Melody's (Hygena) mom and step-father live on the island of O'ahu in Hawaii, and have for decades. Melody went to high school there, and some college, and we return every year for a visit.

This year was a bit different, since we felt like we were third person along with us - Hygena. Because her mom is so proud of her, and had not really been around for any of the excitement concerning the show, some press appearances were set up so that her mom could participate. Hawaii is very supportive of folks from the islands who go on reality shows (ever since Jasmine Treas from American Idol). It's like a really big small town there. So she did one radio show, one television show, and one newspaper interview and photo shoot. Which was cool and all, but sometimes detracted a bit from the vacation part of the trip.

First up was the Perry and Price Morning Radio Show . That was great actually. Perry and Price are some older guys who have been doing radio for forever, and on Saturday mornings they host a brunch at a restaurant called John Dominis while they do their show. Locals can come down, have brunch, and watch the show and participate live in contests and stuff like that. So we got a free great brunch while looking over the waters of Honolulu, and both of Melody's parents got a shout-out on the show (and her step-father even accidentally got an ad for his piano tuning business when they asked about it). It was a fun show, with lots of joking around and contests and stuff. Melody was in her Hygena costume, and was recognized by some people who wanted to take a picture with her.



On another day came the TV show appearance. OK, that kinda sucked. I mean, yeah, going to a TV station is cool and all. But we had to be there at 5:30 in the morning, and the drive to Waikiki takes an hour and 15 minutes, and it takes Melody and hour to do her makeup and glitter and get into the Hygena outfit. Which ads up to me waking up at 3:30 in the morning, and driving 2 and a half hours round trip, on vacation. Not what I would call fun. And it was the night of the lunar eclipse, which could be seen best from Hawaii, but which I had to sleep through sad.gif Ah well. Melody's mom did get to be on TV with her, and that was really special and I know she loved it and her friends all saw her on TV before work (it aired around 6:15am on their NBC affiliate, channel 8 I think). And I really shouldn't complain...I mean, she got to be on TV right? A good thing, right? Me just whining? Probably. Besides, her mom really liked it, which is an important thing.



Interesting note - This is the NBC affiliate in Hawaii. The biggest one. And yet, it's located in a relatively small almost -warehouse-like building. And I counted a grand total of 7 people working there at that time. Two in the offices doing research and reporting, two on the air as an anchor and a weather person, two doing cameras and assisting the on-air talent, and one guy meeting all guests at the front door and making sure everyone gets prepped to go on the air and escorting them over. Melody's mom was pretty surprised by how small the operation really was.

Finally, we had an interview with the Star Bulletin, Hawaii's biggest newspaper. And honestly, that was the best interviewer she has encountered so far (his name is Gary Chun). She's had a lot of interviews, but this was the first guy who watched the show, had collected comics his whole life, and really knew his stuff. He was asking pretty in depth questions about her character, her back story, her inspirations, he views on female superheroes, Stan Lee, comic conventions, and all sorts of stuff. Great guy. He followed it up with a photo shoot on the beach in Waikiki (which got some stares):



Here is the article, which is a pretty good read:

http://starbulletin.com/2007/08/31/features/story03.html .

Finally, it was on to some real vacationing, without Hygena as a third party smile.gif

We went to the beach a lot. Here is me, being a total nerd, reading a Dungeons and Dragons book on the beach:



Melody's mom is in a hula dancing group, and we attended a wedding to watch her dance. Melody got up and did some hula with her mom:



And they had some great fire dancers from the Polynesian Cultural Center as well. This kid is 8 years old, no joke. He was spinning fire along with his father, and he was taking the same kinds of risks with it as well, spinning between his legs, throwing into the air, across his body, and everything. Pretty amazing stuff:



I went night snorkeling with her step-father. He is pretty old, but every year I swear he WAY out swims me. The man has the endurance of an elephant (it doesn't hurt that he has been doing this all his life and used to teach SCUBA). Anyway, her dad spear-fishes at night, and I go along with him (no spear for me, but an underwater flashlight). The suit is the closest I have come to wearing a superhero suit (and it works well to keep me warm for hours in the water):



We always see a lot at night, when things come out. The beach behind their house has three lines of coral reefs, which serves as a break water and makes the ocean very calm in that area, and the reef and calm waters attract a lot of critters. This time I saw some eel (which spook me every time - it looks like a friggen snake underwater), and some sticker fish (I don't know their real names, but they have long pointed noses and they stick you with them when they see your light - so you hold your light away from your body or you get poked) and some sea cucumbers and a couple of small octopus and lots and lots of colorful fish. I wish I had an underwater camera with me that time, but I didn't.

Anyway, her step-dad caught 22 fish called Manini , which are also known as Convict Tang. Apparently they are good to eat (I don't know, being a vegetarian myself).



This pleased Tommy the cat very much, who will now have fish for the next month:



We did a lot of daylight swimming as well. This is Melody in the distance with her new turtle blow-up raft, at the beach behind her parents house:



We did some swimming with sea turtles (Honu in Hawaiian). That was a blast. There is a beach where probably 50 turtles gather, and you can dive right in and swim near them (though not touch them, and there are people from the State there to make sure they are not harmed). These turtles are rare, and only 15 years ago there were only 200 left. Now, there are over 2000. We took actual pictures in the water with an underwater camera, but those shots are not developed yet. I'll post a couple if they turn out OK. Here is one of a turtle, seen from the shore:




We had to stop at this store while driving around, because of the obvious Hygena link:




And I always get a kick out of some of the local foods. This was at the front counter of the local 7-11 store:




and of course...




We saw some movies (Stardust and Super Bad, both good though I preferred Stardust if I had to choose), and visited several towns like Haleiwa and Pearl Ridge which is just next to Pearl Harbor.

Overall it was a really fun trip, and we had a blast. But next time, Hygena gets to stay at home, and just Melody and I will go :)