A Week With Andy & Tiffany

Last week, Andy called and said he'd found some cheap tickets to Hawaii, so he and his girlfriend Tiffany came out to visit! They stayed for seven very relaxing days and have now returned home to another school semester. When they arrived, it was Saturday night so we had dinner before heading home to prepare for activities on Sunday.

Sunday morning, we went to church and then headed to the North Shore for some snorkeling at our favorite location: Sharks Cove. But only an hour into our swimming, Andy dove down and his eardrums ruptured. Dizzy from the water in his ear, we headed back to dry land. Later that afternoon, he felt good enough to get dinner, so we stopped by Dukes in Waikiki. Unfortunately, ruptured eardrums meant no swimming until they heal, so Andy wasn't swimming any more during his stay.

I had a full week at work, so I spent the days at the office. On Monday, Andy didn't feel good because of his ears so they all stayed home and relaxed. On Tuesday, Andy got a bad sunburn at the pool, so Wednesday, they spent most of the day inside (in the shade). Thursday, they went to see the University of Hawaii campus, but found that tours are given on Fridays, so that's where they went on Friday. On Friday afternoon after work, we all went hiking up the Kaiwa ridge. By the time we got back home, it was dark, but it was a very nice evening hike.

Saturday, we got up early to film the sunrise and went to Diamond Head for a nice morning hike with 1,000 of our closest friends (Diamond Head is always crowded with tourists). Andy and Tiffany wanted to jog up the trail. DeAnna and I took up the rear with a well-paced walk and eventually met them at the top for a nice breeze and pictures. It was easier to jog back down the hill while dodging tourists, so we were down the trail in record time!

The plan was to then head out to find some waves to do some boogie boarding (not getting ears wet, remember), but the kids only felt like relaxing, so we drove down to Kailua Beach to float and enjoy the water. We left in time to get home, clean up and drive back down to Buzz's Steak House for a nice dinner and conversation.

Sunday morning found Tiffany and DeAnna with upset stomachs, so Andy and I just chilled around the house and Andy packed his suitcase for the trip home. Tiffany and Andy went to the pool for an hour or so before saying a tearful goodbye to DeAnna (who still didn't feel good enough to drive them to the airport) and I took them to meet their flight.

Their stay was no shorter than the other visits we've had, but it seemed to go by really fast - probably because I couldn't take the time off from work during the week. Both Andy and Tiffany are working their way through college and are making choices about their future and their relationship. They are powerfully talented people and I look forward to seeing how their lives unfold. Now, we're settling back into our lives as a couple of folks on assignment in paradise!

More to come...