This was a planned holiday for months as a nice way for the family to get together. It was sponsored by my parents for my brother and my niece, and subsidized for us. Never mind that the travel time in both directions was long and arduous, I mean, we were going to Hawaii!
Despite M being grumpy about more travel after our year of over-flying, I was looking forward to spending some time with the whole family. Besides, how can one not love being in paradise?!
So, we had a week of fun.
We went on a Zodiac boat for some snorkeling. We saw a few whales dive and reward us with their tail fins. We saw lots of lovely little fish as well.
We went to a paniolo ranch for a BBQ dinner and some cowboy experience. We ate. M and I danced. M roped a wooden cow. We all laughed.
We sat on the beach, snorkeled and swam in the, what I consider, tepid waters. It was not warm, but it was bearable.
We shopped and ate. We had a ladies’ day out. The boys had guy time. The house was lovely and it was about spending time together, which we did.
The only downside was that Dad got sick after the first day and was unable to participate in all of the above except at home. This, sadly, means that I have no pictures of him to remember the experience outside of our minds, which is a statement of its own, really.
Now, we are back with only a few European trips planned for the rest of the year. Who knows, I might still be on a flight somewhere soon, but now it’s time to focus on work, writing, and resting at home. 
~T 
Though time was short, I was able to visit for a day.
