Five on Friday: Hawaii Five Oh!

"A slight breeze cooled the Hawaiian spring autumn air,

swaying the branches of palm trees, which cast black silhouettes

against the purple and orange colors of the twilight sky."

VICTORIA KAHLER

Aloha! We're back from our trip to O'ahu, Hawaii. We shared a lovely few days in the sun with dear friends. The last time I visited Hawaii was thirty years ago with my sister and her two friends. We had a wonderful time back then. We went to the beach every morning -- our bodies were much younger then -- hoping to return to Canada with true Hawaiian tans. And we did. Alas, this time round, yes, we still went to the beach, but we faithfully slathered ourselves with sunscreen SPF 60. There were no deep tans to bring home. No painful sunburns to contend with either. But, we did come away with lots of good memories, a pile of photos, and a big bag of Honolulu Island cookies by which we shall remember our trip with happy thoughts.

What did we do? Well, we walked a lot -- our first day we put in ten kilometers. We booked a day to  tour some sights around the island. Spent time at the beach, dipping in the ocean and sitting on the crowded sand. Spotted some turtles. Visited the beautiful botanical garden, Foster Garden, which was a highlight. After busy days in the sun, we sat by the hotel pool and watched the stars come out, relaxing and nursing sore feet. We shopped. Ate lots of seafood. Sipped on Mai Tais. Slurped down Dole's famous delicious whipped pineapple cones before they melted in the hot sun. And, generally had a very nice holiday.

I'm happy to share a few photos. Since it's Friday, I'll follow the Five on Friday. 1.Ocean & Beach, 2.Flowers & Trees, 3.Foodies, 4.Selfies, 5.Other Stuff, and 6.Bonus, Just For Fun. I'll let the pictures do most of the talking today.

ONE. OCEAN & BEACHES

TWO. FLOWERS & TREES

waiting for the stars to come out

THREE. FOODIES

"Calories don’t count

when you’re on vacation."

Coconut Shrimp from the shrimp truck on our day tour

Pineapple and mango from the Ice Monster shop

Mai Tai
(cocktail based on rum, Curaçao liqueur, orgeat syrup, and lime juice)

FOUR. SELFIES

FIVE. OTHER STUFF

SIX. BONUS JUST FOR FUN

One silly moment still makes us giggle. Our bus driver and guide for a small group island day tour was a fun, friendly Hawaiian fellow named Dennis. Early in the morning, he stopped at various spots to pick up tour passengers. While we waited at one spot, a young woman came up to him and asked what tour we were, obviously waiting for her own tour to arrive. Quick as a wink, he reached for a sign from a pocket in his sun visor and told her, "This is the tour for the nude beach." The look on her face was priceless -- she couldn't back away fast enough. Those of us on the bus were howling with laughter, and Dennis, still horsing around, added the remark, "And there isn't a tan line among us."

Good-natured hubby agreed to pose, clothes fully fastened, with said sign. It was one of those fun, funny moments we laughed about the rest of the trip.

* * *

“Never stop doing things for the first time."

ANONYMOUS 

So that's our trip in a nutshell. Here's wishing you a beautiful weekend.

Hugs,

Brenda

xox

Guest Blogging Elsewhere: One Late Bloomer Finds Her Season

I was away on holiday when my latest Guest Post over at InScribe Writers Online was published. Now that I'm back and online again, I wanted to make the post available to you. Our writing prompt was to describe the season in which we find ourselves, both in life and our writing. I've had fun exploring the topic because I've considered myself a late bloomer on several fronts.

I used to think being a late bloomer was a negative thing, but I've come to see it in a different light. Often, we think of being 'late' as doing something after the expected, proper, or usual time. 'You're late, behind schedule, you missed it'. That's true, of course. But, think of flowers in a garden, those plants that blossom later in the season, we don't think of them as 'late', do we? We like early bloomers, mid-summer bloomers, and we're always glad for flowers that carry the season into autumn. Certainly they are late blooming, but they are not late, as in being behind schedule. In the plant scheme of things, they are right on time. They've just taken their own time to come into bloom. 

That idea changes everything, wouldn't you say? And it's most encouraging for those of us who have come into certain aspects of life later on, not in the usual time frame. Thank goodness for late bloomers in the beautiful garden of life. I think Susan Branch would see herself as a later in life bloomer. She mentions somewhere in her Isle of Dreams book that she used to encourage herself, as she edged towards turning forty and wondered what to do with her life, that Julia Child's first book came out when she was 51; Beatrix Potter married for the first time at age 49; and Laura Ingalls Wilder wrote her first Little House book at age 65. Susan says, "Everyone had to grow into themselves before they could offer anything. ... And they all left behind the gifts they'd made of their lives."

That's how I feel. I find her comment so, so encouraging. Now, I do hope you'll come and say hello on my guest post One Late Bloomer Finds Her Season. If you're blooming later than usual, maybe you'll find it a joy to discover you're not alone. There's many more of us on this fine journey than first suspected.

* * *

PS. I'll be back here on Friday to share some photos and stories of our recent visit to Oahu, Hawaii.

Wishing you a beautiful day.

Hugs,

Brenda

xox