"Blue Hawaii"

As a kid, Grandma Edna would always sing “Blue Hawaii” to my sister and I as we would drift off to sleep. When I sat down to write this post, her words and her voice came back to me so vividly. I remember her rubbing my back and singing quietly “Dreams come true, in Blue Hawaii.” At the time, little did I know that these words would ring true so many years later.

Though Honolulu and Waikiki Beach have grown quite a bit since I last visited some twenty years ago, it is still a place where one feels their dreams can come true. Even with the hustle and bustle of what is truly a major metropolitan, the island has the leisurely tempo, beautiful weather, and the brilliant fragrance of a place conjured up in the sweetest of dreams. And on this visit, we couldn’t have better tour guides.

Some might say the Lundborgs know Hawaii like the back of their hands. They have many ties to the islands; for one thing Mark lived here from age eleven until he went off to college. And they have been back many, many times since. This time, the Fletchers have been lucky enough to come along for the ride. Yesterday morning—having moved from our hotel to the Lundborg's timeshare up the beach—there was a nock at our door. It was Rosa and Mark indicating that I should come with them to pick up some doughnuts for the group. Come to find out, these weren’t your standard, run of the mill doughnuts. Oh, no. We were going to Leonard’s—a favorite of the locals. It felt like a whole-in-the-wall kind of place but let me tell you something, these were some of the best doughnuts I have ever had; especially the passion fruit-filled extravaganzas. Our seasoned tour guides knew exactly where to go for these morning treats.

After breakfast (which, by the way, we ate poolside) we were off to the beach for a wonderful morning of swimming, relaxation, basking (as Carson would say) and, of course some shaved ice for good measure.

After a quick jaunt back to our condos to get cleaned up, we were off to the Dole Plantation for an afternoon of tours, train rides, treats and a few surprises along the way.

We had another day in paradise; blue water and blue skies everywhere you look! And as Grandma Edna used to sing: “The night is young and so are we!” More to come...