I have made my return to the island and I only have positive things to say about this transition. I have a great new living situation, a strong community, and an ever-growing bucket list of island adventures to attend to. I have set two weekly goals for myself. One goal is to take post-work trip to an attraction nearby. Goal two is to spend the night elsewhere or camp out once a week away from home. So far I have been meeting my goals! My most recent trip was to my favorite camping spot on Island, Lone Palm. I have spent many of nights at Lone Palm. Lone Palm was also the inspiration to one of my first ukulele songs! This time around, there was an alert out for high winds, but we didn't get notice of that until after our trip. My housemates and I took a day to go to Kona. It's about an hour and a half drive with sweeping views of the western Hawaiian coastline. This was my first time being the driver on the road from Naalehu to Kona since my car accident. Luckily, the weather was lovely and I felt at ease as I drove the windy roads. Before we headed to the beach, we spent the day picking up household goodies, walking along Ali'i drive and loading up our Costco shopping cart. Kona provides a change of pace compared to the more rural and small town feel of the Ka'u district of Hawaii. I could only handle so much before I became eager to get to the beach- body craving nature and relaxation. The drive from Kona to Lone Palm is another thirty minutes. The wind started to pick up. I could feel my car being pushed and pulled by the wind-talk about anxiety producing! I felt a wave of relief as I parked my car on the lava lot near the Lone Palm trailhead. My plan was to stay the night at lone palm, set up my hammock in the trees and swing in the breeze. My housemates hiked in to enjoy the waves and sunshine. The wind continued to pick up as the evening went on. A beach that usually offered nice rolling waves had a continuous flow of choppy waves beating the shoreline. We didn't dare to venture past the break because the current was so strong and unpredictable. We journeyed around the bend in the bay. On the other side of the bend lay a few more campsites and a layer of lava rock that separate the sandy beach and the ocean waves. The lava rock fills will tide pools and swimming holes. We watched the sunset over the horizon in awe. As the sun left my sight, so did my housemates. They opted to head home for the night. It has been awhile since I solo camped, but I felt at ease in this particular spot. I cozied up in my hammock and brought out my ukulele. There was a synchronicity between my voice and wind, my voice matched the rhythm as it whirled and bellowed in the trees. I was physically and emotionally moved by the strong presence of the wind. As the darkness started to greet me, I became aware of the risk of sleeping under the actively blowing trees above my head. I decided to move my hammock to another spot where the trees seemed to be a bit more secure. My eyes grew heavy and I began to drift to sleep. When I camp alone, it takes me a little while to fall into a deep sleep. On this night in particular, I teetered between a hyper-awareness of the wind, dreamy rocking, and mesmerized by the night sky. There were a few times that I could not get comfortable in my hammock, the wind was flapping the wings too much. I left my hammock and walked over to a soft spot in the sand to cuddle up. As soon as I layed in the sand, I was carried away into a deep sleep. I bounced between my hammock and the sandy spot a few times in the night until the sun beams began to shine. I did some yoga and deep stretching to greet the day then packed up my belongings for the hike out.
There is something special about spending a night out alone. Swept away in serenity yet startled to greet the night with no human near. In that silence you can choose to allow the voices of the world to whisper in your ears...they may just remind you you are really never alone.
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