Hawai'i

Hawaii is warm. Hawaii is beautiful. Hawaii is nice. It was my first time to Oahu and I was surprised how many people are here. I believe it's the most populated island and you can tell. The thought of Hawaii doesn't usually conjure up images of freeways, buses, skyscrapers and concrete jungles. But they do exist there. They are easily forgotten when you walk along the beach and gaze out into the green-blue sea.

The main excuse to come to Hawaii was my friend's wedding. Travis and I grew up together from childhood and his sister Kim, was getting married. To be honest, I used to be against outdoor weddings. There's just too much that could go wrong like rainstorms, wind, asteroid showers- well okay maybe not asteroid showers but the former are valid concerns that are really uncontrollable. However, I've been to more outdoor weddings in the last couple years than my entire lifetime before. My sister in Alaska, my friend Jason in Wyoming and now Kim's in Hawaii. They were all beautiful and added an element that just couldn't be obtained indoors. As you can see from the pictures it was absolutely beautiful and the most intimate wedding setting I've ever been to. The witnesses were limited to mostly family and a few friends, most of us were barefoot, a harp and flute were the only accompaniment, everyone received flower leis at the end of the receiving line and Kim and Buddy released butterflies after the ceremony. It was very cool!

I stayed at my parent's timeshare on Waikiki of which I was extremely grateful. Thanks Mom and Dad! The weather was perfect everyday, not too hot, not too cool. We went snorkeling at a nearby bay and saw a plethora of fish. Parrot fish, puffers, a moray and even some humuhumunukunukuapaua'a, which are Hawaii's state fish and also known as the trigger fish. But it's more fun to say humuhumunukunukuapaua'a! A few people saw a sea turtle but I couldn't find it.

I managed to completely destroy my feet with a pair of cheap sandals. My feet are more accustomed to steel-toed boots than flip-flops and the webbing cut into the tops of my feet with every step. After a few days I chucked them and went barefoot or opted for sneakers again. Apparently I'm a slow learner. This isn't the first time that's happened. In my defense, I usually travel in the winter months when it's not really feasible to break in summer footwear at home. If it's not new shoes it's usually playing barefoot soccer and cutting up the bottoms. I am now taking Lt. Dan's advice in Forrest Gump, "Take care of your feet!"

Christmas Eve marked my first attempt at surfing in a few years. I'll be honest, it didn't go so well. I have a new respect for surfers and everyone who participates in ocean sports really. It could quite possibly have been the most difficult thing I've ever done. And I say that because after two hours I still hadn't progressed a bit! Most people would have seen some improvement. I was surprised too because I had picked it up rather quickly in Costa Rica, although I was taking lessons and the waves were consistent and uncrowded, unlike the waves in Waikiki. Out of everyone out there I was most impressed (or maybe humbled is a better term) by two girls who literally surfed circles around me. I would be completely exhausted by the time I paddled out to past the break whereas they were catching waves every time I looked up. It was unbelievable and I had to laugh at my complete desperation to catch a wave opposed to the ease at which they caught theirs. I was defeated that day, but I maintain that I will learn to surf.

We all drove to the North Shore Christmas Day expecting thirty foot waves. Although they were bigger in the north, it was a pretty flat day. Smaller waves meant we could swim, even though we weren't planning on it. So we all went in with our clothes on! It was a lot of fun and I can't believe we nearly didn't go in at all. After a short drive back to the south side of the island with our shorts hanging out the window to dry, we hiked up Diamond Head. It's a nice little hike up a mountain trail with great views of Honolulu below. We had worked up an appetite and all went out to dinner.

It's a given that if you travel enough you will experience setbacks and roadblocks. I knew this. I was expecting this. Just, not so soon. At the airport, ready to board my flight to Sydney I was asked for my paper tickets. I thought I had e-tickets for the flight but after a few calls to the travel agency that issued them I discovered that indeed I had paper tickets. The bad news was, they were in a file folder back at home in Wyoming. The good news was was I could buy a ticket with a low-cost carrier the following day for only $360. That 24 hour delay gave me time to think, and I got scared. I finally realized I had no plan once I got to Australia, I had never been there, never seen a map of the city, wasn't aware of the exchange rate, didn't know what to do or where to go or even how I would get there! What was I going to do?

I didn't come up with much of an answer. Not a really good one anyway. Just put my head down, get on the plane and see what happens. Merry Christmas everyone.