ALOHA -- hello, goodbye, and the force that holds everything together

We won the bid on a trip to Hawaii at a charity auction back in February 2020.  Last week, we finally got to go.  It felt surreal to be on an airplane, then surreal to be in a tropical jungle, then surreal to be snorkeling with sea turtles.  It was the first time we took a big vacation with only 2 kids.  From the moment we got our required negative COVID test results to the moment we arrived back home safely, I felt blessed -- lucky to be able to step away from the hustle and bustle of life, or the boredom of our daily routine and space.  It was beautiful and relaxing and magical.  And we appreciated it all.

We said "aloha" (hello) to the nearly perfect weather.  We said "aloha" (goodbye) to stress and to do lists.  We said "aloha" (I love you or I care about you) to each other, even when 24/7 living tempted us to be cranky-ish.  Here are some of our favorite moments:

On our first day, Lizzie couldn't stop yelling "ocean!" whenever it came into view.  This is her first giddy walk down to the beach after we arrived at our hotel.

This happy moment actually came on our last day, about an hour before we went to the airport.  Our neighbors were also in Hawaii, staying on the opposite side of the island as we had been.  During our last few hours, we braved the crowds of Waikiki just to look around (and get one last shave ice and Dole whip).  While climbing trees in a park and looking at parrots in the trees, we suddenly saw them approaching on the sidewalk!  It was a little piece of heaven to see good friends in paradise.

We loved the Polynesian Cultural Center, especially with 1/3 as many people allowed in!



We loved snorkeling and did it at nearly every beach we visited.  We saw fish everywhere we went. ;)


We were lucky to catch Lee's epic body surfing moment on camera.  He's the one in the red shirt.

We enjoyed way too much shave ice and ice cream.  (Lee would argue if there is such a thing as too much...)




We saw some amazing sunsets.





We enjoyed the enormous swap meet.

We were humbled by Pearl Harbor.


We hiked in the jungle and in the "desert", but either way it was sweaty.  Our hike to the Westernmost tip of Oahu reminded us of our hike along the Cliffs of Moher -- except for the fact that it wasn't raining, cold, hailing, or cloudy, and it was only 6 miles round trip instead of 9... ;)




We climbed a lot of trees, jumped (or were thrown) into a lot of water, and added a lot of birds to our "life list".  Sometimes we even fell from tree vines when our dad convinced us to try swinging on the vines like Tarzan.








Hopefully this healthy dose of ALOHA (the force that holds everything together) will hold us together for the busy summer weeks ahead!

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