Lihue, Kauai, Hawaii (2008). When I was in the eighth grade my family took a spring break trip to Hawaii. This was the first time I had ever been and I still remember stepping off the airplane and being captivated by the tropical air and lush green setting. My parents spent most of this vacation dragging me from the ocean to go site seeing. I hesitate to describe anything as "perfect", but I honestly don't remember any annoyances or nuisances on this trip. (Keep in mind that I was a 14 year old who was going on a trip with my parents, and I don't remember anything annoying. Hawaii is a place of miracles.)
(Image Information: personal photo of Waikikki Beach
photo from March 2008.)
photo from March 2008.)
Honolulu, Oahu, Hawaii (2012). This vacation was also a spring break trip with my family, however I was now a senior in high school. This time I remember more about the people, rather than the places. It was the people and the experiences that made me fall in love with Hawaii all over again. I got to experience being kissed by a dolphin, watch grown men scale up a coconut tree by their bare hands and (as you can see in the picture below) be mocked by a funny, Samoan man who worked at the Polynesian Cultural Center.
(Image Information: personal photo at the Polynesian Cultural Center
photo from March 2012.)
photo from March 2012.)
Lihue, Kauai, Hawaii (2014). And now on my third, and hopefully not final, trip to Hawaii I am again reminded of how this is my favorite place in the world. I would live on the islands in a heart beat if it wasn't so dang expensive. This trip turned out to be a combination of new places and new experiences. I decided to share only one of the 300 photos we took on our vacation, it displays the most beautiful beach I have ever encountered. This is Polihale Beach, where you have to drive on 4.8 miles of horribly bumpy dirt sugarcane road to even get to it. Once you get there, the white sand seems untouched and the mountains leave you in awe. The best way to describe it is landing on a beach that you see Jack Sparrow travel through in Pirates of the Caribbean.
(Image Information: personal photo of Polihale State Park
photo from December 2014.)
photo from December 2014.)
Oh, this is wonderful, Jenny - what lovely pictures! And I hope very much you will get to keep going back there! I am such a fan of Hawaii also... my family lived there during my freshman year of high school (I went to Kaiser High School in Honolulu), but I have not been back there again, sadly. It really is a long way to go but SOMEHOW I have to get back there. I bet some things will be really different (this was back in the 1970s), but some things, thankfully, will be the same. The islands are the islands, after all! You might be interested in this fun project someone did in the Myth-Folklore class last year about Hawaiian legends: Gossip Girl: The Dirt on Hawaii's Elites She wrote about some of the places that she visited there, and the legends associated with those places. Great stuff! :-)
ReplyDeleteThat beach is gorgeous ... and now I have to figure out how to get there... :)
ReplyDeleteHawaii is the best! I have also been there three times and hope to go back many, many more! I love your pictures, they are a lovely reminder that paradise is only 8 hours away on days like today when we wake up to snow on the ground here in Norman! My most recent trip to Hawaii was to Oahu. My family stayed in Waikiki and it was beautiful! I have never been to Kauai, but your pictures and descriptions make me eager to visit the island!
ReplyDelete