Jet lag is a b@&:!

Before I moved here, I had the impression that traveling to and from Hawaii consisted of a little bit longer flight, perhaps some out-of-season clothing, and some patience while your sleep schedule adjusted.

Having made several trips back to the mainland however, I have a VERY different perspective.

A good trip requires:
- about a thousand dollars for a ticket, plus food and lodging.
- enough time beforehand to get the rest you need to make it there without getting sick.
- usually several items you'd never normally have buy living in Hawaii (aka something other than beach clothes).
- enough money saved to make up for what you don't make in the amount of time you are gone.
- enough down time once you arrive to recover from traveling and the time change.
- ear plugs (there will ALWAYS be a baby on the plane... 9 hours of crying...), melatonin, Advil pm & regular, Claritin (odds are good that you'll experience allergies being in air conditioning and heating for the first time in months), tums (odds are also good that with the change of food and water that your tummy will be off), lotion and moisture-rich hair products (its unreal how dry my skin and hair get like instantly!!), suvineers for family and friends, etc.

The greatest costs are time and money. I've decided that all and all, traveling from Hawaii is about a month long process: a week to prepare, 2 full days of travel, 2 full days of sleeping to recover from traveling, 6 days to get passed the jet lag and feel like a normal person, and about 7 days to actually spend enjoying onself at the destination (bc frankly, anything less than a week just isn't worth it!).

On every single trip to the mainland, I've felt sick and tired about 75% of the visit.

When I went to SC for back-to-back weekends I had no time to rest before wedding #1 and pretty much felt like a zombie the whole time.

Which I suppose is what frustrates me... If you take all the effort to get somewhere and then feel like a mess, it's just annoying!!

That is my rant about traveling from Hawaii...

Motivated by the fact that I've been home for three days now and still feel pretty exhausted and out-of-it haha.

On the bright side, it's clearly a blessing to be able to see everyone I love!!! So really can't complain about that;)