I’m hanging out with my brother in my room at the moment. We’ve got this new favorite show on MTV called “Surf Girls.” When our family took our first-ever vacation last summer to Hawaii, Kyle and I got to experience the beach and the ocean as if we never had before. Growing up in Long Beach, California wasn’t the best way to become familiar with the beach or with waves. In that particular area, the sand commonly had large, rough grains and was cluttered with trash. Not to mention, the waves were small and hardly worth any sort of ride.

On the Big Island, the sand was soft like silk and the waves seemed to smile when they curled and burst out laughing when they crashed. Kyle and I could spend anywhere between six and eight hours body surfing and rolling around in every ocean swell. It was one of the funnest times we’d ever had in our lives. While we were there, we kept talking about coming back. We knew that once we left, we would miss it immensely. Whenever we took a break from the water, we would sit and stare back at the waves longingly… as though we already missed them…

I’ve been thinking really hard about what I want to do with the 6-9 month break I plan on taking after this summer. It was interesting because I came home from class about two weeks ago and my friend Erin was working for my mom that day, so she was there to greet me. We started talking and I mentioned that her boyfriend, Josh, blurted out to me earlier that day, “Carly, you should travel.” She nodded her head and said, “You know, I think he’s right. But I also think you should spend time in California. At the beach.”

“Really?? Well… I don’t think so. Not California.”

“But I thought you loved it there?”

“Certain parts. But, I’ve experienced it too often to see it as any place I’d like to go.”

“Hmm… I dunno… I just feel like part of it would be right.”

“The beach maybe.”

I didn’t think about that conversation again until sometime yesterday. My thoughts continue to return to that brief discussion over and over throughout the day. The beach maybe…

Hawaii. Far-fetched, I know. But I wonder if it could be right. I’m in love with the Big Island and with the people who live there. It’s not nearly as tourist-oriented as Maui or Oahu. It’s more of a place you can actually live. I fell madly in love with it when I was there and I don’t think I ever let it go. Nearly a year later, and it’s true that I watch both Hawaii two-hour homevideos more often than any other video I’ve taped.

Besides… Imagine the tan I’d have. Note: wink and a brush of sarcasm.

Categories: Uncategorized | Comments

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *