Getting away from getting away

It always feels a little strange going on a vacation "away" from the motorhome. When we owned a "bricks and sticks" house we certainly didn't need to worry about where it would stay while we were gone.  We also didn't need to think so hard about what airport we'd be flying out of!

We just returned from one of these vacations with my parents -- to the very lovely Hawaiian islands of Maui and the "Big Island" of Hawaii itself.  Max remained behind in Tampa, plugged in and tucked into a nice covered RV storage unit, so we didn't need to worry about him this time.  We even left Jeffrey's expensive allergy serum in the fridge of the storage owner so there was a smaller risk of it being damaged -- you never know when your RV refridgerator will fail.  We were also able to position our "mobile" Tailgator satellite dish so that we could still DVR our favorite shows. BONUS!

Before we left we also managed to meet up with some friends at the annual Tampa RV Supershow.  Thankfully we aren't looking to replace Max, but this show is a great place to get our BlueOx tow hitch serviced (what we tow the car with) as well as look at the many many vendors selling RV supplies.  We managed to escape with just a few new "My Pillow"s, a cleaner/wax product to try on Max's painted fiberglass exterior walls, new microfiber pads, and a huge pile of brochures for states and parks we want to visit.

New purchases stowed, there was nothing left to do except get on the plane to Hawaii.  It would have been even better if we'd been in a really cold climate to begin with, but alas, Florida was pretty nice when we left it.  For my parents, it was another story since their home is Washington State!  We had a fantastic time whale, dolphin, and surf watching and even ventured up Mauna Kea (at over 13,700 feet where there was still snow) to watch the sun set over the clouds.  We also enjoyed a few snorkel trips, where we'd like to think we saw the state fish, the Humuhumunukunukuapua'a. In any case, we got to see and snorkel at Kealakekua Bay where Captain Cook was killed -- unfortunate history for such a beautiful place.

Jeffrey on cliff over north shore of Maui

Iao Valley State Park in Maui

Captain Cook's memorial at Kealakekua Bay

The view from the top of Mauna Kea at sunset

The whale watching was especially good -- this is the time of year when the humpbacks are having their babies and being courted by the males, so we saw lots of breaching, tail slapping, and rolling.  One mother whale even brought her calf near the snorkeling tour boat we were on and it rolled sideways so an eye could look up at us.  I can only imagine what she was telling it: "See these creatures floating on top of the sea?  Steer clear of them!".

Wanting to pull our weight, we also used the time to help my parents set up their new laptops.  This is their first time using Windows 8, so being able to sit together and talk through the changes is much easier than doing it long distance.  We even managed to learn a few new things ourselves as we tried to set things up the way they liked.

Once back in Florida, we unpacked Max from his storage spot and drove him an hour up the road to Lake Louisa State Park.  Thankfully we didn't have a busy week ahead which gave us time to adjust back to the eastern time zone. We were also happily surprised to have some new-fulltimer RV friends overlap us for part of our stay at this park, giving us a chance to ogle their new rig and enjoy their great company.  We also got a chance to connect one last time (this year) with friends and family we have in the area.

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