Tuesday, January 31, 2012

High Season Happiness in Hawaii

It is high season now on Hawaii Island. Everywhere we go the sidewalks, restaurants, stores, and beaches are filled with visitors from the cold parts of North America enjoying the surf and sun in Hawaii. We enjoy watching the crowds gleefully frolic in the tropical climate while reading about the cold and snow in the places they are from.


Many of the visitors migrate to Hawaii every winter to escape their severe weather back home. Some own condos in our condo complex and can only return sporadically and others rent the same condo for a couple of months every year. Over the years we have come to know them and learned about their lives on the mainland. They arrive spun up and slowly relax over the months they stay in Kona. As they reach the end of their winter migration, they start to fret about having to go back before the warm weather has returned and get back to their work. We feel sorry for them having to go back and are so grateful that we do not have to.


One thing we love about our returning winter visitors is how much they enjoy and appreciate Hawaii. There are only a few that complain about anything and most enjoy every day with gusto. Their attitudes makes it a treat to spend time with such an upbeat and happy group of people dedicated to having fun and enjoying each and every precious day they have in Hawaii.


Yesterday, a group of winter visitors were lounging around the pool soaking up the sunshine and chatting happily about their morning snorkeling adventure. Another visitor observed the happy group and, assuming they were year-round residents, pointed to them and exclaimed when he retires he was going to move to Hawaii full-time and “be just like those people sitting around the pool all day doing nothing”.


His comment left us pondering about the effect of Hawaii on visitors during the high season. The people that are able to stay in Hawaii for a couple of months during the winter become so relaxed and happy that another visitor, only able to spend a few weeks, was envious. One of the unusual dynamics of high season happiness in Hawaii is that being on the islands longer is much, much better.

1 comment:

Tom said...

Loved our month in Hawaii! One of the daily highlights was gathering with the pre-sunset pool crowd most every day. Great to see you guys again! Tom