So much time and so little to talk about.... Strike that, Reverse it.

Hello interested and loved many-

Firstly, I would like to apologize on behalf of Dani and I for being so blog shy lately. I know it must have been torture, knowing about so many goings on but not reading of the adventures nor witnessing the visual evidence. I assure you, we are disappointed and feel we wronged you. Do accept our plea for forgiveness.

Now I am rarely one to throw out justifications, but we have been busy. Every minute has been filled with re-acclimating to daytime temperatures over 80, relearning to love the overwhelming sound of perfect waves crashing on soft salt & pepper sand and not being distracted seeing a 40 foot whale breach the water every half hour or so. It has been rough, so bear with us.

Here's a bit of our mainland extravaganza.

IOWA-

Now we left the island nearly as soon as we got off of our last shift of the year. The time between quittin' time and departure was mainly filled with: not wanting to say goodbye to munson, saying goodbye to munson, coming back and re-saying goodbye to munson and then thinking about how we could have better said goodbye to munson/ asking each other if we think she's ok. She was off to spend 3 weeks at Dog- ri-lah (a house inhabited by two great human friends of ours and six of her closest k9 friends). She was having a great time. Thank you so much Uncles Vince and Al.

Our flight left around midnight and I don't think I even made it through the "how to use your seat-belt" speech. We were both sound asleep for the entire flight over the Pacific. After a panic educingly rushed stop in Phoenix and soaring over the missed, snow-covered Rockies, we landed in lovely Des Moines. We stepped out and breathed the fresh Panther air (68 degrees colder) and smiled at the heartland's welcome. Of course, after several tommy/tommy's parent hugs and dani/tommy's parent hugs, the first stop was Tasty Tacos. We started to catch up on our 7 month geographic vicinity hiatus and I was happy. I think I'm old enough for it to be ok/cool for me to say this now, I really missed my parents.

We made it to the Willey household and began preparation for Christmas Eve - A delicious food and heavy laughter filled evening with the extended Willey's. I got to talk with so many missed people and Dani handled the intro to the group like a champ. They loved her and apparently Dani really enjoys middle aged men cracking jokes at her boyfriend. Even got some great pics with Santa. It was a great time. Love ya Willey's.

Christmas day arrived. It was probably the latest I've ever slept in on that magical morning, with the growing older/grumpier and the jet lag and all. Even with that, I still run down the stairs like an excited child. I do really enjoy seeing my family on Christmas- the fancy free excitement, the love of sharing, and stuffing monkey bread into our smiles. Dani and I were able to spend our first Christmas Day together. We exchanged gifts and sat holding hands in front of a fire. Then we watched as my nephews divvied up fat stacks of scrilla for Disney spending. Big Tom whipped together an amazing brunch and we chatted in pajamas for most of the day.

Christmas day evening was spent with the extended Allen's. Now Dani had had a run in with this group before, so she knew loosely what to expect (lots of wonderful dips and baked goods, butt jokes, serious chuckling, Capt. Allen telling a 'hard to believe but you know its true' inspiring story, and Uncle Myron doing something very silly and actually pretty funny... like, I don't know... lighting a fart on fire or.. doing a perfect cartwheel). The actual happenings closely resembled the expected. And after the Allens turned in for the night, Dani and I were able to do some very blurred re-connecting with adored friends at the Olde Town Tap. Another consecutive evening filled with love and laughter.

The next day was filled with shopping and swapping stories with friends over hot wings and before we knew it, it was our last day in Iowa. On this day we made a road trip up to Dubuque, IA (halfway between Milwaukee and Des Moines) to meet some of Dani’s family including the famous Tickle Bug. The drive was gorgeous. The night before had been very foggy and the fog had crystallized on the trees in the morning turning everything bright with diamond branches over smooth white blanket fields.

We met up with Dani’s family for some bloody mary’s, hot wings and of course laughter and a ton of pictures. Afterwards, Dani and I were even able to encounter the difficult to capture together alive Piekenbrock brothers in their natural habitat, a casino bar. The drive back to Des Moines was mainly spent talking about our excitement for Disney World and how it’s the amazing people that make it worth living in single digit temperatures. Some of our good friends came over to my parent’s house that last night to share happiness and help finish off the Christmas leftovers that would otherwise rot while on our trip to the most magical place on Earth. I love my Des Moines crew.

DISNEY WORLD-

There’s just something so exciting about loading yourself and 9 of your loved ones into relatives’ minivans and rushing to the airport. A large portion of that excitement was likely due to leaving the 9 degree weather. We managed to all get seats together and the nephews new to flying handled it like seasoned veterans. Soon we landed in Orlando to be greeted by the balmy temp of 55 degrees… wait, WHAT!? This is Florida! I understand that its still warmer than Iowa but 55 is our coldest night in Kona. It was great though. Still very magical and it would warm up as the week went on.

Our hotel, the Pop Century Resort, was delightfully cheesy with multiple swimming pools. One shaped like a flower, one like a bowling pin and one like a calculator or something, I don’t really remember. Oh and a dining center staff that did the Twist every morning and the Hustle every night. The hotel was themed with popular culture over the past 6 decades. There were some really interesting facts here and there, great nostalgia.

Possibly the most exciting part of the trip was that this was that the first time Dani’s and my families would meet. And what a place to meet. We even managed to ride a few rides all together, all 13 of us. I found it quite impressive. We balanced breaking off into groups or just Dani and I and meeting back up well. Even if we didn’t go on any rides or see any shows I was happy enough seeing two grown women (our moms) be so giddy for Disney.

Throughout the week we managed to visit all of the parks (even the water park. chilly, yes, but awesome. No matter what Dani says).

Hitting as many of the free shows and attractions we could. It took a little bit to get our groove down, but once we locked in our schedule and planning, making use of the fast-passes, we were fun havin’ and sight seein’ machines.

It was just great, the science in Epcot, movie stars in the Studios, wild adventures with the Animals and then the Magic of the Kingdom. Young, old, male, female, Asian tourist- no matter your situation- we all get a little princessy the first time we see that castle in Magic Kingdom. Especially this trip because it was decorated for the holidays with what looked like sparkling ice sickles over the towers. Purdy neat.

It was busier because of the season, but there was also more going on- more shows, parades and fireworks than you could shake a stick at. Dani and I’s favorite ride was the Yeti (Expedition Everest in Animal Kingdom). The yeti is a roller coaster based on a train through the Himalayas that’s attacked by a mythical snow beast. That’s the greatest part of Disney; anywhere can have extreme rides, but Disney makes it an experience. Even down to the details in the waiting in line areas. It makes you believe that you are a part of it. And Dani and I were a part of the yeti experience 3 times in a row.

Probably the high point for us was New Years Eve. We spent it “Drinking Around the World” in Epcot’s World Showcase. A promenade around a lake with 11 different areas based on different countries. Each with different selection of delicious native drinks. A drink in each country, counting down to 2011. We unintentionally timed it perfect to have our last drink in ‘England’ just before the fireworks went off. Spectacular. And even after midnight, Disney partied on with a dance party featuring a DJ wearing GIANT Mickey Hands (seriously, giant.. like two-foot fingers).

Our last night in WDW, we all came together to watch the fireworks over the castle and see Tinkerbell make her dreams come true flight. A perfect ending to our fairy tale adventure.

EAST COAST-

As our fairy tale was ending we hadn’t even realized the lack of a villain until we met her- the wicked stepmother witch queen behind the counter at the AirTran desk in Orlando. Her mirror, magic ball or whatever, hadn’t been nice to her that morning and she was taking it out on innocent, good looking travelers. But not even her “your bag is too heavy” spells and evil looks could spoil our good mood after Disney, headed into the third and final leg of out trip.

My only experience with the Northeast had been a long weekend in NYC. So it was really nice to explore downtown Baltimore and its inner-harbor after Dani’s dad picked us up at the airport. Tons of American history in that area, something so oddly foreign to me, growing up in the Midwest, to be surrounded by important bits of the past of our country. It felt really neat. And of course, we had Mexican food- love it. I got to meet Dani’s stepmother and brother and sister for the first time as we all relaxed by a fire and told stories of Hawaiian beaches, our nation’s capital and mouse ears. We only had one night in Maryland, but it was a fun one- again filled with love and laughter.

The next morning Dani’s mother met us just north of the Pennsylvania border to whisk us away to Camp Hill, PA. Home of the best Philly Cheese Steak Sandwich in the world (I can vouch. Even though it was my first and only). Based on my encounters with Susan in the past, I knew I was in for an OD on baked goods. And I was right, the first night- Christmas Cookie Coma (my favorite kind of coma). Dani’s neighborhood was just as I imagined it- beautiful houses and huge old trees. Classic Northeast (according to movies I saw growing up in Iowa). We had our postponed gift exchange with the Spivey’s and I attempted to play piano (epic fail, as the kids say these days).

I even got to try out my cheesy jokes with Dani’s brother and sisters and I got to finally meet some of Dani’s friends whom I’ve heard so much of. They lived up to their hype. Turns out, there’s great people in the Northeast too, not just in Iowa. During our stay in PA, we made it up to Pottsville to tour America’s oldest brewery, Yuenglingf and got to visit Chocolate World, home the Hershey Kiss and the Reese's (pronounced Rhee-Sezz) Cup, but my high point was pizza-beer-scrabble night with Dani and Susan.

A few of you may be aware of the Alma Mater feud that Dani and I have going on-Northern Iowa vs. James Madison. Dani has experienced the Panther campus, but I had yet to see the land of the Dukes. Since we were so close and Dani still has good friends in Harrisonburg, VA, we made a road trip down. I’ll give it to her, while UNI is just an all around better and more fun school; JMU has a much prettier campus.

We attempted to throw down like we did in college and it produced lovely night of dancing and laughing and a morning of pure horror. But we managed to make it back to Camp Hill in time for the indoor state fair feeling wonder that is Farm Show. Milk Shakes, butter sculptures, fried foods and cow butts- wonderful.

Our last night before an early morning flight home out of Baltimore was spent of course with love and laughter. We jammed our souvenirs into our already over-packed bags and sat with the dichotomy of being sad to leave family and friends yet being happy to go to our home with our severely missed pup.

BACK TO KONA-

After a romantic Wendy’s dinner and trombone concert in the Portland Airport and a terrifyingly turbulent flight over the pacific, we made it back to our Plumeria Road home. We weren’t able to pick up Munson until the next morning and she was just as sweet and cuddly as when we left her, wildly happy to see her mommy and daddy. I think she matured a little while were gone, having to share space and attention with 6 other dogs.

Since we’ve been home, we’ve had even more adventures- surfing, whale watching, extensive corrective yard work, Munson’s first experience with snow and more. Blogs to come soon. We’re glad to be home and are remembering what makes this place so special. If we saw you on our trip, thank you for the love. If we didn’t, hopefully soon on an adventure to come.

Love and miss you all.

D & T.