VIDEO: Hawaii’s “aloha spirit”
I’ve loved Hawaii since I first stepped on the white-sand beaches of Honolulu in 1988. It was the first time in my life that I had ever experienced jet lag, I recall. But my brother, sister, parents and I got over it fast. We had a lot to do. We got to see Don Ho sing “Tiny Bubbles” – he even pulled me onstage to sing along! I bought the cassette tape to play over and over when we got home.
I donned grass skirts and leis, swam, snorkeled, explored Hawaii’s famous volcanoes, learned about Pearl Harbor, getting up close to the history, bought a ukelele because it was “so cool” - and I learned at 7 years old all about what it means to take the vacation of a lifetime. We actually returned again in 1991.
Now that I’m at an age where I can enjoy a real Piña Colada, however, and my sense of adventure is more self-induced and less “then my parents made us go here, even though we wanted to play in the ocean” – I am feeling very much up to a trip back. With my travel wish list brimming over with new, unexplored destinations like Costa Rica and Japan - and even Australia – destinations I’ve already been to get pushed to the back burner. Of course. I think we all do that.
I keep Hawaii in my back pocket. I know Don Ho is long gone, but I still have my cassette tape, my souvenir leis, the ukelele, and most of all, my “aloha spirit.” I think that’s what will ensure that I celebrate it again. Sometime soon.
posted by Travel Bug
Nicole Sullivan, Supervisor of Branding & Communications
Collette Vacations
