In May the kids and I took an early summer vacation and traveled to Kauai for a friend’s wedding. Getting the pictures online took me more time than I will admit, but I finally put together a simple HTML viewer to display my pictures from the trip. Looking at the pictures, you might think that Kauai is all waterfalls and waves, but it has a dark, seedier side. A side wrought by conspiracy and the odour of mass eugenics. Kauai, with its high entry costs, isolation and temperate climate, is like some Noah’s Ark for tourist.

Two by two they fly in and permeate the entire ecosystem. Everywhere, young couples are holding hands, snorkeling, paddling boats, eating shaved ice. All of them, slowed in pace, floating from activity to activity with smiles on their faces. I could see the plan of new love all around me, hear the island whisper its potency of relaxation, and I could just guess what was going on at night. (Although there is not much else to do at night on Kauai.) Luckily, I was able to escape their fate by keeping a couple of loud, demanding, slightly sleep deprived but constantly energized, pre-teens, always at my side. I knew the kids would someday save me from a fate most people only read about in expensive travel magazines. Oh well, I was right.

If you ever find yourself as part of a couple and in need of shedding some cash, I recommend a visit to the island. Be sure to go to Kipu Falls near Lihu’e, where you can jump off a ~30 foot cliff into a cold pool of fresh stream water. It is an interesting feeling to tell your body to jump, and have your body say NO. The body is probably right, but I jumped anyway, and it was fun, in retrospect.