Maui!!!
It doesn't get any better than this!! We were so lucky to be able to spend 10 days in Maui with my entire family! It was a dream vacation. We had such a blast and were so sad to leave! It is so beautiful there and it was hard to come back to dreary cold Edmonton, but we had a wonderful escape while it lasted!
The view from our balcony at the Mana Kai resort in Kihei
Timmy just loving the sun! :D
Ahhhh....Paradise...
We spent many hours in the water boogie boarding! So fun!! Watch out for those huge tumbler waves though! They'll toss you! (They may have taken us out once or twice ;))
Beautiful blondes
At the top of the very windy Haleakala crater.
About to begin our snorkelling adventure at Molokini! We were so pumped and ready to go! First person in the water: Tim. Second one in the water: Me....
I scan the bottom of the ocean for large fish or sharks.
3 minutes later....I feel a harsh tingly sting on my left arm. I look down and see what appears to be a tentacle wrapped around my arm. No signs of a jelly fish though, so I try to remain calm and I swim back to the boat. At this point I was thinking Don't freak out Ash, it's only a sting. It's probably just a worm or something! Don't assume that it's a jellyfish, they'll laugh at you and call you a stupid Canadian who doesn't know anything about the ocean. Maybe Tim could pee on it. I saw that on TV once....
I climbed on the boat and uttered a pathetic "Uhhh, something stung me" and the crew helped me peel off the tentacle. At this point the pain was tolerable. The sting itself felt like a really bad bee sting.
Just then I see my sister-in-law, Katie, scream as she climbs on the boat "I got stung! I got stung!" Poor Katie already wasn't a fan of ocean creatures, and this experience sealed that deal. We stare at the crew members like What should we do?! We are clueless Canadians!! HELP!
The pain came on quite suddenly. I felt my whole body seize up in pain. I felt my back cramp up and my arms and legs began to shake. I could hardly stand up. I also vomited off the boat. Poor Tim is looking at me, wondering what the heck do I do??
Crew Guy: "Oh yeah, you got stung by a jelly. Don't worry, this happened to me once. Are you having troubles breathing? Your body is going to go through some serious shock and you are going to have some really awful pain. But no worries, it only lasts 20 minutes". I know I haven't had a baby, but this was the most painful experience I have had to date, and it didn't last 20 minutes. It lasted 90. What a gong show it was: Katie and I both crying and moaning and shaking. Apparently the venom was working it's way through our system, trying to paralyze us. Luckily the pain went away and I have never felt more relieved. I was almost giddy after it was done, so thankful that the pain was gone. Our arms burned for several hours afterward, but that was nothing compared to the muscle cramping fiasco.
SIDE NOTE: Peeing is actually really bad for this type of sting. Vinegar is what we sprayed on it. Who knew?
This is what got us. A box jellyfish about the size of our hand with very long tentacles. My brother later admitted that he did see it swimming in the water which is crazy because they are transparent. It has a lethal cousin who kills 40 people a year in the Philippines alone. Good thing he wasn't taking a swim by me that day. (This type are not found in Hawaii :))
The night following was really brutal. I couldn't sleep because it felt like there was jolts of electricity shooting through my arm that would come and go. Strangest sensation.
Katie and I reacted completely differently. This is what her arm looked like.
Buuut, being in Hawaii and all, we kept on truckin and continued on to new adventures.
The whole gang! We actually managed to all fit in one big van! It was squishy but awesome that we could all be together!
Flexing our stung arms next to the warning sign. Funny how we never noticed these signs until after it happened.
Haha I love her.
Anyone wanna go back with us?! Heres to hoping we can someday!
