with such a small group. Creepy 1st mate Bob was also on board--Bob whose feet looked like Frodo Baggins', and who had a rather annoying staring problem. Bob was also a sidler. Leanne and I would be chatting and all of the sudden Bob would pop out of nowhere with his sociopathic little grin and say something strange like, "Would you ladies like a beeeeeeeeeer?" or, "Isn't it a beautiful daaaaaaaaay?" Hmm...yes, Bob. Please don't hurt me. Avoiding Bob and the Canadians was an adventure of its own.
We snorkeled right off the island of Molokini. So I swam, I saw fish and beautiful coral, and of course, kept an eye out for any sharks who might want to bite me and prove my fits of paranoia completely legitimate. There is always that possibility. But it didn't happen. All appendages in tact.
Saturday night Mom, Dad and Jennie arrived. We went to a mexican joint that had the best ginger ale I've ever had in my life. I am now on a ginger ale kick, and yet, nothing I've tried comes close to what I had at that there mexican joint. This was the same restaurant with the lady at the bar who was totally flirting with my oblivious dad while we waited for a table. One of the weirdest things I've ever experienced in my life. There is a sick, twisty feeling in one's stomach when one witnesses one's parent being offered drinks, buffalo wings, and conversation by a drunken woman in a slinky dress.
Anyhoo, good ginger ale.
We went to the beach where I got the worst sunburn of my life. I NEVER, neeehhhverrrr get sunburned, so this was weird. I was reading my book when I realized all of the sudden that my legs really really really hurt. I'm still recovering.
Jennie and I stayed up late one night with my camera trying to out-do each other on who could make the ugliest face. It was a close call. Always a fun activity that never seems to get old in the Webster household.
We went whale watching on my brother-in-law's boat and saw some amazing things. Little baby humpback whales breaching like their mamas and showing off for the boats. It was so amazing.
So five days later I got back on a plane, back to the middle row in the middle of the plane, but this time I had the whole row to myself. The flight was half empty, so it was a much more pleasant experience.
In a nutshell I'm so glad that I went and it was a very fun trip. And I have the pictures to prove it.