Did you miss me?

Hello BlogWorld! I’m home again!
And in the immortal words of someone so wise, "Wow! What a Ride!"

Hawaii is beautiful as ever, although this time I saw why it stays so green, it's the rain, and this wasn't the it-rains-every-day kind of argument that you hear from every tourist, but a stalled out weather pattern over the islands that had no trade winds to keep it moving. So when it rained it rained buckets, and for days and nites at time. But it would break periodically and when it did we basked in Tropical sun on the beach or moseyed through botanical gardens, flea markets, the Arizona memorial, the E.R. at Kailua Hospital, or snorkeled at Hanauma Bay.

So a lot got accomplished in a relatively short amount of time but mostly it was an opportunity to visit with family, my aunt and uncle who have lived there since about 1968 and my way cool cousins and their now growing families.

And as always, I have returned with a renewed wish to make my life, my home and my yard a Tropical Paradise. Sheesh. Here we go again. I saw new Plumaria colors I'd never seen before, and Hibisci the size of trees! I saw all manner of palms, flowering vines, and things that looked like giant house plants that grew wild. And, ever my bane, I pictured every one of them carried across 2600 miles of ocean and transplanted into my dry crispy yard. I was awakened from this dream by the Agricultural inspection check at the airport. They did however allow us to wear our tuberose leis home.

Besides pictures and stories I didn't bring much home with me. No aloha shirts or thong bikinis. No chocolate covered macadamia nuts. No snow globes with the snowman melted and floating. And no coffee cups. I did manage to bring home a pretty significant head cold though. Don't you just love recirculated air on the plane?

It's good to be home!