Hawaii

Hey Everyone!
We made it back from Hawaii in one piece and it was a trip of a lifetime! Anyone who knows us, knows just how much we hate to fly, but the flights were excellent. They were smooth, on time and with no lost luggage. It was an all day flight and when we got there we were exhausted but happy. The ship was beautiful and we loved our room with the balcony. So on day 1 in Honolulu everything went well.
Day 2- everything ...went...bad. I guess because of all of the steroids I am on and because I was on the plane for so long, fluid collected on my knees. I was in EXTREME pain. I mean on the 1-10 scale I would say it was an 8. At one point I sent the girls out on the balcony because I just couldn't stand for them to watch me cry anymore. I thought the trip was ruined. As soon as we could, we got on the free shopping shuttle to of all places, Wal Mart. That's right, we went all the way to Hilo, Hawaii to go to Wal Mart and load up on motrin. We spent the afternoon with the kids swimming at the ship while I popped motrin with Mai Tai's. Go ahead, judge me if you want, you'd done the same if you were in that much pain. I kept my knees up the rest of the trip, even at night and didn't have any more problems. Thank you, Jesus. I felt okay enough that night that we went out to eat and saw the onboard entertainment.
Day 3 and 4- Maui. We woke up that morning to whales outside our balcony. What a sight! This is the time of year that they are traveling through so it was a special treat. We ended up spending our days is Maui at the beach. We wanted to take it easy since we didn't know how I would feel. The beach we went to was very posh. A private beach that the Travel Channel named the best beach in the world for 2006. It was lovely and the sand was like baby powder. We saw some more whales off shore jumping out of the water. Wow!! Again, every night we had a great dinner on board and saw the cruise line entertainment before collapsing into bed.
Day 5- Kona. This is a wonderful port. Very touristy. We shopped til we dropped. Kona is known for their very rich and expensive coffee.
Day 6- Kaua'i. Known as the garden island I wanted to be sure to see some of the lushness. We took a trip up the Wailua River to Fern Grotto. It was a beautiful sight to see. It was filled with tropical plants and waterfalls. By that afternoon it started to become obvious that maybe I was pushing it too hard. I ended up falling twice. Once down a flight of stairs. Thank goodness I didn't get hurt and only my family saw it happen. The second time was in front of a whole tour bus of people who rang out together in a collective gasp. As I lay there on the floor of the bus I realized I was even too weak to get up. Rob and a couple of tourists literally had to pick me up. I quickly brushed off my backside and my pride and took my seat. I mean what else are ya gonna do? Anyway, we were headed for and old Hawaiian plantation were we saw an authentic Hawaiian Lu'au. We had a blast! All of the food and music were good and I loved the fire dancers the best.
Day 7- We had another day in Kaua'i and in light of my exhaustion we decided to do another beach day so I could relax. Again the beach was beautiful and secluded. We got the treat of seeing a sea turtle come to shore. She was huge! Rob also got a little snorkling in and saw some cool fish. That afternoon I rested in the cabin while the kids swam on deck.
Last day- Pearl Harbor. They do a wondeful presentation at Pearl Harbor. I am so glad that my kids got to see and learn this bit of history. We also got to take a city tour of Honolulu before being taken to the airport.

I would just like to thank again the anonymous people form St. Elizabeth's who took up this collection so we could actually do this trip. I had been saving for a trip just like this but medical bills quickly swept that away. I can't tell you what it means to me that I am leaving a positve memory of me and this trip with my kids and Rob. Words cannot express how grateful I am. May God bless you all!!