Aloha from Hawaii (Days 1 & 2)

Greetings from Honolulu!

About a month ago, Jill called me and told me that she'd like to send me to Hawaii as a Christmas/birthday present (for the next decade). So here I am. This trip was/is truly a godsend after a very tough start to 2017, so I am more thankful than I can put into words to Jill and Cliff for their kindness and generosity.

With that being said, here's the recap of Days 1 - 2.

Day 1: Aloha!

• My 10-hour flight was fantastic. No, really. It was. I had an aisle seat in a 2-person row with no one behind me. Delta kept me well-fed. I finished a book. I started a new BBC show that seems decent (The Night Manager with Tom Hiddleston and Hugh Laurie). No complaints.
• Jill and Cliff picked me up with the kiddos around 4PM local time and we went to the Ala Moana Center's Shirokiya Japan Village Walk for dinner. Udon noodles, poke tuna, karaage, etc. Some people eat to live, others live to eat. Jill/Cliff/I belong in the second category. I am also very impressed that their young children (Lilia - 7, Ivy - 5, Joel, 3) are all relatively adventurous eaters. At their age, I was living off of a diet of exclusively hot dogs.
• We finished the night at the Lego Store. When members of the Gerbers family visit Hawaii, we buy the kids each a new Lego person. There are worse ways to indulge kids.
• We got home and had birthday cake. I wasn't expecting any sort of fanfare for my birthday this week because 1) THEY BOUGHT ME A PLANE TICKET TO HAWAII and 2) I've had a lot on my plate this month and sort of forgot that my birthday is a thing. My family did not forget. I feel sufficiently celebrated.

Day 2: Koko Head / Honolulu Zoo / Moana Surfrider

• Jill and I left the house at 5:45AM to hike Koko Head in time to catch the sunrise. This is how I know my sister loves me. It's not a particularly long hike, but it is very, VERY steep and the terrain is rough. It used to be an old tram line so hikers can use the old rail ties to help climb the summit. The vistas throughout the hike and at the top were a great introduction to Hawaii. I loved the hike. Jill...loved finishing it.

• We got back to the house and loaded up the kiddos to head to the Honolulu Zoo. Zoos pose an ethical dilemma for me--on one hand, I think well-done zoos can educate and inspire young people to develop an ethic of care for the environment/animals at a young age. I also appreciate when zoos have an exclusive mission of housing animals that are otherwise unable to return to the wild. The Miami Zoo is an excellent example of this type of space. On the other hand, poorly done zoos seem cruel and exploitive. I wouldn't say that Honolulu's zoo was bad necessarily, but it was definitely not the Miami Zoo. The landscaping was beautiful and I enjoyed seeing the kiddos light up at each of the exhibits. I took more pictures of them looking at the animals than I did of the animals themselves.

• Jill was adamant that I "dressed up" for the zoo because we had a "secret engagement" later in afternoon. She surprised me by making a reservation for the two of us for afternoon tea at the Moana Surfrider Hotel on Waikiki Beach, one of the oldest hotels in the area. The hotel was beautiful and we had the best table on the veranda. If you've never done afternoon tea, you are missing out. I didn't know afternoon tea was a thing. I WANT TO DO IT ALL OF THE TIME NOW. Here's the rundown: the server brings out a box of tea and allows you to smell them all and pick out the tea you like (Jill went with a rooibos and I went with a vanilla/caramel blend). Then the server brings you a fancy drink with a flower in it. And then the server brings you a bowl of berries and cream and fancy finger sandwiches and a fancy three-tier dessert plate. I felt so, so fancy. We had the best time. I was a little overwhelmed by how awesome my sister is and I ended up emoting through my eyeballs on the veranda. It was the fanciest cry I've ever had.

• We returned to the zoo, saw a few more critters (fun fact: the elephant paddock is where they filmed some of the raptor training scenes in Jurassic World) grabbed the kids, and headed back to house where I held a sleeping Joel for about 45 minutes while Jill and Cliff grabbed a rare nap. I asked if I could cook for the family this week since they've been so generous to me; they humored me and allowed me to make them a seafood chowder for dinner and a broccoli pie for breakfast tomorrow.