A few days after landing from Hawaii... I find pineapples for sale for $0.99 at a local Asian-mart. Was jones-ing for those Golden Pineapples that can only be found on the island... so I bought one. Much to my [expected] dismay... it tasted horrible. I dipped it in salt water to wash away the acidity... but none of the family members wanted anywhere near that thing.
A week of sitting and marinating in it's own juices... I knew it was time to get some bananas and make a pineapple smoothie. I got the bananas... and then now it's the banana's turn to sit an marinate on the counter. Just wasn't feeling up to making a smoothie... and uncharacteristically.. we actually end up eating those bananas. So now... the pineapples are rotting and I'm out of bananas.
I finally made a run to TJ's and got three bananas... was about to make me a smoothie... when I pop open the fridge, roll back the saran wrap and see... mold. Aye... I waited too long. I thought for a Hawaii second whether to just toss the moldy ones and keep the clean ones. "Nah... don't wanna get sick." Sigh... into the garbage it goes. $0.99 - wasted.
To punish myself... I sat down and ate the 20 remaining, dried up, pruny cuties we bought for camping back in the end of May.
As a parent... you ironically want your child to experience failure, as that'll be the norm throughout their adulting and adult lives. But at the same time... it sucks a phat nut.
May all Glory and Honor be upon our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
We're on a four game losing streak and I am slumping.... big time!!! Went 0-4 with 3 fly outs and a ground out. I needa get some batting practice in. Losing sucks!!!
Some things I noticed about SW on this trip... is he still observes me... admires me...and to some extent, mimics me. Case in point...
We're on the plane and just ate our complimentary pizza bagel. I take the wrapping... smash it up into a ball... and stick it into the seat pocket in front of me. Out of the side of my eye... I see SW do exactly the same thing.
Or a few days earlier... we're playing golf. I pick up my tee after driving and stick it on my ear. SW saw me do that... and he aptly pulls the tee out of his pocket and puts it on his ear.
Or the time when the family is share Flow-nase at the hotel... before I spray, I do a courtesy wipe of the nozzle. When I hand it to SW, he does a courtesy wipe also.
I wonder...how old was I when I stopped mimic-ing dad and found my own? Or more appropriately... how old was I when I discovered dad wasn't as cool as I made him out to be and started doing my own thing??
This Hawaii trip... more than any recent events... are really showing signs of me aging. SW jokingly says "You're past your prime." His joke isn't false. I am aging. Slowing. Losing it. That edge. That sharpness. That intellectual and physical prowess. That energy level... just isn't what it use to be.
Shoulda seen it coming from before the trip. I didn't deep dive like I use to in planning. I only got one... instead of 3-4 vacation books. And the pre-travel schedule was... sparse. I opted to "let it flow" with a mishmash of beaches, restaurants, and a collage of stamp hitting. It'll come back to bite me - Fail.
Saturday before take off... I buy the 3 day national park pass. Only for me to forget on Monday morning... and remember Monday evening... to get my Sunrise Tour pass, which by the time, was sold out. After kicking myself for 30 minutes... and the family trying to console me... I opted for plan B. Get the Spoiled Rich Asians to log on while I'm on a plane and hopefully get that pass. Otherwise... the $30 National Park pass... wasted. Missing my purchasing window - Fail. Letting the cart lead the horse - Fail.
Upon arrival at airport... for whatever reason, I skipped the checkin kiosks, and thereby skipped printing the check-in luggage sticker. I get to the front of the line... only to be sent (wait for it) with my bags packing. Wasted 10 minutes. Travel gaffe - Fail.
Upon landing... being tired, hangry, and a little off my game... I get into a huge fight with NN at the Food Truck stop. Completely and utterly unnecessary...and I just couldn't control myself. Fatherhood - Fail.
Day 2 of heading out... and I can't find the car keys. Did I drop it? Did I leave it in the car? The car is locked... so no. I call Lost and Found - nada. Went back and forth between the garage and room. Fruitless. Was about to call the Car Rental Agency for help... and instead, got a call from Nui Nui. "In the words of Momma - Found it." It was in my backpack. Missplacing keys - Fail.
After a round of golf where I was bumbling and fumbling with golf balls, tees, drinks, bluetooth speakers, letting golfers play through, finding lost balls, scraping up divots in the sand pit... returning our golf carts and getting back in the car... I forget my wallet. Luckily the worker found it and sped it to me. Forgetting my wallet - Fail.
Running the rental car into the parking lot column... and scratching the side of the car... Not with my driving skills. Not with my parking skills. No!! But alas... turning down CDW. Fail.
For all these fails... I'm sure there were equally as many, if not more, successes. And yet, these are the things I remember from an otherwise, pretty perfect trip to paradise.
Entry backed added on 4/11/2026 -
From June 25, 2024 to July 1, 2024 - The Leung Family went to Maui. Here are some notes on our vacation.
Day 1
Costco"You have fought the good fight. You have finished the race. And you have kept the faith." - 2 Tim 4:6
Another year bites the dust... good job students!! And now I get my Tuesday evenings back.
Towards the end of the school year... SW was gloating how he's awesome at softball, batting 1.000 in PE. So when the announcement came out asking for players... I signed us up for the church league. A couple weeks ago... they had finals... so they didn't play. This time around... they got to wear a glove, get in the box, and take a mighty swing.
NN went 2 for 3 with a walk. No defensive plays but impressed a lot of people with her hustle on the base paths. She was a clam.
SW went 1 for 3 with a walk. His first hit came at a clutch moment in the game too... when it was two outs and I was on third. "Bring dad home! Bring dad home!!" was the chant. Defensively, he picked up a fly ball and threw it to the cutoff man.
I went 3 for 4... with 1 error at short, when the ball was hit hard up the middle and took a tricky bounce. Nate had me batting cleanup!! HA!! He must think I'm good or something. Ah wellz.
I was quite happy tonight. Quite happy! To be able to hang out with the kids at their age and at mine... what a blessing. Was burnt to a crisp from a day long outdoor volleyball tournament though... but today... was a good day.
Woke up to a nice buffet breakfast. The three families got together to recount last night's event over coffee and juice. Then by 9AM... we headed back to camp to pack up. When we got there, it was a ghost town!! Everyone... and I mean EVERYONE has left. They either left last night when we evacuated. Or they broke down camp early in the morning. We searched for our belongings and they were all there.
After packing... decided to hit up the nearby beach for a few minutes. A few minutes turned into a few hours. The kids wanted to have fun. The adults needed to relax a bit. So I went to the general store and grabbed a 12 pack. Grabbed some chairs and beach mats. And before long...the tats broke out their stove and we had ourselves a feast. We rented a SUP and kayak. Played some volleyball. Chatted. Laughed. Good food. Good scenes. Good company.
Wasn't exactly how I imagined it going... but alas... a wonderful way to wrap up 3 days of camping.
