December 19, 2006
E Komo Mai
From this …
On Thursday at sunrise I was running up Diamond Head Road, photographing surfers riding swells that surged at the base of the cliffs below, framing my images through the angular silhouettes of Acacia branches, the early rays warm on sun-browned skin, the salt wind tugging though my hair.
That night I was sleeping in the parking lot of Tim Hortons. In our car.
Snowflakes the size of dinner plates hurtled at us like asteroids, carried by the same wind that had blown our plane clear over the Pacific in record time. A severe storm had shut down the highway home and like countless other hapless souls we were trapped overnight in the snow (some up to 11 hours). In our tiny vehicle. Cold. Underdressed. At the mercy of Mother Nature. And Hawaii felt like a distant dream.
When the highway was finally opened and the accident debris cleared, we crawled up the Sea to Sky as a dark snowy day dawned. And we had to dig — into the driveway, up the front stairs, hauling our cases of summer clothes over 50 centimeters of fresh snow that lay on top of much more older snow.
Christmas lights and a wreath, however, greeted us (my mother’s doing :)) — along with a note on the door that said Aloha, welcome home. It was magical really, like walking into winter-wonderland-Christmas-card. But surreal. And yeah, I now have something like pneumonia because of it 
(had a wee bug to begin with).
A few hours and a plane ride can make a world of difference. So can a storm – it not only cut us off from our route home and forced us to spend the night cramped up with our suitcases and shivering in our vehicle, it cut us off from cyberspace (hydro pole came down on fiber optics cable totally frying our link to the world) … and after not having had internet access for over two weeks … I fear that world may just have passed me by. Tell me it’s not so!!! Please.
I have zero hope of catching up now; my new book is due in a few short weeks!!! And I’m really sick to top it (maybe two marathons in a row was a bit much for this weenie, eh?). I’ll post pictures as soon as I can. And I will respond to emails as I manage to dig them out of the junk mail. But I will say —- I love Oahu! I love Honolulu and Waikiki –- I mean, who can’t love city where can you run barefoot down the road, past designer boutiques boasting names like Prada and Gucci, with a surfboard under your arm, smelling of coconut, salt wind kissing your face?
We only just managed to scratch the surface of a complex and beautiful place, a place with its own unique set of challenges. I hope to go back and learn more about the islands and her people. Much more.
And yep – I conquered the Honolulu Marathon – one of the toughest I’ve done for several reasons … mostly heat. Humidity. And muscles waaay sore from too much surfing and sun the days before (tough life, I know 
). Oh, and trying not to trip over almost 23 000 other people, most of them smaller than me (17,000 came from Japan to run the race and anyone who knows me knows I’m more Nordic than Japanese in stature ;)) added some to my overall time. I suspect I looked rather comical, and gawky, and red-faced, in that sea of bobbing dark heads and beautiful caramel skin … But I shall save that all for another post ….
Aloha for now
… can’t tell you how much I have missed having contact with you all!!! And thank you to all who held fort, entered my contest, and wrote while I was gone. Love you guys!!
To this ….
Danica/Dream Says:
How awesome is that!!!
Meretta ~ American Title Finalist Says:
I’m glad you’re home safe and sound!
And the difference between those pictures? Wow!
We missed you too, but now that you’re home and “in touch” we’ll rest easy and you can buckle down and get done what you need to. I expect no less from such a dedicated soul.
Warm hugs and feel better soon!
p.s. I just knew you’d look great in a bikini!
Toni Anderson Says:
Oh my. What a way to travel. Sounds worse than a friend of mine’s wife who had to dig herself out of her brother’s driveway with the dustpan before catching her flight to join her DH in Quebec City. The brother was away and had locked the shed.
Not fun at the time but maybe in the future… I hope you get better soon.
Bailey Stewart Says:
Looks like winter in Texas. Yep, that’s us. 80 degrees one day, snow and ice the next.
Missed you. Hope you get to feeling better. We won’t pass you by, we’ll just slow down a bit …
Loreth Says:
lol, thanks, Bailey
:)
Meretta, distance is a great deceiver. I kept telling DD to go Waaaaaay away with that camera
It is an awesome place, Dream.
And Toni, a dustpan?? Poor woman. She must have been frantic. LOL, it’s the kind of thing you wanna catch on candid camera.
Jessica Foote Says:
Congratulations Loreth!
Jess x