I was driving to the barn when my sister Cathy called. “I have all these vacation points and I want to go to Hawaii. Dale doesn’t want to go. Are you interested?” I declined, citing a pile of work on the horizon. Then, as I continued my drive, I thought “I have weeks of vacation time available, why not?” I called her back and the next morning informed my boss that I was headed to The Big Island.
This wasn’t the first time we had traveled together. I particularly remember a trip to Maine when her daughter Glenna was an infant. The details are fuzzy but include a cabin on Loon Lake, a drawer used as a makeshift cradle, and blenderful of margaritas.
Then, right before the COVID lockdown, we managed a trip to Charleston with Mom and our spouses. Little did we know that a week later we would be confined to quarters for months.
Our family didn’t take many vacations. A visit to our grandparents in St. Louis was the highlight of the year, occasionally augmented by a trip to the Ozarks. Once we hit adulthood, though, we all found ways to travel throughout the country and around the world. Cathy’s work in technology marketing took her to India and Taiwan, not an easy experience given her gender. Her husband Dale and she enjoyed Thailand, where their daughter Megan was teaching. Once they retired, they bought a trailer, upgraded their van, and hit the road, traveling across the United States each summer.
Although Dale enjoyed the camping, he wasn’t as big a fan of overseas travel. Cathy knew that I looked for any excuse to leave Chicago in the winter. Hawaii it was.
The Big Island is a fascinating collection of ecosystems. The airport is built on an ancient lava bed, a pretty bleak landscape. The rest of the island makes up for it, from exotic birds to whales breaching from outside our window. We stayed in a luxury resort that we used as a base to venture all over the island, including a visit to the southernmost point of the United States and a view of flowing lava. This was definitely one of her better ideas.
The next year I was prepared. This time the two of us ganged up on Yosi and Dale. Back to the Big Island we went with them in tow only somewhat reluctantly. We rode horseback on a ranch, snorkeled, and visited coffee plantations. Dale and Yosi availed themselves of the Kona beachside bars. Cathy and I explored petroglyphs and watched the invasive mongooses frolic (they are cute but very bad news for the ecology of the islands).
In 2024 she called again. “I want to go on a cruise,” she announced. “Not me,” I said, “I’m not a cruise kind of person.” “Oh come on,” she wheedled, “I’ll bet I can find a really cheap last-minute deal.” Sigh. “All right, if you can find a bargain, I’ll consider it.” An hour later we were booked on a Princess Cruise to Mexico, Honduras and Belize. We had a delightful time wandering the ports, eating in exquisite restaurants (no buffet for us), and indulging in music, dancing, and trivia contests. Three out of three for Cathy – we got our money’s worth and then some.
This winter we landed in Honolulu and stayed on the beach at Waikiki, meeting up with Glenna as she wrapped up her three-month around-the-world tour. While Glenna sipped fruity drinks and studied for a certification exam, Cathy and I visited a beautiful temple, watched touristy performances from our balcony, shopped for a sundress for her little granddaughter Nora, and plowed through the Aloha shirt inventory at Bailey’s Vintage. We accomplished my goal of visiting the Dole Plantation to share a large bowl of pineapple whip ice cream (worth the trip for that alone).
Sitting on the balcony the last evening we were there, we pondered our next journey. “Maui?” Cathy suggested. “I’ve never been to Maui.” “I’m in!” Glenna enthused. “Sounds good to me,” I agreed.” “Same time next year.”
Two months later, we lost Cathy to complications from cancer.
This fall we travel to Batavia, Ohio to scatter Cathy’s ashes in the idyllic setting of my brother and sister-in-law’s horse farm. A few of the ashes, however, won’t be there. They are reserved for Cathy’s final journey – Maui, next winter.
