As I mentioned in a previous post, the air here is not agreeing with my head – I think it’s too damp, due to the waterfall outside the lanai and the humidity in general.  You’d think humidity would be good for one’s sinuses, but I’ve been stuffy and post nasal drippy all trip – which has led to some gargantuan snoring.  Being tired and eating too much hasn’t helped any, though I haven’t had any booze – my lava flows have been virgin (I actually think I like them better that way).

We’ve tried a variety of solutions (including one where I sleep on the lanai), but last night Lis asked if they would bring us a rollaway bed, which we set up as far from the regular bed as possible (my head is actually in the little hallway next to the door).  This, plus the white noise of the waterfall outside, and the white noise from our iPhone White Noise app (crickets), and we both got a good night’s sleep last night – yay!  Lis:  Amen!

We headed to breakfast fairly early, as we wanted to be down at the water in time for the triathlon.  Breakfast is a buffet affair in the main dining room, and is complimentary with our room, so we make sure we don’t miss it.  It’s overpriced, of course, but it’s also pretty good, and I’ve developed a 3 course breakfast that I’ve been enjoying very much. 

First course: scrambled eggs, bacon and potatoes.  I have to be careful in this course, because if I load up too much here, then it impedes the later courses – I try to take just enough to take the edge off.  I also get some juice at this point – guava mixed with whatever else they’re offering (usually pineapple or pineapple-orange).

Second course: papaya and pineapple, and whatever other fruit is out that day.  Everyone else uses the appropriate fruit bowls for this, but we use the little kids’ fish plates, cuz they’re so damn cute. 

Third course: this course is basically dessert – cheese blintzes or fruit-filled crepes, depending on what they are offering, and a pastry (on a second fish plate).  I just grab whichever pastry looks good – a couple days in a row I scored pastries with chocolate inside.  I also have some decaf coffee with my breakfast dessert.

It really is a lovely little routine – I am going to miss it (though my waistline won’t – I’ll have to do some serious food discipline when I get home :( )

We got down to the beach just as the athletes were preparing to start.  It was really fun – we talked with some relatives of people in the race, and watched the racers.  Our normal shady spot on the beach was near where the swimmers come out of the water, so we sat and cheered as each swimmer came out, cheering especially hard for the stragglers, as we are always the stragglers in the itty-bitty tris that we do, and it’s nice to be cheered for.

After the swimming was over, the excitement moved off to the bike and run portions, and we got our beach back.  It was kind of nice – we were able to swim and snorkel, but when we were sitting in our chairs on the beach, we could hear the race results over the loudspeaker, and hear the crowd cheer when people came in, so we got to experience the triathlon in a peripheral way but not have it interfere with our beach day.

Lis was feeling particularly burly today (she is a former cross-country runner, and these things get her competitive juices flowing), and decided to get to the snorkel area by swimming around the bouys that were still out from the swim portion of the race.  I was feeling particulary NOT burly today (see: air not agreeing with head), and decided to meander over to the snorkel area.  This got us both there at about the same time, and we snorkeled for about an hour.  I love snorkeling – it’s as close as I get to those awesome dreams where I can fly.  Plus there are lots of neat fish here.

After snorkeling, we went to our beach chairs and hung out for a while – Lis read and I listened to music.  I made a point of not bringing a camera or an iPhone, as I had been a little too involved with both yesterday.  It was nice to just sit still and listen to music. 

We ordered burgers for lunch, and they brought them to us at the beach.  We hung out for a little bit after lunch, then back to the room for our afternoon naps :)  For dinner we are going to the main dining room that I have been trying (unsuccessfully until now) to get my sweetie to try.

And now, let me close with a romantic little interaction between yours truly and her beloved, that took place during the writing of this very post:

Lis: “Do you want some light?”
Mary: “Um…sure.”
Lis: “I wasn’t going to give it to you – I was just suggesting that you turn on your light.”