(For those of you who need pictures with a blog post to hold your interest... scroll down - they're in here. You know I almost never post without pics!)
So I said I'd fill you all in on I'd been up to for the last six months or so since I stopped blogging. In January I did two exciting things - I had LASiK surgery and we spent a week on the Big Island in Hawaii. First things first - LASiK...
I’ve wanted to have LASiK surgery for years and just kept putting it off or getting cold feet. So I finally bit the bullet and had it done in early January. Absolutely one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. I went first to Mulqueeney and even had my surgery scheduled when they called and said they’d decided I wasn’t a candidate after all and suggested I come in so they could sell me on toric contact lenses (used them previously, hated them, was very angry).
In the end, I had it done through Pepose Vision Institute – they’re a little more expensive, but they’re also the gold standard in the Midwest and this wasn’t something I wanted to bargain hunt. Anyway – and here’s the big kicker – when I went in for my pre-op appt and they did all the eye tests (they test your vision three different ways) they found that I was far sighted. However, I’d been told I was NEAR sighted my entire life. I’d been wearing glasses to correct near sighted vision and astigmatism for twenty years. They explained that the reason I could see better when I put my glasses on was because they were correcting my astigmatism. I was blown away – they said this wasn’t at all uncommon either. There’s a long explanation and it makes sense and if you want to hear it, let me know – otherwise I’ll skip that part and just tell you that once they showed me what my vision would be like with my proper prescription I was amazed.
So anyway – I went in for the surgery on a Wednesday morning. The first thing they did was give me 10 mg of Valium. So thirty minutes later I was feeling pretty good. They did all of the tests again, just to make sure they match the original test and double-check everything. Then they took me in for the surgery. They told me everything they were doing and what I’d be experiencing… and good thing I was nice and stoney on the Valium because otherwise it would have freaked me out! When he cut the flap, everything goes black for a few seconds. Then he peels the flap back and you can only see light and dark. The laser itself was nothing – I wasn’t even sure if it was happening or not. Then suddenly it was over and they were helping me get up.
When I went in the next morning for my follow-up appt, I could read the smallest line on the chart. But the best part was that night – I was AMAZED at my night vision. I grabbed the phone and called J, and then my mom, to brag about how well I could suddenly see. The headlights coming toward me were just lights – no starbursts, no halos, nothing… just plain lights. If you have ever even considered doing it – do it. I couldn’t wear makeup for a week and I couldn’t swim for two weeks. I was back at work the day after surgery. Totally worth it. I also HIGHLY recommend Dr. Pepose. My vision is now 20/12.5 – which means that I can now see at 20 feet what a normal (20/20) person has to move up to 12.5 feet to see.
Second things second - HAWAII!!! WHOO-HOO!!!
Two years ago when J and I decided to buy a new house, we put a moratorium on all travel. We needed to put all of our money and free time into getting the old house ready to put on the market and getting a down-payment together. It sucked. J and I really enjoy travel and we take at least two decent vacations a year – plus a few three or four day weekend trips as well. So going without a vacation for a year and a half just sucked. So I told Jeremy that once we got the house sold, as long as we made enough off the sale, he better get my butt to a beach IMMEDIATELY. So we closed on Dec 23 and booked a Hawaiian vacation two weeks later.
The last week of January was cold and full of freezing rain and snow in St. Louis… but we were on the Big Island where it was 80 degrees and beautiful. We had an amazing trip and will most certainly be back. We saw whales, we toured a coffee plantation (of course), we went to a small town farmer’s market, had open air massages, saw the volcano erupting and lava flow, snorkeled, drank and ate until we thought we would burst… but the most unusual thing we did (and the highlight of the trip for J) was wild boar hunting. Yes, that’s right – we went wild boar hunting on the Big Island of Hawaii. And it was amazing. We both took a boar and by the way, my shot was from 350 yards away, so you can call me Sniper Heather now if you want... as a matter of fact, I may start insisting on it... We brought the meat home with us and it’s still in the freezer, we haven’t done anything with it. I’m a little afraid to use it because I don’t want to ruin it!
Here were are on our lanai. (J loves it when I take pictures of us like this, can't you tell?) We stayed at the Hilton Waikoloa Village and they were filming "My Antonio" with Antonio Sabato Jr while we were there - it's another VH1 romance reality show... J wanted to heckle the girls while they were filming their "confessionals" but I'm a big meanie and wouldn't let him.
This is the view from our lanai - we could see whales out there all day long. It was amazing. Also - and I know this will impress you all - this is where Dog the Bounty Hunter had his wedding. Clearly we're rolling with the C-listers. Jealous much? 
The highlight of the trip for J, of course, was our boar hunt. I was really proud of myself though - a 350 yard shot is really freaking hard! We did a guided hunt on Parker Ranch and our guide was Jack Hu. Jack was wonderful and we had a great time. If anybody is interested, we couldn't recommend him more.
Like I said we ate a lot, here's J enjoying a typical Hawaiian breakfast, in this awesome hole-in-the-wall diner we found in Waimea, Hawaiian Style Cafe. He had the Kauna Pork Omelette, and is again very happy to have his picture taken while eating. Heehee - ain't marriage grand? Anyway, it was delicious and we highly recommend it!
We spent a day driving across the island to the Kona side and saw so many beautiful things there's no way I could tell you about all of them. So I'll just hit a few random highlights. Above is a pic of Akaka Falls, the Big Island's most famous waterfall. And for good reason - it was UNBELIEVABLE! I include this because J giggled like school girl every time I said "Akaka Falls". You can figure out why for yourself.
Self portrait from an overlook with Waipio Valley in the background. This was breathtaking. We met a couple from Ballwin (isn't that wild?) at this overlook and they were getting ready to hike down through the valley and to a lookout point on the edge of the mountain on the other side. I totally want to do that next time (J... not so much), or we could hike down and pitch a tent on the beach down there and stay the night (might be able to talk J into that one). Click on the link to learn more, this was an unexpected find for us and one of many things I want to go back and experience more fully.
If you don't want to call me Sniper Heather... Queen of the World would suffice. This is at Laupahoehoe Point.
Still at Laupahoehoe Point Park. The power of the waves here was almost scary. You can't really see me too well - but I'm posing there in front of the waves...
In 1946 a tsunami (triggered by an earthquake in the Aleutian Islands of Alaska) devastated Laupahoehoe and wiped out the village that once stood here. The schoolhouse was torn apart and 20 students and four teachers were killed. This is certainly not a place for swimming or surfing, but it's spectacular.
We went on a whale watching cruise with Captain Dan McSweeney and got to see a lot of humpback whales - you know, the LARGEST mammals on earth! One big huge gigantic humongous whale even swam under our boat and it was a little disconcerting to see. It's really hard to get your head around how big these things are even when you're looking right at them. Captain Dan (makes me think of Forest Gump saying "Lieutenant Dan!" every time I type that) said the pec fin above was about fifteen feet long!
We just happened to be there during birthing season when humpback whales migrate from the waters of Alaska to the waters of Hawaii to give birth and mate. Above is the tail of the same one that was waving it's pec fin at us. Captain Dan said they grow to an average of 45 feet and weight about a ton. We saw lots of mommies and babies.
Another tail pic above. I have a ridiculous amount of pics from this tour, so I'll stop here with the whale pictures, but we saw more than we have pics of - it's just so hard to be aiming at the right place and snap at the right time to get the pics! So...
I'll post this picture from Captain Dan's website. We didn't get to see a full breach like this, so obviously we'll have to go back.
Of course we couldn't go to the Big Island and not visit Volcano National Park. Right now Halema'uma'u is erupting. It began erupting in March of 2008. In order to view the lava flow, you have to hike across a lava field at Kilauea overlook. There you can watch the lava spilling into the ocean. As night nears, people begin to gather to view the lava flow - you can only really see it at night... (I'm in the lower left hand corner of the pic above, tired of waiting and wondering why they don't serve drinks on the lava field...)
During the day, all you can see is this huge plume of steam. But as the sun goes down you can start to see little eruptions of orange lava and the constant orange glow of the lava flowing into the ocean. I've linked to the live webcam...
Getting pictures of the lava splashes after dark was REALLY hard. This is the best we got. Which sucks - I wish I could explain what it was like to see this. But I can't, so I won't even try - but it makes fireworks and lightning storms and even late-eighties Dennis Quaid abs pale in comparison... a few links: a lava explosion movie, another visitor with great pics...
So this is how I felt on our last night in Hawaii. I'd had a few martinis. Maybe more than a few martinis. And I really didn't want to go home. J asked what I was most looking forward to about going home... and I couldn't come up with one damned thing. We hung out at Huggo's On the Rocks, had dinner, saw some live music (featuring 2009 Grammy nominated Donald Kaulia and LT Smooth) and watched the sun set over the ocean.
Until we return... and we WILL return, right J?
So I said I'd fill you all in on I'd been up to for the last six months or so since I stopped blogging. In January I did two exciting things - I had LASiK surgery and we spent a week on the Big Island in Hawaii. First things first - LASiK...
I’ve wanted to have LASiK surgery for years and just kept putting it off or getting cold feet. So I finally bit the bullet and had it done in early January. Absolutely one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. I went first to Mulqueeney and even had my surgery scheduled when they called and said they’d decided I wasn’t a candidate after all and suggested I come in so they could sell me on toric contact lenses (used them previously, hated them, was very angry).
In the end, I had it done through Pepose Vision Institute – they’re a little more expensive, but they’re also the gold standard in the Midwest and this wasn’t something I wanted to bargain hunt. Anyway – and here’s the big kicker – when I went in for my pre-op appt and they did all the eye tests (they test your vision three different ways) they found that I was far sighted. However, I’d been told I was NEAR sighted my entire life. I’d been wearing glasses to correct near sighted vision and astigmatism for twenty years. They explained that the reason I could see better when I put my glasses on was because they were correcting my astigmatism. I was blown away – they said this wasn’t at all uncommon either. There’s a long explanation and it makes sense and if you want to hear it, let me know – otherwise I’ll skip that part and just tell you that once they showed me what my vision would be like with my proper prescription I was amazed.
So anyway – I went in for the surgery on a Wednesday morning. The first thing they did was give me 10 mg of Valium. So thirty minutes later I was feeling pretty good. They did all of the tests again, just to make sure they match the original test and double-check everything. Then they took me in for the surgery. They told me everything they were doing and what I’d be experiencing… and good thing I was nice and stoney on the Valium because otherwise it would have freaked me out! When he cut the flap, everything goes black for a few seconds. Then he peels the flap back and you can only see light and dark. The laser itself was nothing – I wasn’t even sure if it was happening or not. Then suddenly it was over and they were helping me get up.
When I went in the next morning for my follow-up appt, I could read the smallest line on the chart. But the best part was that night – I was AMAZED at my night vision. I grabbed the phone and called J, and then my mom, to brag about how well I could suddenly see. The headlights coming toward me were just lights – no starbursts, no halos, nothing… just plain lights. If you have ever even considered doing it – do it. I couldn’t wear makeup for a week and I couldn’t swim for two weeks. I was back at work the day after surgery. Totally worth it. I also HIGHLY recommend Dr. Pepose. My vision is now 20/12.5 – which means that I can now see at 20 feet what a normal (20/20) person has to move up to 12.5 feet to see.
Second things second - HAWAII!!! WHOO-HOO!!!
Two years ago when J and I decided to buy a new house, we put a moratorium on all travel. We needed to put all of our money and free time into getting the old house ready to put on the market and getting a down-payment together. It sucked. J and I really enjoy travel and we take at least two decent vacations a year – plus a few three or four day weekend trips as well. So going without a vacation for a year and a half just sucked. So I told Jeremy that once we got the house sold, as long as we made enough off the sale, he better get my butt to a beach IMMEDIATELY. So we closed on Dec 23 and booked a Hawaiian vacation two weeks later.
The last week of January was cold and full of freezing rain and snow in St. Louis… but we were on the Big Island where it was 80 degrees and beautiful. We had an amazing trip and will most certainly be back. We saw whales, we toured a coffee plantation (of course), we went to a small town farmer’s market, had open air massages, saw the volcano erupting and lava flow, snorkeled, drank and ate until we thought we would burst… but the most unusual thing we did (and the highlight of the trip for J) was wild boar hunting. Yes, that’s right – we went wild boar hunting on the Big Island of Hawaii. And it was amazing. We both took a boar and by the way, my shot was from 350 yards away, so you can call me Sniper Heather now if you want... as a matter of fact, I may start insisting on it... We brought the meat home with us and it’s still in the freezer, we haven’t done anything with it. I’m a little afraid to use it because I don’t want to ruin it!
Here were are on our lanai. (J loves it when I take pictures of us like this, can't you tell?) We stayed at the Hilton Waikoloa Village and they were filming "My Antonio" with Antonio Sabato Jr while we were there - it's another VH1 romance reality show... J wanted to heckle the girls while they were filming their "confessionals" but I'm a big meanie and wouldn't let him.
This is the view from our lanai - we could see whales out there all day long. It was amazing. Also - and I know this will impress you all - this is where Dog the Bounty Hunter had his wedding. Clearly we're rolling with the C-listers. Jealous much? 
The highlight of the trip for J, of course, was our boar hunt. I was really proud of myself though - a 350 yard shot is really freaking hard! We did a guided hunt on Parker Ranch and our guide was Jack Hu. Jack was wonderful and we had a great time. If anybody is interested, we couldn't recommend him more.
Like I said we ate a lot, here's J enjoying a typical Hawaiian breakfast, in this awesome hole-in-the-wall diner we found in Waimea, Hawaiian Style Cafe. He had the Kauna Pork Omelette, and is again very happy to have his picture taken while eating. Heehee - ain't marriage grand? Anyway, it was delicious and we highly recommend it!
We spent a day driving across the island to the Kona side and saw so many beautiful things there's no way I could tell you about all of them. So I'll just hit a few random highlights. Above is a pic of Akaka Falls, the Big Island's most famous waterfall. And for good reason - it was UNBELIEVABLE! I include this because J giggled like school girl every time I said "Akaka Falls". You can figure out why for yourself.
Self portrait from an overlook with Waipio Valley in the background. This was breathtaking. We met a couple from Ballwin (isn't that wild?) at this overlook and they were getting ready to hike down through the valley and to a lookout point on the edge of the mountain on the other side. I totally want to do that next time (J... not so much), or we could hike down and pitch a tent on the beach down there and stay the night (might be able to talk J into that one). Click on the link to learn more, this was an unexpected find for us and one of many things I want to go back and experience more fully.
If you don't want to call me Sniper Heather... Queen of the World would suffice. This is at Laupahoehoe Point.
Still at Laupahoehoe Point Park. The power of the waves here was almost scary. You can't really see me too well - but I'm posing there in front of the waves...
In 1946 a tsunami (triggered by an earthquake in the Aleutian Islands of Alaska) devastated Laupahoehoe and wiped out the village that once stood here. The schoolhouse was torn apart and 20 students and four teachers were killed. This is certainly not a place for swimming or surfing, but it's spectacular.
We went on a whale watching cruise with Captain Dan McSweeney and got to see a lot of humpback whales - you know, the LARGEST mammals on earth! One big huge gigantic humongous whale even swam under our boat and it was a little disconcerting to see. It's really hard to get your head around how big these things are even when you're looking right at them. Captain Dan (makes me think of Forest Gump saying "Lieutenant Dan!" every time I type that) said the pec fin above was about fifteen feet long!
We just happened to be there during birthing season when humpback whales migrate from the waters of Alaska to the waters of Hawaii to give birth and mate. Above is the tail of the same one that was waving it's pec fin at us. Captain Dan said they grow to an average of 45 feet and weight about a ton. We saw lots of mommies and babies.
Another tail pic above. I have a ridiculous amount of pics from this tour, so I'll stop here with the whale pictures, but we saw more than we have pics of - it's just so hard to be aiming at the right place and snap at the right time to get the pics! So...
I'll post this picture from Captain Dan's website. We didn't get to see a full breach like this, so obviously we'll have to go back.
Of course we couldn't go to the Big Island and not visit Volcano National Park. Right now Halema'uma'u is erupting. It began erupting in March of 2008. In order to view the lava flow, you have to hike across a lava field at Kilauea overlook. There you can watch the lava spilling into the ocean. As night nears, people begin to gather to view the lava flow - you can only really see it at night... (I'm in the lower left hand corner of the pic above, tired of waiting and wondering why they don't serve drinks on the lava field...)
During the day, all you can see is this huge plume of steam. But as the sun goes down you can start to see little eruptions of orange lava and the constant orange glow of the lava flowing into the ocean. I've linked to the live webcam...
Getting pictures of the lava splashes after dark was REALLY hard. This is the best we got. Which sucks - I wish I could explain what it was like to see this. But I can't, so I won't even try - but it makes fireworks and lightning storms and even late-eighties Dennis Quaid abs pale in comparison... a few links: a lava explosion movie, another visitor with great pics...The last time I was there, in the summer of 1989, I had a whole different lava flow experience. The lava flow had just begun to cross the highway, so you could walk right up to the lava flow and take your picture next to it. Just fifteen seconds standing next to the lava flow gave me a "sunburn" on the back of my calves. I don't think they'd let you do this now...
Note: Do NOT make fun of me. It was 1989 for crying out loud, people, I was 17 years old. Have a heart.
So this is how I felt on our last night in Hawaii. I'd had a few martinis. Maybe more than a few martinis. And I really didn't want to go home. J asked what I was most looking forward to about going home... and I couldn't come up with one damned thing. We hung out at Huggo's On the Rocks, had dinner, saw some live music (featuring 2009 Grammy nominated Donald Kaulia and LT Smooth) and watched the sun set over the ocean.
Until we return... and we WILL return, right J?
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