Great Trip!!

I’m Baaaack! Wow what an amazing trip! I think we did just about everything we could do in 11 days. Swam with dolphins, watched the manta rays night feed, my son and husband jumped off the End of the World cliffs, lots of snorkeling, visited the Kona coffee plantation and picked some beans, went to a luau, ate too much, sat in the sun too much, didn’t sleep enough!, and just had an incredible time with my family. As the kids get older, it gets harder and harder to get them all together for a trip like this so it was really a treat. Especially with my two older ones that are in college. I was a happy momma!
The flights there and back were slightly nerve wracking, but really I wasn’t terribly freaked out. I think the biggest scare is take off. We had to fly from Denver to Los Angeles which was 2 hours and then from LA to Kona which was 5 hours. And Delta has seat back movie screens where you can watch all the movies you want for free and they give out free headphones! I  know there’s been a lot of strife about airlines lately, but I can honestly say that Delta was really great. On our way back, the flight from Kona to Los Angeles was delayed by an hour and our connecting flight in LA was only an  hour and twenty minutes, so I was worried about our bags making it onto the next flight. But, Delta got us there on time, made sure our bags were loaded and the next flight waited for us! I was very impressed! So if you’re looking for a great airline, Delta is it. No, I’m not being paid for this!
One of the things that happened during our trip was, even though I applied sunscreen like crazy on my 11 year old, he played all day in the ocean, yes I reapplied, and he still got a really terrible sunburn! I felt like the worst parent on the planet! He got blisters all over his shoulders and was in a great deal of pain. I thought, “what the heck did I do wrong?” For the rest of the trip, I covered the wound, yeah  it became a wound, and made him wear a sun shirt the entire time he was out in the sun. I applied aquaphor, which is a thick Vaseline type ointment, and did that several times a day. Fortunately he recovered with no lasting scars. The thing I discovered was that salt water will and does remove all sunscreen. So, when you have skin that isn’t quite ready for all day sun, or even a couple hours, and you know you’re going to be there all day, make them wear a sunshirt. They’re SPF is 50 or higher, and there’s very minimal risk of sunburn. So, how do you protect their face and their eyes? Goggles on the eyes, and Bull Frog sunscreen on their faces. Yes, it’s not a natural sunscreen, which I always try to do, but of all the sunscreens it is the best for faces and can be easily washed off with soap and water when you’re done in the sun. Bull Frog is the brand surfers use when their out all day. And for my serious fair skinned monkeys, I need that!
Anyway, I could ramble on, but all in all, the trip went well and I survived the flight.
Have a great week and remember to do something wonderful for you this week!!!
Namaste and cheers!

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