huh-why

Tate and I have the summer off...I hope you will still be our friends after seething with jealousy. In all of our free time we have been traveling the country, 5 states in the last month. We've traveled from Texas to Hawaii back to Texas to Tennessee to Georgia back to Texas to New Mexico and once again back in the Lone Star State. There is so much to tell you! It seems fitting to start where our journey began, in the Garden Isle of Kauai, Hawaii...or as Tate says it in his charming West Texas accent, "Huh-why." Let's get started. 

Destination #1: Kauai, Hawaii

Kauai is all about chickens...wild chickens. They are everywhere on the island! On the side of the road, at the resort, by the pool, and certainly at the restaurants. I didn't mind them so much until one stepped on my foot while eating lunch. Gross. 

Vacation is all about good food and this trip did not disappoint. One night we ate at The Beach House, this great restaurant situated on the coast. We ate dinner, overlooking the Kauai sunset. We were seated in a cozy booth 15 minutes before the sunset with plenty of time to put in our order and snap a few pics before the sun set behind the palm trees. I ate ahi rolls and wasabi crusted Ono. Delicious. Even more impressive, Tate tried sashimi...on his own without any persuading! He is growing up so fast. 

One of our favorite excursions in Hawaii was the Catamaran sail and snorkel trip. We had taken this trip few times, but I always seem to forget just how much fun it is until I am actually on the boat. This trip in particular was especially exciting! First of all, everything is just more exciting with Tate, and I mean that. He is like a kid, seeing everything {even things he has seen before} with new eyes. He gets excited, on the verge of hyper, which is contagious. I think he gets this from his Dad, because my father-in-law is the same way at the mere mention of Six Flags. This makes every experience more exciting. Secondly, the ocean waves were GINORMOUS. I am not exaggerating when I say that a wave came over the entire boat and crashed into us on the back deck. Oh, so fun.

The snorkeling on the other hand was more fun for some than others. Dad: Liked it. Mom: Loved it. Tate: Loooooved it Me: uhhh not so much. Probably due to the fact I am scared of fish and the whole point of snorkeling is to get as close as possible to the biggest and brightest fish. I have snorkeled many times before, but since this was Tate's first time I wanted to share in the experience. What a sacrificial love we have, I know. As I nervously entered the water off the back of the boat, the hilarious skipper threw crackers in the water 5 inches in front of me. The thought of slimy fish gills touching my skin makes me want to gag. The fish were flapping all over each other, jumping out of the water. Ugh. I wanted so badly not to be "that girl." You know the stereotypical girly girl that gives us down-to-earth girls a bad name. I am so sorry all you down-to-earthies, but I reached my breaking point. As the fish tails were fluttering in my face, I screamed {through my snorkel} and death gripped the edge of the boat. My muffled screams of terror were encouragement for hilarious Skipper to continue throwing crackers. He yelled at me to "keep it moving." Random Man in our group turned his attention from the fish below to the hysterical girl gripping the boat. Our interaction went something like this:

Random Man {to Tate}: Why is she screaming?

Me: I don't like them touching me. 

Random Man {to random lady who didn't ask}: Ohhh, she doesn't like to be touched. 

Me: NO. {clearly annoyed} I don't like to be touched by the FISH. {dur.} 

I should mention despite all of this, Tate swam with a giant sea turtle and had a pretty awesome time. And we also saw some dolphins. So, I guess it was cool. 

Now earlier I mentioned vacations are all about the food. I should rephrase: MY vacations are all about the food. However, Tate's vacations are all about the golf. Tate and Dad played golf 4 days out of the trip, and I abandoned the pool to play for one. The courses were beautiful. 

One day we tubed the irrigation ditches on an old sugar plantation {or shhhhhugar plantation if you are a creepy man leading a helicopter tour}. We rode this truck through the retired plantation down to the river/irrigation ditch. We looked intense in our helmets, head lamps and gloves. The tour guides instructed us not to use the F words: frigid or freezing, while on the tour. It was bad for business. Instead, we should describe the water as: refreshing, invigorating, energizing. We floated on tubes through the frickin' invigorating water. It took us down Eddies {drop offs}and through pitch black tunnels that ran underground. It was an adventure! 

Jan had a Hawaiian birthday this year. We celebrated at Duke's, one of the local restaurants down the beach from our hotel. Below she can be seen with Hula Pie, the best dessert {after Roy's chocolate souffle} in all of Hawaii! We got two free ones, thank you. Mom said we only needed one, which was correct, but a true 25-year-old on a Dave Ramsey budget doesn't turn down free dessert anything. And I don't regret my decision. 

I think at this point you can appreciate or at lease realized my love for good food...especially on vacation. Well, we found a new, local restaurant called Kauai Pasta. It is wonderful! So wonderful in fact, that is where I am picking for my birthday dinner this year {December 18, btw}. This place is so great, we ate there twice in three days. Everything is locally grown on the island. Caprese salad, homemade macadamia nut pesto, greek pasta and pink peppercorn ice cream. Yum.

Well, report of destination #1 is coming to a close; however, I can't honestly recap our trip without mentioning our last "adventure." It was a long one. As we got to the airport, ready to board our flight home, we noticed the big emergency slide was inflated on the side of the plane. Apparently, the doors were not "cross-checked" before opening and the slide automatically inflated {or at least that is our consensus}. For your sake and mine, I am going to make a very long story short and tell it to you in list format: flight delayed, people mad, kicked out of airport because it was closing {who closes an airport}, stand outside for hours, rainstorm, long line, airport shuttle, shuttle full x 6, get on shuttle, go to the hotel we came from, no rooms in the inn, volunteer to share a room with parents, Tate on a cot, Mom, Dad and I share a King size bed, lay over in LA, home 2 days later. Don't worry, despite the chickens, fish, and emergency slide, it was a really great trip! In my opinion, you just can't beat a week in Hawaii! Thanks Mom and Dad for letting us tag along...again...I'm sure it won't be the last time. We love you! 

Coming soon: Destination #2: Chattanooga, Tennessee