Hoskinwood Family

I have arrived in Maui! It was quite a long day yesterday. I got about three hours of sleep and then Mom drove me to the DFW airport. My bag was....50.5 lbs! Whew. Close call there. The flight to Denver was almost two hours, then a two and a half layover there, and then a seven hour fifteen minute flight to Maui. However, we sat at the gate a good half hour or more before departing and it was getting quite hot in there. People clapped when the plane finally started moving. My tactic of sleeping very little the night before so that I could sleep a lot on the plane was kind of foiled. I did not have a window seat, just an aisle seat, which makes getting prolonged sleep very difficult. The in-flight movies were nothing too exciting, so reading it was. I mean, Nim's Island? Come on. I did have a new book to start though and a Vanity Fair, so it was fine.

There was a couple to my right that just got married. They looked like they were, oh, about twelve. They were on their honeymoon and I guess the flight attendant got wind of this and brought them some champagne, which you might say is complimentary. But since it came with her advice that she apparently gives to all newlyweds, that's kind of a small fee right? No, it was kinda cute. She said, never to forget date night and that it should always be on a Friday because on Saturday the kids should go to bed early so that you can put the fear of God into them on Sunday morning. Something like that, which I found a little strange. The other part of the advice is to treat your spouse with the same respect that you would a co-worker, friend, etc. I think that is very sound advice and coincidentally, my wise Aunt Susan was just saying the very same thing at dinner the night before. I mean, think about it really. The attitude that we show our significant others at times is something we would never try to pull off with a friend. Because, after all, that would be rude! But we do that to our partners, whom we love more and should value their opinion more. An interesting tactic to keep in mind to be sure.

I landed in Maui, Kahului Airport, around 3:40 p.m. and made my way to baggage claim carousel #5. There were a ton of people, being days before July 4th and all. I forgot to mention, there was an older couple next to me getting married here, a young couple one row up gettied married here, and another couple on the left row honeymooning here. So you get an idea of the heavy traffic flow here this weekend, and that marriage is still a blooming institution among young and old. ;) Guess godless California and the recent decision to legalize gay marriage isn't deterring the straights after all.* Anyhow, it was HOT for this mountain acclimated girl. Whew....so muggy!! I waited and waited at the carousel, and figure Maria was probably making loops around the airport at this point, when all of a sudden I turned around and there stood her AND my brother. What a treat! This time they welcomed me with my very own lei too. I had jokingly harassed (is that an oxymoron, or possible at least?) last summer that every visitor to come see them had received one, except myself. So they really came through this time and we joked about it again, said something to the effect of, "Are you kidding?! You would've killed us if we forgot again!" Oh...family. They just really...get me...and my bossiness. ;) And tolerate it quite beautifully I must say.

They took me to a little Mexican joint in Kahului and we had some nachos and a beer. We chatted and chatted, Maria catching me up on all the goods I've been missing out on around here. Afterwards, we headed to their cute house, just up the hill from the hostel where we were living last year.

I was greeted by the two-headed dog, Lover and "the Baby" poking their head through the wooden balcony. I was so happy to finally meet the Baby! I had seen so many pictures of him. He's pretty much the cutest thing ever and looks like a perfect cross between Lover and Lola actually. I proceeded to hold him like a baby for the next ten minutes and Maria, Jason, and Brian couldn't believe how calm and still he was being, remarked how they'd never seen him like that before.

As I was standing there petting the pooches, I heard this searing noise. I looked down and there was a lit firecracker just waiting to go off. Jason said, "Looks like Brian is saying Aloha." It was quite loud and the pooches were spooked and ran inside while Jason and I covered our ears. Then, of course, Brian appeared around the corner and gave a me a welcome hug. He was quite proud of his firework theatrics.

As we began to unpack the car, I quickly retrieved the Wii and began hooking it up to their TV. Before you knew it, I had taught everyone the basics of bowling Wii style and it was game on. Do you have to ask who won? ;) I had a solid 192, and Maria came in 2nd. They love the Wii bowling! Almost as fun as the real deal but in your own home, and drinking your own beers. Makes for a much cheaper night.

After I took a much needed shower, Maria and I headed over to the hostel to talk to Terry and put my stuff in the new studio where I'll be living. It was great to see Terry after all these months! He even told me I looked skinnier so that really made my week! He just painted primer all over the studio so I wasn't able to sleep there last night. Today I believe Kristina is going to let me pick out some colors and then I will get started on it. It will be fun to get it all 'cuted' up and cozy. I have a full size fridge, microwave, sink, and a big TV even. It's perfect! I can't wait to get it all set up.

Today I'm going to go meet Kristina and the kids, get in some beach time, and start painting. Looking forward to a great day. It sure feels good to be back on the island and quite different this time around. I'm feeling very optimistic about it!

*For those of you that just came to this blog randomly and don't really know me, I say things like this fairly often and since text can be so easily misconstrued, you should know that I am being sarcastic and saying things like this in jest almost 100% of the time. :) No malice or right-wing tendencies should be interpreted.