Thoughts About Oahu

Oahu Sunset-photo by Jim Lenk

1. I've had the chance to be at a lot of amazing beaches in my life. Grand Bahama, Eleuthera, Copacabana in Rio, etc. I've seen better sand than on Oahu. (Best sand so far? The Bahamas or Gulf Shores, AL) But I've never, never seen so many different colors of blue in the ocean as I did in Hawaii. Unbelievable. Gorgeous.

2. Green River soda tastes like lime. Not sour, but sweet... like lime jello, almost. Delicious!

3. I never see a foodie review of Oahu, but there should be one. I hope to do a post soon. It was pretty amazing!

4. Getting used to snorkeling takes a hot minute. It was a process of realizing that I AM breathing through my mouth, and I'm actually okay. Kind of like after surgery with a catheter ("you ARE peeing, it's okay"), but opposite. And a lot more fun!

5. Every sunset I've ever seen in every place I've ever been is beautiful because the sun lights the clouds up different colors. But it's not that way in Hawaii. It's the weirdest thing... the actual SKY is what's changing colors, not the clouds. Jim has a theory that it has to do with the sunlight refracting off the expanse of ocean after the sun has dropped under the horizon. I used to see those tacky paintings on black velvet that have the palm trees, beach and clouds black with the sky vibrant colors. I thought it was crazy. Now I know that the artist was just painting what it actually looks like!

6. I am the type that needs to write. I need to write for two reasons: 1. to process experiences, and 2. to remember. Hawaii has made me need to do both.

7. I love that I got to take my mom. It was a more outdoorsy/active vacation than I usually do with her. I hope she had a good time.

8. In my opinion, Hawaii is best enjoyed by strong swimmers. If you don't love water, you might want to skip it. But I LOVED it.

9. Dole Whip is everywhere. Everywhere! You don't need to go to Dole Plantation to enjoy it.

10. I learned that the beaches with powdery sand aren't the best snorkeling spots because the powder makes the water murky. I also learned that good snorkeling weather is opposite good surfing weather (not windy/windy). So the happiest Hawaiian is probably someone that likes both snorkeling and surfing; something to love in every weather condition!

11. Why are tropical ocean fish so colorful and inland fish so gray?

12. Hawaii's takeover by the U.S. was pretty despicable. They deserve to be a sovereign nation, if that's what they want.

13. I don't know how long it will take to get me back on mainland time, but so far it's not one day. Maybe by the end of the week?

14. If something is "loco moco," it means that it's a protein served with scoops of rice and an egg. (Maybe also brown gravy, but not always.)

15. The tropical sun is super intense. Midwesterners, you will do well to lay down a base tan before you go. I was religious about staying in shade and reapplying sunscreen, and I still burned. Less so when I was fully in water than when walking around, so there's that.