The Cove

I was sitting on a Boeing airplane heading due west to our annual tropical vacation destination, and the excitement was almost tangible. I put down my book, Bird of Another Heaven, by James Houston, and pondered why I love to visit the Hawaiian islands every year. It has a lot to do with the place we stay, which just might be one of the most beautiful places on earth, but it's more than that. It's the music, the colors of the ocean, the temperate climate, the snorkeling and the general aloha spirit that brings us back again and again. This place is our own private paradise in the Hawaiian islands.

When we are here, everything just seems to fall into place. After our plane gently touched down, we leisurely walked to the rental car area, passing the line of tourists that stand in line for the deals at Dollar and Alamo car rental, having spent too much time during prior years in their long lines, and on to our Enterprise shuttle that awaited our arrival. I barely had enough time to visit the ladies room, and we were in our rental car on our way to the cove. 

We decided to stop on our way to pick up a few groceries, rent our snorkel gear, and then we made our way to the condo we frequent each year. We were in for a lovely welcome from the woman who has been working at the reception area for over 15 years, and I noticed that it feels like we are visiting ohana (family), when we say our alohas. When we finally opened the door to our unit, what lies before us is the incredible view, and we know that we have arrived. 

The sun isn't yet moving towards the horizon, so we decided to get in the warm ocean water and swim with the turtles. They are there, just like always, hiding in the coral reefs, slowly coming up for air. We are the only ones in the cove and they come out and lead us around as if to welcome us back. When we are done, we relax on the grassy ocean edge and bask in the warm sunshine. That's when I pull put the camera and snap this photo. All I can think is, Maui no ka hoi, which when translated means Maui is the best.