This vivid memory has to be my trip to Hawaii from Alaska. I was living in the last frontier at the time and had never been to Hawaii. The thought of going there in February was very exciting. Who wouldn’t want to get away from the gray skies everywhere you looked? When I say gray, I mean you can’t distinguish the ground from the sky, more like whiteout conditions. Everything was frozen and had been for months. I was tired of falling down on the ice every time I stepped out the door. Plus, I’d never seen Hawaii before in person. I only visited there through reading and TV shows.
From Diamond Head - Oahu Hawaii
Beach in Hawaii
Hibiscus is everywhere in lots of colors
This is a Woodrose
Hawaiian Red Ginger
Bird of Paradise
Plumeria - this is also in many colors. The yellow is generally used in lei's.
I was in disbelief that I was actually in such a nice place. Warm ocean breezes caressed me. The variety of flowers in every color everywhere was overwhelming. As we made our way to the airport, people were there to greet us with a big smile. Then they slipped gorgeous lei’s around our necks. OMG! Can life get any better than this?
Plumeria Flower Lei
Wailua River Kauai Hawaii
Fern Grotto Kauai Hawaii
We took a boat to the Fern Grotto. A group of Hawaiian singers serenaded us on our trip down the Wailua River. You would think that you landed in the land of the jolly green giant. The ferns and philodendrons that are growing wild there are huge. It was like navigating through a jungle once we got on the narrow winding trail to the grotto.
Philodendron
Orchids
Catamaran Sailing
Sunset on Kauai's North Shore
This trip flew by so fast. Soon it was time to return to that frozen tundra that was home. I was going back to 20 degrees from a balmy 85 and I hated the thought of it. Dragging me to the plane, kicking, and screaming, by my lei is the only way I can describe it. There was no way I wanted to go back, but we did.
Alaska Snow
It was a very long flight and we drank the plane dry. In those days, I drank a lot of vodka. There are more bars in Alaska than anywhere else that I’ve ever lived. Then, who didn’t want to forget you were returning to the wilderness in the winter?