Reflecting on Hawaii

Well, here I am, back in Tucson. Wow. It seems like I just woke up from a dream. I'm really sad that my trip is over.

Here's a recap of my last week in Hawaii. Summer left on Sunday July 22. I spent Monday cleaning, doing laundry typical housekeeping. I also had to pack for my trip to the big island, oh yeah - I have an airline ticket and hotel room for one night. Thought I'd see the other islands since they are so close. So I just rested.

Tuesday, July 24 - I head to the airport and head to the island "Hawaii" aka "The BIG Island". I met this cute guy - Summers age - and he was visiting friends in Oahu and going home. He told me of all these neat places to visit and eat. He was really nice, and cute and very gay. I'm having a great time looking out the window, taking pictures of the other islands then before I knew it - we were landing. Quick plane ride. When I looked out the window - there was a landing strip in a field of rocks known as lava. Jason told me that this was the old side of the island and that Mt. Kilauea had just erupted on July 21 - last Sunday - and was having lava flows. Hmmmm, this sounds expensive.....um I mean interesting. So we get off the plane - now this is an old fashioned airport. Remember way back when you would walk out on to the tarmac and climb a set of stairs to get into the aircraft? Well, that’s the way this works too. AND you can exit out of the back of the plane. KEWL! I go and get my car and me and my trusty GPS - now named Betty - because she is equally as irritating...lol (Betty is my late step dad’s recent wife). I find my hotel and check in. Not anything fancy but I'm just there to sleep. I hop in the car and start driving around. I found this cute little town with lots of shops and restaurants. Then I see it - Bubba Gumps. I gotta try this place. I go to park - holy cow! $12 dollars to park for 2 hours! Ok - I park. The restaurant was ok - nothing great to say - service was lousy and the waiter reminded me of some hippie I saw once in San Francisco in the early 70's. Then to the shops. They had this one shop with all sorts of jewelry and carvings and shells. I spotted a necklace made of Peridot (Summer's birthstone which she doesn't care for) The necklace was only $8 bucks, then another made of Volcanic Rhidorite, $8, and amethyst $10 and another of Volcanic Obsidian $8 bucks. I had to have them - just had to. Apparently there is a place where these rocks are easily available to the natives and they hunt for them and clean them up, put them in tumbler and make these for almost nothing. Then they sell them to the tourists. If you want to see them - let me know and I'll show you. I was just walking around when I spotted this lovely Hawaiian lady wearing a jewel studded shirt saying Blue Hawaii Helicopters. So I stopped her and asked her about the volcano activity on this island. We talked and walked and she told me about the volcano - history of volcanoes on this island, the last eruption and so much, come to find out she's part owner of the company. So needless to say I found myself buying a ticket for the next day to see the volcano. And yes - it was expensive, but a chance in a life time. That afternoon I went and visited the Mormon-Laie Hawaii Temple. This place was so beautiful and the workers were so kind. In fact everyone was nice. I met the Temple Matron and since my ankle was still bothering me and very swollen, I asked her if she knew of any available Elders or priesthood holders. She directed me next door to their Stake Center. I didn't even see the Stake Center amongst all the plants and flowers and the Temple is so beautiful I didn't see anything else. But there it was. I had a meeting with the Bishop and another priesthood holder and the words given were so applicable to me, things I really needed to hear and close to my heart. I felt like this Bishop knew my heart and my needs and he expressed the prayer so wonderfully. Thank you Bishop. They invited me to hang around and have pizza. The kids were having Mutual and they were playing that game with the sticks that the Tongan children were teaching them. It was fun and I was tired and ready to sleep - big day tomorrow!

Wednesday - July 25 - Did I mention Summer bought me newest the Harry Potter book? Well I spent the morning reading this fantastic book! Time for me to go to the Helicopter Port. I'm all ready and raring to go - thanks to Dramabeans. I get to the location and get ready to go - we get the safety video and instructions on what to do in case of an emergency. OK already - lets go. We get on the aircraft, me, a couple from Utah (Yes, Mormons!) a couple from Australia and the pilot, Toshi. Yahoo!! This is pretty cool. I get my camera out and - - the battery died. Shock - Horror - this can't be happening, but it is. But as things have it - my new friends from Utah, Terry and Lori do have a camera, and she said she would send me some photos. Thank goodness! Moving along, this was FANTASTIC! I could see the sulphur venting out of the volcano - we flew over the red hot lava flows and could see it spurting red lava into the air, there was one place where you could see how fast the lava was moving. It cooled and turned black-then it dawned on me, we were witnessing the island growing. Did God feel as overwhelmed as I did at this fantastic miracle? The world was growing in this small part of the world and he got to do all of this from the beginning. Watching creation. I had a baby and that was the best - and this rated right up there - creation. Heavenly Father is always amazing and here's proof and I was looking at this with my own eyes. Then we had to fly over other things like the black beach and waterfalls, the rainforest and more beaches and then we got to go over the lava again. This was definitely a highlight of my trip. After this - I was off to the airport and on my way back to Honolulu.

Thursday, July 26 - Just hung out on the beach at Waikiki - went to a movie "Ratatouille" cute movie - then I went and saw my friends at Coconut Willy's then back to the apartment.

Friday, July 27 - I rented a car and went back to the Polynesian Culture Center. There is so much to see and I wanted to visit this one more time before I left. This was a nice day - just like all the others in paradise.

Saturday, July 28 - I got up early so I could go snorkeling at Hamauna Bay - grrrr I had a car blocking me in. Finally around 8:30 the guy moved his car - so off to the bay. I get there around 10 am - the parking lot is full and they aren't letting any more people in. So I drive down the road and go to Sandy Beach. Man - the waves here are fierce. There is a very sharp drop off and the ocean makes these violent waves that crash into this drop off. There were locals swimming and body surfing. I watched this for about an hour and saw alot of tourists go in and now knowing what they were doing. The lifeguard would get on the PA every 15 minutes telling people if they were not familiar with this type of surf or were not expert swimmers to get out of the water you could drown. And he was right - I saw a couple people get knocked around and have their bell rung. Eventually I made it to the bay and went snorkeling.

Sunday - July 29 just hung out - did laundry - started packing. I leave for the mainland tomorrow. BUMMER

Monday - July 30 - My friend Greg is going to take me to the airport tonight, I can't believe it's time to go. The day is spent saying good-bye to the friends I've made - Gillian, Koyu, Dustin, Lana, the girls at the Food Pantry - and to Coconut Willy's. Greg picks me up and off we go. He was so nice and we had a very nice visit - all of a sudden the tears begin to flow, I don't want to leave - he had sung my favorite song - Honolulu City Lights. Then he presented me with a beautiful Leu with white trumpet roses and pink roses. The smell was the sweetest I had ever smelled. My trip was over. I had made some good friends and here was one who was making the end so special. He even bought a lei for me to take home to Summer. And then he drove away. I was on my way. The trip was uneventful, quiet, quick I couldn't sleep. I did see a fantastic sunrise. I made it to Summer's apartment on Tuesday around 4 pm. Time to dream of Hawaii.

Where has the time gone??

So much to tell. As some of you may know - I sprained my left ankle on the 12th of July. Yep, a trip to the local doctor. I was just walking and the pavement is really uneven here and I was looking around, next thing, wham I was down. But I'm ok - just a little rattled. I spent the weekend resting so I would be ready for summer's arrival.

Summer arrived on Monday, July 16, it was so wonderful to see her. We drove around and ended up at Hilo Hatties. A big store which specializes in Hawaiian Aloha attire. They also have a place where you can select an oyster and have them open it up to see if there is a pearl inside. We did that and Summer got a big pink pearl and I got a black one. They are pretty cool. Then we were off to the apartment where she settled in (A whole 5 seconds) then we were off to the beach. I showed her the International Market Place, a place with a lot of local wares and each store has the same stuff, but its fun to walk around. We ate at the local Cheesecake Factory and sat street side. It was really fun, especially when the birds flew by your table. Some would just walk up to our table and Summer got really annoyed. We stayed up and visited, but we have a busy day ahead.

Tuesday, July 17 we are on a circle Island Tour. It was very different from the tour I had taken two weeks ago. Different bus driver. Long day - going to bed.

Wednesday, July 18 we get up at 4:00am - We are going to the North Shore of Oahu so Summer can do a "shark dive". Yes, I said Shark. She gets into a shark cage which is lowered into the Pacific Ocean and the crew tosses fish pieces into the water and the sharks come. This was so cool to see - from the boat - I kind of wish now that I had done it too. I'll post pictures soon. After her adventure we went to Waimea Bay and sat on the beach for a while. We watched people jump off this huge chunk of lava rock and dive 30 or 40 feet off the cliff into the waters. Here we also saw dolphins jumping, twisting and playing in the water. The life guard got on the PA to remind the swimmers that the dolphin are federally protected and it is illegal to bother them, some are nursing, some come to heal their wounds and some to relax after swimming in the ocean... He also said that sometimes the dolphin are follwed by predators (sharks) so be careful. Up to that point we were looking at the backs of the swimmers heads, and as soon as he said sharks, we were looking at their faces and they were swimming really fast!! It was so funny! We got back to the room - took a nap and then went to the Hard Rock Cafe for dinner. Later on we went to see a local show at the Waikiki Outrigger Hotel called the Society of Seven. It was like being in Vegas. These second generation musicians, all Hawaiian, they put on a show impersonating people like Elvis, the Beatles, Sonny and Cher, James Brown, the Rat Pack, it started off dorky but as we sat there it did get pretty entertaining.

Thursday, July 19 - Summer went to the beach and I rested because today we go to the Polyensian Culture Center on the other side of the island. It should only take us about and hour or so to get there. It's really hot and humid here today. We leave around 12:30 pm. Well we take off and start driving on the interstate - traffic jam - we spend the next 30 minutes or so to go 4 miles. Ok we gotta get gas so we stop and get gas and something to munch on, since we skipped lunch. Ok on to the Likelike Highway and thru the tunnel to the other side of the island - the GPS then says TURN LEFT - ok, drive .4 miles then turn left, drive .5 miles and turn left. Now if you think about it - 2 left turns and you are going back in the direct from which you came....through the tunnel again, now we are lost. No problem, I trust the GPS, or do I? We drive just like it says - guess where we ended up? Back at the same gas station. LOL It took us 2 1/2 hours to get to the PCC. We ditched the GPS and found our own way. The PCC has so much to see but the best part was while we were there, Elder Utchburg, one of the 12 Apostles from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints was visiting the PCC. I got to meet him and have a photo taken with him. I can't wait to post these pictures. We saw him off and on the remainder of the day and then again at the Luau. We saw a fantastic show of native dances put on by the kids attending Brigham Young University Hawaii. This was defintely a banner day for me in my life.

Friday, July 20. We went snorkling at Hanauma Bay. This is a freaky thing to do if you've never done it before. But once you get the hang of it, no problem man. Summer and I just cruised around the bay for the next few hours. We used alot of sunscreen, it was hot. Then there was time for a quick nap and then we were off again, this time to go parasailing! This was right up my alley. Summer didn't like it too well, but I loved it. In fact I loved it so much I went twice. A young man from Canada needed a partner - so of course I volunteered. If yu ever get a chance to do this - do it! In fact if you ever get to Hawaii - try everything! It is a blast. So now we are off to dinner and to the Borders Bookstore to wait for the Harry Potter book.

More later!
Aloha!

One week at a time!

July 6, 2007
ALOHA!! Everyone says that here. I have been so busy here. In some ways its like Las Vegas - timeshare sales people everywhere - and when you get away from that its paradise. I took advantage of looking at a couple of timeshares....they bugged me enough. The incentive was - free tickets to different tours. Great deal - So far I have been on a Circle Island Tour and a tour of Pearl Harbor.
Circle Island Tour - Tour guide: Felix - native Hawaiian. I could go on about this tour and tour guide but it short - He was informative, funny and played the Ukelele. We saw Diamond Head, Hamana Bay - Summer - we will snorkel here. Around to see Blow Holes - cool. Across the island to the Dole Pineapple Plantation. Did you know that Hawaii is no longer the biggest producer of Pineapple and Sugar? They have been replaced by Taiwan, and other small countries - They bid ½ of what ever it is they are selling - putting pineapple and sugar cane growers out of business. Sad. Then we were off seeing little villages and shops. Finally we get to the Polynesian Cultural Center - we didn’t stop...then we drove past the Mormon Temple. Gosh - its so beautiful - again - we didn’t stop. So on our way to more shops and little villages - it seems we stopped a lot to look at shops. They back around to Waikiki. One thing Felix said that stuck in my head was how Hawaiian’s were family oriented. He gave us this little ditty - FAMILY - F is for the fathers who support the Family - A is for all the children who bring joy to the family - M is for the mothers who take care of the family and ILY is for something we should say to our family everyday - I Love You.
Pearl Harbor Tour - Tour guide: Pablo - ½ Hawaiian ½ Mexican. This was a much more somber tour. We are reminded that we are visiting a memorial for the 944 men who’s remains are still on the USS Arizona. They show a 20 minute video narrated by Stockard Channing - it is very moving. Then put us on a shuttle boat to spend 15 minutes on the Memorial. It was very overwhelming and solemn. A wonderful tribute to the men and women who died on that day. It’s like their 911 in 1941.
Now to today - I am sitting in bed - still - thinking about what will paradise bring today.
July 11, 2007
Today is my 47th Birthday. Happy Birthday to me!! I know I haven’t written everyday - but there is so much to do here. So here’s a recap of the last few days.
Friday I spent the day looking around the shops. So many shops but they all carry the same things. It’s the prices you shop, then you need to remember where the shop is so you can compare prices. It’s kind of like a Polynesian - Nogales feel - they give you a price and then you walk away and they say something like - ‘hey broda or sisa - I make you a better price’. It’s rather entertaining. I went to a Luau Friday night. It was huge, over 900 people attended this one. I meet some wonderful people from Michigan and Las Vegas. The food was good and the poi was interesting. The entertainment was awesome. These hula dancers are so beautiful and can they move. Did you know that men did the hula dances first? The women didn’t start doing hula until the 30's or 40's.
Saturday I spent at the beach then did laundry and cleaned my little apartment. That evening I sent on a dinner cruise aboard a Catamaran. Once again, the food was great....so much for dieting here. I met a couple celebrating their 40th Wedding Anniversary, the Campbell’s, and I met these nice ladies one from Georgia and the other from Oklahoma, Linda and Regina these girls were as fun as fun could be so they let me hang out with them.. We had a nice dinner then went up on deck to see the Waikiki skyline come into view. The back drop was Diamond Head. What a beautiful place, I can’t believe that I am here. With the wind in our faces and the sun behind us I just had to do the "I’m the King of the World". Just couldn’t help it. We were summoned back inside for the entertainment. Now this was entertainment - hula girls and hula guys but this time they grabbed people from the audience to participate. By the end of the show, everyone was on their feet dancing and laughing. This was a party and a whole bunch of fun. It didn’t end there - the bus drivers and their tour guides kept the party going all the way to the drop off point.
Sunday I took a cab to church. I met a lot of people and spent quality time with them. Half the ward were visitors and in talking to the locals told me that it’s always that way. I got to meet several local families and they gave me some ideas of what to do around the island. One told me that I could board the local public bus for $2 and go around the island...hmmmm $2 that sounds good to me. I took the bus back to Waikiki with other families and ran into Regina and Linda from last night. How funny to see them again in a city of this size. Anyway - I went home and hung out on the beach again.
Monday was just another day in paradise. I walked around to the Honoloulu Zoo and back and had the craving for some good seafood. So I went out and splurged, I had lobster. Oh my goodness, it was so good. What can I say - the seafood here is wonderful.
Tuesday - ok what to do today??? Hmm, remember I was told about the $2 trip around the island on "The Bus"? Well that’s what I did. Ok, this was something I should have really thought about before I boarded "The Bus". Did I mention this is the PUBLIC bus? This trip took 5 hours!! Five hours of public, of stopping every 500 yards at first then at every stop around the island. Of men coming to sit next to me who smelled of old beer, who smiled at me with no teeth. Of some who fell asleep with their feet on the seat next to me. Yuck. Of teenagers starting fights with other teens, of fisherman who came aboard with all their gear and (gulp) smelled like fish. Ok, not the brightest moments of my Hawaii experience, but definitely an experience. It’s kind of funny now, but it wasn’t then.
So this brings me to Wednesday, my birthday. I started the day off with a workout at a local gym, it’s not too late to start taking care of my body, is it? I worked out with this guy I met the other day, Cesar from Mexico. He’s a lot of fun and cute too - young, but cute. Then I was so exhausted I came back to the apartment, showered and crashed out for a while. Then as usual, I went to the beach. I decided to go the International Market Place and see this band I saw the other night, just two Hawaiian’s, a keyboard and guitar. I spent some time talking with them tonight, it was fun and they sang me a couple songs for my birthday then we sat around and talked when their gig was over. I have been invited out by Greg, the keyboard player. So after Summer visits we will do something. Oh, Summer’s visit....I have schedule out our time here on the island together. It is packed with things to do and of course time to relax and get some sun.
So for those of you who wished me a Happy Birthday - Maholo (Thank you) and for those of you who forgot Maholo (Thank you) but don’t forget my 50th in a few years!!! Thanks for reading - I appreciate the comments good and bad. I’ll write more soon!
Love to all!
Kerri

The trip from Heck....

What a trip! Planning my trip to Hawaii was so much easier than getting here.

I spent the evening with my brother and his family in Chandler. They have a new house and it is really gorgeous. They are really very happy and I am glad to see them that way. He deserves being happy and where he is in his life.


Ok, back to the trip from hell. Yes, I said hell. First off, I get a call from Delta airlines saying that my flight to LAX was delayed by an hour and my flight from LAX to Honolulu was delayed too. Ok, So I'll get to Hawaii at 10pm. I get to Sky Harbor Airport, check my luggage (will someone please teach me to pack light??) I get on the plane and we are off to LAX. Now I’m getting excited.

We get to LAX no problem. I check in and see there is a first class seat available from LAX to Hawaii, for a cost - of course - so I figure what the heck. I get on the plane and wow - first class is really great. Bigger seats, hot towels to wash your hands with, free drinks - big whoop - soda for me. Snacks right away, a blanket gee so this is how the other half lives.

We are all loaded the doors close and ready to go, er so we thought. Some lady decides she wants to get off the airplane. Huh? Yes, she wants off. Big commotion, screaming, yelling - so the airport security comes on board and escorts her off the plane. Now they need to retrieve her luggage. Ok, now for the math. There is 300 plus people on the plane - each with 2 bags a piece some with 3, the authorities now have to go through 600 plus pieces of luggage to locate hers. They go through once - they didn’t find it. Now the Police are involved and the feds too, off comes the luggage AGAIN! Still, they don’t find it. Hmm, Now it’s been about 4 hours and people are getting restless and rude. Me, I’m having fun, hey I’m in first class, I can play games on the little hand held dillybopper they have given me, I can watch a movie, I have a great seat mate- Tyrone, and we are having a blast, laughing, telling other passengers that his feet stink....really - they were really really stinky - and he says he fly’s first class all the time, apparently even the rich need to be reminded of personal hygiene. Now a lady comes up to our part of the cabin (now I’m talking like I have been flying first class all my life...hahaha) This lady is crying, says she needs to get off, she’s wailing and says she’s going nuts being held hostage in the plane, this is not fair. Poor girl, I really felt bad for her....until she blurts out "I really need to have a cigarette". We, my first class people and I are stunned. Compassion just went out the window. It’s sad to see where people are addicted to something and to see them crumble when they are forced to stop getting their "fix". Anyway, we are told we can do one of two things - 1 - get off the plane - everyone claims their own luggage so it is all accounted for, but then we would have to say the night in LA and leave at 7am. OR 2 just wait for the TSA to finish their investigation and we MAY get out tonight. I’m into hanging out on the plane, the service is wonderful. So after 5 hours we are finally taxing out to the runway. So we thought...we sit 10 minutes, 20 minutes, 30 minutes....ok now this is getting to be a bummer to me. I text a few friends and that goodness my friend Michelle reminds me - the universe has you where you are to protect you. My anxiety is gone and I agree, I’m not in control and I submit to the situation. Just as I say a quiet prayer for the words of wisdom....we are off!!!! We land in Hawaii at 2:30 am - 5:30 Tucson time. Yawwwnnn....I share a cab with these two guys and get to my condo...and I fall into bed.. I’m looking forward to seeing where I am tomorrow. Gosh....I’m in Hawaii!