On the Run in Hawaii

Several years ago, a friend came to visit from Texas and told us a story of how she had escaped the advances of a strange guy in a tavern somewhere on a recent trip to Europe. There with a group of friends, they drank and danced until one guy seemed to single her out, complimenting her hair, her dancing, etc., clearly trying to cozy up to the cute Texan. She, a little fuzzy on word choice but not far gone enough not to notice what was happening, said clearly, if a little loudly, "I'm ON THE RUN!" And left him, stunned, in her wake.

Ever since, this has been a joke when I take trips with my girlfriends, and thanks to my darling friend Anne who started working at the local airport this year and kindly offered one of her stand-by guest passes, this time the destination was Hawaii for a brief adventure.

Hawaii...in February. In latitudes north at this time of year, particularly in the Pacific Northwest where the average weather is 40 degrees and raining, a warm sun seems like a distant imagined dream.

Only about 48 hours on the ground in Oahu, but it was enough to sit on golden-sand beaches, swim a bit in turquoise waters, road trip through pineapple and sugarcane fields to the North Shore, and let the warm waves bury our feet in sand above the ankle while watching surfers ride the blue crush.




And in a simple twist of added joy, we got to fly in first class on the way to Honolulu. Richness!