We arrived in Honolulu late this morning for one last hurrah before returning home. I’m expecting a great couple of weeks here for a couple of reasons. For one, Hawaii is one of our favorite places. Besides all the family and friends we have here, there’s every kind of Asian food, the local food is good, the weather is awesome, there are verdant volcanic mountain ranges and dozens of gorgeous beaches, and its incredibly diverse. It’s the one place in the world where there’s a sizable population of hapas. It is everything that we’ve been lacking and craving for the last four months: family, friends, food, and comfort.

Not only is Hawaii paradise, but Oahu is meaningful to me in the same way that Fremont, Santa Barbara, and Delhi are. Although my first visit was not until I was 18, many important events in my life have taken place here. Its where Joylani and I started dating in 2003 and where we got engaged two years later (at Ehukai Beach, pictured above). Some of my closest friendships have been forged here. It’s where I began my adventurous streak, from simple pleasures from driving scooters to complicated endeavors like skydiving to pure pursuits like hiking. It’s great, familiar, and I could not ask for a better way to wind down our adventures.