On Time, Travel and Taking Care of Yourself
I returned from a 12 day trip to Hawaii yesterday. Here's a couple lovely photos to go along with what I learned.
“Honey, come out here.” Earlier this week, my husband, Mike, sat on the balcony of our tenth floor hotel room overlooking Waikiki beach. The view of the Pacific, the clouds on the horizon and the beach with palm trees, was absolutely stunning. A rainbow so bright you could almost touch it, had appeared between the clouds.
Far from our home town in Wisconsin, Honolulu, Hawaii is a fourteen hour trip on a good travel day. The overnight journey home, with delays a layover and taking into account the time change, took twenty hours. It felt like two days. Without sleep.
But was it worth it? Oh my, yes.
Originally, we set out to see our niece get married. He’s from Australia, and she was born in Wisconsin. Siblings, nieces and nephews would be there with their spouses and children. Seventy five friends and family from six states and two continents traveled far to be with the happy couple. And the journey turned out to be so much more than the touching and tearful union of two kindred souls.
After the wedding and festivities, Mike and I set out to create our own adventures. We climbed the humbling Diamond Head Crater for a magnificent view and discovered our limits and our strengths. We drove to the North Shore and walked through a Botanic Garden to see a hidden rainforest waterfall. The flowers-oh, the beautiful tropical flowers.
While we were up at the North Shore, we stopped by Turtle Beach. It isn’t really called that (though Turtle Bay is the name of a resort). The beach has a Hawaiian name-duh. So in case you’re looking, go to Laniakea Beach. And yes, we saw turtles. They were feeding in the rocks along the shore. They popped their heads up to take a breath, then dove back down. We couldn’t tell how many were there-dozens? Sometimes, a big wave washed one onto the rocks. Not to worry, the next wave took the turtle back out. One we saw was as big as your king-sized pillow.
If flowers and turtles aren’t your thing, we also visited Pearl Harbor Museum and the Bowfin Submarine. We scoured every inch of the World War II sub, with it’s historical photos and original personal items on display. We also visited my grandfather’s grave at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific. The gorgeous, well-kept grounds of the “Punchbowl” are inside an extinct volcano. It was once the site of early Hawaiian sacrifices to pagan gods. My grandfather, Major Edwin Eckerson died on The Comfort (a naval hospital ship) in Okinawa.
While in Oahu, we also spent hours watching the multitudes of surfers. Since I got caught in a rip-tide once, I decided not to brave the waves. But those guys had stamina and patience. They were out before dawn every day and many stayed until after sunset. I admire their fortitude, balance, and attitude.
After a trip like this, it’s not hard to have a new outlook and new attitude to life. I often get caught up in “time.” I worry there’s not enough, or I’m running out. I have limited time. I have to hurry up. Get caught up. And sometimes, I race to get things done…in time. This slow paced vacation was long overdue (darn it, there I go talking about time again…). Anyway, I won’t let the lessons I learned go to waste.
I want to savor the feeling that I have plenty of time. That I’ll take each day as it comes. And I’ll take time out each day for me. Sure, life’s not going to wait around, and it will pass me by soon enough. But in the meantime (haha) I’m cultivating patience and a sense of what’s really important.
“Honey, quick. Come look at this.” I stopped what I was doing and went to Mike’s side. Oh, yes. Taking the time out was so worth it.
Moki asked me to say, "Aloha," and he's glad you visited his birthplace! So happy you had relaxing time. Isn't Pearl Harbor amazing? What a stunning photo of the rainbow. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you for sharing this beautiful adventure. I am mesmerized by the photo of the rainbow, I don't think I could have left that balcony before it vanished. Wow.