Shield Your Eyes People, Maine Winter Skin has Arrived in Paradise!

A morning ritual just outside the condo building.

I'm fairly certain the locals needed polarized sunglasses just to protect their eyes from the glare of off our Maine, winter, white skin; But I was determined to get the kids to the beach on day two!  After being cooped up, sitting down, the entire previous day in one form of transportation or another, we needed to stretch our legs in a major way.  I called off school for the day and we went exploring!

Taking my friend Jen's advice, we slather SPF 100 on, wear rash guards, hats and sunglasses.  We reapply after we're in the water and we STILL get color.  The sun here is no joke folks.  NO JOKE.  Our pastey white bodies are slowing acclimating.

The government per-diem rate allows Jason so much per day for housing.  We knew we wanted a 2br if we were staying for 3 months.  It had to be a decent commute to work for Jason.  The city made sense because the kids and I could use the bus to get around as we would not have a car.  And it would be a plus if the kids and I could walk to the beach.  It wasn't easy to find, but once again God provided!

See.  CITY.
But the beach is oh so close!

Now, the term "across the street" means something very different here than it does in Maine.  We do only have to cross one street to get to the beach.... but its 8 LANES of traffic.  I'm not gonna lie, this safety conscious, type A, slightly anxious momma just about has a heart attack every time I take the kids outside.  Its city, people... like high-rises as far as the eye can see, bustling sidewalks, bumper to bumper traffic, BIG CITY.  It's not my ideal, folks.  Here's the reality.  The road noise is pretty much constant.  The lanai is kind of useless because you'll get a headache from that 8 lane road which is directly below.  By the time I walk back from the beach with the kids, this snow-loving, country girl to the core, introvert is hot, sweaty and so frazzled from navigating the crowded sidewalks with two kids and a beach cart that all I want to do is NAP!  Im NOT complaining!  This is a blessing, and a gift and I see it that way every day.  But also want to aknowledge, for the whole families sake, that this is not our norm.  Its a struggle sometimes.  It takes patience.  But all of it is SOOOOOO good for us!

Josiah LOVES pushing the crosswalk buttons.  The simple things that bring delight to his face are so precious.  I wish you could see the smile that spreads across his face and hear his happy little squeaky voice!  A week in and the kids are already experts at big city navigating on foot and crosswalk signs and safety!

Say hello, to our friends Mr. Blowfish. Angel, and Thingy.  The first morning out we passed this boat marina to get to the beach and were surprised to find exotic fish hanging out in dirty water just off the sidewalk.  We see these three every morning.  Ella named this one "Thingy" because it has a "thingy" (likely a hook) hanging off the side of its mouth.  Apologies for the poor photos.  Im mostly just using my iphone and these pictures are through the marina's dirty water :(

The Hilton is across the street from us and it has this man made lagoon.  Its still saltwater, changes with the tides and has schools of fish teaming about.  But there are no big waves and there are shaded grassy areas around the edges that make it perfect for the littles.

Just over the sand mound, the vast stretch of Waikiki beach unfolds and we've found our places that we like the best... where the waves are little and the kids can bob in the surf.  Ella is much more adventurous and swims out deep and puts her mask on to look at the ocean floor.  But Josiah is more timid, doesn't want to see underwater and afraid of what might be out there.  He's growing in confidence each day but still sticks to where he can touch.  He's learning to like the waves and once he gets past the point where they break and pull, he exclaims "Ooooo!"  and "Wahooo!" each time one bobs him up and down.

Okay.  Its not even 9am here.  But that means its 3pm for most of the folks reading this.  Im off to prepare for our Saturday exploration.... A submarine ride!  NO... not the Navy kind.  The sightseeing kind!  Pray for the kids and I.  They were SUPER gung-ho but are now second guessing their desire to be underwater in a sub :/