"Good things comes in small packages" - Aesop
A quote I always thought rang true - but just not here. We are staying just outside a 'cute,' in an American type way, town called Paia in Maui. We are in a beautiful house with views of the sea and unfortunately the other hundred houses in the vicinity. Hawaii is not what I expected. The beaches are pretty good and the surf, when there is a wind, is one of the best in the world, we are told, but it is not the little island of paradise I expected. It is part of America and I was naive to think it could be different.
Everything here is big, big cars, big people, big shops and big food. As I stepped into Costco to start our grocery shop Fred rightly predicted what I would say when I was faced with a store the size of two football fields, a maze of aisles, boxes of produce, and even TV sets - 'This is a nightmare".
BUT on the plus side and there is always a plus, the weather is gorgeous, the sea is warm and we see turtles every day. The children are loving staying put in one place and as a family we are having the most relaxing time. We celebrated Fred's birthday here with banana cake and beach games. Despite my fears that I hadn't organised anything I think he enjoyed it immensely, sometimes less is more.
As we relax I have had to face a few home truths about my own self. I may think of myself as an eco warrior now (see our last post) BUT I am not putting my money where my mouth is and have become lazy in my attitude to it again.
Unsurprisingly, bearing in mind Trump's view on climate change, and much to my horror America does not recycle, or at least it is harder to do, and I therefore do not have a constant reminder of what I should be doing and what not. As Fred said in his last post I have embraced the mantra 'Reduce, reuse, recycle' BUT somewhat hypocritically and I needed reminding of this as I picked up a cheap top from Target (which I didn't need). I am glad to say the top is safely back where it should be - the customer service in this country and the speediness of which returns are done is commendable but it highlighted a rather major flaw in myself.
We have used the time here to catch up on sleep, school , play and TV. I can count on one hand the amount of times Fred and I have been able to sit in front of the TV on this trip and yet every night here we have been able to. School had slipped a little as we raced around Australia and New Zealand but here we have time every morning to do some much needed maths, history (with a visit to Pearl Harbour featuring) and reading. Handwriting needs to be worked on and so Fred and I have found ourselves in the unenviable position of being handwriting tutors (if any of you have ever read a handwritten letter from either one of us you will understand the joke).
Following school we have used the afternoons to visit beaches, teach the children how to surf, watch turtles in the sea (Fred landed on one during a surf lesson a few days ago) and play games in the swimming pool. Despite the frequent citings of these majestic creatures I am still excited to see turtles much to the children's embarrassment. Like everything in America they are big! Easy to spot and I find their slow and somewhat dreamy demeanour to be amazingly therapeutic. They don't race around and instead plod along slowly - no need to rush. Like the locals who are so used to them the children are no longer as excited about seeing them as they once were. This saddens me a little and I wonder whether this trip has shown them so much that there is nothing left to be excited about. I hope that won't be the case.
As our trip draws to an end - we are home in August - Fred and I have been debating the advice we would give other families who may take some time out to travel. We would say do less, you get more out of it. Don't rush around - stay in one place, maybe even closer to home.
We have loved our journey but Hawaii has shown me that you just can't beat places closer to home. We come all around the world and yet I crave Europe for its beautiful villages, its neatness and in comparison to the USA its size with properly 'cute' tavernas by the sea..
Good things most certainly come in small packages.
"Less is more - more or less," Anon
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