Monday Musings by Melinda by Melinda M.

I could not believe it. How did I not see it coming? There it was: a big empty hole on Saturday, April 8. Not a bill due, not a reminder, nothing. A big ole free day just hanging out there like a swollen mango asking to be picked! After I confirmed that no one in my house had anything that day, I knew exactly what I wanted to do: go to Hapuna Beach. Fortunately, my family was all in.Hapuna is definitely my “go-to” place if/when there’s a day that’s free or special (e.g., my birthday, Mother’s Day). Just the thought of that warm, soft, white sand under my feet, of snuggling into my favorite beach chair, of playing in the waves with my girls and watching them play with each other…that is definitely the happy place I go to when people tell you to go to your happy place in your mind.It was such a rare occurrence to not have anything planned and not needing to plan to go to Hapuna. It had been way too long since we just headed there just to go. Now that the girls are older and the road is newer, it’s so much less of a hassle. No more packing a cooler full of food options the night before. No more packing every sand toy, blanket and chair we have. No more waking up super early to make the long round-trip drive worth it. Now everyone just grabs what they need – a football, some towels, a chair or two and the umbrella – and we walk out the door for a drive that is now only a little more than an hour!

And once we’re there, the memories come flooding back: trips there with my mom when she was alive and the hotel had not yet opened and I was newly arrived in Hawaii; walking the beach with my husband when he was my boyfriend and then the day after he proposed and then when he dug a hole for my big pregnant belly so I could lie on my stomach! And then, of course, with the girls and all of the equipment we used to lug. Hapuna’s been the one constant through it all and in a way, it feels like family to me. I’m so glad she’s so close by!

ps – in case you remember, I said I would write about Hoola Farms this week. I couldn’t get out there yet but once I do, you will read about it!!