I thought about titling this post, The Vacation from Hell, but I realized that wasn't really true.
Here's what happened. Last week, the Spousal Unit and I had a week in Hawaii. We'd planned it several months ago, using the SU's Hilton points to book a stay at the Hilton Waikoloa Village, just north of Kona on the Big Island (Hawaii). We figured a little warmth and sunshine in February would be a pleasant break from the winter weather. Everything was going fine, right up until the night before we were supposed to leave — when I woke up feeling like crap.
I wasn't sure what I had — food poisoning? a stomach bug? — and I honestly still don't know (though I suspect a bug, since it lasted so long). Since we had an early morning flight, we'd booked a room at a hotel near the airport (one that has a stay & fly package, so we could leave our car there). I couldn't eat and all I felt like doing was sleep, so I just crawled into bed and hoped I'd feel better before getting on the plane.
I didn't.
I'd managed to get up in the middle of the night and eat an apple and a slice of bread with some turkey that the SU had brought along in case I actually got hungry. Since I kept the food down, I had hopes that the worst was over even though I still felt lousy. Alas, that was false hope. The only saving grace for the flight was that we had first class seats (gotta love those companion tickets). If I had to feel bad on an airplane, at least I had plenty of room and a toilet close by (and boy did I need it).
The warm weather and sunshine were very welcome when we landed in Kona. The taxi to the resort and checking in remains a blur. I did manage to walk around the resort a bit, and I have to say, it's a beautiful place. But mostly, I slept that first day away. And the second. By the third, I insisted the SU go on the Circle-the-Island tour we'd booked and paid for before we left home. I was feeling marginally better, but not well enough to sit on a tour bus for 12 hours. I'm glad he went — he saw pretty much the entire island, including the volcano, and I got to sleep some more (in between forcing myself outside for some sunshine every once in a while).
On the second to last day, I felt marginally better. Enough to walk all around the resort (all 62 acres!), so long as we took rest breaks.
I finally felt mostly human on the last day - enough so that I even went swimming! Yay! We enjoyed our last day of paradise, and I didn't dread the flight home. It took a few more days before I really felt like my stomach had settled down. I still feel a bit woozy every once in a while.
Even though this last trip wasn't what I was expecting, I ended up having an OK time — and I had a lot of time to think about backstory for the next book. Most of that time was just daydreaming about the characters, but I did write up those notes on the flight home.
Deborah Wright
Website: www.Deborah-Wright.com
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