Saturday, February 24, 2001

Dear Kate,

Hawaii is soooooooooooooo beautiful. I hope you can get there some day.

Our trip was great. And it's such a difference, taking a week off from work vs. taking just a long weekend. As much as I love my long weekends and excursions, I could tell that I really needed a full week--I probably could have benefited with an additional few days--to fully destress!

Halfway through the trip I remember snapping--or wanting to snap--at another tourist who pulled up in his car smack dab in the center of my camera's view. I was about to take a picture--he was looking right at me--and yet he slowly parked in the worst possible place. I was stewing. Still am! And that's when I knew that I still had to calm down. (Would have been a nice picture too...of Joe standing nearby our red convertible Mustang and looking outward at the mountains.)

Our two nights in Oahu were nice. We stayed at Ramada Vacation Suites. We'd stayed at the (Aston) Waikiki Joy for our honeymoon, and as much as we liked where we were, we both agreed we liked the Waikiki Joy better.

We then had five nights on Kauai, and we stayed at Radisson Kauai Beach. It's actually the same place we stayed for our honeymoon, only it was an Outrigger then.

Kauai was mostly in a haze. It's definitely clearer in the summer months. And while we did a lot of snorkeling, we didn't get to do as much hiking as we hoped, because it was always raining in the mountains.

A few times, in fact, we found ourselves driving to find the sun. Our last day we were almost completely confined to the car because of the rain. But rain or not, Kauai is truly the most beautiful place in the world.

It is so peaceful there, and I could feel myself easing into a certain calmness. I had time to just sit there and meditate. It felt good to clear my head and do nothing but breathe. Sometimes, though, I didn't want to close my eyes. It seemed a shame to be in such a beautiful place and not take it all in.

I wandered into several art galleries and discovered how much I can really appreciate art. Monet and Georgia O'Keefe were cool to like when I was in college, but I never really got "into" art. Thomas Kinkade's work I really, really like, and when the house is does, I'd love to own something of his. I enjoy Wyland's view of the sky and sea, but, in Hawaii, I found myself particularly drawn to works by James Coleman. At least three times, I'd look at something fully unaware of who the artist was. And when I realized whose it was the second time, I thought it was interesting. By the third time, I decided I needed to see more.

There was the spiritually natured works of Mara Friedman--a woman from Oregon who seems to focus mostly on the beauty of women and nature. And there were so many local artists' works to enjoy, too. I was loving it all. And yet, I bought only a bookmark with one of Friendman's images on it: "She Goes With Grace," which is followed with a quote: "Now I walk in Beauty \ Beauty is before me, \ Beauty is behind me, above and below me."

It described the trip perfectly. The week refreshed all of me and all of my senses.

There's something to be said for a place in this world where one of the local radio stations broadcasts a lost-and-found on the air. Someone lost a videocamera, someone lost a dog. And I wouldn't be surprised is someone found and turned in any of those things. It's just that kind of place.

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