When Cal and I first got together I didn't realize the man had never taken a real vacation. Oh he had gone off for a few days here and there, but never for more than that. He had never planned a real honest to god week or longer vacation since he had left home. Now, please remember that this is MY side of this story. I am sure that his would differ if asked, but since he is not writing this, well, he will have to live with my telling of it.
I wanted to go back to Hawaii. I hadn't been back since my girlfriends had moved back to the mainland. One had lived on Oahu and one on the big island of Hawaii so I had been able to see alot of the islands by visiting them. I wanted to spend a week or two with Cal in a romantic place and show him the Hawaii I knew. He was dead set against it. It would cost too much, we couldn't afford it, he wasn't going. Ok, I said, I have the time off, so I would go without him and see him when I got back, but I was going with or without him. (It was early in the relationship and I was very independent!)
When we stopped arguing about it, I asked him for a budget, and if I could work within that budget would he take the time off and go? He finally agreed with lots of hemming and hawing. $1500 for the two of us including air fare for a week. I wanted to go during the whale migration so it would be in the winter time. January to March.
We found that air fare in March was low. $199 round trip on Aloha from Oakland into Honolulu. Then $49 to Maui. Booked it! I found a timeshare that would give us a three night four day stay in Honolulu just for going to the presentation. We went and got it. $199 for the reservation hotel in Honolulu. I called a repo service I used in Oahu and asked if they could loan us a car while we were there. They did. No rental car for the four days! I researched for a place on Maui and found a Hawaiian family owned hotel that was not near the popular side of the island and booked a two night stay at the beginning a one night at the end of our Maui stay. It was $65 a night. So far so good We found a reliable but cheap rental car place I think called Dave's rental that was like rent a wreak, but they ran great. But the best was yet to come. I found that at Waianapanapa State Park in Hana the cabins were $15 a night during the week so I booked it for 5 nights! We were going for almost two weeks and I still had money left over!
We found coupons for everything from early bird dinners to whale watching. Saw so many whales that it was a life changing experience for me. We snorkled in Hanama Bay at 6am to beat the crowds and walked in Punchbowl when the rain came. We found the grave of the founder of baseball (Cartwright was his name!) and then spent Cal's birthday sitting on the lanai in Waianapanapa watching two humpback whales tailslap in the beautiful ocean in front of us while sipping some rum concoction Cal had made. BBQ's almost every night in front of our very rustic cabin. Watched the geckos play on the windows at night and the mongoose chase each other during the day. Took naps and side trips and found the blue pool to swim in. We didn't eat at the best restaurants and we didn't bring home alot of souveniers that trip, but the things I remember clearly are the moments that made it most special. The BBQ in Hana (There are only 4 places in Hana to eat and two close at 3pm) that we stumbled on, the grave of Charles Lindburgh sitting on the magnificent cliffs overlooking the pacific, Oheo Gulch as it splashes down to the sea on the other side of Haleakala. And the crater itself at sunset freezing my butt off as we sat in the car watching the beauty of it.
You can't buy that in a store, you can't bottle it or put it in a picture and send it home no matter how hard you try. But you can remember it once you have been there. It burns into your brain. Never to be taken away. It is even hard to explain to those that haven't been there. They just don't get it. And maybe for some (I have run across one or two) they can't feel the majesty and beauty of seeing a sunset that has brought tears to my eyes, or seen a giant sequoia that is over a 1000 years old that takes my breath away. Or understand why I can sit on a small boat to catch a glimpse of a whale day after day. To experience these things, to go out into the southwest and see where ancient people used to live, to hear the songs of the Hawaiians sung, or for that matter to hear the songs of whales singing to each other, these things make me feel connected to the earth and the ocean and the people who came before and the living things that are here now. You can't buy that. You can only live it enjoy it, embrace it. Do it everyday. Not just on vacations but find that moment every day to freeze in your brain to make it a special moment. What have you got to do today in the next moment? Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm?
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