Aloha Hawaii!

Today is the last day of our vacation and I can’t help feeling like it’s the last day of summer holidays. Remember, the last day of summer vacation before school re-opens, how we wish we could stall the passing time! I want to do that now! When you're on vacation, it seems like you are in a time warp and your regular life seems so distant and far away. Though five days simply flew past quickly, it still seemed long enough for us feel detached from our normal routine in Portland. One of my best vacations ever, this time, it was all the more special as I got to read to Abhay either during the flight, or at the beach or in our hotel room.  Although in so many ways, Hawaii reminded me of Goa, in so many ways, it was much more than Goa. Its heavenly beaches, winding roads with marvelous overlooks, vibrant crafts and culture – simply put a paradise on the pacific ocean. Never miss an opportunity to visit this Aloha State, if you ever get a chance. 

Today I read “Hula Lullaby” by Erin Eritter Kono on the flight back home. A Hawaiian mother puts her little daughter to sleep to the sound of an Ipu, a traditional Hawaiian instrument made from two gourds attached together in the shape of a figure eight.Abhay could relate to this all the more as we had watched a hula dance last night in Maui.As the little one crawls into her mother's lap, she listens to the Ipu's beat thump-tap thump-a tap and watches the hula dancers sway to the ocean's breeze, hears the crashing waves reach the lava shore, sees the moon rise high and spread its silver glow, feels the mountain peaks enfold her in a kind embrace and smells the scent of tropic blooms and thus finally falls asleep to the hula lullaby. As we fly across the pacific back to the mainland, all I can say is good bye to the ocean, sunshine and warmth of Hawaii, and hello to the cold weather, rain, and loads of laundry in Portland!:-)