Whenever I am fortunate enough to travel I try to make a point of visiting out of the way places that tourists might miss.  Such was the case last week during an amazing trip to Hawaii.

We rented a car on the 'big island' and drove from Hilo up through the town of Honokaa and out along the Hamakua Coast to the Waipio Valley. It is the southernmost and largest of seven valleys on the windward (northeast) side of the Kohala Mountains. It was once home to Hawaiian royalty and is known for its black sand beach and huge waves. The ride up this coast offers breathtaking views of steep cliffs and beautiful blue green water to the right with prairie like ranches (home to Hawaiin cowboys!) to the left.  

At Waipio, scenic cliffs rise thousands of feet from each side of the valley which is about one mile wide and six miles deep.  We hiked down the winding, steep road into the valley which took a little over an hour. The road ends inside a lush jungle and it takes another 15 to 20 minutes along a makeshift footpath to reach the beach. You can hear the roaring surf getting louder and louder with every few steps and when it finally opens up to the coastline, the view is stunning. The sand is smooth and black and the beach is freckled with lava rock.  The water churns foamy blue-gray and the cliffs that frame either side of the beach create an amazing site. The entire experience is very spiritual and in fact, local lore has it that it is the burial grounds for Hawaiian kings (and at least one legendary and unfortunate surfer). 

It's hard to explain the power and the beauty of this place and how it intoned a sense of magnificence, splendor, and most of all spirituality. I have visited other places and gotten the same feelings; Niagara Falls NY, Notre Dame and Sacre Coeur in Paris to name a few. I couldn't help to think of how blessed and fortunate I was to have this experience and how I wished that my friends, family, and students could be so lucky. 

I'm back in Dallas now but many amazing Hawaiian memories linger.  I resume work with a sense of calm and even though I am a little jet-lagged from the return trip, some much needed renewed energy. Mostly, I learned to appreciate the bigger picture and a clearer sense of my own smallness. I hope to keep these thoughts front of mind in my teaching and overall approach to life this year .and beyond. Aloha!