A fun but tiring trip

We started out the trip stopping off in LA to see the folks from Mattel who helped Cam’s Make a Wish trip come true.  They were *supposed* to just have lunch for us, but just as they did last time, they went far above and beyond by giving Cam yet another custom Viper which was in a nice display case signed by the entire team.  I was so touched, yet again, by the generosity of these wonderful people.  It does restore a bit of faith in humanity that a group of people so far away have connected with a child they’ve met once before and have made him feel so special all over again.  What great memories they have provided Cam as well as us.

Legoland was the next stop and Cam pretty much spent the ENTIRE day on the ride we pretty much came back for…the car ride.  He actually closed the park as the last group on the ride…I would venture to say he rode it somewhere close to fifteen times throughout the day.  It was a bit funny/weird that the hotel property was surrounded by signs warning to keep an eye out for rattlesnakes, but it was surrounded by prime habitat for them, so I guess it’ better to be safe than sorry.  Cam had his last Chic Fil A meal that evening and we drove back to LAX to depart for the Big Island the next day.

We spent the next few days on the Big Island exploring the hotel property, the local town, and circled the entire island in a single day to see the volcano by ground and helicopter as well as the rest of the island on the Hilo side.  The stark contrast between the Kona side our hotel was on and the Hilo side where the active volcano is on was amazing.  The Kona side looks like a barren planet with its lava fields while the Hilo side is lush and green.  You could literally turn a corner and go from one to the other in no time…both were equally beautiful in their own way.  Our hotel on the Big Island had a ferry boat to transport you to different parts of the resort, so as we boarded one evening, the person “driving” the boat asked Cam if he wanted to drive.  He obviously jumped at the opportunity and spent the next fifteen to twenty minutes welcoming oncoming guests with “Aloha…I’m Captain Cameron”.  The boat was on a track system, but Cam didn’t know that and did his very best to keep the boat in the channel at all times.  The boys were able to swim with the dolphins and we took a helicopter tour over the volcano which was really cool.  The food on Hawaii is spectacular…especially at such fine establishments Arby’s, Pizza Hut, Outback, and McDonald’s…the joys of traveling with kids.  ;-)  We packed up again and got ready to head to Maui.

As we arrived in Maui, it was dark, so we were unable to see the sights as we drove to our resort.  However, the next morning brought beautiful scenery and we immediately started exploring.  The differences between the Big Island and Maui were amazing as well and of the two, I think I like Maui better.  We didn’t have anything planned or scheduled for Maui, so we just took each day as it came and enjoyed our time exploring as we wanted to or staying around the hotel.  We thought about making the trip to Hana, but were advised against the full trip as the roads and time involved were pretty daunting.  With that in mind, we went to the first stop at the Twin Falls and then turned back towards “home”.  The sunsets were so spectacular on both islands, I took videos of them to be able to watch them over and over…yeah I know I’m a dork.  ;-)  Soon enough it was time to come home.  I think we all had fun, but were growing tired of hotel living.

We had a red eye back arriving home around 10am Saturday and did our best to stay awake the rest of the day to try to get back on schedule here.  We were given VIP tickets to a NASCAR type event in Charlotte yesterday (Sunday) where we were able to meet Denny Hamlin, so we spent the entire day going back and forth, but had a BLAST!  We sent the kids back to school today.  Both boys had a tough time getting going this morning, but we’ll get back in the swing of things soon enough.

Cam’s next MRI is tomorrow, Tuesday, so we’ll have an idea of where we go from here based on what’s seen in the scan.  He’s feeling so well, I can’t help but be optimistic, but I don’t know if a “good” scan is a temporary stabilization or a move in a positive direction.  Cam has been so atypical through all of this, there’s absolutely no telling what we’ll see tomorrow, but it’s absolutely terrifying knowing your child’s future rests on what’s seen there.  I’ll post another update with the results.