Hawaii

Aloha.......... We are back from a week in Hawaii-- on the "Big Island," as they call it there. I can't even begin to describe its beauty. Everywhere you look-- huge trees dripping with not only its own leaves but decorated in swirling, twirling flowering plants...... it was as if each tree had its own accessories.

And the water......... blue, blue, blue, as far as your eye could see. Amazing shades of blue, and if you were lucky, and the sun was hitting the water just right, you'd see an emerald green near the breaking of the waves. White sand, soft as sugar, and we even walked along a black sand beach (also sugary soft) where sea turtles napped along the shore. The turtles didn't even move as people walked right up close to them to take pictures. (Signs were posted on the beach asking everyone not to touch or feed or bother the turtles.)

The plane ride to Hawaii was long.... we were exhausted by the time we got to our rental car, but off we went, to explore the Island the way the people living there see it, not as the pampered tourists see it. Once again, I packed dressy clothes that never made it out of the suitcase. Will I ever learn?

We had to stay at The Hilton for two nights, being that my husband had to attend a conference there. Needless to say, The Hilton was very plush, very fancy, and of course-- very expensive. We hated it. I can't tell you how many times we said to one another that the cost of our lunch or dinner would give Paris Hilton more pocket money for her shopping sprees.

Our best nights were at two small, family-owned hotels....... both very clean but simple, owned by private people, not big-names that you would recognize. Neither hotel had air-conditioning, but it wasn't needed. The breezes that blew in from the ocean were amazing, and the nights were comfortably cool. We thought it was funny that our $60-per-night "mom & pop" hotel room gave us a spectacular view of the ocean, while our $250-per-night Hilton room gave us a view of a green lawn that hosted a luau-party with non-Hawaiian music playing while we were trying to recover from the jet-lag.

At our second mom-&-pop hotel, the owner had a lush multi-level tropical garden in the back of the hotel, which was home to hundreds of tree frogs who began "singing" at dusk and continued throughout the night. The hotel had supplies of ear-plugs in each of the rooms, just in case singing frogs weren't your favorite bedtime melody. Actually, I loved the frogs. They were so loud the first night we were there that I honestly thought there were loud-speakers hidden in the gardens to amplify the frog sounds. The singing was just that-- it sounded like a symphony, and it was indeed beautiful. By the second night, the frogs didn't sound quite so loud...... and the first night without the frogs-- I missed them!

We drove all over the Big Island of Hawaii, from coast to coast, along the lush tropical forests, along the coastal roads with breathtaking ocean views....... we saw everything from beautiful waterfalls to acres and acres of lava fields where neighborhoods once thrived. And rainbows--- we saw magnificent rainbows, as well as a double rainbow over the volcano that even now is still pouring hot lava into the Pacific. Everything we saw made us think we were in another world, not just another state.

Without a doubt, however, Hawaii is expensive........ breakfast, lunch, dinners...... all priced more than we're used to paying, except when we found small privately-owned restaurants that were off the beaten path....... and those always have the friendliest owners and the most delicious foods. We felt right at home in the "old Hawaii," rather than feeling like just a "room number" at The Hilton.

We could live there, in Hawaii....... somewhere on a lush, green piece of property overlooking the ocean.... but how would we get Gracie and four cats from here to there? It was just all so very beautiful....... everything I say here would sound like I was quoting from a tourist guide. It has to be seen to be believed, and it has to be experienced to be appreciated. But please... don't go to The Hilton. Paris doesn't need any more spending money.