Mile 4423: Looks like we made it! State #50!
How did we get here? 10 years ago, we set a goal to "See The Nation By Graduation". And, we just did it. We certainly had to endure much feedback from the wee-Bullingtons. "Why can't we just go to the beach like normal people", "I don't even like taxidermied _______". "No one cares about a hair museum" (Well, someone must, you little ingrate) We saved our money, we sacrificed, and we did it. And, now we're done.....That's probably going to be further expounded upon in some later, weepy-sad post. But now, Hawaii!
I'll say it again. There is something to be said for traveling with teenagers. Especially, when 2/3 have emerged from their middle school years as lovely humans. The least of these... well, there is nothing that will spin your head faster than a 13-year-old boy who goes from silly to sullen in a blink, eats like a zombie at a brain buffet, then falls asleep. Repeat. One minute he's sitting in my too-small-for-him-lap, the next minute he's melted into his hoodie, giving me the stink eye through a little hoodie hole.
But, to all those mamas and daddies dragging themselves on the plane with toddlers, and babies, and binkies, and goldfish (snack, not pet), and irreplaceable beloved lovies that will inevitably slip between the seats and be forgotten in your haste to leave this 10 hour jail sentence thusly adding a crying toddler to your vacation......I see you. I've been you. I'm happy that I'm no longer you. I've moved out of that crazy-town an into Grumpy-Teen City. But, the view from here is fine, because it's usually enshrouded in a hoodie.
Our flight was uneventful. Just what you want from a trip that is mostly over the ocean. I appreciated the hours to just be. I watched a movie, ate snacks, and napped. My dang watch kept telling me it was "time to stand". Curse you, Apple Watch.
We arrived, claimed our schweet Dodge Minivan, and headed to see our Marietta friends, Jeff and Kim Castle. We've a history with Jeff and Kim. Their daughter babysat for wee-Bullingtons back in the day and now my girls babysit for her daughter that babysat for us! Kim was that mom who I admired when I was a young mother. She was laid back, but always coordinated her kids matchy-matchy on Easter. EVEN WHEN THEY WERE TEENAGERS. I know now what a modern marvel she is!
Kim and Jeff have been here for two weeks and graciously fed our hungry brood and passed along their remaining groceries so we wouldn't have to start the next day uncaffeinated and unfed. They are good people, those Castles.
We sat on their Lanai (folks don't call it porch in these parts) and Jeff pointed out the different features of the surrounding islands and we watched pods of whales rising and falling and breaching (that means jumping OUT of the water like you see on the TV.) It was like a living postcard. Except for the incessant drizzle. The weather forecast had been haunting me as we prepared to set off, Kim assured me it would be fine. It was raining when we left Atlanta and it was raining when we landed. This caused a few alterations to tomorrow's plans, but nothing major. We bid them adieu, checked into our condo and fell into the bed about 2am our time (after being up since 5am). Night-Night!
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