This week — almost to the day — marks twenty-four years since I first stepped off a plane in Hawaii. May 11, 2002. I was 21 years old, flying for the first time in my life, scared half to death, and I had no idea I was about to walk into the rest of my life.
What follows is the story of that trip, and the seven days that became the foundation of everything I've built since. I wrote most of it down in 2012, on the ten-year anniversary, when the memory was still close enough to touch. I'm publishing it now, on the twenty-fourth, because the story deserves to be read in full — and because there's a final chapter I couldn't have written until now.
Read it in order. It's only really a love story if you read it that way.
The Story, in Four Parts
A quick read each. About 25 minutes total.
The First Trip
A joke that turned into a ticket, three flights, and a moment on Kamaole Beach III that I still can't fully explain.
The Road to Hana
A three-point turn on the Hana Highway, talking story at the Hasegawa General Store, and the trail I almost ran out of gas to get back to.
The Bench at Waikamoi
The moment everything changed. The Hawaiians have a word for what hit me. I still can't quite describe it any better than they did.
The Chapter I Didn't Write Until Now
In 2012 I declared I was moving home to Kauai. I never did. Twenty-four years in, here's what I learned about loving a place from far away.
Hawaii changed our lives.
We hope Hawaii-Guide, in some small way, helps it change yours too. Everything we've learned in twenty-four years is built into this site — to make your first trip easier than ours was, and your tenth one even better.
