You might say it was just a change of 'sea-nery'.
In reality, it was so much more. But that's the way with travel sometimes. A trip gives you far more than you expected from it!
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| Sunset - Ko Olina, O'ahu |
When last I wrote, we were heading off on our first big trip, the first real vacation that we'd taken in several years.
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| Flight time: Hour 20 - island of O'ahu comes into view |
Our destination although a familiar one, is now halfway around the world from us. I can honestly say that as I told you about the trip in my last writings I wondered if we were out of our minds taking it. While the call to visit a favorite spot on earth was strong, as was the desire to see longtime 'same time, next year' friends, I questioned our stamina for such an undertaking after such a long dry spell.
I am here to tell you -- now that we've been back a week -- just how glad we are that we went! They say that travel feeds the soul, and this trip did just that for us. I didn't realize how close to empty we were running until we were actually refueling on the fabled white sand beaches of Hawaii.
The Journey
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| Wheels up, feet up aboard British Airways A380 |
We used airline miles and flew Business Class on all but one of the six flight segments. With 20+ hours spent in airplanes, having seats that converted into beds for the longest leg of the trip made it much easier on these two boomers.
Outbound the flight schedule required an overnight in London and coming back an overnight in San Francisco. Staying at airport hotels lengthened the trip, but it also gave us a chance to stretch our legs and break up the journey.
A New Look at an Longtime Favorite
Hawaii became the 50th state in the United States back in 1959. Yet, in many ways it feels like such an autonomous tropical island that on at least two occasions we got a good laugh when we overheard fellow visitors asking residents, about how something was done on the island and then explaining to them how it is done 'back in the States'.
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| KoOlina,mixed use development on O'ahu's west side |
It had been five years since our last visit and we wondered if perhaps we'd 'outgrown' Ko Olina, which in Hawaiian means, 'place of joy'. We wondered if it might have lost some of its magic. It didn't take long after arriving at the mixed-use development (homes, shops, and tourist accommodations) for us to know it still held us in its charms.
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| Wood sculpture honoring native fishermen of yesteryear |
Back in the days before Greece, when it was our annual winter destination from the Pacific Northwest, I think we had begun to take Hawaii a bit for granted. It was close, warm, convenient and of course, a beautiful destination. Having not visited for a while, this trip had us seeing it through new eyes. We paid more attention to its pride in its Pacific Islander heritage and culture, its stunning beauty and the commitment of its residents to 'malama ka 'aina' caring for and protecting the land.
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| Our go-to coffee spot amid lush gardens |
One thing life in Greece has taught us to do is to slow our pace. We approached our timeshare life this time with that attitude. We took daily strolls through the palm-tree shaded grounds on a path bordering the sea. We sipped coffee without hurry amid the lush tropical gardens - the vivid greenery and colors being something we miss in Greece. We found ourselves taking more of a 'live in the moment' approach to enjoying the resort.
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| A drive in the countryside is rejuvenating |
Our outings by car took us through miles of sugar cane and pineapple fields to reach favorite beaches, towns and resorts on the island's North Shore and further west to its vast undeveloped Kaena Point.
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| Moana magic in Hawaii |
The sea, moana, as it is called in Hawaiian, simply mesmerized us with its shades of blue, turquoise, and greens. Stunning colors, not completely unlike those of the Mediterranean, but yet so differently seductive that we often found ourselves gobsmacked by the views. And what a treat to walk on those white granulated sugar beaches so totally unlike the stone carpeted beaches in our area of Greece.
Old favorites; Places and People
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| Costco one of my happy places |
While beach times were magnificent, I have to tell you that the trips we took to the Kapolei Costco were equally exciting for those of us expats who miss shopping at that big box store. (Greece doesn't have Costco.) Shopping in some of our favorite locally owned retail and grocery stores, many that opened their doors decades ago on the island, has always been a treat and this trip was no exception.
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| Fish burger and onion rings were shared by two |
Hawaii is a food lovers paradise, especially when you have been away from it for some time. We stuffed ourselves with ono grindz, good Hawaiian food. We left the healthy Mediterranean Diet behind and junked out on junk food -- Hawaiian potato chips, tortilla chips and dips that we don't get in Greece. We cooked meals at home by barbequing steaks, halibut and mahi mahi fish, along with pounds of asparagus during our two-week stay.
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| Time spent with same time, next year friends |
We spent time with old friends - some who've known us for multiple decades. Others that we have met because of our timeshare life. One of the things we miss in expat life is spending time with those friends we used to see regularly. As I've written before, we don't often have friends traveling the distance to see us in Greece. So when a trip we take gives us the opportunity for get-togethers, walks, talks, giggles it is a double bonus.
A Change of 'Sea-nery'
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| We've missed palm trees |
Our change of 'sea-nery' trip not only improved our moods and outlook on life but also bolstered our confidence in our being mentally and physically able to still travel. We again proved to ourselves that we are not 'too old' to set off into the world. Sure, the flights were long, and we walked like stiff-legged Lego-people up the jet-aways after arrivals. We were more than ready for each flight to end. Once we reached our destinations we suffered 'jet lag' but it wasn't as debilitating as we had expected it to be.
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| Menehune - mythical dwarf people who live deep in Hawaii forests |
Not everything went smoothly. We did have a couple of those 'turned around' moments when we found ourselves heading in the wrong direction, as evidenced in our attempt to catch the correct underground train in SeaTac airport and again in our attempt to drive out of the rental car facility in Honolulu. Had either of those been filmed it would have made a great comedy reality show.
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| A change of sea-nery - just what we needed! |
Our time spent in Hawaii was far too short for the distance we had traveled; we concluded just a week after we got there. We spent two weeks at our timeshare property on O'ahu's west side and two nights in a hotel on its iconic Waikiki Beach. 'Next time' we said, 'we will stay longer. . .but maybe before we return, we need to set our travel sights out a bit further'. There are a lot of islands out there still calling out to be explored before we get 'too old'. I'll tell you more about that at some future date.
In the meantime, I'll leave you with the words of Frederick Buechner who sums up my thoughts on life and travel well. We thank you for the time you've spent with us today! And we wonder if you've had a recent change of 'sea-nery' that served you well beyond being a good trip? Tell us about it in the comments or shoot us an email. We love hearing of your travels!
