Remember the Alamo + the Kindness of Strangers

The Big Island of Hawaii is known to be the Healing Island, so it's apropos that I felt called to visit.

Healing Moment #1: Girlfriend time. I know, I know. You're not supposed to meet people in person who you find over Facebook and MySpace. However. There's Mia King, my FB and MS friend and writer-buddy. We finally got some real face time over a long, long lunch at Huli-Sue's in Waimea. Coconut curry with rice. Chocolate tart. Ice Tea. YUM. The sweetest part? Mia signed a copy of her last novel for me:

I couldn't sleep, so I finished her book off at 3:00 a.m. It's one of those reads where you say: wow, how did she know about my life?

Healing Moment #2: As I drove off after lunch, my jeep began lurching bumpily. Yup, flat tire. *sigh* This is not the healing moment.

However, I pulled into the first driveway, which happened to be the Keck Observatory--a place I wanted to visit anyway. There, I was taken under the wings of three amazing women (including the librarian!) who made sure I got a ride back to my condo. I'm having dinner with the CFO tonight!

Healing Moment Most Momentous: the Alamo car rental people? Nothing but wonderful and kindness from the moment I got my vehicle and the man gestured around the parking lot: choose whatever you want! Jasmine and Whitney in the Help-Me Department completely took care of everything. Everything. They worried that I was traveling alone. They worried that night was falling. They worried that the tire couldn't be changed. So what did they do? They had a new jeep delivered to me this morning. Free of charge. (Take note: Hertz. When I had a flat tire with that company in Nebraska, I had to pay for the tow truck and the replacement tire. Never to Hertz again.)

Today, I am just so thankful for the kindness of perfect strangers (and I do mean perfect).

Chilling--Doctor's Orders

You know it's time to take a vacation when five people who don't know you tell you to take one. When your sister (who happens to be studying for her nursing degree) cites one study after another about how stress takes its toll. Its fatal toll. Which implies that I might just keel over any second. (This just goes to show that too much knowledge can be too much knowledge.)

So nurse's orders: Go relax.

The weird thing is, I had a calling--that's exactly what it was--a calling to go to the Big Island in Hawaii. Airfare was cheap! I called up a girlfriend, Mia King (GOOD THINGS, SWEET LIFE), who happens to live on the Big Island. One phone call later, and she set me up with the most outrageously gorgeous place to stay.

Which leads me here. On a volcano:

That's the Kilauea Iki crater where I hiked yesterday morning, still steaming. Yes, you are allowed to walk across the volcanic floor. Traipse across it. Clomp across it. 24/7. I'm not joking.

After devastation, growth. That's how tenacious life is. Flowers thrive atop lava. Gorgeous.