Aloha! Highlights from Hawaii

View of Lanai Island from our lanai.
Rainbow at no extra charge!

I promised an update after our trip to Hawaii, so I'll give you the highlights. My husband asked me to name my top five experiences, so here goes:

1. Helicopter tour of Kauai with a landing at the "Jurassic Park" Falls
2. Sunset drum circle and fire dancers at "clothing-optional" Little Beach at Makena State Park in Maui
3. The view during the day from our condo on Maui perched right on top of the Pacific ocean looking toward Lanai and Molokai and then falling asleep to the sound of the surf at night
4. Vacation sex
5. Mother Nature's displays of majesty - rainbows, orchids, birds, sea turtles, mountain goats, waterfalls, canyons, sunsets, oceans, islands, mountains, valleys. A virtual paradise!

Fire Dancer at Little Beach Drum Circle

We started out in LA to visit Scott's sister, Marcia, who has a great ocean view apartment in a high-rise on Ocean Ave. in Santa Monica. We could watch the Ferris wheel on the boardwalk turn colors from her deck. The second day we took a bicycle ride on the bike path to Venice Beach, a funky spot with lots of street vendors and medical marijuana shops. The next day we headed to Hawaii and had a great condo with an amazing view on Kaanapali Beach on the West Shore of Maui, which makes for amazing sunset views over the ocean! Marcia told us about the drum circle every Sunday night at sunset at Makena beach. We found Makena State Park (literally the end of the road in South Maui), walked across Big Beach and then climbed up a cliff to the clothing-optional, gay-friendly, hippy inhabited Little Beach. As the sunset, the drummers drummed and kept drumming for several hours. When the sun went down, an archway was lit on fire and we all ran through to cleanse our auras. Then the fire dancers came out as the drum circled drummed. It was quite a sight. I even saw the actress who plays "Angela" on The Office taking pictures of the sunset at the drum circle! We met some interesting characters and Scott was even asked to do the lighting for the flag dancer. The perfect nerdy job for the former AV guy! Also, the cookie lady was selling homemade gluten-free cookies with quite a kick, if you know what I mean. It was all fun and games until we had to navigate that cliff in the dark! Luckily Scott's cellphone has a flashlight setting.

We started our first full day on Kauai with a 90-minute helicopter tour with the only company with the rights to land at the waterfall used in the Jurassic Park movies. What an amazing experience! Our pilot, Jody, a Vietnam vet with lots of flying experience, was born and raised in Hawaii. He knew how to swoop into the canyons and ride the winds up over the edge of the cliffs while reciting chants in Hawaiian. The Jurassic Park waterfall was stunning as was Waimea Canyon, the Grand Canyon of the Pacific, the Na Pali coast, rugged green cliffs running down into turquoise waters, secluded beaches and blue grottoes, and all the other majesty of the Garden Island. Totally worth the money!

Na Pali Coast, Kauai