Leaving the Aloha State…

"Can I see some ID ma’am?"
“yes”
"Hawaii?!?!?! Wow, you’re so lucky, is it a beautiful place".

Anytime I travel this is the response to my driver’s license. I try not to shit all over their fantasies and dreams. My standard response is, “it can be beautiful but its also very claustrophobic”…which gets a slight head tilt followed by a nod of acceptance.
That being said, I’ve moved to Hawaii 4 times in my 30 years of life on Earth. I moved with my parents twice in my teens, with my first husband and then later with my second husband. Every time it sounded like a great idea…leaving all the grey of the mainland behind and surrounding yourself in color, in warm, in ALOHA. Jump forward one year and island fever sets in. Maybe it’s triggered by Safeway wanting $9 a gallon for milk or taking a road trip and after a few hours of driving you suddenly end up back where you started like you stumbled into a Twilight Zone episode.

When I turned 30 last Fall my world fell apart. I lost my job, my marriage and my sanity. I decided to leave the aloha State. Before I left, my best friend and I decided to see all our little Big Island had to offer and began exploring.
We got out tour books, friends recommendations and hand scribbled directions.
It was so much fun, I envied travel writers and trust fund babies…to be able to do this all the time and all over the world.

Exploring is what inspires. It keeps you young and motivates you to live your life with passion and courage.