Hawaii bound and on

We made it to Hawaii. It was no small feat, but it went mostly smoothly (aka it all worked out). We survived the gauntlet of travel during covid - finding a parking place at the airport, getting through security and extra covid protocols for Hawaii (including an over hour long wait for vaccine screening which was horribly mismanaged and the of course white guy behind us started mouthing off and abusing the staff, after which I felt compelled to tell the staff I’m sorry people are being awful and they don’t deserve that and we appreciate them and happy holidays), surviving a long flight, figuring out how to pick up our car from Turo which I never used before and was anxious about, getting to the hotel and checking in, and even found some dinner late. I had literally months of anxiety thinking about navigating all these things, and even though there were a few hiccups and bitchy moments, we got through it as a family with our usual sarcasm and humor and I am truly grateful to get to be here (Hawaii) even though it’s been cold and rainy so far (will clear up later today, apparently).

Side note - finally saw The Outsiders on the plane, never saw it as a kid. Wow, that movie is terrible. It’s amazing how huge it looms for people of my generation who saw it when they were impressionable tweens, and shows how little discernment kids have. Yikes.

Anyhoo, so far it’s been cold and rainy here. I think Hawaii during winter is not a good idea for people like me coming from Southern California who are looking for a summer experience. The weather here is *sort of* like it was at home, ie, you just always feel chilled. But this is supposed to change soon - rain should stop and sun might come out towards the end of our trip. Yesterday we had a desultory day of hanging out in Lahaina old town, driving up the coast to go see the Nakalele blow hole, then back to the resort for some cold pool time followed by slightly less cold beach time. Everyone else had a blast playing in the waves but it was just so cold and windy I couldn’t deal, so I just sat shivering on the beach covered with all the towels. Sigh. Fuckin winter.

Today after the rain clears up we have a zipline tour which should hopefully be the real start of feeling like we’re actually here. I’m looking forward to some sunshine and beach time.

Much like our summer epic southwest trip, once again we find ourselves obsessively watching covid case counts and talking about the new scary variant pretty much non-stop. At least this time I’m not having to consider cancelling my own underway event (thank GOD), but I’m watching the New Year’s stuff with interest. Will the event in NC I advised to cancel, actually cancel, or just carry on? A similar event in Sweden canceled today, but that was by direct government order. Nothing like that will happen here in the US, at least not by a week from Friday. I think the event in NC will carry on, and I think the odds of people catching covid there will be very high. Would they have caught it anyway? Probably. There is a good chance we will catch it here or during our travels; we’ve been requested to test ourselves before performing at New Year’s in Orange County (personally I’m wishing they’d just cancel the event, but whatever. I guess I can use the money, and they are doing vaxx, testing and masks, so really my risk is worse driving home in the dark surrounded by drunks). 

I’ve resigned myself that we’re all going to catch this fucking thing after two years of vigilance, despite all the shots and precautions and sacrifices. And like everyone else, I’m feeling grim resentment and frustration. I just want the schools to stay open. But I accept that numbers in LA will get too high by mid-January for that to safely happen. I expect at least a week or two or more of closures this winter. Sigh. Maybe I can focus on not having to hustle kids into the car as a benefit of all this. The F is convinced everyone just catching this (possibly) less dangerous but more transmissible version and becoming immune will end the pandemic for good, and he could be right. Either way it seems like we have very little control over this, so whatever happens, happens. I’m just glad I don’t have to make any decisions about my event any time soon. 

Now, to enjoy Hawaii while we can.