stranger in a strange strange land.

we went to the big island of hawaii the week after we got hitched.

the big island is just like mars (since i've been there).

we stayed on the dry side, in kailua, where the main road is sandwiched between miles and miles of black volcanic rock. it's kinda bleak scenery.

we joked about it being mars the entire trip, & shouted martian! out the window every time we saw someone with dreadlocks.

we drove to mauna kea, the highest peak in all of hawaii

it was bitter cold & of course i was wearing flip flops & leggings. luckily i brought favorite wool socks & they kept my toes from chipping off. but i got a lot of heat from chase for wearing socks & sandals.

we ate lots of poke

and acai bowls

and we jumped off high things

(inevitable when you're with chase)

we spent a couple days in hilo

the green side of the island. the drive was 2 1/2 hours, so we spent the night in our car in a parking lot so we could explore more the next day. it was the worst night of our lives together thus far. i fell asleep around 11 p.m. and woke up ridiculously crazy inhumanly sore. i figured it must be almost sunrise & woke up chase. . . but when i looked at a clock it said 1 a.m. i think i started crying from disbelief. chase says i sounded like someone died when i told him what time it was. we swapped positions and chase started calling every hotel he could find, including bed & breakfasts owned by elderly couples who yelled at him for calling so late.

with no luck, we tried to fall back asleep. chase asked from the front seat,

"have you ever slept in a car before?"

"yeah! i answered. a suburban."

chase about died laughing.

"a SUBURBAN! the most spacious car in the world? whose back seats are literally made of pillows? really?? you've never slept in a car."

i think we fell asleep arguing about the validity of my previous sleepover in a suburban.

and in the morning we headed to walmart, to brush teeth, wash faces & get lookin' real pretty.

classy, right?

but. . . hilo was rad. and totally worth it.

we spent a lot of time on the beach

we went to waimea, the land of cowboys.

it was seriously bizarre. i felt like i was suddenly smack dab in middle america. the gas stations even had attendants to pump our gas for us.

and we ate at the yummiest restaurant a little past waimea, bamboo. we got seafood risotto with shrimp & scallops & olives & sundried tomatoes & it was probably the best meal i had all week. i say "i" because chase spent the majority of these couple hours in the bathroom. he was sick the last couple days on the island. poor kid. although i think everyone in the restaurant actually just felt bad for the girl at the table with two of everything-- two glasses, two plates, two sets of utensils --clearly in denial that she would be eating alone. but hey, the shame didn't make it taste any less good.

we even went to volcano national park (not nearly as cool as one might imagine). chase promised me i could see real lava flowing and, well, the boy straight up lied. there hasn't been active lava for nine months now, so the park ranger directed us to the next best thing: the glow. a.k.a. the hole in the ground with steam coming out of it. neat.

going rad places with your best friend just makes them a million times radder. these days we're saving our change in our europe jar. at the rate we're saving, we should have enough for one-way plane tickets by 2039. can't wait.