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| Sandra Sunderlage, originally from the U.S. and now living in Singapore, gives us a fresh look at getting older, and embracing this journey. The joy of friendship and a sense of our history and roots gives this story universal appeal. Come visit Hawaii with Sandra as she re-discovers her birthplace! |
| Hawaii 5-0 Trip |
As my fiftieth birthday approached, I decided that celebrating this milestone should not be left to chance. Reaching fifty is BIG and should be given a special place in one's life to look back on with a smile. Going to yet another dusty, polluted, third world country would not be fitting for this occasion. What I wanted and needed was to rediscover the place where I spent my first few months of life. A place where I had only heard stories, seen Koda-colour photos and 16mm movies shot by my Dad from his Army days. Yes, the only place I could see myself spending this landmark day was Hawaii.
Once I had decided where to go, it was then a matter of who to go with. Being unabashedly single, my thoughts of travel mates turned to girlfriends. And who better to invite than my dear friend, Connie. Having met in high school English class freshman year, our friendship has endured hormonal adolescence, double dates, and the death of her teenaged sister. Though living in different cities as adults, we always kept in touch, mostly through telephone calls and most recently, e-mail. After 32 years of friendship we knew each other inside out.
Connie's husband allowed her to join me, "As long as you keep her out of jail." Not letting that small caveat to stop us, we immediately launched into the search for the perfect place to spend our first trip to 'The Islands'. We wanted Hawaii in the era in which I was born: unspoiled stretches of beach, houses with jalousie windows set amongst colorful foliage and a slow, 'Aloha' style of life.
And so we launched an internet search looking for our idea of paradise. It was a bit like the story of Goldilocks and The Three Bears: "This one is too big! This one is too expensive! This one doesn't have a kitchen!" But then one day we separately found the same perfect guesthouse. "Hey!" I e-mailed Connie. "Check this one out. I think you'd like it." And in real time Connie was e-mailing me back claiming "This one is perfect!"
Not only did the description and the photos grab us, but it was also a feeling we both got when reading to the site. Banking on intuition, Connie e-mailed an inquiry about the dates we wanted and called me directly afterward. "It's available!" And so a trip filled with beach time, shopping and loads of gossiping was planned.
We dubbed the trip "Hawaii 5-0".
Finally, the big day arrived when I boarded a plane from Singapore heading towards Narita and then on to the Hawaiian island of Oahu; a trip of 20 hours. Approaching the U.S. Customs counter, I was tired and cranky and not sure how I was going to spend six hours waiting for Connie's flight to arrive. But the Customs official took one look at my passport and exclaimed "A Native Girl!!!" That was enough of an Aloha to set my mood straight. So I bought leis at a kiosk outside of baggage to drape over Connie's neck and happily sat down to write in my journal and wait.
Finally she arrived, from a distance looking ever the Connie I knew from high school; a petite, blue eyed blond, full of smiles and giggles. Up close, life had left her face etched with a lifetime of emotions and four children had bequeathed her a tummy. But she was still Connie, the person who read my thoughts and laughed at all my jokes: the person who has known me for over half of my life.
Connie was in charge of the car rental so after we collected her luggage we headed over to the rental office. "You watch the luggage. I'll go in the office for the car." Yep, she was up to something. She came back out, grinning. The grin broadened when a sleek silver convertible rolled up. We couldn't help but put the top down and sing the theme song to Hawaii 5-0 as we left the rental lot. Heading towards our guesthouse at Waminalo, a laid back beach town on the east side of Diamond head, Connie drove and I navigated. This was not an optimal situation since I was sleep deprived by about 20 hours. Instantly getting us lost, I told Connie to make a right when I should have said left and found the car climbing up a small hill and to the entrance and full view of Tripler Army Hospital, where my Mom gave birth to me in 1956. "It's still pink!" I exclaimed, remembering the yellowed postcard of the hospital glued into my baby book. Indeed it was and hadn't changed a bit architecturally since the day I was born. "Do you want to go in?" Connie asked. But I didn't need to do that. I felt that it was fate to bring me to this postcard viewpoint and that was enough.
Finally finding our way to Waminalo, the cottage lived up to our every expectation. Indeed, we felt as if we had stepped back into the old Hawaii of my birth year with its unpretentious and relaxed Hawaiian style. Skye, the owner of the cottage, was the perfect hostess: there when we needed her but giving us loads of space. A warm and insightful person, a new friendship blossomed between Skye, Connie and me.
The week passed, full of serendipitous discoveries and mini adventures. Our initial plans to learn to surf, visit Pearl Harbor and climb Diamond Head quickly dissolved into a week of unstructured time enjoying simple activities. We were both so grateful to be able to slow down and just let life happen, Aloha style.
The morning of my birthday, Connie barged into my room, pre-dawn. "Come on! I made coffee and the sun is coming up. Let's go the beach!" Groggy, I stumbled behind her as she charged down the narrow path that led to the ocean. The sky was pearl grey but promised to be a spectacular day. We sipped our mugs of coffee and watched the sun peek over the Pacific. I was born at 8:19 am so we waited until I was officially fifty and then asked a local Hawaiian, line fishing further down the beach, to take our photo. Then I took a photo of our feet in flip-flops being washed by the Pacific. Connie smiled. Yep, she was up to something.
After returning to the guesthouse, I found a small package from Connie on the pillow of my unmade bed. Inside was a necklace with a small silver and gold flip-flop pendant!
The day was too spectacular weather-wise not to do some exploring, so we decided to drive up the coastline to North Beach so that we could look for big surf, whales and an artist that painted on old surfboards that Skye had told us about. We didn't find the surf or whales as the tide was out but we did find the funky family of eleven with pieces of psychedelically painted surfboards planted all over a broad span of lawn, like a graveyard on an acid trip. But as turned out, the family's real talent was in writing and performing jazz, my favorite genre of music. Every night they had a jam session, free of charge which were recorded and mixed into fabulous cd's.
After a long chat and of course, the purchase of several cd's, we headed over to a restaurant known for its seafood. A fabulous Hawaiian sunset accompanied our dinner and the other diners sang 'Happy Birthday' to me when a cheesecake with a candle appeared at the end of the meal. Yep, Connie was at it again.
After dinner, we decided to drive across the island to reach Waimanalo in better time. And this time I was not surprised that we drove right past Schoefield Army Base and the military housing where I spent my first few months of life. It wasn't planned, but the week was just flowing like that.
Sadly, the last day of our blissful trip arrived. Feeling like two Cinderella's the moment before the clock strikes twelve and we'd have to return back to our hectic lives, we snapped last minute photos and gave Skye farewell hugs. And I can say that of all the adventure travels I've had in my life, this simple week spent with a dear friend to celebrate the entrance to a new decade of life was the best trip I've ever had. Aloha! |
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By Sandra Sunderlage
Singapore |
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| Our Beach Shack |
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| Birthday girls Sandra and Connie |
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| Birthday feet Hawaii 5-0 style! |
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| The rise of a whole new decade |
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| Our Skye Hostess |
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| Still best friends after all these years |
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| Tripler Army Hospital - my birthplace re-visited |
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