memorly dot com

We’re back from Hawaii and I finally got around to writing this post I’ve been promising all week. It took me two days to write this even without any elaboration on the experience, but it’s quite a bit of reading as it is.

The following is from a simple log I kept during the trip, with some pictures and video here and there. Enjoy!

Day 1 – took cab to RDU with david, listened to NPR, learned about simian infanticide, watched news in the airport, terror alert was raised to orange (lawl), got on a plane, ate a banana in my grandmother’s memory (her campaign to get me to eat them was not entirely unsuccessful), landed in Houston, posed with George HW Bush, got on another plane, rejected the second banana (sorry, Grandma), touched down in Oakland, caught up with David’s parents, stopped at the hotel, saw Sarah Beth’s Berkeley apartment, walked around, saw incredibly beautiful flowers everywhere, decided to move to California (just kidding, mom and dad), saw Berkeley’s CS building, thought about grad school, got a headache, met the grandparents for dinner, started feeling really nauseated, ran for the (one-person) bathroom, was cut off by a sneering bitch, stepped outside, puked in some flowers, felt lame, got the rest of my dinner to go, found some excedrin, saw my first American Apparel store in person, bought a shoulder bag, felt better, went to a comic strip reading from some writers Sarah Beth likes, laughed, took BART back to the hotel, ate the rest of dinner, watched Brokeback Mountain, slept like a baby.

Day 2- ate a delicious hotel cinnamon roll, went to Sarah Beth’s graduation, learned that Berkeley “is the best college in the WORLD”, laughed at a grumpy old man’s personal effects, discovered that my camera has digital zoom as well as optical, took pictures of Sarah Beth, tried to keep my bag off of the dirty restroom floor and wound up dropping my camera in the toilet, freaked out because it stopped working, went to a graduation reception, ate some delicious cookies, took BART to Fremont, called my mom, met a friend from college, was ecstatic because my camera successfully took a picture, went to Sausalito, ate dinner at a beautiful restaurant, came back and slept like a baby.

Day 3 – ate two delicious cinnamon rolls (you only live once, right?), left for the airport in San Francisco, discussed whether it made more sense for flights to Hawaii to go through the domestic or international terminal, guessed incorrectly (going over an ocean does not automatically make it an “international” flight), got on a big plane, slept, watched a marathon of awesomeness including The Office and 30 Rock, decided to watch the featured movie (Painted Veil) which I expected to hate but was amazing, arrived in Honolulu, which smelled like flowers, fell in love with the skyline, called my parents, got on a bus, was fascinated by a ridicuous trophy wife situation, enjoyed some scenery, checked into the ship, took a picture of the first thing I saw, found our room, went to a safety drill featuring model David Eisinger, got yelled at by an unnecessarily rude individual, went to a bon voyage party on the deck, got a lei, ate some steak, had some good conversaion, was very happy and excited, slept like a baby.

Day 4 – woke up in Kaua’i, carried breakfast to eat together on the deck, noticed skyline was completely different from when I went to bed, got off the ship, took a van to Blue Mountain Helicopters, watched a safety video about helicopter rides, worried about dying, got in the helicopter, got an amazing view of Kaua’i, decided that this wouldn’t be a very bad way to die at all, took pictures (1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5) and video (1 – 2 – 3), landed on the ground (without dying), waited for the pickup van, took a picture of some birds, returned and took a walk to see a beautiful beach next to a beautiful hotel that the Eisingers like, did a little shopping, looked at scooters with David, chickened out of that, found a flower, forgot that I should never wear sunglasses in photos, went back to the ship for lunch, went to a luau, drank about 70 mai tais, came back to the ship, ate ice cream, watched Sonny Rose sing and explain how famous he is, slept like a baby.

Day 5 – still in Kaua’i, went for a surfing lesson with two rockin’ dudes as instructors, gave it the old college try, drank a lot of salt water, watched David and Sarah Beth master the waves, decided that that I’d had enough punishment for one day, made a sand mound with Sarah Beth, got a a weird sunburn where i missed the sunblock, went back to the ship and watched Forrest Gump and a horrifying crime drama, ate a delicious dinner, slept like a baby.

Day 6 – woke up in Hilo on the Big Island, saw the blessed mother get down with her tropical self at a rest stop on the way to our lava hike, took a picture of David, admired some Plumeria, got to the lava hike, saw some molten lava, took two videos (one of lava bubbling out of the earth and one of someone poking a stick into it), headed back, stopped for more beautiful scenery and to stretch our legs, stood in front of a lava cave, found a coconut, gave it to Sarah Beth, followed David and Mrs. Eisinger into a lava tomb, got back to the ship, ate a delicious asian meal, slept like a baby.

Day 7 – woke up in Kona (still Big Island), went on a bus ride, saw a lot of coral graffiti, went on an ATV excursion with David, signed a form to acknowledge that that I realized I could die, was issued a helmet (perfectly sized) and a jacket the size of a small tent, got on an ATV, went on a scary practice trail, was horrified, got on the real trail, started having fun, saw some cows, took a picture of david, rode back, ate some cookies, talked to a farmer, caught and released a fly to demonstrate my childhood skills and refined nature, came back, went shopping in Kona with David, saw a farmers market, called the bank, found out I had $22 in my checking account, noticed that I had neglected to pack a credit card, was thankful for direct deposit and being one day away from payday, saw by far the biggest hibiscus of my life (not to scale), shared an amazing and sloppy burrito with Mr. David, was wanded AND patted before being allowed to return to the ship for a delicious dinner, slept like a baby.

Day 8 – woke up in Maui, took a bus to Wailea Beach, read some Saki, jumped in the ocean, hung out, laughed at a dog with a coconut running away from his displeased owner , was surprised with a delicious roast beef sandwich, jumped in the ocean again, fell asleep in the shade, raced David and Sarah Beth back to the water over hot sand, took a cute picture of David and Mrs. Eisinger, took a less cute picture of David and me, returned to the bus, returned to the ship, stole off with Mrs. Eisinger, Sarah Beth, and David for an emergency shopping trip, got a new dress (!), got in another taxi, learned that pineapples were on sale for $2, returned to the ship, ate a delicious snack, discussed the end of self-service at the buffet due to an outbreak of some sickness on the ship, watched the middle of the new Bond, then most of the end, then the beginning, ate lobster for the first time in too long, was judged by david for eating “a giant cockroach”, saw a funny magician with a nice mixture of obvious tricks and totally baffling ones, slept like a baby.

Day 9 – woke up in Maui again, went on a waterfall hike, saw a lot of fruits I’ve never seen on trees before, went swimming in 2 waterfalls, watched Sarah Beth rope swing, put on our cool shoes to walk to the next site, took a picture of David in front of the waterfall he, Sarah Beth, and I climbed up and jumped off of, took another picture of a hibiscus flower swirling around in the water, stopped at a music store on the way back, wandered around with Sarah Beth, returned to the music store, talked about ukeleles, learned of a shop employee’s broken heart at the knowledge that his beautiful daughter left the island to work at a Hooters in Virginia, ate all of Sarah Beth’s chocolate covered macadamia nuts, gained 48 pounds, topped off the nuts with a four course meal, packed, watched Law & Order with Sarah Beth and David, slept like a baby

Day 10 – woke up in Honolulu, ate my 92nd pineapple of the week, was mistaken for David’s sister, and then Sarah Beth’s sister on separate occasions by the same conversationally challenged dude, learned from a waitress that the cruise ship’s crew only gets a few hours to prepare for a whole new wave of guests, took a bus to the airport, did some compulsive airport shopping, ate a Personal Pan Pizza, got on a big plane, watched the feature film – Music and Lyrics – even though I thought I would hate it (and unlike Painted Veil, I rather did), arrived in San Francisco, tracked down luggage, checked in with Jet Blue, said goodbye to the Eisingers, ate another pizza just to make sure I got as fat as possible, got on another plane, and watched trashy television (Flavor of Love: Charm School for the win) instead of sleeping like a baby.

Day 11 – remained awake somewhere over Idaho, wore a sleep mask (courtesy of Jet Blue) for the first time in my life, was unable to sleep for the first time in my life, watched more trashy television, landed in NYC, ate yet another meal because I’m good with decisions, read Newsweek, discussed with David the many levels of unfairness associated with Newsweek’s criteria for evaluating good high schools, got on a plane, ate some cookies that I really needed, watched some more trashy television, landed in Durham, counted hours spent in airports or in the air (19) and total hours lost in travel (25), comforted a neurotic lady who was convinced immediately off the plane that her luggage had been lost, hunted down our own, more consolation, hunted down the lady’s, went outside, explained to an English-challenged woman that RDU has a Terminal A and a Terminal C, but no Terminal B, called my Dad, caught up with Charles, got home, weighed myself, screamed, checked my email, went to the store, made a gift basket for Sophie and Picasso’s sitter, exchanged the basket for my feathered friends, got 15 minutes through a TV show on my computer, fell asleep, and slept for a very long time, like a baby.

All in all, it was an amazing week and a half, and if any of the Eisingers are reading this, the biggest thank you ever to you for being so fun and wonderful :)

I’ll upload the full set of pictures soon for my family and David’s and whoever else wants to see them (just let me know).