Awkward....
I have a routine that I follow anytime something important happens - large family gatherings, weddings, trips, that sort of thing where I need to appear somewhat "together." So on Wednesday, I went to get my nails done. Since it was kind of a time crunch, I ended up going to a place by my apartment that I only use when the timing doesn't work out to go with Jenny and/or Andi. I end up having my sunburned legs peeling on that same day. So already I'm a little self-conscious, but get over it once I sit down. But then, I realize that I'm getting a guy doing my feet. Although I typically have no problem with people rubbing my feet and painting my nails, a random guy doing it makes me a little edgy. Then I console myself with the thought that maybe the massage part will be better, since guys are typically stronger than girls, right? Oh, no, then I catch a glimpse of his long fingernails. Ew. So, the nail experience is officially not going to be the relaxing event it should. Luckily, I only got scratched a couple times. However, I doubt it can be good for business when the people who work in a nail salon do not have nice nails.
Second part of my routine is a haircut. Luckily, that went smoothly. Slightly depressed at my increase in gray hairs, but that's what highlights are for.
Lastly, a visit to my esthetician. Well, my regular one ended up being out of town, so I had to settle for someone else. Now, this visit is never relaxing, but today I ended up just plain pissed off because of the quality of work and even had to call Andi and interrupt her "vacation" just because I knew she'd feel my pain.
But now I am off to the homelands for my cousin Tom's wedding tomorrow. I love weddings! Drinks all around!
Longest day of the year
Yes, it really is! And softball officially starts tonight - nothing like the "beer after?" emails to get your Thursday morning started. I'm looking forward to it, considering I can't remember the last time I threw or fielded a softball. I really think the last time might have been about junior high on the good ol' SNR ponytail team. But it comes right back to you, right? Like riding a bike? Right?
This fulfills my obligation to say something about the Vegas weekend: Great fun! I'm incredibly glad I went. No one was lost (well, not for very long anyway), injured, or arrested. The Nunezes and Nelsons rarely fail to disappoint. Next up for the Allmaras crew: Palm Desert, 4th of July.
Happy summer everyone.
I knew there was something missing!
I was not aware that there is now Diet Coke Plus. Yes, that's right, Diet Coke with vitamins and minerals! Because really, the people that care about the nutritional value of their beverage will obviously be the same people that would choose to drink a Diet Coke above anything else.
So I decided to give it a try (pretty much just because the regular Diet Coke and Diet Dr. Pepper were gone). Verdict - does NOT taste the same, and if I wanted vitamins and minerals, I'd drink a V-8.
That's how we roll.
Andi's unofficial theme of the trip. Un-freaking-believable, btw. If you ever get the chance to go to Kauai, TAKE IT. Gorgeous. Every way you look, there's another fabulous view. I downloaded the pictures off my camera last night, and they just don't do it justice. It kind of even seems pointless that I took any pictures at all.
So, the week in review. First off, we almost missed our flight out of San Diego. We had some time to kill, so we went to have a beer (yes, at 7:00 in the morning, "that's how we roll," but keep in mind who is on this trip). Sportscenter was on, and we got caught up in the top 10, then suddenly realized it was 7:58 and our flight was taking off at 8:13. Inflight entertainment was Music and Lyrics = not a good movie. Put me to sleep, and according to Andi had some of the worst acting known to man, even with a couple of Heinekens. We landed on the island around 1:30, got our luggage (Lihue airport has to be the quickest at getting your luggage off the plane and onto the carousel), got the rental car (Chevy Cobalt - score!), and ventured off to the Marriott for lunch at Duke's. After some exploring, we finally found it and had drinks and yummy food on the beach. Drove to the condo while gawking at the number of chickens (yes, chickens, they're everywhere) and Mustang convertibles (again, they're everywhere - popular rental car, apparently), with a stop at the grocery store for bread, milk, cereal, and most importantly, Diet Coke, Hawaiian beer, and mango Malibu. Once we got somewhat organized, we poured ourselves rum and diets and took off exploring the area and formulating a tentative plan for our week. Got back to the condo, finished the rum, watched Pirates (which only made complete logical sense since we were, in fact, drinking rum and "that's how we roll").
And the adventures begin. Unfortunately, or maybe fortunately, we had no real adventures - we didn't get lost, we didn't almost fall off any cliffs, we didn't fall out of a boat, we didn't almost drown, and no one even really said anything clever. Except for this:
Joan (doing the People crossword): "Oohs and blank."
Andi (pauses, thinking): Chips? Pretzels?
Joan: No, oohs, not booze!
Andi insisted we rent bikes (bitter childhood memories, that one), which was hilarious, for multiple reasons. We ended up caught in a full-on rainstorm, complete with wind and rain coming at you sideways. We had to pull over in a random covered driveway because the rain had almost washed out my contacts and to wring out our clothes. And, we got mistaken for locals. For those of you that know Andi, this of course makes perfect sense because she's always so tan.
Hiked the Na Pali coast. That's right - the part of the island that you can only get to by hiking. We trekked up and over boulders on all fours, jumped across streams, and ended up at a beautiful waterfall. Our day consisted of 8 miles total, in just about 6 hours, with a total stopping time of maybe one hour total for water breaks, picture-taking breaks, and swimming-at-the-waterfall break. Crashed out by 8:00 p.m. Cause "that's how we roll on a Saturday night in Kauai."
Drove around the island. Well, as much as you could anyway - we drove from one end of the road to the other and saw everything in between. Somehow, we ended up at a firing range and the entrance to some high-security naval base trying to get to a particular beach. Saw the Waimea Canyon in the rain, so really we only saw part of the Waimea Canyon. Tried to tour a sugar plantation. Tried to stop at a brewery. Tried to find chickens actually crossing the road. Stopped at Coconut Grove, which turned out to be a shopping center, not an actual coconut grove. Did massive shopping at the ABC store.
Took a kayaking and snorkeling tour. Now, Andi had never kayaked, and I had only done it once, so we weren't sure how well that was going to go. Until the hilarious family of 11 showed up and ended up kayaking themselves into a tree before we were all even in the water. Close to the end of our little trip, one of them commented, in all seriousness, "You guys must be in a rowing club or something - you're like professional rowers!"
Luau. All-inclusive all-you-can-eat buffet and all-you-can-drink bar. Enough said. Even though we were way far back in the line, we scored front row seats across from the cutest couple ever from Calgary who had just gotten married on the beach. Andi and I got taken onto the stage by the cute little hula girls before the show to help "demonstrate" the hula, we watched the pig come out, ate massive amounts of food, drank more, watched some demonstrations of husking a coconut and local island fashion, ate massive amounts of dessert, then watched the show. Very cool. Toward the end of the show, they asked for volunteers to come on stage and hula with the professional dancers. A girl at the table next to us started going crazy immediately, jumping up and down and swinging her arms and begging to get picked, a lot like Donkey in Shrek. As we're staring and making fun of her, who gets picked but me. Great. Throw my camera at Andi, thank God that I've been sucking down mai tais for the last 2 hours, and somehow end up onstage without falling. Luckily, the other person they picked was some older guy from North Carolina who looked like he'd never danced a day in his life, so I can't be that bad, right? Well, I don't even know. I managed to not fall off the stage, that's all I can say. Fabulous night all the way around - great food, great drinks, and Andi even got her picture taken with the hot guys.
Such a great vacation. We didn't even get (very) sunburned. SPF 45 - that's how we roll.
I am not ready.
The flight leaves in about 15 hours. I have spent the entire day adding things to my list of stuff I forgot to put in my suitcase last night. Not good. And considering that my traveling companion has yet to begin packing, this trip is already interesting. I cannot wait!!!! Now if only my fax machine would fax a little bit faster so I could get out of here.
Aloha!
T minus 3 days......
I started packing yesterday for Hawaii. Meaning, I have a giant pile of stuff in my living room not in my suitcase but sitting next to it. When I realized how disorganized I actually was/am, I decided to work on my base tan. Because getting a sunburn on the first day of vacation is never a good idea.
I cannot wait.
