My vacation started off on Oahu, the busy throat chakra of the Hawaiian Islands. It is the Isle of my birth, and of course our President’s as well. My father presently lives here and has for the past fifty years, so I am getting some quality time and good conversations with him.
This is being written in the past and present tense because I am sitting in Waikiki as we speak, but I took four day jaunt over to the Big Island which will be included in a future description. So there was a brief gap between Oahu visits.
On the island which offers Waikiki, a five mile monument to commercialism, Pearl Harbor, which is an obvious monument if you know U S history, and the infamous North Shore, where stormy wave swells can reach forty feet, I began my time of vital R & R. I visited the Academy of Art, which offers a nice array of worldwide exhibits, but it specializes in several Buddhist collections. So it was incredibly inspiring to be in the presence of the life size guan yin statue. I nearly started doing prostrations then and there, but I hadn’t paid admission (my friend is a museum docent) so I figured that would be a poor choice.
I already blogged about the Spalding House which is also associated with the Honolulu Museum of Art. A must if you have time.
Then I did go swimming at Ala Moana Beach, which has been dredged to allow for a long easy calm lap swimming pool. That was pleasant. There can be many other swimmers depending on the time of day.
And finally I went on an excursion to Waianae for a boat trip. I went with a family run boat, called EO Waianae Tours. I would highly recommend them. Just buy a rash guard ahead of time – this keeps you warm in the water and protects from harmful UV rays. On this excursion, we swam with dolphins, saw a reef with turtles and other colorful fish and we did ocean kayaking and paddle boarding. Plus they threw in a fun hula lesson. Don’t expect to spend a ton of time in any one spot though as we got out of the boat three times in three separate places. I really enjoyed the family’s energy though – good people. And I felt so at peace being on the ocean. It fed me.
As I mention above, I mentioned six days, but I needed a day of rest, because perhaps my body knew what was coming with regards to the Big Island trip.
So I took one day off, simply rereading Kipling’s Kim. Fun book. And I partially rested another. Good good! And honestly, how someone could come to Hawaii for a short time, be in a whirlwind of activities and call it vacation… Beyond me. I want to actually integrate my experiences. Thanks for reading.
Meditation Informs Healing Facilitation 