I’m responding to my own prompt today.

The view from our hotel room balcony.

We never go anywhere
Comfortable at home
With our familiar bed
And our reliable routine
But for a few years
Dreamed of visiting Hawaii
Aloha

Finally off to the tourist mecca we go
A hotel across from the beach
ABC on every corner
Rainbow after every shower
Early morning plant waterers and sidewalk sweepers
Late night celebrators and walk-takers
Visible from our balcony

Take-out breakfast on the beach
Fresh pineapple and spam at McDonalds
Chocolate macadamia clusters
Purchased and consumed by the boxful
Souvenir shirts (t-shirt for me,
Hawaiian print for him) worn with pride

Studying history at Pearl Harbor
Rental car circumnavigating the island
Catamaran voyage to see the dolphins
Swimming with feet protected by aqua shoes
Favorite memories of a lifetime
Mahalo

I made my husband pose next to this painted rock outside the Waikiki Aquarium.