Instant Aloha.

This is the life! I am next to a small pool surrounded by verdant tropical foliage. Just me, Michael, my laptop and two mai tais - light on the pineapple juice. Somewhere, a waterfall beckons to be explored. (So what if it’s fake!) It feels like we’re in the middle of a jungle and not the meandering, interconnected pools of the Grand Hyatt Resort in Kauai (www.kauai.hyatt.com). THIS IS JUST AMAZING! My first trip to Hawaii! It would not have been practical during my years as a New Yorker as the travel time would have consumed much of the vacation. Ah, the joys of living on the west coast! Michael and I actually had a direct flight from SF that was just a tad over five hours. And unlike in the Caribbean, I’m not hearing New York accents or experiencing the fussy intensity and predilections for obnoxiousness. (Traits I’ve been working out one by one since I moved to Napa, as you know.) Maybe the easterners are here but subdued, and like us, stretched out on very comfortable lounge chairs shaded by big umbrellas, with cocktails and novels in hand (or laptops!). The real difference between them and us? They are trying to get tan, as they don’t know when they’ll have another opportunity!

It feels like we’ve escaped! It’s a little bit of a guilty feeling, but we really did make a last minute decision to come here. In a more robust economy, everything would be booked up and a last-minute trip wouldn’t have been possible. Kat had settled in (sort of). Well, she knew how to get the kids to and from school and where to buy groceries. Michael had nothing immediate on his calendar with the bank, and there was nothing pressing enough at Red House that I couldn’t take six days away. Besides, Kerin will call if I need to step in. So, with the stars aligned, we threw some things together and just LEFT. Not in a long time have I been so excited to get on a plane! I was like a kid! Even the packing was easy: our Red House Honeycomb Piqué Polos (RH02 for me and RH01 for Michael) are perfect for tennis, golf next door at Poipu, and exploring Waimea Canyon. All of which will happen…later (!). And that’s pretty much all we have planned. Oh, and lots more of this poolside time. I’ve never spent so much time in a bathing suit, ever!

I really get now why people always refer to Hawaii as paradise. Near-perfect weather, incredible scenery, and a relaxed approach to life – what’s not to love? It would take me a while to miss the mainland. However, being here has made me even more enamored of Napa, which is close enough to paradise for me. And besides, local winemaking leaves a lot to be desired. The sparkling pineapple “champagne” we bought in the hotel gift shop was really, really, bad!

Time to float down the lazy river to the pool bar. If not for need of rum we’d get no exercise at all. Ahhh…