"Intuition is a spiritual faculty
and does not explain,
but simply points the way."
-- Florence Scovel Shinn
Continuing my weeklong celebration of Nancy's life. I call her my Hawaiian Honey because we met there. I always wanted to go to Hawaii since I was a teenager, and I finally went the first time to Kaui in 1986. The next year, I won another trip to north shore Oahu and met Nancy the first night of a 7-day trip.
I told that story briefly a few days ago, but it is more than just meeting there. Hawaii became such a theme in our lives. We met in Oahu, and then in 1988 went to Maui, then later to the Big Island, or Hawaii as it is named, and then again to Maui in the mid-1990s. I've been five times and Nancy and I went four times.
Here are two photos from that very first trip at the Turtle Bay Hilton. We were getting ready to leave for the airport to come home. One is Nancy, her daughter Alisa and me and the other is me and Dallan who I took on the trip and he introduced Nancy and I.
That was the last time I weighed 180 lbs. . .
As an aside, Dallan now lives in Hawaii, and I talked with him today on the phone and he told me something he never told me before. He said that when he met Nancy, he thought we were so much alike, he had to introduce us. I thought it was because I was so handsome and cool. . .
On each trip except The Big Island, we took helicopter tours of the island. That really gives you a great perspective of the whole island, including the parts you can't drive to.
We drove that crazy narrow, long, winding road on Maui to Hana on the north shore where Charles Lindbergh is buried. One of the photos here is at a single lane work stoppage, so we took the liberty of having some other driver take our photo.
On the way back from Hana, still on the Hana road, we found this tropical flower grower. When we got married officially, we contacted them and had flowers flown in from Hawaii that morning for an evening wedding at our home. The carport was turned into a tropical venue with palm fronds and all the Hawaiian specialty flowers. In addition, we had a special guest who played my own guitar and sang the Hawaiian Wedding Song to us directly. It was a very special evening.
There's a photo of Nancy at Lahaina on Maui in front of the famous Banyan tree.
Another photo show her in front of the active volcano on Hawaii.
She is having fun, showing her sense of humor at the Kenae Arboretum on the road to Hana hiding behind a palm frond.
Another photo shows Nancy with a flower in her hair on Hawaii. (Always rent a convertible on all Hawaiian islands!)
(a personal favorite of mine!)
We never got back to Hawaii, although, we have celebrated our trips there, and just the idea of Hawaii has always been a soothing place to think about. I've given Nancy gifts with that theme involved and more.
There are so many ways to celebrate a special place and feeling about a special place even when you can't actually be there. We can go there in our minds, have some physical things that remind us, and the best thing is just thinking about how we felt then and share that feeling again, if only in thought.
Hawaii will always remain an inspiration and a special place in my mind because of Nancy and our trips there and because it truly is a paradise especially when you see other islands.
Close Your Eyes For A Few Minutes And Remember. Then Find Ways To Celebrate Your Lives.
Spread Some Joy Today--I wear a Hawaiian shirt and shorts all summer long. It helps me to feel like I'm on vacation even while I'm not. Whatever works to help you to feel good is worthy of your attention and action.
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