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June 12, 2001 BeachMy friends who don't live in Hawaii think that I go to the beach every week. I am constantly amazed at the perceptions about the people who live in Hawaii. I've been asked everything from, "Do you live in grass huts?" to "How long have you surfed?" Frankly, I've done neither. Nor have I sipped a mai tai on the beach or tanned at Sunset Beach on the North Shore. I paddled a canoe, but once, on a trip where I brought my students from Japan to Hawaii. And I hardly ever go to the beach anymore. This past Monday, Kyle and I ventured out to Barber's Point, and lay in the hot Hawaiian sun for the first time in years. It's not to say that I've never been to the beach. Our friends have an annual picnic at Ala Moana Beach Park every 4th of July, and our family goes to Turtle Bay every summer. But those trips are daylong events. It's not your casual beach outing. So this past trip was especially fun. We spent just a couple of hours there, but did everything from watching the little kids go surfing, to witnessing a couple of Mililani boys flirt with the girls from Makakilo who were sitting next to us. We saw a whole group of friends and family slowly trickle in over the few hours, in what seemed like a weekly ritual. And we balked at the pregnant lady with the see-through swimsuit. (Yikes!) Okay, so it doesn't seem like going to the beach involves a lot of energy, intelligence, or skill. But that's just the point. It's people-watching in another setting (besides our usual shopping mall locale.) It's relaxing and enjoying the beautiful weather we have here. And, it's just spending some time with the people you love, without the distractions of TV, Internet, etc. etc. etc. I hope our visits to the beach aren't as few and far between as they have been. It was such a refreshing and fun day. But I don't think it's logical to think that it will become a weekly routine!
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