Aloha, Hawaii

I am writing this post on the evening of our last day in Hawaii, our fifth night. It was a relatively short trip. My physician husband was here for a medical conference and I tagged along for the fun. He worked. I had fun. Actually, he was in conference from 6:30 to noon every day: Sunday through Thursday & Friday morning. We had the afternoons free to explore Maui.

I’m an early riser. I was up every morning between 4:30 AM and 5 AM. Someone has to wake the roosters! If you’ve been to Hawaii, you will know there are a lot of chickens on the islands and they are stunningly beautiful birds! And fearless. So, after waking the roosters & the Doctor, I headed to the gym to work off the prior evening’s meal. I’m now up to 60 minutes on the treadmill walking in time to Lady Gaga and selected songs from Glee. The songs set my cadence and I zone out for the hour picturing myself in a Lady Gaga video. Show me your teeth!

In retrospect, it was a low-key, relaxing week. We went on a tour of Maui with Wade Holmes of No Ka Oil Adventrues; Nature-Based Excursions for te Alternative Traveler. Wade took us to sights seldom seen by tourists. He was a wonderful guide who knows much of the history and traditions of the islands. He’s also a botanist and is familiar with most of the island plants. We visited pristine waterfalls, swam in cool cataracts, laid in the sun on the rocks and hiked on ridge line trail. We came across no other visitors. We got a sense of what it must have been like living on these beautiful islands without all of us tourists. I loved every minute of it.

Our tour vehicle was a Wrangler Jeep uncovered to the elements. I enjoyed sitting in the back seat watching the scenery pass by, smelling the rain forest smells. The over-ripe guava crushed under foot as we hiked reminded me of the apple orchard of my childhood: same sickly sweet rotting apple smell.

We stopped at the Naka Lele blow hole to watch the water shoot 20 feet into the air from the blow hole. This was a popular tourist stop; there must have been 15 cars parked in the small lot with everyone scrambling down the rocks to the blow hole. So of course we joined them. Les decided to stay atop while Wade and I climbed & walked down the hill. It was an easy climb although rocky. But I enjoy that and it only took 15 – 20 minutes. We stayed long enough to take photos, stand between the sun and the plume to see rainbows and to get thoroughly drenched by the spray. It was refreshing. Then we hiked back up the hill.

Our last stop was in Lahaina we stopped in at Betty’s for Mango Margaritas and to watch the sunset. There was a huge Luau in progress right off the bar’s patio. We had viewing stand seats so we stayed for a second Mango Margarita and dinner. Watching the sunset, sipping Mango Margaritas and watching the hula dancers, I realized what a spectacular day we’d had.

This day of adventure set the mood for the rest of MY visit, I’m not sure about my Doctor. I think he was more caught up in the medical stuff, like that conference session on “Sex and Headaches”. Turns out that, most cases, sex actually helps elevate headaches. Hmmm THAT excuse doesn’t work anymore. (Just kidding, Doc!)

The week went rather quickly and was very relaxing and low key. I enjoyed kicking back by the pool reading & letting the sun recharge my batteries. The pool was wonderfully cool and I often fell asleep in my comfy lounge chair under that huge, industrial sized umbrella. It was bliss. My Doctor, more often than not, woke me when he joined me after his conference. I did manage to read 4 novels between naps..

So, what began as a guilt-ridden trip, turned into total down-time and six days of relaxation. Batteries are recharged. I’ll see you on the other Pacific Coast! Aloha!

Please take (another) minute to visit my website at www.JerryLHanson.com and take a stroll through my artwork. All of it is for sale (except for “Icarus” and “Winter Rain”). Please contact me if you want to buy one of my works or if you have any questions about a specific piece. My contact information is on my website and you can leave a comment on this blog site for me to contact you. You can e-mail me at JeryL@JerryLHanson.com and you can telephone me on my studio phone 760-992-3157 (I have the phone with me while we’re traveling; you can call me. I won’t mind). Aloha!

Mahalo and thank you for listening,

Jerry L Hanson