Sunday, December 8, 2013

In Hawaii, tanning

It has been 40 years since I put on a bathing suit and lay out in the sun. Probably it's because I do water aerobics at home and have become friends with my bathing suit. This week, I put on sunscreen, walked over to the pool and chose a reclining lounge chair.  Monday I spent five minutes on each side, increasing each day until yesterday at 30 minutes on a side. I am getting plenty of vitamin D and I am getting brown! It has been about 82 degrees every day.

I have also read six of the ten magazines I brought along (copies of Time, The Week, Smithsonian, and The Sun) and a book "We Were All Absolutely Beside Ourselves".

And, finally, started working on the travel book.

Otherwise, I have done nothing. I like that sometimes, but not always.

I need conversation, and my husband is not a talker. When we travel, just the two of us, and especially when we spend a week or two in just one place, he reads quietly for hours at a time. Or he watches movies or sports on TV, which he never does at home.

This week at poolside I had conversations. I met a woman about my age from Idaho, and we talked on three days, sitting in the one-foot-deep pool. She is such a fabulous listener and open-ended questioner that I talked a lot about myself. As a mediator I mostly listen, and I told her so. She asked how it felt to be doing the talking instead of the listening, and I said it felt like therapy! We both laughed.

On Monday we went to a timeshare sales pitch. We'd planned on dinner and entertainment at the Parker Ranch, and it was pricey, and if we went to the pitch we'd get a $100 credit. So we went. We didn't buy any more timeshare points, and we did get our credit. That was good.

However, when I was parking the car before the appointment, I backed into another car that had come up behind me. The driver, a man, was calm as we exchanged information; the woman was not. "This is a brand new car," she shouted. I sympathized, but it turned out their vehicle was a rental too. So what was the big deal? I reported it to our insurance agency and they are taking care of it. Minimal damage.

I confess this was not a first for me. I have had, I think, seven backing-into-something incidents in the last 40 years. Two of those times I backed out of my driveway and hit a vehicle parked across the street. Once it was a mailbox on an icy, hilly driveway. Twice it was a pillar in a carport or parking garage. Once it was at a Jack in the Box drive-through line. It embarrasses me, but there you are. No other at-fault accidents in my entire life.

The Parker Ranch evening was fun. Food and entertainment were both good and the conversation with our table mates was interesting. We would never have gone, though, unless they'd picked us up at our condo and delivered us back at the end of the evening. Roads on the Big Island are DARK at night!

Tomorrow we are going on a short guided hike on the Saddle road that connects the dry west side of the island to the rainy east side. We hiked years ago with this same man. He knows a phenomenal amount about the island and the animals and plants. As it turns out, we are the only two who have signed up, so we'll get a personalized hike for much cheaper than if we'd signed up for a customized one for just us. Hiking boots and jeans and light jackets, since the hiking area is at 4,000 feet.

We fly out Wednesday, just as the cold snap is ending where we live in the Pacific Northwest. I actually like the cold, so I'm sorry we've missed it. We'll be returning to rain. Oh, well!




12 comments:

Rosaria Williams said...

Good! Keep storing that vitamin D and enjoy the conversations. The last few days have been unusually cold even at the coast. Wish I were sunning in 82F.

Olga said...

It sounds as though you have had an excellent get away. I really liked We are All Completely Beside Ourselves--my background in language development and all.

Chris Loehmer Kincaid said...

I am so jealous. We are in the midst of negative-Vitamin D season. The highs have been in the single digits and I have already forgotten what the sun looks like. The hubby and I were dreaming about winning the lottery. He had all these plans for remodeling our house. I said, I don't think so, I would sell the house and move somewhere warm!

DJan said...

It's been unbelievably cold. Last night the low temperature in Bellingham was 12F. And for days on end we've had wind chill taking us below zero. Now that's worth missing, Linda. Tanning in Hawaii? I would have traded you in a second! :-)

Out on the prairie said...

below zero here so enjoy that warm. Got our first major snow, but it was soft and fluffy

Nancy/BLissed-Out Grandma said...

Cheer up; it Washington is anything like Minnesota this year, you'll have plenty of cold weather. Wish I could lie in the sun for a day or two, but it's below zero and apparently will stay there most of this week. Still, the sun is out, so HOORAY!

Dr. Kathy McCoy said...

It sounds lovely -- lots of reading and some good conversations! I'm sure Washington will have plenty of cold weather left for you this season. Sounds like a great Big Island adventure!

Linda Reeder said...

I did some actual tanning this last summer, but not in a bathing suit! It sounds like you are having a wonderful time, and finding what you need, like conversation.
I'm not very good at doing nothing. When we travel I like to be on the move, going and seeing and doing. But then you ARE doing some of that too.

Dee said...

Dear Linda, it's quite wonderful that you are getting an opportunity to share points of view as well as your life with a fellow traveler. I know that talking about my life helps me put it into perspective.

As to the backing into another car: I've done that twice since moving here to Independence. Once, in a narrow alley, I backed into a Lexus and broke the headlight on the passenger side. The owner was quite nice about it as was the policeman.

The second time I was backing out of a space in a parking lot and hit a car directly behind me that was waiting to turn right into the exit ramp.

I felt like such a dud! As if I were truly getting senile. But that has led to me being really cautious because what I do know is that my neck is very stiff and has been for about 30 years and so I need to turn my whole body if I am going to see what's behind me! I hope there are no more backing accidents in either your life or mine! Peace.

Grandmother Mary said...

Good for you for finding conversations that you enjoy and making peaces with the bathing suit so you can spend time in the sun. 80's are the perfect temps!

Deb Shucka said...

It sounds like you're having a perfect time! I'm envious sitting here in the damp cold, but really really happy for you.

Friko said...

Having a peaceful relaxed time is good, sets you up for the routine at home. At least you found company. Going on excursion makes the holiday more interesting too.