PreVacation...

So, I did the customary pre vacation trying on of the bathing suits today. The good news is that I am not any heavier than I was when we last went to Hawaii in 2024. The bad news is that I am not the same shape as I was in 2024.

In 2024 I was coming off of a long stretch of injuries and light work/ PT work. Now in 2026 I have been able to lift heavier since early 2025 when I was on one leg and so...yeah. Weight pretty much the same, but my back is wider and my butt is rounder.

But it wasn't too terrible, actually. I only lost one top and one bottom. The top I had been nursing along the whole time I owned it. It was a little bigger in the torso than I needed but a little smaller in the cups so I made it work. Now that my back is back to flaring a little more I need that torso size for my, well torso, so no extra to share with the cups. Unless I don't want to breathe. And I'm fond of breathing. And the bottom is a little snug in the actual bottom but really loose in the waist so I would be swimming right out of it as soon as I got going. Which I have done before. Swimming one handed while you hold your britches up with the other isn't a choice I'd recommend.

Since one of the reasons I keep thinking about going back to the gym is to have access to a lat pulldown machine and a leg press machine neither my back nor my butt is going to get smaller so neither of those pieces made the cut. Off to Goodwill with a thank you for your service.

So I've got one tankini top, one board short bottom, one one piece, one pair of swim pants that match the tankini and three swim shirt/rash guards. With the swim shirts I have one that sort of matches the one piece if you don't mind mixing patterns, which I don't, and two that match the tankini combos. If I could find another tankini top that wasn't super expensive I'd pick one up but that's not likely. I think instead I'm going to buy another pair of swim pants to put under the one piece (it has a skirted bottom so I can't wear them over) and I think that will work out great.

So if you aren't familiar with swim pants and shirts that all probably sounds really weird. I wear the pants and the swim shirts to stay warmer in the water when we are snorkeling. Years ago on one of our snorkel tours one of the women working the boat had a pair and she said they were great if you got chilled. I bought a pair and I've been hooked ever since. And the bonus is them plus the long sleeve shirt keeps me from getting sunburned. Or as sunburned. I can float along in the water staring at the fish for a long time without my back and shoulders crisping up. It's really nice.

Waterlust is the brand of swim pants that I wear but there are a lot of others out there. Waterlust is a little pricier but it's just a great brand, like when Lahaina burned they sent out care packages to everyone there who had purchased from them before with new suits and leggings since people lost all of their belongings in the fires. They did it on their own and they didn't advertise that they had done it, I heard about it from someone who lives in Maui. That's the mark of a great brand in my opinion. If I wasn't already a fan that would have done it.

So anyway... We've got two snorkel tours and then two days of snorkeling/swimming at or near the hotel so I think two suits with a few trade in options will be perfect. One to wear, one drying to wear the next time. I've brought as many as three and worn them all, but I can make two work easily. Now, I'm sure I'll overpack on everything else because I always do, but at least the clothes are lightweight so I can still fit everything in one bag, even if I do overpack.

For those of you that remember the MONTHS long agony trying to find a suit the first time we went to Hawaii you know how relieved I am that it's an easy peasy deal this time.

Aloha and mahalo...

(I mean, aloha in March when we actually go, I'm ahead of the curve FOR ONCE)