When entertaining guests in Hawaii, I get to partake in silly tourist adventures... like whale-watching expeditions, Waikiki boardwalk ogling, North Shore exploration, beach hopping, and seeking out new restaurants. Over the past week I have managed to see more of this island than I have in the past four months. I'm exhausted. I get one day of rest before another guest comes tomorrow... wherein the whole tour begins anew...
But the whale-watching cruise was cool!
I barely caught the boat due to the bus system being overly congested the day after Christmas, but I made it. By sprinting. After I coughed up what I believe was blood from my lungs post-sprint, I settled into a reclining lawn chair on the S.S. Atlantis, watching the tourists shuffle around the rails in search of whales. They ooohed and aaahhhed when a whale would surface to blow water into the air, and when someone squealed on the other side of the ship, 500 tourists would immediately run to the other rail, video cameras flailing and cameras snapping. I admit... I got up in a panic from my lawn chair. I couldn't help it! It was whale hysteria! My journey to and from my lawn chair to fight off waves of seasickness was rewarded by visions of whale tails, sea turtles, dolphins, and a hammerhead shark... and although I highly doubt I'll go again, I may consider it if I take Dramamine first.
I now consider renting a car at some point in your Oahu vacation absolutely mandatory. Buses are fine around the city, but if you want to see the North Shore--and believe me you do--a car will save you a two-hour bus ride. Plus, you can then meander down the Leeward side of the island and see Chinaman's Hat, Kaneohe, and charming Hawaiian towns and beaches like Kailua--where the Obama family vacations during the holidays. We hit Waimea Bay while we were up there and got smacked around by enormous waves. At one point, I came inches from losing my bikini bottoms. It was a worrisome split-second. Luckily, I have quick reflexes.
There were some amazing surprises in our car travels, from sudden rainstorms and rainbows to spontaneous stops to see breathtaking views of the rugged Kokohead coastline. Seriously... I was shocked at the beauty on this island. Here I thought it was all in Kauai!
Our Christmas was anticlimactic per usual, with plenty of down time and boredom. We hit the beach at Waikiki on Christmas morning to meet up with the other thousands of tourists fighting for a patch of sand along the shore, then gave up and got ice cream when it started to rain. I dribbled chocolate-peanut butter Haagen Daaz down the front of my yellow sun dress like a six year-old, and we window shopped along the tourist strip until my friends could check into their splurge hotel rental for the night. I then ventured home on the buses. I waited for an hour at the deserted Ala Moana Center next to a homeless person with nowhere else to go, no family to celebrate the holiday with. It's a twisted perspective to see someone living on the streets, knowing they have no home and no one to turn to, yet still feeling homesick inside.It makes me ashamed of my momentary cryfest that I had in Barnes & Noble a few days ago--devalues the weight of my lonesomeness and my heartache. I have family. I have friends. I have an apartment. I need to quit being such a fucking baby. It could be waaaaaay worse.
When my other friend arrives tomorrow, I'm hoping to find new adventures to do instead of retreading my same path. That's what life is all about, right? Treading new paths?
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