Top 10 Reasons to Vacation in Hawaii

One of our many pictures of green turtles resting on the beach

The water really is turquoise and clear and warm

Me walking outside Sarah's apartment building on the beach

more pictures later of Rachel and family ...
The only lasting Letterman contribution to mankind will be the Top Ten List. Here is my Lettermanesque list of reasons to vacation in Hawaii. It is part of a longer travel column article for the newspaper. They actually pay me to write "What I did on my Summer Vacation". Who says doing school assignments doesn't pay later in life?!
Top 10 Reasons to Vacation in Hawaii
(Mark wanted me to put bikini watching on the list but I said not necessary – it’s the understood #1 for males)
10. Every day is casual Friday. No one wears shoes and certainly not panty hose. And remember these are the wonderful folks who freed us from waistband bondage and brought us the muumuu.
9. No one bothers “doing” their hair. Don’t pack your hairspray, gel or curling iron because they don’t work in Hawaii. Ponytails are the acceptable hairstyle choice- for both women and men.
8. The aging and weight gain process completely stops while you are in the islands. The combination of humidity, huge portions of the “plate lunch” and the Aloha spirit create this temporary Shangri-La.
7. Perfect weather. The rain will stop as soon as the warm breeze blows that one cloud down the beach in about 5 minutes and you are wearing a swim suit anyway.
6. The street signs and store names are in English- just with lots more vowels.
5. Everyone is friendly. You can ask for directions if you can find someone who isn’t a lost tourist like yourself.
4. All beaches have public access and are safe and clean. At some other vacation beach destinations there is constant harassment to buy local wares. Hawaiians are much more likely to be playing on the beach like you are than trying to sell you a coconut bra.
3. You can fall asleep with the windows open to capture the cool breeze, listening to the sound of the surf. So much more restful than blaring horns all night and even the sound of an occasional gunshot at some of our other vacation spots.
2. Fabulous snorkeling and diving with lots of parading Sea Turtles, exotic Needle Fish brightly colored Parrot Fish …oh and parading, exotic, brightly colored bikinis.
1. WARM TURQUOISE CLEAR WATER AND WHITE SANDY BEACHES.