Hawaii is a state of mind

If you have ever been to Hawaii on one or more of the islands you know what I'm talking about. Everyone walks around a little slower and often are a lot nicer than where you came from. Living in paradise will usually lift most people's spirits like that. Things mostly function on "Island time" or "Hawaii time" except for things like planes and more formal businesses. Everyone who lives or who lived (like myself in the past) in Hawaii knows living "Anywhere" on the islands is a privilege and doesn't take it for granted usually at all. After all, how many actual paradises are there left on earth where it is beautiful and relatively safe and clean water and air abound along with all the papayas and coconuts you can eat while snorkeling or surfing between meals and listening to the ocean as you fall asleep at night?

Taking a snorkel boat to Lanai from Lahaina or to Molokini islet is one of the ways to enjoy yourself if you are so inclined with your significant other and friends and relatives. In about 15 minutes because of the speed of the very large Zodiac type of boats used you will be at your destination swimming with dolphins and sea turtles often. They likely can carry about 50 snorklers to the crystal clear waters with coral heads, dolphins, sea turtles and what seems like an infinite array of tropical fish. When I did this I have had a little trouble on the ocean with sea sickness. So, when I covered my mouth that time to urp up whatever was going to come up into the ocean a whole school of fish were very happy. The first mate of the boat who looked like an Olympic swimmer and very tanned said, "Hey. Those fish are changing color. They do that whenever they eat. You made them very happy. So, even though I was sort of neutral at the time it does make a nice and true story about what really happened. But, my 23 year old daughter is a lot like me at that age and free dived down to about 30 feet just with a snorkel. I have been down to about 40 to 50 feet just with a snorkel but by that time it feels like your lungs are about to burst as you break through the surface of the ocean for a breath of air. But at 64 I prefer to be just on the surface in case I get motion sickness because getting that way 30 to 40 feet down could be fatal. So, I stay on the surface now at this age with a noodle float watching my "Snorkel" Buddy my 23 year old daughter go down deep into the coral reefs off  Lanai Island a few hundred feet or less off the beaches of Lanai. That particular day we first saw the renegade "Spinner" dolphin that the captain of the boat identified by their separation from the main group of several hundred dolphins. These renegades tend to be teenagers too rude to hang out always with the main group which contains mothers, babies and fully adult male "Spinner" dolphins. They are small in size (about 5 to 6 feet long) (Look up Google images for "Spinner dolphins").

We also saw several Sea Turtles which were about the size of a small circular breakfast table top or smaller in size. One was about a little larger than a large laptop unfolded. I had seen some of these types only larger north of Lahaina a little on the coast there a couple of years ago. Our travel agent when parasailing with my wife and she also had access to a really nice condo right on the ocean where you could look right out upon the sea turtles from her on the ocean veranda and sliding glass door.

Here is a sample of how clear the water was so you could see the coral heads from the boat even before you got into the water off Lanai Island:

The best time of year for Hawaii likely depends upon what you want to do there. Summer is usually too hot for most people (even locals) but fall and spring are nice. The most expensive time to go is during December and early January and around Easter but what is called "High Season" which is from around December until about April sometime is the most expensive time generally to go. I personally like Fall or spring and since fall works best for my high school daughter that is a better time for my family if we decide to come here for a week or so to the islands. The only thing is it is hard to go back home to northern California because two weeks later Halloween is coming and usually the coldest windy days in Northern California are around Thanksgiving. Once any major storms start coming there it is usually not as cold because clouds tend to hold in the heat during storms but when there are no clouds and a lot of wind in December Northern California can get cold (relatively speaking) which means where I live it might get down to 35 or 36 or even below freezing a couple of nights. But most of the year where I live it stays between 45 and about 80 to 90 at the very hottest but averages about 60 to 65 year around generally speaking for daytime highs. Whereas southern California on the Coast might average 70 to 75 year around with highs up to 110 to 115 or higher in places like Palm Springs (125 degrees Fahrenheit some days) and Death Valley(Even higher than Palm Springs) But these places are also the warmest in the coldest winter days with temperatures usually in the 70s or higher even in the dead of winter during the days.

Anyway, Aloha! everyone. And Remember Hawaii is a state of mind that you can take with you anywhere!

I was thinking today about Amitabha's pure land called "The Land of Pure Joy" and realized it reminded me of Hawaii. Because if there is a physical land of pure joy it must be Hawaii! Maybe physically the closest place to heaven most people will ever get while still alive is Hawaii.