Saying Goodbye to Tiki Moon Villas, Our Laie Home Away from Home

If Oahu is in your future, Tiki Moon Villas is the place to stay. 

Nestled along the shore, and directly across the street from the Polynesian Cultural Center, Tiki Moon Villas is a private, secluded paradise.

Comprised of several small bungalows, the Villas are absolutely beautiful, and well-appointed. The hideaway is not only picturesque, but also romantic -- even if you happen to be dragging your kids along on your vacation. 

Wi-fi is available, and included in the reasonable nightly rate. The bedrooms are cozy, with plenty of storage space. The full kitchens include dishes, utensils, coffee maker, microwave, refrigerator, toaster, and everything else you could possibly need. (Crock pot, anyone? We had one!)

We're leaving today for Waikiki, and I know we're going to miss the privacy of the safe, unpopulated stretch of beach right outside the door of our bungalow. The kids have swam, played in the sand, boogie-boarded and kicked around in the surf for the past few days, and done so without Mama having panic attacks over losing them on a crowded beach. 

As for me, I'll miss lounging in the hammock with Mr. Wright, hearing the roosters who hang out next door, watching the kittens who live here frolicking and trying to hide from Curlytop and Snugglebug, and listening to the soothing gurgle of the many water features on the property. 

One of the most enjoyable parts of staying in the comfort of Tiki Moon Villas has been the feeling of belonging. The owner, Ray, is a fantastic conversationalist, is friendly and open, and immediately makes you feel like a friend whose presence will be missed. 

Want to know the history of the property? Need to find a great surfing beach, tourist attraction or shopping venue? Ray is your guy, and he's ready to help.

Do yourself a favor, and make Tiki Moon Villas your next travel "home away from home." Here's the 411:

Tiki Moon Villas

http://tikimoonvillas.com (I'll hot link that address when I get to a computer. My mobile app won't let me. For now, copy and paste.)

Ray: 808-371-4507, ray@tikimoonvillas.com

Tell him The Gonzo Mama sent you!

Tiki Moon Villas also facilitates beautiful events, such as weddings. I can't think of a more beautiful place to "put a ring on it!"

Feeling Electric at Hanauma Bay

Yesterday, the Gonzo clan packed a picnic, slapped on some sunscreen, and went to Hanauma Bay for some snorkeling. 

Should you be inclined to do so, here are some things to know:

Parking is $1.00 per car.

Admission to the beach is limited each day, so arrive early. 

The price of admission is $7.50 per person, with kids 12 and under free.

Snorkeling gear is available for rental, if you don't have your own. 

Don't skimp on the sunscreen, and consider wearing a t-shirt to reduce chances of getting sunburned on your back while snorkeling around. There's not much shade to be found on the beach. 

You will see amazing, colorful fish and sea life swimming along the coral reef. If you're lucky, you'll meet a sea turtle. However, don't touch, chase, or otherwise harass the sea life. A great conservation effort is underway to protect the beautiful ecosystem found in the bay. 

Sometimes, tiny jellyfish come in with the tide. But... I'll get back to that in a moment. 

I'm not a snorkel fan, by nature. I grew up swimming in Lake Chelan, and I'm a strong swimmer, but I never had much need for a snorkel. If you've seen one squawfish, after all, you've seen them all. 

The very act of putting a mask on my face is enough to trigger my claustrophobia, but I was determined to snorkel with Mr. Wright, who had been looking forward to the outing for months.

So, I took a deep breath, slapped on my mask, shoved the snorkel in my mouth, and set off. It was like swimming in an aquarium, with the fish up close and personal.

As I began to get the hang of breathing with the snorkel, Mr. Wright led me over the top of the reef to venture out farther. The deeper water revealed even more types of sea life, and I was really hitting my groove, until...

Ouch. OUCH! What was that?!

It burned. It stung. It was painful, and it was inside my swimsuit. I ripped my mask off, spit out my snorkel, and motioned to Mr. Wright to surface. 

"I'm getting eaten!" I yelled.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"No! Something is getting me!" 

It may have taken us fifteen minutes or so to get past the reef, but the return trip took about ten seconds. I raced out of the water to the outdoor shower, but I was still on fire. 

The information booth told me some micro-jellyfish had been reported in the surf that day, and sent me to the lifeguard station. 

The lifeguard checked my breathing, and sent me back to the shower to scrub my skin because, he said, "the stingers are still in your skin."

Awesome.

I had Mr. Wright hold up a sarong to shield me as I stripped down and scrubbed my red, welted skin, then popped an antihistamine and passed out on the beach. 

The day wasn't a total loss, though -- I saw some really beautiful sea life, spent one-on-one time with my husband, and made friends with this rooster, who shared a sandwich with me:

Bottom-line advice... If given the opportunity to explore Hanauma Bay, do it. Take your family, invest in an underwater camera, and go. But, stay on the shore side of the reef, and ask about any jellyfish conventions. 

Boogie Boarding and the Booger Monster

My first boogie boarding lesson didn't go well. 

To be fair, I don't have a lot of experience communing with the surf. When I was little, I lived on the Oregon coast, and kicked around in tide pools, and I did a bit of sea kayaking in a calm bay in Sanibel Harbor with Mr. Wright once, but outside of wading into the ocean in the Bahamas, I'm an ocean noob. 

Mr. Wright has filled my ear with stories of summers he spent surfing in Hawaii, but -- and I quote -- "(He is) too old and fat to pull (his) body up on a shortboard," so he decided boogie boarding would be the best recreational choice for this trip. 

I've been fighting a chest and sinus cold for a few weeks, and although I'm mostly better, I keep coughing up mucus. Sexy... I know. 

As we started paddling out from the shore, I dutifully nodded at the instructions my husband gave. Did I mention I've lost my voice, in addition to boogieing with the Booger Monster? So nodding was the best I could do. 

(As an aside, it is Mr. Wright's greatest thrill, seeing his wife in a bikini, and unable to speak.)

"We need to paddle out, so we can catch the waves where they're bigger, before they break," he said.

So, we paddled. And paddled some more. And kept paddling. I took a look behind me, and the beach seemed very, very far away. 

A big wave was approaching, and I thought, Okay, this is it. Finally, we can turn around, catch this big wave, and ride in to the shore. But... No.

"Okay," said Mr. Wright, "when the wave breaks, you need to push the front of your board down, and dive under the crest, so it doesn't flip you over."

I nodded, but didn't quite have time to process the instruction before I found myself rolled by the tsunami. Damn!

I also got a nose full of salt water -- sort of an impromptu netti pot, actually. Oh, and also a big swallow of ocean, which reminded me of my mother's advice to gargle with salt water any time I was sick as a kid... Which always made me feel like puking, by the way. 

After paddling out some more, Mr. Wright began cursing the dying winds, and the lack of "gnarly waves," and instructed me to turn around so I could get ready for the "okay" wave coming. 

By that time, I had snot running down my face (I guess the saline cleared my sinuses?), and I was hacking up loogies the size of coconuts. I turned around, started paddling and kicking... Too late. The wave sucked me back, and I totally missed it. 

I spent the next 36 hours (give or take) paddling and kicking myself back to the shore -- by which time, my arms, abs and legs had turned to the exact same tissue from which sea slugs are made. 

As I emerged, coughing (coconut-sized loogies coming up), sputtering and wiping the snot from my face, I glanced and my sister-in-law, who was calmly reading her Kindle. 

"THAT," I wheezed, " SUCKED."

"Hey, you're getting your voice back!" she noted. "Did you gargle with salt water?"

If I wasn't so tired, I would have flipped her hammock. 

Aloha From Oahu!

So, maybe you've noticed things have been strangely quiet here with The Gonzo Mama... I assure you, I am alive and well. Just really, really busy. Funny how "life" can get in the way of the things that really make you feel ALIVE -- like, for me, writing. 

The Gonzo clan (or, at least, most of us) are enjoying our first non-work-related vacation since 2003, when we went to Disneyland with our (then) five kiddos.

Princess is toiling away at vet school, so she didn't join us. The Dude is... Well, he's alive and kicking, but going through some challenges and living with Mr. Wright's parents (who are currently in Oahu with us). Pockets moved out for a few months, and wasn't around when we booked this trip, but things didn't work out, and he's back home, which means we don't have to pay a house sitter. Yeah!

So, Pepper, GirlWonder, Curlytop and Snugglebug are enjoying the sand and surf here on the North Shore with us. We're joined by Mr. Wright's parents, his brother, sister-in-law, and two nieces. 

That makes 12 of us, crammed into a little 3-bedroom bungalow, 200 steps from the beach. 

It's a crowded house, but complete paradise. 

I'll be updating more while we're here... I'm enjoying the downtime!