an overlook on the pali highway.
make no mistake about it, honolulu is a city. a small city, but still a city. when we first got there, there was a mini-assault on our preconceived senses. part of this was fueled by my mom, who, having moved from a very small town in vermont, is still reeling from the packed highways and parking lots. she's still firmly (and vocally) in the what-hawaii-should-be stage.
even when you leave honolulu, oahu is not pristine. there are houses on most every rise. the "protected" snorkeling bay is akin to disney world on the weekends and racks up one million visitors a year. when you take pictures, you inevetably shift the frame a bit to edit out some structure.
this was one of those shots. directly underneath the mountains is a parking lot swimming with tour buses.
hanauma bay in the morning, before the beach opened for the day. usually, it's crammed with people. gorgeous without people though, no?
if i were spending hard-earned money on my one solitary vacation a year, instead of visiting my mom on a free ticket, i think i'd be a little bit disappointed. i'd want perfection. that's just me. (i think ann enjoyed it more than me -- perhaps it was seeing all the beautiful hawaiian wahine.)
but that's also just as a guest. after being there a bit, you start to realize what it would be like - as a full-time resident - to have both worlds at once. amazing restaurants, the chance for an actual career -- all at the same time as being a half hour away from the beach. you most likely won't be the only one on an unpopulated beach, but you can spend every weekend, and some mornings, in the water.
all the little surfer girls just killed us. can you imagine if this was what you were doing at age 6? instead of jazz and tap dancing class?
do i sound negative? ungrateful? i don't mean to. i really did have a great time this week.
there are turtles in this bay! we swam mere feet away from giant sea turtles!
i guess i'd love to live there, but just wouldn't want to visit. does that make sense?
that's exactly what we said about paris... visiting was ok, but it would be better to live there.
ReplyDeleteGreat blog and such fun little products. Ooo!
ReplyDeleteI just got back from a trip back to Hawaii, myself (I was born and raised there), with someone who had never been there before. There are such wild expectations. Hard to say what perfection is. Do you want to see it without all the tourists or building? No place is really perfect. There's a great spirit there that you seemed to get glimpses of, and the personality is what it is, all the lumps and unexpected qualities, all the tourist buses. You're lucky that you can stay with a 'local' - - take advantage of that and find all the soulful, less crazy spots. And enjoy some of the crazy spots, too.
For a place that you'd "have to" go to, to visit your mom, you know, it ain't all that bad. :)
My post-vacation blog post: Voyages. http://thefridgedoor.blogspot.com/2007/01/voyages.html