Over the Rainbow | Travelling to Hawaii
Travelling to Hawaii was our dream come true trip. Come join us as we take you along on the trip and show you our favorite adventures and tourist tips.
My Hawaiian dream bubbled up in my little girl heart a long, long time ago. I was sitting on the living room floor of our family’s Montana farmhouse. The olive green drapes were pulled tightly shut, and the room was completely dark ~
except for the large rectangular spot on our white popcorn plastered wall.
It was there that a slide was illuminated.
It was “slide night” at the Lynn house, and Dad was showing us his Navy slides. (He served with the US Navy during the Korean War.)
Of all the slides he showed us, I remember only one that took my breath away.
It was a *picture of a perfect rainbow with a mountain in the background and a beautiful garden in the foreground.
A rainbow. In Hawaii.
From that moment on, I’ve always wanted to go there.
Fast-forward to a few days ago (Wednesday, April 17th at about 4:30 pm)… I wrote this:
***
I’m sitting here writing in a journal on my lap in the Kahului, Maui airport. Sitting in the open air breezeway, I’m breathing in the warm tropical air as the palm trees sway and kites fly in the distance. A girl sits 2 seats beyond me strumming her ukulele and singing a happy tropical tune.
In just an hour, our plane leaves to take us back home.
I’m overwhelmed with gratefulness. It still seems surreal to think I’m actually here!
This last day has been a bit bittersweet. I’m not quite ready to leave…
***
For our last “event” for this holiday, we decided to have lunch at the Hula Grill in Kaanapali Beach.
It’s the coolest open air beachfront restaurant where you can literally stick your toes in the sand while you eat!
We were invited to be seated after only a short wait (a miracle in itself!). As the hostess took us to our beachfront table, a **live musician was singing,
“Somewhere over the rainbow…”
and, as some musicians do, he added his own flare and lyrics to the classic song.
As I walked along the sand, I heard him sing,
“Dreams really do come true…”
Instantly, I got a big ol’ lump in my throat, and under my sunglasses, my eyes welled up with tears.
At that moment, I thought of my Dad’s picture…
and how this trip was my “dream come true”.
Just that morning, as we greeted the day at Napaili Beach, there in the clouds ~ just for me ~ was this…
A rainbow. In Hawaii.
Sometimes when you dream about something for so long, the reality doesn’t meet up to the expectations.
I’ll admit that happened in this case.
It didn’t meet the expectations…
It was more. So much more!
Every day was filled with wonderful memories.
Through it all, we saw God’s hand in working out so many details…
From the actually getting to go there in the first place, to the beauty around every corner,
and for carefully watching over our steps ~ even when you make a terrible, terrible mistake… (More on that later!).
For us, it really seemed like a place that your troubles could “melt like lemondrops!”
***
I’ve decided that I’m going to detour a bit from my normal home decory blogging style for the next little while. This may be a bit selfish, but for my own memory’s sake, I’d like to document our days in Maui (and one in Oahu!) here on the blog. I have tons of pictures, and I just don’t want to forget any of the details.
Your welcome to come over and hear it all…
But, be prepared…Harbour Breeze is going Aloha!!
*I have my dad’s slide right here on my desk. It’s as beautiful as I remember. I wanted to scan it to show you, but, my scanner chose today to not work…
**We loved this musician so much, we bought his cd. He is Da Barefoot Warrior and you can hear a snippet of his “Over the Rainbow” song here…but the whole song gets even better than the snippet you hear on the website.
For the other posts on our Hawaii trip, click the links below:
- The First Glimpse – Flying into Kalihuhli
- Visiting Upcountry Maui
- Exploring Big Beach
- Kaanapali Beach and Eating Hula Pie
- Snorkel Trip to Molokini Crater and Discovering New Beaches
- Day trip to Honolulu and Waikiki Beach
- The Road to Hana
- Things to Note when Travelling to Hawaii + The Highlight Reel Video
Oh, Rita, how wonderful! I’m all teary too. There are moments that are breathtaking, thanks for sharing!
OH Rita, I am so happy for you! Yes please please do go “Aloha” on us! We have young friends who just returned from having spent 4 years there… simply awe inspiring! (i’m off to bed as it is getting late and tomorrow is going to come early…) Welcome home!
It may not be your intention, but often when I read your blogs, I get all “blubbery”. This was no exception…it started with the memory of “slide night”, continued with Dad’s rainbow picture, and ended with your dream coming true. I am beyond happy for you and Irwin! Can’t wait to read/hear more of your trip. Love, love, love you.