I'm Back!

I didn't get a chance to blog our last days in Hawaii, but we didn't do too much. We drove around to Hilo on Wednesday and stopped to see some waterfalls and botanical gardens. Then we went to Volcanic National Park only to find out that much of the hiking trails and roads throughout the park were closed. We finished off the day by heading back out to Kalapana to see the lava flow to get a few more pics. It was pretty cool. The next morning was our last morning there. I went snorkeling one last time and said goodbye to all the cool honus (sea turtles) there. After that, we bought a few last souvenirs and then had to head to the airport. I cried almost all morning. I SO did not want to go! I refused to accept that I could no longer wake up every morning, eat breakfast on my balcony while taking in a gorgeous view, and then walk a mere 100 yards down to the beach to swim with my new friends, the sea turtles. Boo Hoo! Much to my dismay, reality was awaiting us and my time of ignoring it was regrettably up.

After a few very cush first class flights, we finally arrived home Friday afternoon. After saying hello to the kitties for few minutes and laying around, we quickly went about unpacking and washing all of our clothes. We had a birthday party the following day so we knew we had to get done as much as possible Friday. We tried hard to stay up till 10PM (which was 4AM Hawaii time) in order to get back on our sleep schedule. Well, while we did go to bed around 10:30, we slept until noon the next day! DOH! So much for that! Luckily, the party was at 4 so we still had time to go shopping to get a gift.

We got to the party just in time and even had some pics to share. It was funny though because later my MIL said, "Wow, it sounds like you had a great time. Are you glad to be back home though?" I realize she probably expected me to say, "Oh yes, I missed home so much." But I just couldn't lie! I did not miss home at all! I said, "No...I'd rather be there! It was so beautiful and we had so much fun!" I even told my husband that if someone gave me an offer to live there but said I had to give up my house, my car, and all my worldly possessions, I'd be like, "Okay!" He said, "Yeah right. You'd get tired of it after awhile. The grass is always greener on the other side." Hmmm, I don't know. I can bet there aren't too many people who say, "Wow, I wish I could live in Ohio. It's way better than Hawaii!" :-)

Oh well. I am slowly reminding myself that even though I can't live in paradise, I am extremely fortunate to have even been able to visit. And I have tons of beautiful pictures to remind myself of that every day and that is good thing!