Arriving at our condo in Princeville, Kauai, Kelly and I were met with an outstanding view of the ocean. Princeville is perched some 200 feet above the water on the north shore of Kauai. Our condo had a view from every room, and a quick open of the sliding windows let in a strong, cool breeze. There would be no need for A/C here, which is good, because there was none (not even fans, which initially surprised me). We reveled for at least an hour in the great condo we had landed.
Not feeling very jetlagged, we got some groceries at the nearby market, where everything was about 25% more expensive than in San Diego. After stocking up the place, we headed to dinner in nearby Hanalei. We had a (mediocre) Piña Colada at a bar, then made our way to a fish restaurant down the road. Why is Kelly walking in front of me? Is she mad about something? Hmm, never mind that thought. Perusing the menu at the fish place, I noticed it’s pretty spendy. On top of that, I notice I’m not really hungry. I tell Kelly I think we should wait on a nice meal until a night we’re actually hungry. She agrees, and we head across the street to another fish place. Kelly walks ahead of me again and now my confidence falls through the floor. Man, I must be tired or something. The second place is spendy as well, but I’m paralyzed to make a decision to eat there or not. Kelly is too. At one point, we thought of just having an appetizer, but I got paranoid they would be mad if we didn’t order an entrée. I just stood there in the middle of the restaurant like a deer in the headlights, feeling hopelessly out of place and self-conscious. I had to get back to the safety of our condo ASAP. Crap, what was going on in my head?
On the way home I realized what was going on. The drink we had was spiked with Ketamine. Just kidding. The drink did, however, set into motion a state of mind I experience predictably after arriving at a new place. I get tired, feel sad and out of place, and can’t deal with people and need to be by myself in solitude (being with Kelly counts as solitude). This has been the case for me since I was young, and it’s never gone away. Especially if there’s a time change involved, you can bet I’ll be a pathetic mess until I’ve slept in the new destination. You know you’ve got an issue if you feel nervous in Kauai, the most relaxing place ever. It came on so fast it took me a while to realize what hit me. In any case, Kelly and I each ate half a sandwich at the condo and went to bed.
