I live in HAWAII!!!

It has finally hit me.

I have very much loved every place I/we have lived - California, Texas, Utah, Maryland and I am very much excited to have this on our resume of locales. I now live where people come to get away from it all. Ben likes to joke that I'm always on vacation and now I actually am!

I set up a babysitting trade with another new girl at church who has a baby girl about Miles' age and two older girls that Avery loves to play with and who's husband also keeps long hours (he's an Air Force chaplain) so on my "free day" I didn't want to run errands or clean house or do anything that I could possibly, maybe accomplish with kids around so I hit the beach. Ben helped me load up the surfboard the night before, I dropped the keiki's off, turned on Jack Johnson, rolled down the windows, opened the sunroof (mostly so I could stop the board from rattling and ruining the mood), and I was off. I didn't know exactly where I was headed but I was going. Until I got about a mile down the road and started thinking about how I was going to surf without my key fob enduring the same death by water as our other set had (bathtub + two year old). I had thought ahead enough not to bring anything but my license but the keys you can't leave hidden in the car. So I went back to the house, grabbed the valet key, and started over. I had two options in the search of a perfect wave (which for me is about a 2 footer with nothing pokey or dangerous (i.e. - reef) below.

So, choice number one, a place called Flat Island, a long paddle out (okay by me) but dangerously near the recent shark attack (not okay by me). Option two, a place lovingly known as "Cockroach Bay", there are some mossy rocks on the ocean floor here but the real potential problem could be not being wanted by the locals who live on the beach at this spot. Sharks or locals. I took my chance with the locals. (Although I did end up with a flat tire later that day...) Unfortunately I got there and no one was in the water. I had already told myself that I wouldn't go in alone no matter what (Alise, if you would just come visit this wouldn't even be an issue). Anyhow, the reason no one was in was beacuse it was flat. So I countinued on and came to Sandy Beach. A hotspot for bodyboarding, bodysurfing and waves that are known for break ing necks. At this age, I'm not interested in breaking my neck, but I've always wanted to go there and watch so I did and it was incredible. The kids were doing crazy stuff, like standing on their body boards as well as the usual riding in the tube, spinning etc. I did see one, rather stately (ref. definition one - Dignified and impressive, as in size or proportions) woman get washed away, luckily the waves brought her back safely to her equally large mate, whom the waves couldn't budge. Meanwhile, a guy was sitting on the tailgate of his truck strumming the ukelele, enveloping us all with aloha. All I needed was a Jamba Juice to enjoy on my way home while listening to the Beach Boys to call it a perfect day. A day which will be recreated and hopefully become routine.

I did finally get in the water. On my way home there were two people in the water at Coakroach Bay, even though it was still pretty flat. But I couldn't resist the chance to get in. So I paddled out, said hi and then just laid there, an island unto myself for ten minutes.

I live in HAWAII.