The Gathering Place

My camera bag was tucked under a tree, the camera on a tripod wearing my shirt and I hunched over it as somewhere a frantic Noah was trying to finish his ark to beat the imminent flood. The rain had started suddenly and did so with force. The camera wasn't my greatest concern however as I tried to ignore the silent urgency coming from the trail behind me where Sarah was getting drenched.

As a kid I loved the rain, as an adult I had grown to prefer a dry location. I was too accustomed to the cold, misting drizzle common in Wisconsin while Colorado storms are typically riddled with hail. Playing in the rain had become as much fun as getting pricked with frozen needles or pelted with pennies. This rain was thick and warm though and once I was drenched, it brought out the kid in me. Sarah was not as thrilled, making way for families draped in plastic ponchos as they moved closer to the destination while she waited for her half naked husband to take a damn picture.

After three full days on the island of Oahu, my hurry up mentality dissipated. We were standing at the base of Manoa Falls waiting for tourists posing on the rocks for selfies to move while the rain continued to pour. I was in no hurry to find shelter, the camera traded my shirt in for a rain cover and my head was playing a montage of happy childhood memories that made me want to find a Chuck E Cheese. For the first time in a very long time I wanted to stop and smell the rain.

The trip itself came quickly, it was early June and Sarah and I had already traveled to Disney, Death Valley and Savannah that year. We would spend the summer hopping back and forth from Wisconsin and Colorado while mixing in weekend getaways in the mountains. All this preceded an anniversary trip to Aruba in October. This was also a family trip, with Sarah's parents, brother Ben and his girlfriend Alison while her sister Anna was also on the island with her high school band. There were a lot of agendas, mine revolved around the camera. I also wanted to experience as much of Hawaii as I could and wasted no time doing so.

Sarah and I arrived in the evening shortly after the rest of her family. While they settled into our Airbnb in Kailua we raced to the western shore to catch the sunset at Kahe Beach Park. The following morning I was the first to rise and was almost out the door when my sleep walking wife emerged from our room. Her FOMO (fear of missing out) adjusted her vacation to do list and canceled sleeping in to partake in a breath taking Hawaiian sunrise with me.

The sand was still fluffy from the midnight tide as the robin's egg sky woke up. The warm breeze rolled off the Pacific water with the fragrance of salt and rain. The scattered clouds began to glow pineapple gold. As the sun approached the horizon I sat beneath a fiddle-leaf fig tree with my toes in the sand shaded by the pear shaped leaves bigger than my head.

The weather dictated the first couple of days. Clouds and rain on the north side canceled some beach time Sarah was longing for. Rather than drive the half hour to Waikiki where the sun always seemed to be shining, the group took a trip to the clouds. To get to Kailua you have to drive through the mountains where a rain cloud has apparently taken up residence. Sun could be shining all around the island but navigating the mountains would get the windshield wipers waving inevitably. When the entire northeast side of the island was covered in clouds we went to the source to get a closer look from Nu'uanu Pali Lookout.

Nu'uanu Pali Lookout sits you eye level with the Ko'oalu Mountains and gives a breathtaking view of Kailua. The clouds hung low and thick swirling between the crests and valleys of the Ko'oalu range. It felt like it was raining but also could have been the humidity of the hot beach air condensing as the altitude cooled it down. While the views from above were stunning we decided to get more from below at the Ho'omaluhia Botanical Gardens.

I've been to Ireland, where the color green was invented. I've seen the Oregon forests where green is all the rage. While Hawaii is known for blue skies and golden sands, when the clouds roll in, the greens steal the show. Ho'omaluhia is surrounded by the folded earth forms of the Ko'oalu mountains that were striped green and white with temporary waterfalls of collected rain. The scene was out of Jurassic Park, had a brontosaurus stuck its head trough the trees I would not have been surprised.

My agenda was being fulfilled and over the week we would mix in something for everyone. We watched Sarah's sister march in a parade through the streets of downtown Waikiki, caught another performance while we toured Pearl Harbor, enjoyed an authentic luau at Germaine's, Sarah got some beach time, we hiked in heat not meant for hiking, snorkeled in Hanauma Bay and we had a couple homemade meals to catch our breath.

On our final day together on Oahu, we drove the north shore serendipitously, stopping to explore the many coastal stands along the road. We knocked out the standard fried shrimp and shaved ice as well as some more exotic dishes. I ordered something called Squid Lu'au at a stand that provided no information on the dish other than the squid I assumed it contained. I received a bowl of green slop that had the texture and appearance of creamed spinach, smelt like stagnant seaweed but tasted like sweet potatoes. The scent and texture were a lot to handle especially with the chunks of squid but I ate the whole bowl with satisfaction.

That afternoon we enjoyed the sunshine from a beach where I blew up an inflatable flamingo big enough to support a gorilla that was used by my five foot lighter than air wife. We bobbed in the teal water in her flamingo while Alison and Ben shared a swan. That evening we all watched sun set one last time before retreating to Kailua for a night of reminiscing.

The following morning we said our goodbyes and parted ways. Sarah's parents were staying for another night while her brother and his girlfriend headed home. As for Sarah and I, we were leaving Oahu but our time on Hawaii was only half complete. We were headed to another island for some time together, and Kauai was the perfect island for us.