Old cell phones (3) Mar 13, 2007
I'm surprised whenever I see people with really old cell phones, like the ones that look like little rectangular boxes and have single-color displays.  If the person is my grandma or it's a prepaid phone, I can understand.  But the people I see with these old phones are using them regularly and in public.  I understand the idea of being cheap, but I also know for a fact that you can get a brand new cell phone for free every time you sign up for a service contract.  Since I've never heard of a contract lasting longer than two years, and those old box phones haven't been around for about 3 or 4 years, that means you'd have to actually put in quite a bit of effort to not get a new phone.  You'd have to be holding out for the past several years.  I find that amazing. #technology
Going back to work Mar 13, 2007
Usually when I take some time off work or go away for the weekend, I'm a little anxious to get back and resume my normal life.  It's not that I'm anxious during my entire time off; it's usually just the last day or so.  I know my break is about to end, so I just want to get back into things.  Last week's vacation in a tropical paradise was different.  I was dreading going back to work on Monday.  It could be because it was a pretty long break.  It could be because I've been a little busy at work lately and my grad class is slightly stressful.  It could be because it was a magical tropical paradise filled with sun, mountains, oceans, and food.  Whatever the reason, I wasn't looking forward to resuming my normal life.  And it made me think of another time when I had the same feeling.  During college, I think my brain never really shut down, so breaks were more like hiccups.  The time I'm thinking of was when I was around 10 or 11, and it was right at the end of a Christmas break.  It had been a particularly good Christmas break for whatever reason, so I was devastated to think that it was over and I'd have to go back to the hellish prison so simply referred to as "school".  I cried about it and my sister tried to assure me that everything would be ok.  I guess everything was ok because otherwise I'd still be in 5th grade.  That's what I felt like on Sunday night and Monday morning. #psychology
Hawaii cruise recap Mar 13, 2007
Here's a brief recap of our trip to Hawaii last week.  Previous mentions are here and here. 

Day 1 - Flight to Honolulu (layover in Los Angeles)
- Bought camera at Best Buy because I forgot mine (doh!)

Day 2 - Docked in Hilo on the big island
- Guided Kilauea volcano hike in Volcanoes National Park, through Thurston Lava Tube, Kilauea Iki Caldera, stopped at Jaggar museum for Kilauea Caldera overlook
- Sailed past lava flowing from Mount Kilauea into the sea at night off the southern coast of the big island

Day 3 - Docked in Kahului on Maui
- Free shuttle to/from Hilo Hattie (store); swimming at Oneloa Beach
- Free shuttle to mall, walked back to the ship

Day 4 - Docked in Kahului on Maui
- Guided snorkeling at Molokini Crater (part of the top of an old underwater volcano) and "Turtle Town" (home to 200-lb sea turtles)

Day 5 - Docked in Kona on the big island
- Walked around town
- Got bitten by a parrot
- Laid out on a little beach, snorkeled
- Wendy swam part of the Ironman Triathlon

Day 6 - Docked in Nawiliwili on Kauai
- Guided kayaking on Huleia River, hiking to Jungle Falls
- Laid out on Kalapaki Beach, snorkeled

Day 7 - Docked in Nawiliwili on Kauai
- Guided helicopter tour canceled because of a fatal accident the day before (whew!)
- Guided plane ride instead

Day 8 - Flight home (layover in San Francisco)

Pictures:

[gallery /img/2007/03/hi01.jpg:::/img/2007/03/hi01-150x150.jpg:::Mauna Kea from Hilo, Hawaii:::/img/2007/03/hi02.jpg:::/img/2007/03/hi02-150x150.jpg:::Island in Hilo Bay:::/img/2007/03/hi03.jpg:::/img/2007/03/hi03-150x150.jpg:::Kilauea Iki Caldera in Volcanoes National Park:::/img/2007/03/hi04.jpg:::/img/2007/03/hi04-150x150.jpg:::Steam vent in Kilauea Iki Caldera:::/img/2007/03/hi05.jpg:::/img/2007/03/hi05-150x150.jpg:::Part of hike to Kilauea Iki Caldera:::/img/2007/03/hi06.jpg:::/img/2007/03/hi06-150x150.jpg:::Thurston Lava Tube in Volcanoes National Park:::/img/2007/03/hi07.jpg:::/img/2007/03/hi07-150x150.jpg:::Volcanic rock:::/img/2007/03/hi08.jpg:::/img/2007/03/hi08-150x150.jpg:::Lunch break in the caldera:::/img/2007/03/hi09.jpg:::/img/2007/03/hi09-150x150.jpg:::Ferns are the first thing to grow in the 50-year-old cooled lava bed:::/img/2007/03/hi10.jpg:::/img/2007/03/hi10-150x150.jpg:::Mound formed by eruption in 1959:::/img/2007/03/hi11.jpg:::/img/2007/03/hi11-150x150.jpg:::Wendy in front of the 400-ft mound:::/img/2007/03/hi12.jpg:::/img/2007/03/hi12-150x150.jpg:::It's hard to take nighttime pictures of molten lava (taken from the comfort of the moving ship, 1-2 miles away):::/img/2007/03/hi13.jpg:::/img/2007/03/hi13-150x150.jpg:::Sunrise over Maui:::/img/2007/03/hi14.jpg:::/img/2007/03/hi14-150x150.jpg:::Moon setting over Maui:::/img/2007/03/hi15.jpg:::/img/2007/03/hi15-150x150.jpg:::Our ship, the Pride of America:::/img/2007/03/hi16.jpg:::/img/2007/03/hi16-150x150.jpg:::View of Kahalawai from a beach:::/img/2007/03/hi17.jpg:::/img/2007/03/hi17-150x150.jpg:::Closeup of some gigantic windmills on Kahalawai:::/img/2007/03/hi18.jpg:::/img/2007/03/hi18-150x150.jpg:::No comment:::/img/2007/03/hi19.jpg:::/img/2007/03/hi19-150x150.jpg:::Princess Wendy on the stairs of our castle (the ship):::/img/2007/03/hi20.jpg:::/img/2007/03/hi20-150x150.jpg:::Humpback whales are really hard to take pictures of:::/img/2007/03/hi21.jpg:::/img/2007/03/hi21-150x150.jpg:::Molokini Crater, snorkel spot number 1:::/img/2007/03/hi22.jpg:::/img/2007/03/hi22-150x150.jpg:::Turtle Town, snorkel spot number 2, home to 200-lb sea turtles:::/img/2007/03/hi23.jpg:::/img/2007/03/hi23-150x150.jpg:::Sunset over Maui:::/img/2007/03/hi24.jpg:::/img/2007/03/hi24-150x150.jpg:::Sunrise over Kona, Hawaii:::/img/2007/03/hi25.jpg:::/img/2007/03/hi25-150x150.jpg:::Wendy swam part of the Ironman in the water just to the right:::/img/2007/03/hi26.jpg:::/img/2007/03/hi26-150x150.jpg:::No comment:::/img/2007/03/hi27.jpg:::/img/2007/03/hi27-150x150.jpg:::Look at the friendly parrot:::/img/2007/03/hi28.jpg:::/img/2007/03/hi28-150x150.jpg:::Bad parrot!:::/img/2007/03/hi29.jpg:::/img/2007/03/hi29-150x150.jpg:::The "beach" in Kona:::/img/2007/03/hi30.jpg:::/img/2007/03/hi30-150x150.jpg:::Ahuena Heiau - King Kamehameha I's political seat:::/img/2007/03/hi31.jpg:::/img/2007/03/hi31-150x150.jpg:::Kauai:::/img/2007/03/hi32.jpg:::/img/2007/03/hi32-150x150.jpg:::A Nene, the state bird:::/img/2007/03/hi33.jpg:::/img/2007/03/hi33-150x150.jpg:::Kalapaki Beach in Kauai:::/img/2007/03/hi34.jpg:::/img/2007/03/hi34-150x150.jpg:::Caves on mountainside:::/img/2007/03/hi35.jpg:::/img/2007/03/hi35-150x150.jpg:::Kayaking on Huleia River:::/img/2007/03/hi36.jpg:::/img/2007/03/hi36-150x150.jpg:::Wendy climbed Jungle Falls:::/img/2007/03/hi37.jpg:::/img/2007/03/hi37-150x150.jpg:::De plane!:::/img/2007/03/hi38.jpg:::/img/2007/03/hi38-150x150.jpg:::Aerial view of Kauai coastline:::/img/2007/03/hi39.jpg:::/img/2007/03/hi39-150x150.jpg:::Aerial view of Kauai coffee fields:::/img/2007/03/hi40.jpg:::/img/2007/03/hi40-150x150.jpg:::Aerial view of Wailua Falls:::/img/2007/03/hi41.jpg:::/img/2007/03/hi41-150x150.jpg:::Weniki (her Hawaiian name) graduates from hula lessons:::]
#travel