My Summer Vacation: Ireland

About a year ago, my niece Julie, transiting from high school life into college life, sent me an email saying she would like to do a big trip with me.  My momentary astonishment promptly unfurled into enormous delight; for years I have been trying to infect sundry family members with enough of my wanderlust so that one might actually accompany me on a journey to somewhere else, but mostly to no avail.  Minus any hesitation on my part, this proposed adventure was on.

With the whole wide world before us--in theory, anyway--we ultimately selected Ireland.  It is no secret in my family that Ireland is one of my favorite places on the planet, right up there with Hawaii (yep!) and New Zealand, but I don't know whether that fact influenced Julie's interest in Ireland or not.  As for me, I am always ready to go to Ireland!  Once Julie and I decided on Ireland, Julie's mother Callie hopped on board, followed by my friend Beth.  Now we were four, and we had airfare and a rental car in place by March.

Finally, at the end of July, we flew into Shannon, Ireland, and then spent the next eight days tooling around mostly the west coast of Ireland, County Kerry and County Clare.  We also perused both Cashel and Blarney, spent about twenty-four hours on Inishmore (one of the Aran Islands), and concluded our Irish portion of the journey in Dublin. After Dublin we flew to London for almost a day (a bit shy of the full twenty-four hours, though) and culminated our travels that evening attending a glorious performance of Once, a beautifully unique musical set in Dublin and unfolding an engaging array of Irish characters--traditional ones and immigrant ones.

Such a cursory summary herewith in no way summons the resplendence of Ireland for me.  Ireland converses with my soul--the lay of the land, the people, the history, the stories, the music--each and every time I visit.  This summer my soul once again had the chance to revel in that conversation.

My Summer Vacation: Hawaii

For my summer vacation, I went to Hawaii.   Okay, not for my entire summer vacation, but for almost two weeks!  Its preeminent reputation notwithstanding, I love Hawaii.  I loved it the first time I set foot on those volcanic islands in 2007, and I loved it this second time, too.  Maybe I will just have to live there someday!

This summer in Hawaii, I island-hopped with my friend Tammy:  Maui, the Big Island, and Oahu.  Despite being a rather nervous flyer who is very much aware of the safety statistics for airlines and aircraft, I prefer flying in the smaller planes such as those employed by the discount island-hopping airlines.  Go figure, I know; it makes no rational sense, only emotional sense inside me. The flight from Maui to the Big Island in this plane, the smallest we flew in, was amazing. Tammy and I sat in row one, right behind the pilot--a woman, by the way, with a blonde ponytail!

In further recounting of my summer vacation in Hawaii, though, no chronological or geographically meaningful structure remains intact. So, listed below, in no particular order whatsoever, are the highlights, the moments that made memories:

• All, and I mean all, beaches are public.  It doesn't matter how snazzy the resort or upscale the home hugging the beach, the beach itself has public access.  And Hawaiian beaches do carry significant weight in the setting of planetary beach standards!

• There are chickens in the yard, even in suburbia!  There are also "feral" chickens Tammy and I concluded.  "Feral"--but not in an "ew" or scary way--only because chickens will emerge impromptu, so to speak, along a roadside far away from any yard or human habitation.

• Hawaii has the best fish tacos ever!  Fish taco connoisseurs, Tammy and I sampled pert near on a daily basis.  No fish taco remained un-devoured in any circumstance, but we ultimately ranked the ones at the Hard Rock Cafe--in both Lahaina (Maui) and Honolulu--as the best.

• Continuing with the subject of island cuisine, let me also mention banana bread...as in roadside fruit stand banana bread.  YUM!  Long-time family recipes play a role here and a few attain mythical status.

• Hawaii has lots of very cool churches, ones totally worthy of "in the dell."

• The Road to Hana:  On my first trip to Hawaii, we only made it half-way to Hana, via the renowned road to Hana, before our time frame necessitated that we turn back.  On this trip, though, we ultimately arrived in Hana, an atmospheric little town on the east coast of Maui.  The lay of the land along the road to Hana is indeed breathtaking for virtually the entire journey.

• Island volcanoes generally array themselves in clouds.  We saw nary a top of one during our visit, only abundant evidence of their powers of creation and distinctive designing of the landscape.

• For a Hawaiian city, I choose Hilo.

Other random details mingling in my Hawaii recollections include (1) the fact that my hair and nails perform at a much higher standard in Hawaii.  I believe my physiology embraces the Hawaiian climate--yes, even the humidity.  (2) I have become entangled in the TV drama NCIS.  Totally Tammy's fault and the multiple nights we spent watching NCIS marathons on a channel regularly incorporated into various hotels' TV repertoire.  (3) I am also now fettered to the series (books only at this point) Game of Thrones.  Totally my fault.  Curious about all the hoopla surrounding the series, I brought the first book to Hawaii in my stash for beach reading.  Alas, I have since purchased the second book, A Clash of Kings, and the third book, I suspect, resides in my immediate future.

Hawaii commenced my summer vacation in grand style.  The rest of it has unfolded rather gloriously as well.