Hey blog followers, hope you’re still with us…
It is time for the long trip home. We are sad to leave these beautiful islands but ever-so grateful for this time of exploration, and rest, together. At times, Hawaii seemed like a whole ‘nother world - the language, the culture, the food. But the people here, tourists and locals, made it feel like home. People offered to share their binoculars with us at the volcano, the Uber drivers were chatty with island advice, Trevor took family photos for others on top of mountain lookouts and they reciprocated, I played peek-a-boo with anxious babies on the airplane in exchange for a smile…kindness was all around us, just like at home.
A quick note before we get to the journey home: I forgot to mention a couple things as we left Kauai. First, if you’ve been following along, remember the feral cats everywhere? Well, I found a thrift store in Lihue who gave their proceeds to the Humane Society, who in turn rounds up feral cats and fixes them, then returns them back to where they were found. I picked up a puzzle, a couple books and a shirt. It was in a storage unit in an industrial park, but a pretty cool setup nonetheless. Second, Trevor brought his portable Ham Radio setup with us on the trip and made contacts on 5 watts from each island. He strung up a wire and sent an email back home through his radio. (See the clothes line picture below) He was pretty excited about this. Now, back to the story…
We allowed ourselves one day to rest up and pack before flying home. Trevor needed a haircut and we were hungry, so we ventured out to lunch at Waikiki. When we were on Oahu the first time, we avoided this area. It is busy and full of resorts, not really our thing. But since it was near the airport, we decided this was the area to explore before coming home. Lunch at the Barefoot Café on Queen Surfers Beach was delicious. We watched several surfers ride the waves while we ate and enjoyed a pineapple smoothie. Our walk along the beach was nice, and I waded in the ocean one last time. The water was warm and the tide was up. I noticed a group of men starting to gather under one of the beautiful trees. One-by-one they set up their chairs and got out their drinks and snacks. They were all in colorful trunks and seemed to be here for a meeting of the minds. I thought to myself, kind of like the ole’ guys at the coffee shop back home. Just beyond them, closer to the sidewalk, another group formed. This group was much younger and anxious to learn how to surf. They listened intently while surrounding a row of surf boards laying in the grass. I couldn’t quite see who was in the middle doing the teaching so I walked around the corner. There he was, didn’t look more than 100 lbs. and maybe my height. His dark complexion and sun-kissed wrinkles told me he’d been surfing a long time. His enthusiasm had the group in a trance as he crouched down in position while sharing his knowledge of the waves. Made me smile. I like to people-watch and try to imagine their stories.
Back at the hotel, as we packed our suitcases, we both mentioned we hadn’t seen the iconic Hawaii rainbow so many people had told us about. We saw one peek out at Waimea Canyon, and another fade away at Pearl Harbor, but not even Rainbow Falls had given us the big one. We were headed out for our last dinner on the island to a place called Nico’s at Pier 38. Two different Uber drivers said it was a must if staying near the airport, we figured we better take their advice. Trevor looked out the hotel window as we were leaving and there it was, a full Hawaii rainbow arched over the freeway. It was wide and beautiful. Guess that was the last thing to check off the Hawaii list.
We truly feel we got a ‘taste’ of Hawaii. We explored a lot of ground, never had a bad meal, and were blessed with great experiences. We took the bumps in stride and thanked the good Lord above for His amazing creation. We were in awe of his design and creativity. From the lush rainforest to the volcano, the seemingly endless ocean to His promise in the rainbow – He was all around us. Just think about the strange shape of the flora, or the process of lava flow, or the inventiveness in coral reef, or the intricacy of the trees. He is good.
Here are a few things that surprised us about Hawaii: roaming chickens, airports with no windows, macaroni salad, and 45 mph speed limit.
It is hard to pick favorites, because we really LOVED it all, but we’ll try:
OAHU
Pearl Harbor
Sunrise at La’ie Point and the arch
Food trucks and fruit stands on the Northshore
the towns of Haleiwa and Waialua
Ko’olau mountains/cliffs
The Royal Hawaiian Band concert
Queen Surfers Beach
BIG ISLAND
Volcanoes National Park and anything to do with lava flow and the volcanoes
Shave Ice!
Punalua Black Sand Beach, sea turtles
Lauhala Land/Mackenzie State Recreation Area
Hilo area (trying all the fruit, too)
Sunset at Southpoint
Scenic drive to the north – Manalahoa/Saddle Road
KAUAI
Snorkeling and Poipu Beach (sea turtles)
Waimea Canyon
Luau Kalamaku
Wailua River area
Kilauea Point and wildlife refuge
Ha’ena Beach and Maniniholo Dry Cave
Waterfalls
Now, we fly home and get back to life. We will always be grateful beyond words to the army of support back home who made this trip possible. You guys are AWEsome! To all our travel blog followers, thanks for hanging out with us. Stay tuned - Trevor has always been my biggest cheerleader, and this was his doing. He wanted me to get in the habit of writing again. Who knows what shape this will take? Lord willing, maybe I’ll keep it up 😊
Take care of each other.
Your friend, B
Comments