Hawaiian Hiatus

In the course of our short marriage, one thing that’s become apparent is our tendency to take big vacations at the most inopportune of times. Our first vacation together (post-honeymoon) was to England after we’d just taken the bar exam. At the time, we were both unemployed. Very unemployed, I might add.

So, now that we’re having our first child and should probably be thinking about buying baby furniture, it was only natural for us to decide to go to Hawaii for six days. Personally, my motivation to take “impractical vacations” stems from my philosophy that most of life’s brightest and best moments simply would never happen if we didn’t make them happen. Instead of saying “I can’t do this,” it’s better to say “how can I do this?” It often takes creativity and a lot of will-power, but magical things can happen when those two ingredients are combined.

And that’s exactly how I’d describe our trip to Kauai, Hawaii. Magical. From the moment we landed, it was like a fairy tale. And although I’m prone to egregious exaggeration at times, this time I’m definitely not exaggerating. I’ve been to some other beautiful places in this world … like Switzerland, for instance. But I can honestly say that, in my personal opinion, Kauai is the most beautiful, engaging, mysterious, rejuvenating, and friendly place I’ve ever been.

We knew we’d have a great trip when our plane flew into the Lihu’e airport and we spotted a whale spouting in the clear blue water below us. Probably the best thing about Kauai is how remote it is. There were no freeways or skyscrapers. The “main road” was two lanes, with several one-lane bridges. It was definitely a kick-back-and-forget-about-your-busy-life kind of place. Most of the island is not only uninhabited but also uninhabitable because of the steep mountains. There were waterfalls everywhere. (Including the Manawaiopuna Falls, made famous by Jurassic Park.) We also immensely enjoyed the clean beaches, the craggy mountains, the lush green vegetation and the countless tropical flowers. One of the best things we did was rent a convertible to get better views of the “Garden Island” while driving out on the roads.

We went snorkeling every day at a different beach. The fish were amazing! We saw so many different varieties, sizes and colors, including two eels. We also saw a bunch of brightly colored coral. Kevin took a surfing lesson on Thursday and it was fun to watch him from the beach. I was very impressed – he got up, and stayed up (which is the key, right?), on his third try. I would have liked to have tried it but, you know, pregnant women don’t fit very comfortably with their bellies smashed against a surf board. (Note to our first born child, when someday s/he is old enough to read: Please remember these difficult sacrifices your mother has made for you, namely no surfing, no snow skiing, and less ingestion of junk food. Thank you.)

Probably one of my favorite things was the luau. Kevin thought it was completely touristy but, as I reminded him, there are just some things, no matter how “touristy,” that you absolutely HAVE to do. I thought the “Imu” pig roast was interesting and, personally, I think the hula is one of the most beautiful dances I’ve ever seen. I could watch it for hours and hours without growing sick of it. In fact, I think I video-taped almost all of the hula dances at this luau. It was my first time to really use a video camera and, being a novice (or maybe my roots are blonde?), I forgot that, unlike the snapshot camera, you’re not supposed to turn it sideways to get a vertical picture. So, needless to say, we have quite a bit of footage of these girls dancing the hula sideways. Kevin had a good laugh about this after he saw what I’d done.

The only disappointment of the trip came on the last day there when we were scheduled to go for a helicopter ride to see the Na Pali coast but a rainstorm prevented it. We should have taken this trip at the beginning of the week when the weather was gorgeous and sunny. But hindsight is twenty-twenty, I suppose. And now we have a good excuse to go back. Unlike most of the other vacations I’ve taken – where I had a lot of fun but was ready to come home, I was very distraught and saddened when I had to leave that wonderful place. I think, having experienced Kauai, I have a better understanding of what Paradise truly is.