Hawaii Fun Time

Sorry I haven't updated in a while. Here is some details about my recent trip to Hawaii.

I have been on several vacations in my life, but I have never been able to fully appreciate them until now.
I recently traveled to the great state of Hawaii with my wife and my in-laws to take a break from the working world and "hang loose." This is my first vacation since joining the working world and I took full advantage of it. I love working at the Burleson Star and especially all of the wonderful people I meet and interact with on a daily basis in the great city of Burleson, but I didn't miss it while I was gone.
I graduated from college in May 2007 and got hitched a month later. After returning home from my honeymoon, I immediately began working at my internship in Wimberley. While interning, I interviewed at the Burleson Star and received a job offer. I left my internship on a Wednesday and began working in Burleson the next day. I say all that to say I haven't had much time off in the past year.
I know this makes me sound young and many of the people reading have been in the working community for many years, but waking up everyday is a new experience for me. Even in college, just because my alarm went off did not mean I was going to get up and go to class [don't worry, I have a much better track record at the Star].
After a year of hard work and many new experiences, I was happy to turn off my brain for a week and enjoy the Hawaii sun. Well, I actually didn't enjoy the sun because I am a smidge overweight and the sun didn't really do anything for me except burn my skin and make me sweat for a week straight. And I didn't even lose any weight!
I thought there was a magical portal people stepped through when they went to Hawaii which made them tan with a defined abdomen. No such luck on my end of the magical portal. When I got to Hawaii and just started sweating. It was nice for me to be in a place where not wearing a shirt was commonplace because I believe this to be my natural state. However, I'm not sure how nice it was for my in-laws.
When I go on vacations I always go with little to no expectations to make my trip enjoyable no matter what and Hawaii was no different. All I wanted to do on the trip was sit on my big Texas booty and play in the ocean.
I succeeded.
If this was all I did, I would have chalked Hawaii up to a great vacation, but I did even more because my wife is persistent. And it was great. Sarah tried to convince me to go snorkeling, but I am not much of a snorkeler. Maybe its because I can never get the mask on right and end up almost drowning in a life jacket in two feet of water or because people always end up pointing at my belly trying to figure out what new kind of whale species has come to the Hawaii shore.
The family did go to a luau, which was a fantastic experience. The food was amazing and several locals were available to tell the history of the island and sell their wares. The entertainment was also exciting, but hula dancing gets somewhat old after about one minute. The mai tai's helped with that.
Sarah and I also went cliff jumping which was a fantastic experience for both of us because Sarah had never done it before and because I got to watch Sarah's face right before and as she jumped off the rock. Priceless.
Swimming in the ocean was also a treat for the whole family. My idea of a good time in the ocean is just letting the waves crash down on me and tumble me to the shore. The other people on the beach who enjoyed this activity ranged in ages from 3 to 5 years old. And Sarah. That is why I love her.
Some of the in-laws decided to boogey board during the week, which I considered until my father-in-law almost broke his nose on a particularly harsh wave. I figured I got Sarah to love me with my face in its current condition and I shouldn't be pushing my luck.
I also took Sarah on a date to the Ritz-Carlton for dinner during the week, which she loved but my wallet hated. I'm not normally a nice restaurant kind of guy and my order usually goes something like, "and can you replace the vegetables with french fries?" Don't worry ladies, I was on my best behavior and ate everything placed in front of me, which my taste-buds were happy with half the time and angry the other half. But Sarah had a great dinner and that was all that mattered.
Now my favorite thing about Hawaii [and this is going to make some people want to shoot me] was the pizza. There was a pizza place across the street from where we were staying which served the best pizza I had ever eaten. I was in Hawaii for eight days and I ate there at least five times. At the end of the week, the owner gave me a free t-shirt and took a picture with me — one of the highlights of the week. I found out the owner was actually from Texas, which made the experience all the better.
My trip taught me an important lesson — even the best things in other states come from Texas. It also taught me as much as it is nice to go on a trip to Hawaii and enjoy a change of scenery for a week, it always feels great to come home. And what better home to come back to then Burleson?