‘Tis The Season

I love the seasons in Montana.

Winter. Spring. Summer. Fall. Conference Season!!!

Aloha toes! You know what that means!

My annual veterinary dermatology conference was on Kauai this year which is probably our favorite of the islands.

Hawaii’s islands all have a distinct flavor or feel to them.

Maui is happening. Its hip. Its trendy. Its where tourists flock with their families and the place has a real vibe to it.

The Big Island is enormous and covered in black lava. And there’s a volcano erupting that keeps the snowbird retirees from the mainland interested. It vibrates a little slower than Maui.

View of the southern shoreline from the Grand Hyatt.

And then there is Kauai where life moves even slower.

The trade winds had stopped blowing our first couple of days there so things heated up. It was unusual to experience that and even the locals were sweating up a storm.

Getting toasty on the Poipu Bay golf course our first day!

You get used to 3-shower days because the mix of 100spf sunblock and sweat feels just like you imagine it does.

Anything that isn’t cotton attaches itself to your body like a second skin and driving around in circles in the golf cart as fast as you can to cool off makes total sense.

The view from the last 3 holes at Poipu Bay were spectacular.

The Poipu Bay golf course became our home-away-from-home-course. The staff were hilarious and treated us like Ohana the second time there. The course was in great shape and we were some of the only players there each day!

Our second round at Poipu Bay… views like this and the place all to ourselves!

Alistair became somewhat of a celebrity during an organized one-hour lesson for the 14 veterinarians who had signed up for the annual golf tournament.

It was a free lesson and we showed up on time (which most veterinarians have a hard time doing). Everyone else was an hour late so that gave us time to visit with head pro, Chad. (Chad had been stationed in Great Falls years ago and remembers being cold for 10/12 months.)

Chad asked for a volunteer to try using his directional tools that he’d set up and Alistair went for it.

The rest is history.

Cart crew hamming it up with Alistair with his busted Driver head.

Chad: “I’ve never in my life witnessed anyone shear their Driver head off and send it flying like that.”

They leant us a Driver for the tournament the next day.

The tournament was great for Alistair and Dr.Rich and his son-in-law, Danny but it was a complete bust for me.

Golf cart parade heading out to tee off for the tournament!

I don’t even know why I’m admitting this because I’m usually pretty competitive with myself but I totally sucked that day.

My only real saving grace was my drive on a par 3 that landed a few inches from the hole. Our only birdie.

Our foursome, Alistair, me, Rich & Danny

Our team still laughed a lot and I played great golf every other time Alistair and I went out so I’m not worried. Embarrassed, perhaps, but not concerned.

One-legged, healthy-looking Nene at the golf course.

We did so many more things than just play golf, though.

We got to hang out with Alistair’s daughter, Whitney and her husband, Lau and we met his fun parents, too. The kids made a great BBQ for us at their place and we all laughed and relaxed and told stories about our adventures in life.

Me, Alistair, Whitney & Lau at Tidepool’s restaurant. This was when the trade winds weren’t blowing and we were as warm as we look here.

The kids met us for Smith’s Luau, which is a well-known place and show. Its also where the famous Fern Grotto boat tours take off from.

At the luau!

Lau and Whitney with us at Smith’s

The food was terrific and the stage for the show was beautiful under the starlit night. The performance was pretty good but if you’re going to jeer the crowd and tell us we need to clap more and you’re the fire thrower-guy, you maybe should practice tossing and actually catching those things a bit more.

I’m just saying.

Ready to load up for our incredible adventure!

Our biggest adventure this trip was an afternoon jaunt over to the remote island of Ni’ihau, where non-Hawaiians are not allowed to go.

Unless you’re invited.

Or you charter the helicopter owned by the Robinsons, who own the island.

We’re going to Ni’ihau!!!!!!

Whitney, Lau, Lau’s mom, Fredlyn and our new best friend, Tony from Ohio joined Alistair & I on a twin-engine bird that was over 30 years old.

Lau and Fredlyn just before the flight!

Up, up and away!

Our pilot, Dana was incredibly knowledgeable and gave us a superb aerial tour of the island before setting us down on our secluded, gorgeous, sandy beach where we spent the afternoon.

flying towards Ni’ihau

There is so much I could say about this trip but then the words fail me. It was beautiful. It was a privilege. It was Ni’ihau.

more of our aerial tour

Largely untouched shoreline on Ni’ihau

No fishermen that day. Some of the villagers ride a horse for 2 hours just to get to the shore to fish.

shells, lava, debris…

Our beach for the afternoon.

We snorkeled, we relaxed, we hunted for shells (which we were allowed to bring back), we pontificated, we watched a monk seal sunbathe, we beach combed and we admired the beautiful land on the traditional island that a few hundred pairs of feet get to walk on each year.

Snorkeling off Ni’ihau! It was like living in a giant saltwater aquarium!

I’m sure it was different for each of us. Particularly Lau, whose stomach didn’t enjoy Dana’s showboating in the helicopter on our way there. ‘Nuff said.

Trade winds came back! Southern shores off the Sheraton.

Then it was back to reality (which is unreal on Kauai) and a few more conference days for Alistair.

We dined at Dondero’s, Tidepools, Merriman’s, Keoki’s, Duke’s, Rum Fire, Red Salt, Ilima Terrace, Lava’s and the Plantation Gardens. We highly recommend a stroll through their amazing gardens even if you don’t eat there.

“Fraggle” plants at the gardens.

orchids at the gardens

The Plantation Gardens

We managed golf at the former Kauai Lagoons, (now Hokuala, which means Rising Star) where the airplanes landed immediately adjacent to a couple of holes on the back 9 and the term, Jungle Golf took on a whole new meaning.

One of our trips through the jungle at Hokuala!

Hokuala’s signature hole with a cruise ship docked at Nawiliwili in the background. None of our balls went swimming!

We had one more round at Poipu Bay where our Ohana treated us well and before long we were dining at Duke’s and then killing time waiting for our night flight out of Lihue.

We are rejuvenated and relaxed and tanned and ready for winter. The wood stove is on and the first few inches of snow in Montana has already melted. Loki had another seizure the day after we returned so I’m keeping her close. We still walk & talk, though, and she did a once-around the entire house & yard yesterday.

We love our Aloha adventures but we love to come home, too. Mahalo for reading, and it was great to see Aimee, Richard and Bruce and of course Whitney and Lau and meet his cool parents, David and Fredlyn. Aloha. Until next time.

One of those no-trade-wind-days on the golf course early in our trip

Fun supper at Dondero’s with one of my veterinary classmates, Aimee and her boyfriend, Jason!

the Sheraton luau dancers as seen from our walkway

Our beach on Ni’ihau

Final golf of the journey, once more at Poipu Bay, hours before we had to fly home.

The BEST Path Ever!

Aloha tootsies!

I’ve travelled several paths already this year and it is only just the end of April.

The paths are sometimes real and sometimes metaphorical and yet they are all a means of sauntering along on my journey.

We sauntered our asses over to Hawaii’s Big Island again a couple of weeks ago for a fabulous little journey in the warm sunshine.

A beautiful view!

The sky was bright blue, the ocean was navy, the clouds were fluffy, and the golf courses were awesome!

Our hotel room was a bit fancy but we didn’t complain.

Lounging in our yukatas in the living room area…

We somehow landed this one-bedroom, ocean-view, corner suite on “cyber Monday”… a day that is uniquely American and geared to online consumers.

One of our 3 lanais this last trip… we fell asleep every single night under the stars and waving palms listening to the ocean and the monorail below… talk about loving our Aloha!

Generally, we aren’t much for that type of thing but the rates last fall for the Hilton Waikoloa were 50% off! And then we found a conference for Alistair at a resort ‘down the road’…. I mean, we HAD to book, right?

Many paths throughout the grounds at the Hilton Waikoloa!

I loved exploring the resort and the area around me when Alistair was off at the Hapuna Prince for his morning conferences.

Pathways leading me around the resort

Its amazing to think that one week ago we were waking up all excited to play golf at a non-resort, more local golf course over by Kailua-Kona called Makalei.

Every hole at Makalei was uphill or downhill…. a fun, friendly course we highly recommend!

Getting ready to wrap up the round with our new friend, David, from AZ taking the picture at Makalei

Its amazing because here I am today, back in Montana, on a dramatically different farm than the one we left.

For starters, the weather is a bit different this morning.

Our stallion, Dash, not overly thrilled about the weather situation…

It wasn’t all that cold before we left for Hawaii. Our local golf course had re-opened and we had played a couple of times.

My step-daughter, Whitney and I before we left… we introduced golf and Norman to Whitney… a new journey for her, perhaps. (Note: no snow on the ground and no jackets on our bodies!)

Little Loki is missing her Mummy a lot and was a bit unsettled yesterday.

That could also do with the main reason our farm is so different now- Casey finally succumbed to his laryngeal paralysis while we were gone.

Casey & Dad a couple of years ago riding in Steve, our Ranger

Casey.

Jumpy, eager, goofy, happy, silly, clumsy, fun-loving Casey.

The dog who was always there is gone and the hole left behind is tremendous.

On one of many, many hikes on one of many, many paths

We had all hiked together before we left and Casey’s breathing had been labored so we did a much-modified, shortened hike. I had explained to Whitney that his disease was a matter of ‘when’… not ‘if’ and that we had already surpassed expectations by over a year.

Alistair and Whitney were adamant that we keep things as they were- that I wasn’t to step in and end things before we left.

Before he had a few more bumps with UB.

Or cuddles with Cleo.

Or sniffs with Loki.

UB, Casey & Loki goofing around a couple of months ago

And I was and I am completely fine with that.

Because each day really is a gift and nobody knew that better than Casey.

The physical embodiments of the words, “Oh, BOY!” lived each minute as the BEST one ever, regardless of what came his way.

Casey & Mummy, probably 12 years ago

As a puppy he never looked back when his former humans shattered his rear limbs with some blunt object. He became a ward of my vet school and joined our family for the rest of his own journey.

Young Casey Fyfe! Oh, BOY!

He took every opportunity to cuddle and enjoy each companion he could, human or otherwise and there was always such joy in his eyes.

Young (and bright-eyed) Loki with one of her BFF’s, Casey back in Bismarck about a dozen years ago. xo

His clumsiness seems more endearing to me now as I look through my rear-view mirror back down the paths we traveled.

At the time, though, I’m sure a few naughty words flew when he would slam into me.

Or when he knocked Alistair over post-knee surgery into a puddle on the driveway. I can only imagine what was being said as Alistair struggled to get his crutches while Casey was leaping all over and on top of him.

Casey & Dad hiking this winter

Casey lived and loved at full throttle.

If you were in his way (as my brother’s boys discovered) you would be slammed into and then licked and loved as you laid on the ground.

His wiggly ass and wagging tail knocked Cleo into the hot tub one time.

That was the BEST dunking of Cleo!

All 4 of the outside gang this winter

Something changed for Casey when we unexpectedly lost Harry in January.

He was still eager, keen, bright and goofy but he didn’t go for his kibble with the same gusto… and his runs through the pastures seemed more like he was looking for someone.

This is the BEST time on the couch, Mummy!

I believe he has found Harry again and the 2 of them are on a different journey of their own now.

We laid our big boys to rest with pink roses along with Cousteau, Mae Mae, Oscar, Cadbury, Marmalade and Mulder on a cloudy morning with patches of blue peeking through and a breeze strong enough to keep me from keeping my Memorial candle lit.

Typical.

Oh, BOY! This is the BEST photo opportunity ever, Dad!

And I miss Casey like I never thought possible and Cleo has moved primarily inside and she’s eager to cuddle and take over the bed and all of the animals are sorting this out and I still look for Mulder and long to hear Harry’s “Woo Woo’s” and I think I hear the guinea pigs whistling at me and I’m crying again but trying to be that strong, independent woman I think I am when clearly I’m not and our hikes out back are SO different now because although its the same path I have hiked for years, its a completely different journey.

Oh, BOY! My first agility trials with my DAD!!!!

And we will all be okay.

Little things make me smile or laugh- like seeing my golf club head covers at the Mauna Lani resort 2 days after Casey had laid down in the grass with Whitney and Cleo on a sunny afternoon for the last time.

Who knew Muldie and Casey would join Jinxie in the spirit world when I got these late last summer?

The fact we were an ocean away maybe even helped because of the Aloha surrounding us.

View from the big lanai

We played golf and raised our glasses to one of the BEST dogs ever to join our rag-tag band of merry misfits.

I had just made par on the par 3 hole below. People had been watching from this lava and had cheered me on. Seemed like a good time & place to celebrate 🙂

And I continue on my journey and I’m hoping that’s enough loss for awhile and that I can retain some of that Aloha ’cause it really is something special.

Post hula lesson at the Hilton Waikoloa!

And I am okay with the hurt because it means the love was real.

And I still think I am the luckiest girl in the world to have known some amazing spirits.

Mahalo, Casey. That was the BEST of times! xo

golf ball hunting in lava fields

Ocean-side golf!

Their last hike together. “That was the BEST hike ever, Dad!” April 13, 2015

Maui Magic and Mai Tais

Hibiscus flowers at our resort

Aloha!

Again!

As unbelievable as it may seem, we just returned from Maui.

This most recent trip to the Hawaiian islands was for continuing medical education for Alistair.

For me it was a much-needed break from my rough start to the new year.

Enjoying the mandatory relaxation on our lanai a week ago

I was able to leave 4 feet of snow, ice-covered decks and roads, my scarf-glove-toque-jacket-leggings-snow pants-boots outfit, wood piles, wood stoves, a limping barn kitty and a house without Harry behind as I smelled the Hawaiian air and felt the sun on my bare skin.

It didn’t matter that our plane was 2 hours late.

Somewhere between 1 and 2am finally getting our ‘aloha’ on

It didn’t matter that I lost Alistair at the airport after picking up our rental car because I was watching a feral airport kitty cross the road.

I lost him for over 20 minutes and finally texted him, “Where are you?”

I mean, where can a guy with 2 huge suitcases and 2 full golf club travel cases and a knapsack go at Kahului airport at close to midnight????

Sights and colors of Maui

(It turned out he was sitting right by where a cute feral cat had just crossed the road…) (Ooooops…)

Apparently I brought some other baggage along on the trip only it wasn’t something I had packed.

It was all neatly tucked away in my over-active subconscious just teasing me with mild distraction, waiting for the opportunity to leap to the forefront of my life.

Leaping Humpbacks!

Like the leaping Humpback whales we got to see up close and personal on a whale-watching tour with Captain Steve and 20 of our closest new friends.

Amazing!

The whale tour was magnificent.

Awe inspiring.

Incredible.

Mama whale and her calf off the shores of Lahaina

We were right on the water in a zodiac watching a mother whale teach her calf how to breach.

Mama, doing some teaching

The whales return to the warm, shallow waters between Maui and her neighboring islands of Lanai and Molokai every winter to calve and mate before journeying back up to Alaska.

Whale dive

It is something to behold, particularly when the whales were putting on a show like they did for us.

After Mama and her calf left we had a pod of males chasing a female, hurling their massive bodies out of the water all around us.

Just… Wow…

That was our second morning there.

The morning after my subconscious did its thing.

I had slept really well that night, after a day in the sun and on the Bay Course playing a round with Alistair.

Teeing off on the first hole on the Bay Course in Kapalua, Maui

It had been a bit weird when we found out we were playing with strangers.

More so when ‘Denise’ was kicking all of our asses with her long drives, pars and birdies.

View towards our Ritz-Carlton Kapalua from just off the 4th green on the Bay Course

After 7 strokes I picked up my ball on the 1st hole.

The 2nd didn’t go much better.

But I breathed and I relaxed and I laughed and we all got lost in our parade of golf carts (following Denise!!!) and I felt some Aloha wash over me and nothing mattered because we were on a sunny island in the middle of the Pacific.

And then I played golf.

View towards our 3rd floor room from the green on the 3rd hole… where I remembered how to play golf

Denise later fessed up to being the Kansas state ladies golf champ 7 years running after learning to play from her professional golfer father at the age of 3.

I didn’t feel so bad after that.

Signature hole on the Bay Course, a par 3 that plays along the ocean. A bit distracting but beautiful nonetheless

We played 2 more rounds, including one on the famed Plantation Course where the PGA had just wrapped up the Tournament of Champions.

All smiles as we were about to get our butts spanked on the Plantation Course!

We played alone on the enormous, undulating, grueling course.

Which was great when we found a ton of golf balls embedded in the ground on the 5th fairway!

Absolutely stunning views from the Plantation Course

How to make a Scotsman and a Doukhobor happy!

Happy Scotsman posing after his drive cleared the ravine and landed just off the green

Rejuvenated, relaxed, expecting to play with others and humbled by the Plantation Course a few days prior, we hit the Bay Course in our fancy new duds one more time the day before we left.

We played with ‘Matt’ from Chicago and the 3 of us were very well matched in golf play and colorful language.

Fancy Schmancy duo on the 17th tee at the Bay Course just before sunset

And all of this was maybe more enjoyable because I had got rid of my mental baggage that 2nd night in our hotel room when I thought I had slept so well.

When we woke up before going on the whale watching tour Alistair asked me, “Do you remember anything from last night?”

The tee box view from the Bay Course’s signature 5th hole

That’s not a question a sleepwalker wants to hear.

A sleepwalker whose most recent wanderings led to the closing of her clinic and a new approach to her mental, physical and emotional health 2 years ago.

Alistair had woken up around 2am to a steady knocking at the door.

The Ritz Carlton Kapalua… apparently I needed this!

And I wasn’t in bed.

Or in the bathroom.

He cautiously answered the door to find me blankly staring at him from the resort hallway.

Did I mention I was naked?

At 2am.

In the hallway of the Ritz.

the power of Maui…

There is such a feeling of loss (of time, memory) and of being cheated (by myself!) after I learn I’ve slept walked.

And of course the wondering… where did I go? Did I meet people? I’m sure they were nice to me because I was naked but seriously, how long was I gone and what did I do?

Kapalua Coastline in front of our resort…. good thing I didn’t wander far that night!

But that is all a part of who I am and the journey I’m on and how I learn about myself and how I handle things like stress.

So we laughed.

What else can you do?

Calming tidepools off the shores of Kapalua

One of the reasons we enjoy the Hawaiian islands and the spirit of Aloha so much is because our lives on ranches with animals in 2 different states is challenging at times.

Saying farewell to the day, Hawaiian-style

Hawaii is a real escape where we can play golf in January and watch whales and wear shorts and sandals and have bare skin and eat incredible seafood and hike coastal paths and play with sea urchins and look up at a dormant volcano on a clear day.

Hawaiian flora and fauna

Its also where I can get a mean mai tai just about anywhere and that also is a key to my affection for Hawaii.

Maui Mai Tai

Now its back to the snow and Casey’s floppy laryngeal fold and a barn kitty who isn’t limping and blind Loki pin-balling her way around the house and frost in the mornings and a second book to write and frozen mahi mahi to cook.

I love this adventure I’m on.

Watching 2 feral kittens play in the bushes by the ocean

Alistair at the Dragon’s Teeth formations of wind- and water-whipped lava

Even managed a book event and a few sales at Sandy Pages in Kihei (with Rod, the owner)

Our Ritz-Carlton Kapalua pool area in the morning

Loving the journey I’m on and the guy who chose to go on it with me!

Aloha, Baby

Beautiful plumeria trees with their subtle sweet fragrance

As I’m listening to the rain come crashing down outside knowing it will turn to snow overnight, I’m not all that concerned.

I don’t mind the mud and the puddles and the cold and the wood splitting and the need to dress in layers because I’m buoyed by our most recent trip to the islands.

Hawaii Island, specifically.

Aloha.

Waikoloa Beach Marriott, where we stayed

We have been in love with the Hawaiian islands since our first trip there in 2009. We both try to arrange conferences there on an annual basis.

The veterinary dermatology conference I’ve attended 5 times now rotates between Kauai, Maui and the Big Island. That’s what took us over there last week.

Sunset on the island of Maui at last fall’s veterinary conference

The flight from Seattle to Kona wasn’t without some excitement. Not turbulence or anything frightening like that.

No, this was excitement on the human front.

Our plane was being held for some passengers who were in the airport but couldn’t be located.

Eventually they came thundering down the aisle with two little kids, enormous bags of diapers, every use of the F-word imaginable, all while slurring their words and swirling their take-out cups.

Guess they had been in the bar.

Bird sanctuary on the east coast of Kauai, January 2014

Wife sat behind Alistair and proceeded to grab onto the back of his chair for balance (because you are so off balance when seated, right?)

She was extremely vocal about her dismay over the lack of cup holders.

As if we were on a flying minivan.

Their 2-year old kicked my chair most of the flight and wailed non-stop when both parents eventually passed out.

When Wife woke up (more F-words) she spilled 3 drinks in succession. With even more F-words.

At first it was orange juice but a couple of hours into the flight over the Pacific they somehow allowed them to have a Mai Tai. (Sploosh) (F-word). And another. (Sploosh, again….)

Finally playing golf in Hawaii! We loved it.

We eventually landed in Kona where it was dark but beautiful.

The airport there is open-air and made up of tiki-type huts.

Its pretty awesome.

We have a system where I run to rent the car and Alistair retrieves our luggage. Worked like a charm.

The Ali’i Lavender Farm on the slopes of Maui’s dormant volcano, Haleakala

While our room wasn’t what we’d requested and the view of the pools, lounge and enormous tree out front meant for less time on the lanai at night, we began to embrace the Hawaiian way and got into our island groove in no time.

Hawaiians are adaptable, friendly people.

They adapt slowly because everything and everyone moves slowly in Hawaii.

The sun takes its time descending into the ocean in the evening.

Sunset from the fishponds by our Marriott last week

Why rush it?

The well-managed feral cat colonies are in no hurry to go anywhere.

Feral cat colony by the Marriott on the Big Island- I counted 20 kitties at one time.

If food and water are provided, and your furry companions are there, and your ears are notched because you are altered and there is funky lava all around you to lounge on, why not hang out and chill with your buddies?

Very photogenic Big Island feral cat

In the islands, these kitties do it ‘island style’

More feline aloha.

Most of the restaurants move a bit slower but that’s cool.

Who needs to be in a hurry when you’re looking out towards the palm trees listening to the ocean waves come upon shore?

The famous Mai Tai adult bevvie is almost designed to help you move a bit slower as well.

Big Island Mai Tai last week- guaranteed to help anyone chill

Maui Mai Tai from last year’s conference

Island Barbie with her Mai Tai on Maui in 2010

Now that we consider ourselves sort of, kind of, in a way, not really golfers, we booked tee times and went for it!

We laughed, we made par, we got lost (my fault on that one!), we learned that rocky lava does a number on golf balls, we stared at the beauty around us, we laughed some more, we drove balls into lakes, we observed golf course goats, we got rained on and we got sun tans even while wearing SPF 70.

Alistair at the Waikoloa Kings golf course with a dormant volcano in the background

We played in the golf tournament hosted annually at this conference. We had never signed up before but I know we will do it again.

A bunch of eager, happy vets headed out bright and early on the Waikoloa Beach par 70 course in a parade of golf carts.

Golf cart parade! We were the merry leaders!

We were teamed up with Dr.Brock and Ron, who was 83 years young and knew how to hit the heck out of a golf ball.

Coolest team in the tournament on the signature hole at the Waikoloa Beach golf course

Granted, around the 15th hole he looked pasty and white and Brock was kind of helping him stand up.

It was a hot day for anyone, let alone an 83 year old who hadn’t played 18 holes in a few years.

And yet he rallied to finish and enjoyed the humungous hamburgers and beer with everyone else during the luncheon.

Our team shot 70.

Waikoloa’s Beach course signature hole…. jaw droppingly beautiful with crashing ocean waves all around.

The conference was great- we got to reconnect with friends we have met over the years (Dave, Cathy, Alan, Amanda, Erica, Pam) and make new friends as well (Brock, Ron, Bruce and Quinn).

Dr.Brock, from Indiana, joined us for more golf… even when the electrical system went haywire and nobody could control the sprinklers we approached it Island Style and played on through. Aloha! Fore!

The only time things sped up for us last week was when we boarded the Blue Hawaiian Eco-Star helicopter for the Big Island Spectacular 2 hour tour.

AWESOME trip yet again with Blue Hawaiian!

It totally lived up to its name and I don’t mind shamelessly promoting this company for their exceptional pilots and tours.

Up close and personal with the current eruption on Kilauea via Blue Hawaiian helicopter tours

The only way to see some amazing parts of the Hawaiian islands is by air and we’ve got every penny’s worth each time we’ve flown with Blue.

Watching the planet being created as fresh lava marched towards the ocean destroying everything in its path

Our pilot, Shane was enjoying the trip as much as the rest of us and added on an extra 30 minutes to the tour. We had incredible timing with the lava flow, the weather and the clouds.

Cascade waterfalls along the eastern coast of the Big Island

I can never get enough of the waterfalls and rugged coastlines and I want time to move even more slowly.

Wind-whipped eastern coast of the Big Island seen from the air in our front seats of the helicopter

Its even more cool when you get to sit up front, which we did. I was the co-pilot.

I clapped my hands and grinned like the village idiot when Shane asked me if I wanted to shut the helicopter off.

Something about the islands brings out the little kid in me.

Lanai views from the Marriott… not our room, though. We got to Linger Longer here for 12 hours which was long enough to enjoy the palms and the ocean.

And I am once again filled to the brim with aloha and love and sunshine and a spiritual type of re-awakening.

A true appreciation of what it means to be alive in a land that is still forming in the middle of the Pacific ocean.

Alistair and I on our last day on the Big Island

The weather report says we’re heading for 14 degrees Fahrenheit in 2 days and we got the wood stove going when we landed back in Montana 2 days ago.

And I’m totally cool with this because I know the islands are still there… waiting for us to return someday.

With outstanding seafood, refreshing Mai Tais, romantic sunsets, spectacular helicopter rides, tropical flowers and morons on airplanes who get wasted without thinking of anyone but themselves and who spill their drink and swear like sailors but even that doesn’t matter because of the adventures ahead and the ones behind.

Mahalo, Hawaii.

Until next time.

Saying goodbye with the hula statue at Kona International airport a few nights ago

Ahhhhh…..

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