Illinois Hawaii Part 6

One important lesson I learned from spending a week with Forest in Hawaii is that children can be a major stressor in a marital relationship. Occasionally taking them out of the equation so you can just focus on each other can be extremely beneficial--and relaxing.

Despite how stressful it is to raise children, however, it is such a meaningful responsibility. If we had never become parents, we would certainly have maintained more sanity, but we would have missed out on something precious. Maybe that is another important lesson learned from our week away from the kids.

Coming back to Illinois definitely felt like waking up from a dream and getting splashed in the face with a dose of reality. Reality can be so cold sometimes--and so overwhelming. But when you look at it the right way, it's also refreshingly vibrant. 

Forest's mother picked us up from the airport and kindly drove us back to Parry's house, where we eventually reunited ourselves with our four little ones and distributed some souvenirs. I tried to give Wylie his stuffed rooster, but he seemed completely unimpressed--I think he was upset with us for being gone so long. At least the girls were excited about their pearl necklaces, flower barrettes, and carved wooden animals.

Paula and Paca showed us some tricks in the pool that afternoon. She loved getting flipped and thrown into the air before landing in the water with a splash.

The next day after playing with toys in the morning . . .

 . . . we visited the Decatur Zoo.

Back at the house, the kids played in the backyard and chased fireflies. I do miss my Illinois fireflies.

We are so grateful to Parry and Teresa for taking our children into their home that week so Forest and I could have that time to ourselves. I know it is no small task to care for our four children, and it was a lot for us to ask of them. I'm so glad the kids were able to get a taste of central Illinois in the house where Forest grew up, and that the two of us were able to make one of our dreams come true and escape to Hawaii together.

That splash of reality when we returned was colder than we expected. But here's the other thing about reality: It doesn't just happen to you--you constantly have a hand in creating it. Some days, my personal reality is less of a masterpiece than others, and some days other people's realities come into a head-on collision with my own, leaving everything in shambles for a while. The more people you invite into your life, the more collisions will occur. But I have to remember that I can pick up the pieces and rebuild--and that every small effort is part of some infinite reality that is more beautiful than I can imagine.

Maybe even more beautiful than Kauai.

Illinois Hawaii Part 5

Monday morning we got up and hiked to Ho'opi'i Falls. We were the only ones one the trail for most of the hike, except for a rooster.

There were lots of smaller, scenic falls to see on the way to the main waterfall.

Some interesting things we saw on this hike:

Abandoned automobile parts

A felled tree

The aforementioned rooster

Exotic-looking textured leaves

Some beautiful things we saw on this hike:

Flowers,

flowers,

flowers,

. . . and more flowers. We eventually figured out that the yellow ones were up in the trees and the similar-shaped red ones were scattered all over the ground, leading us to believe that the yellow ones turned red when they fell off of their vine. 

Like autumn leaves--undergoing a spectacular transformation at a certain point of maturity.

Finally we made it to Ho'opi'i Falls--and we had it all to ourselves.

The water was cold but refreshing.

After our hike, lunch was amazing, of course. We chose a taco truck near Kapaa and shared crumbs with the chickens.

We spent the afternoon at Secret Beach. Probably my favorite of the beaches we visited.

I loved how quiet and serene it was, and the path to and from the oceanfront was exquisite.

Once we got cleaned up, we headed south for luau time. This part of the itinerary was a little bit outside our comfort zone, but it seemed like everyone was telling us we really had to experience a Hawaiian luau at least once. 

It was very tourist-y, and the food definitely tasted like it was prepared for the masses, but the entertainment was truly impressive and unique. 

At our table, we sat with a newly engaged couple from the Midwest and a middle-aged couple from Las Vegas who brought their four children with them. We had seen them earlier at the beach. The kids looked like they were in their teens-early twenties, and seemed to be getting along fabulously. I asked if they always got along so well, and they quickly replied "No," but their mother explained that lots of quality time together eventually led to them becoming close friends. I hope our kids can be that close someday.

As dinner came to a close, spotlights shone on the center stage, and the theater portion of our luau began. 

The fire dancing was pretty mesmerizing. 

So there is is. Our first ever luau. Not a bad way to spend our last evening in Hawaii.

Tuesday morning, packed up our things, took one last glance at the ocean view from the balcony, and left our little condo . . .

. . . but we snuck in one more visit to Secret Beach before leaving that side of the island.

We accidentally walked way too close to a sleeping monk seal, mistaking it for a washed up log.

  

Next we visited the Kilauea Lighthouse and Wildlife Refuge. We had been admiring it from a distance all week, and finally got to see it up close.

We probably didn't know enough about bird watching to fully appreciate the place, but we did learn a little more about some of the animals we saw on this trip.

Although we didn't get a close look at any dolphins that week, we did spot a pod of them splashing alongside a boat while we were up by the lighthouse.

Wildlife enthusiast or not, no one could complain about the views from that place. 

Our final lunch on Kauai did not disappoint--poke bowls from a tiny sushi restaurant hidden inside a grocery store:

We spent our afternoon at a decidedly less "secret" beach on the South side of the island. It was one of the most crowded places we visited that entire trip.

 Even a sea turtle was there for the party.

When it was time to go, we rinsed as much sand off of ourselves as we could, and headed to the airport.

Of course, there were chickens there to greet us before we boarded our flight.

So long Kauai . . . you ridiculously gorgeous gem.