Hawai'i
It's not often one takes a trip like this. It was the kind of trip that makes you step back and forget about the daily bullshit in our lives, and worry about the things that really, really matter: Fun, friends, family, and the loveliness this planet has to offer.
It was me, faminewing, and my mother and father. We visited Kaua'i and the Big Island™, the oldest and newest islands in the archipelago respectively.
Kaua'i is a smaller island, roundish with a diameter of perhaps 40-50mi. I got the distinct impression that fewer people visit Kaua'i than any of the others. It is all the better for it. There are only quiet small towns with stunning scenery nearby.
It has a thousand-foot canyon in the middle of it. There is a navigable river that leads to a waterfall, and of course many many beaches. We flew, drove, kayaked, and hiked all around, for five nights and six days.
We then visited Hawai'i, the big island. Big Island is big, about 70-80mi in diameter. Despite that, I can't think of a smaller patch of land with more varied landscape. Lush rainforest on the windward side. Snow-capped Mauna Kea in the middle. Erupting Kilauea and desolation all round it. Desert with nothing but lava rock on the leeward side. We were at the very edge of this desert, on a small wodge of irrigated land at Waikoloa Village, at my parents' timeshare.
I got the timeshare pitch, too. I'm considering it.
I thought about moving there as well. But, It would be tough to make a living in paradise, I'm thinking. Tour companies are scrabbling for the vacationers' dollar, and there isn't much money to pay for IT out there. It's fun to think about but probably impractical, given the high price of real estate there.
For now I'll be contented knowing I'll be going back soon. Just need to recover from this sunburn first!
It was me, faminewing, and my mother and father. We visited Kaua'i and the Big Island™, the oldest and newest islands in the archipelago respectively.
Kaua'i is a smaller island, roundish with a diameter of perhaps 40-50mi. I got the distinct impression that fewer people visit Kaua'i than any of the others. It is all the better for it. There are only quiet small towns with stunning scenery nearby.
It has a thousand-foot canyon in the middle of it. There is a navigable river that leads to a waterfall, and of course many many beaches. We flew, drove, kayaked, and hiked all around, for five nights and six days.
We then visited Hawai'i, the big island. Big Island is big, about 70-80mi in diameter. Despite that, I can't think of a smaller patch of land with more varied landscape. Lush rainforest on the windward side. Snow-capped Mauna Kea in the middle. Erupting Kilauea and desolation all round it. Desert with nothing but lava rock on the leeward side. We were at the very edge of this desert, on a small wodge of irrigated land at Waikoloa Village, at my parents' timeshare.
I got the timeshare pitch, too. I'm considering it.
I thought about moving there as well. But, It would be tough to make a living in paradise, I'm thinking. Tour companies are scrabbling for the vacationers' dollar, and there isn't much money to pay for IT out there. It's fun to think about but probably impractical, given the high price of real estate there.
For now I'll be contented knowing I'll be going back soon. Just need to recover from this sunburn first!