Hawaii Part One

Since I just came back from Hawaii, and managed to write each day to keep tabs on what I was doing/seeing, I figured I would share some with you. I'll try and post some pictures here at some point, but should have sent the link to my pictures to you all as well.

Hawaii: greeted us with dolphins our first morning and said good bye with a rainbow our final night.

May 25: Flying
1pm keeps repeating itself. Wandering the aisles, I see: a couple asleep, leaning on one another. A few others, asleep, mouths open; others somehow lying across three seats. I can't sleep (Tylenol PM for Cambodia!).
I open the Pslams to songs of praise, familiar songs of praise, and Naomi Shihab Nye to something similar, giving thanks. All is done but for the grace of God.
With clouds above and clouds below, and blue sky and blue sea, I wonder if there is truly a firmament separating sea and sky, or if it's just space, or if the two meld together as one and we are simply fortunate not to drown. After all, sky is as high up as we perceive it, and that depends on where in space we are.
If eternity exists (and where it exists?) this blueness above and below could stretch into it and it would be peaceful and teeming with life. It would be beautiful.

May 27: Day 2
After our ultralight ride (www.birdsinparadise.com--my shameless plug for a fantastic ride.): major adrenalin rush going up. Once you adjust to the fact that there's air and space all around you, amazing. The coast was spectacular, surreal, like a scene from Jurrassic Park (which was actually filmed in part on the NaPali coast). A large pod of dolphins, sea turtles, coral below...perfection. I wasn't as moved as I'd hoped I'd be, but I was smiling and it was spiritually fulfulling, if that makes sense.

May 28: Day 3
While hiking and contemplating how overwhelmingly beautiful the scenery was--almost too much so to truly be adequately appreciated: As I neared the car, it started to rain. To my disgustingly sweaty body, it felt like a profound act of mercy. Perhaps it was; God is in the details too, and the details are equally if not more important.

May 30: Day 5
Two women with a little girl, building a coral sand castle--it looked like three generations.
I had a yes! moment, where I felt utterly connected. While snorkeling (which is always awesome--solitary, exploratory, oh! there's a nifty fish so close I could about touch it!). There was a turtle, which was awesome in itself, but being me, I stayed a while, watching it emerge from its rock hideout, surface on and off, before returning. Just me, the turtle, and the vast ocean. It was incredible.

More to come! Thanks for listening :)