I‘m back! Wooo, I was gone for a long time and it was totally awesome. Best vacay ever, peeps. I’m so sad that it’s over and done! I remember standing on the lanai my first night on Maui and thinking, “I have eight whole days in front of me, that’s like forever,” and then standing in the same spot eight days later flabbergasted at how fast it went. But, like I said, best vacay ever. Here is my daily travelogue:

Sept. 30: I woke up at 3 am Eastern Daylight this morning. THREE AM! My shuttle was coming at 4:10 for my 7 am flight, so I needed to get ready and get the last bits of my stuff in order. The shuttle arrived at 4:25, and I was sitting at my gate by 5:00. Nothing at the airport is open at 5 in the morning, it sucked. And the United terminal at JFK doesn’t have a Starbucks! That should be illegal. It was such an awesome flight – I had an entire row to myself, and I had my pick of four different movies, but I chose to watch “Mean Girls” like 8 times. Short movie. My flight landed in LA at 10 am Pacific Daylight, and I hurried myself down to the curb to meet Mike. It turned out I had a three hour layover so he came to take me to breakfast! It was so great to see him. I was ravenous and made him go back to the buffet a couple times to get me more food! I was sad to leave him in Los Angeles. My flight to Maui was less awesome, but it got me there without crashing. Can I just say, don’t watch the TV show “Lost” right before you go on a flight? Because EVERY TIME we hit turbulence I thought the plane would split in half. Anyway. I finally landed in Maui at 4:25 Hawaii Time, where my dad was waiting for me. We drove to Kaanapali to the Mahana, where we always stay, and picked up my mom and aunt for dinner. We went to this cute place in Lahaina called Cafe O’ Lei. I got the Maui onion soup (amazing) and the pork quesadilla (dry). By the end of the meal, however, I was starting to feel a little dizzy from lack of sleep. I realized it was almost 9 pm Hawaii Time…I’ll do the time zone math for you – that means I was up for 24 hours. Suck!

Oct. 1: It’s October! I woke up at 4 am and had to force myself to go back to sleep. I finally gave up at 5 am, but luckily my dad was up, followed closely by my mom. After eating breakfast and reading the paper, my dad and I put on some sunscreen and suits, and rented surf boards! The last time I went surfing was in August with Dana, so I was a bit rusty but I eventually got into the groove. We didn’t surf for too long because my dad had to go pick up Leah at the airport. When they returned, she, my mom, and I went down to the pool for a bit of sun. After that, it was off to dinner at Kimo’s. I got the prime rib and it was SO GOOD. I love Cows.

Oct. 2: Same morning routine, but this time I managed to sleep until 5:30! Woo hoo! Today the whole gang went to the beach, where my dad, aunt, and cousin snorkeled while my mom and I swam and tanned. My mom packed a nice lunch of junk food for us – nothing like sitting on the beach eating cheese, crackers, and cookies. We got back from the beach just in time to see the Dodgers rally in the 9th with seven runs over the Giants to clinch the NL West! GOOOO Dodgers! We decided to be mellow for dinner, so we got pizza from Pizza Paradiso and ate out on the lanai.

Oct. 3: Slept in until 6 (woo!). This morning, Leah and I went jet skiing. We were the only ones out there during our session and it was SUCH a blast. It was great, I only had to look out for Leah and the occasional boat. I was all over the place, and I went as fast as possible whenever I could. When we were done with that, it was more beach time, followed by dinner at Lahaina Coolers. I got the crab wontons, yummy.

Oct. 4: Today Leah and I were really sore from jet skiing, so we didn’t really feel like doing much. She, my mom, and I went to the Embassy Suites and ate lunch by their pool while we watched people learn how to kite surf on the beach. I have to try that sometime, it looks insanely fun. After a bit of napping and TV watching, we went to dinner at Leilani’s. It was SO GOOD. I got the Giant Coconut Prawns and I split a side of broccoli with my aunt and cousin. Then we went home and I made my special Mudslides…but this time I didn’t add vodka to the “Vodka is in it!” mix! Whoops.

Oct. 5: In honor of it being Leah’s last day, we decided to make the most of our time. We took her to get a surf lesson at Outrageous Adventures, where I had my first lesson many moons ago. I surfed nearby while she had her lesson – she was so good! She went after a ton of waves and I saw her stand up a million times. A total aggro Gidget. After surfing we laid out on the sand and ate and ate and ate. Oh, and I had some beer, my mommy loves me. In the evening we went to a dinner show at Warren and Annabelle’s. At first I wasn’t too sure about a comedy magic show, but it actually turned out to be very funny. Of course, it didn’t hurt that Leah and I did shots before the show started. The audience was a little too into heckling, but I was impressed with how quick Warren was with a comeback.

Oct. 6: Leah left early today! So sad. We had a very easy day, we went to Napili Bay and laid in the sand and swam, and we had lunch at Sea House Restaurant. I got the Mahi Mahi – delicious. I LOVE the Napili Kai Beach Resort…I want to stay there. We spent WAY too much time in the sun, so by the time dinner rolled around no one felt like going out. We ordered Chinese food and watched, “Lost.” Again with the planes breaking open! It’s such a good show, though.

Oct. 7: I actually slept until 7:30 today! I was so, so happy. And scared, because that means I’m going to have a hard time adjusting to the time back in New York. Today was the same routine as usual. We went to Napili Bay again. It is such a pretty beach. My dad bought some inflatable rafts, so we blew those up and floated around the ocean on them. It was so relaxing. I noticed that I have weird striped coloring today, in the same pattern as the inflatable rafts…damn it! It must be from when I was blowing up my raft. I had the raft lying on top of me for at least 30 minutes, so maybe the sun shone through. I don’t know, it’s the only explanation I can think of! I had to cover up with a long skirt at dinner. We went to the Hula Grill, somewhere I’ve always wanted to go. I ate so much bread with chili pepper water I almost didn’t finish my dinner and dessert. Almost! I got the fish and steak special, and we shared the “Baked Hawaii” for dessert. Delicious, of course.

Oct. 8: My last day already! SOB! I was lazy in the morning, eating and reading the paper and watching TV. We went to Napili Bay and ate at Sea House again. This time my mom and I split the Lobster Caesar and the Tiger Prawn Club. Oh My God. SO GOOD! I am drooling. We spent a lot of time in the water and on the sand, although I apparently didn’t spend enough time on the sand because I am still strip-y! For dinner, we started at Cafe O’ Lei and had appetizers and drinks, then headed over to Lahaina Fish Company for our meal. I got the sautéed scallops and they were delicious.

Oct.9: I can’t believe it’s over! I had to take a flight today at 10:20 am Hawaii time from Maui to Honolulu in one of those tiny little planes where you feel every little jolt and bump. Stupid “Lost” TV show! I was freaked out the whole time. I had a three hour layover in Honolulu before my next flight, so I was able to catch the second half of the USC vs. Cal game. Oh man, what a game. I had to endure sitting next to a Cal fan in the bar, and during the last two minutes of the game I thought I might clock him. Lucky for him, the Trojans won! I had to literally run to my gate after the game, and I was the last person to board the plane. Thanks, guys! My flight to San Francisco was pretty mellow – I was so thankful to be on a big plane. I only had 40 minutes between flights in San Francisco, which gave me enough time to call my parents and call Leslie to hear about the USC game and the Dodger game. Then it was time for my red eye flight to NYC. A flight attendant announced that our flight was full, so I kept waiting for someone to sit down next to me in my row…and no one ever did! It was like hitting the jackpot! I looked all around me and every other row I could see was full, and here was little old me with two empty seats. Of course, I immediately stretched out the second I could, with my extra pillows under my head, my extra blankets covering my body, and my headphones in place so no one would bother me. Don’t even think about moving here, buddy! I arrived in NYC somewhat rested and ready for my shuttle ride back into the city. I was finally home and in bed by 9 am Eastern Daylight Time. I am too tired for travel math, but that’s a lot of traveling, okay?

Some people have said to me, “but you didn’t really DO anything when you were in Hawaii! You didn’t go to the pools of Hana! You didn’t go to a volcano or a snorkel cruise!” Well peeps, I have been to Hawaii before so I’ve done some of those things, but mostly, I went to Hawaii so I could do NOTHING. That’s what made it so totally awesome – I did as little as possible and got tanned and rested and I loved it. I wouldn’t change anything about my Vacay, except for the stupid striped tan! I will have the rest of my pictures up in a few days.