Hawai’i is everything that you think it is. Lush vegetation, black volcanic landscape, incredibly kind locals, and colors so vibrant you question if they’re real.
I had the humbling privilege of going to Maui as a college graduation gift a few weeks ago, and I can honestly say it’s one of the best trips I’ve ever been on. Choosing to spend most of our time bouncing back and forth between beaches, ice cream shops, and our cozy hotel, my friend, R, and I explored the town of Kihei.
Kihei seemed to have one foot in the past and one in the present. There was a comforting and nostalgic 90s vibe to the town. The font everything was written in was bubbly and bold colors. There were a bunch of shiny, old cars cruisin’ down the street. Everyone was wearing denim and listening to Hawaiian acoustic guitar on the radio. It was a shimmering dream of place.
Did you know that sea turtles just swim right up to you on the beach? One day R and I saw almost 5 or 6 sea turtles swimming near us! We didn’t touch, of course, we’d never wanna disrupt the wildlife, but they were stunning. As green and massive as they look in any David Attenborough documentary. And the crabs were… adorably creepy. And the chickens! There were so many chickens. Like, more chickens than I can even accurately describe to you here.
But what I loved most about Maui had to be the chill and friendly attitudes of the locals. One phrase I kept hearing was “island time”, which is like real time, except you don’t feel impending doom. From what I could see, island time refers to how slow everything is on the island. Driving slow, walking slow, eating slow, slow easy conversations that melt together like ice. After the rush of college life and work, it felt so lovely to be slow! We could all use a little more island time.
Chena Is Home 