A story to help forget the cold

It is the last week of February, and I think we deserve a break of some kind. According to the Weather Channel, this is the longest period of cold weather, covering the largest portion of our country, since 1977. We were given a brief reprieve last week, but here we go again. The best medicine I can prescribe to alleviate our collective cases of "cabin fever," is a warm up story.

In 1991, I traveled to our 50th state, Hawaii, for my first and only visit there. Today, I am going to take you with me on a memory trip.

I am not sure if you can fly from Kansas City direct to Hawaii these days or not, but in 1991, the trip required several stops and changes in planes.

We left Nevada very early in the morning, to catch what they called the morning express flight on Northwest Air, from Kansas City to Minneapolis. It left MCI at 8 a.m., and arrived in Minneapolis just about an hour later.

There was a brief layover before we boarded another flight to San Francisco. We had booked all our flights with window seats, and I was really happy about that. When our plane flew over San Francisco, we came in from the northeast and made a wide circle over that beautiful city before coming in for a landing from the south. There is no city in my mind as beautiful as San Francisco.

After another layover, we boarded a large plane for our flight to Honolulu. This was the first time I had ever been on a plane that large. I counted myself lucky again for our seats. I think I would have been very upset if I had one of those seats in the center section that seemed about a dozen wide.

As long as I live, I will always be amazed at the vast expanse of the Pacific Ocean. Trust me, there is nothing but water between San Francisco and Hawaii but ocean.

Cindy and Sam Foursha met us at the airport in Honolulu. At that time, Sam was still a Navy officer, stationed at Pearl Harbor. We stayed with them for several days, visiting the sights of Oahu.

All during the next couple of weeks we were blessed to see first hand the famous Hawaiian weather. There were brief rain showers, but for the most part the temperatures ranged from the upper 80s during the day, to the upper 60s at night.

My favorite sites on Oahu were visits to the Palace in Honolulu, the Polynesian Center on the north shore, and, of course, the memorial for the Battleship, Arizona.

If you ever go to Hawaii, that memorial is an absolute must. When we boarded the transport boat that took us to the site, I noticed that about half our passengers were Japanese. My sense of understanding and fair play were greatly tested. You could see a certain look on all the faces of the other Americans on the boat. I often wondered what those travelers from Japan felt.

The next leg of our trip was to the small Island of Kauai. Kauai is nicknamed the "Garden Island." We covered the Vernon County sized island over the next few days, and it was easy to see how it received its moniker.

The island is a contrast in geography. On the northern shore there is a high mountain. This mountain is noted to be the wettest spot on earth, receiving close to 400 inches of rain each year.

We traveled one day in our rental car to the top of that mountain. I should note here, that most of the outdoor scenes from several movies were shot on location in Kauai. John Wayne's, "Donovan's Reef, and Elvis Presley's, "Blue Hawaii," both had many shots filmed there.

The temperature at the top of the mountain required us to put on jackets, and it was this temperature difference that brings on all the rain. That water has to go somewhere, and in a mad rush to the sea, it has created two spectacular views. The first is Waimea Canyon. This canyon is called the Grand Canyon of the Pacific, and for good reason.

As you drive along its path, it looks just like its larger cousin in Arizona, even though it only travels a few miles. Once it reaches the lower eastern side of the island, the river changes into a tropical paradise. You could easily think you had traveled to the Amazon rain forest.

Kauai is the least populated and visited island of the state. Unlike the larger islands, most of the vacationers rent cars to traverse around its sites.

One day we were driving along and came upon a quiet cove that reminded me of the setting for the television show "Gilligan's Island." We swam in the cove and set up our lounge chairs for a secluded afternoon on the beach.

Kauai has a huge agriculture area where they grow a variety of foods. The most prolific of these is the pineapple. I was never a fan of this fruit before I visited Hawaii, but I learned to enjoy it there. Breakfast, lunch and dinner meals are always accompanied with pineapple.

On the south shore line there is a very famous site called the "Spouting Horn." The waves crash into the rocks there, and every minute or so, the water explodes through a blow hole that resembles a miniature "Old Faithful."

We were sad to leave the islands and head home. Hawaii is one of those places that you never forget. It is a wonderful escape from the cold.

Close your eyes. Forget it's going to be in the single digits this weekend. Smell the ocean, hear the waves, and take a sip of your Mai Tai. Spring is around the corner, but for now this is the best I can do.