Makua kane~Father

Makua kane~Father

My father introduced me to Hawai'i in the winter of 1965.
We traveled relentless hours by plane to a land of mystery...to a 6th grader.

My father was one of those who did not believe in a 'tour-travel package'. We rented a house and took to the Big Island roads with only one thing in mind.
Adventure.

We discovered many wonderful things.
We traveled the Chain of Craters road, whose length can no longer be driven.

We discovered hidden water falls, twisted roads, sugar cane fields...roads where mom would say, *Tom, this doesn't look good!*
We road the Saddle Road.
We discovered friends and how to snorkel.

We played.
We had fun.
We made cherished memories.
And throughout my childhood, we went back...and Hawai'i became my dream land also....

In 2001, I escorted Dad back to Hawai'i.
I got the sense from him that this was where he always wanted to be...a place for him of wonderful and fond memories.
Of happiness.
Of togetherness.
Indeed, I feel it too.

In February of 2005 my Dad told me on our last visit together that he wanted to go back to Hawai'i. He wanted to visit *that place under the tree* to watch the ocean.
He could do that forever.

He died in June of that year.
I am taking him back.

I am revisiting those wonderful happy memories and making new ones with my son.
...and so it continues.
Mahalo Makua kane~~~