I’ve been on vacation from my blog while on vacation in Hawaii (Big Island).  It was the first time in five years my husband and I took a vacation, sans kids, for more than a few days.  We were gone eight wonderful days, and it really stretched my mind and rested my soul.

First off, I the leisurely pace of Hawaii is of coure much different than the snap-snap hustle bustle of Denver.  Relaxation was the mantra, which was usually wonderful, except when practiced by employees who are supposed to be in customer service roles.  It took over an hour for the bellman to retrieve our luggage!  Instead of taking our rental car, we would take nice long walks to the Starbucks down the road from our hotel. Here’s a picture of the beautiful Birds of Paradise lining the walkway:

We stayed at a beautiful property: The Hilton Waikoloa Village.  The property is so large that they operate boat taxis and a tram to shuttle people around.  This turned out to be a big timewaster.  I was trying to match the pace of the locals, but it was still frustrating when the boat I was on flooded and I was stuck for 15 minutes.  Or when one of the trams broke down…while I was on it…and we had to wait 20 minutes for the system to be re-set.  The transportation was so unpredictable that often it took 15 minutes just for the next boat or tram.  So we took to walking.  It was a 10-minute hike from our tower back to the lobby, but we figured we’d at least get some exercise and see the property rather than just sit there waiting.  I couldn’t believe all the people who just *sat* there! I guess it’s relaxing for some people, but I still couldn’t stand waiting—wasting time—no matter where I was.

Last, I was really worried about being able to run my business.  I promised my husband I would check in at the office only once a day, early in the morning, as I preach to my audiences.  Turns out it wasn’t hard to follow my own advice.  Hawaii was four hours earlier than my internal clock, so I was bright-eyed and bushy tailed, ready to go…at 3:00 a.m.  It took several days for my body to adjust and stop being ready for bed at 8:30 p.m.!  So while my hubby was still sleeping soundly, I would log on and check my email and voicemail and be done and ready for adventure by the time he woke up.  It’s amazing how unimportant some things seemed in Hawaii…things that I might have jumped on right away while in the office…I just told people I was in Hawaii and would handle it when I got back.  Everyone understood and told me to enjoy myself.

Hmmm…with cell phones these days…who would know you *weren’t* on vacation?