Hele on to Kauai

On the first leg of my travels I flew from Hawaii to California to see friends/classmates from my University days for the first time since '02; beginning my journey west-to-east around the world surrounding myself first with more familiar places & faces before continuing on to those increasingly less familiar.  Due to the fact that I had booked my "around the world" itinerary months before heading out, and, with the inability to book flights more than a year in advance, coupled with the uncertainty of the desire/circumstances/finances of the then consideration of possibly continuing on to South America, it was to California that my ticket returned.  As anxious as I was to return home (dropping off my friends Bundy & Mariko at the airport in Tahiti for the once a week flight to Hawaii didn't help!) I looked forward to seeing some people in Cali, easing my way back to familiarity, and seeing my brother - who ironically had just completed his job in Hollywood and would have time on his hands for us to hang out!  

Looking forward to the immigration officer welcoming me back "home", I got more than I bargained for when, after his review of my stamp-filled passport, he smiled, laughed with excitement of my accomplished travels, and high-fives me as I moved through the line... I was back on US soil!!!  With the endless array of activities available to-do in LA at hand, my brother and I took advantage and "bro-ed down" over the course of the week as we attended a Lakers basketball game, Dodgers baseball game, tracked down some new surfboards to bring back home with me, went mattress shopping (after months of 'sleeping around' I longed for my own new bed) and ate some good ol' American food!

A short ride north we made our way up the coast from the traffic and craziness of LA to the beauty of Santa Barbara where many of our mutual friends reside... Though it wasn't quite home yet, a drive-in movie, hiking in the mountains, and a visit to In-and-Out burger made for fun times over the weekend....

Returning to LA after a weekend full of friends, fun, and food I discovered an open seat had opened up on an earlier flight... Instead of spending another week in Cali I was suddenly packing my bags for the last time and heading home!  I made it back in one piece, was greeted with smiles, hugs, lei, and even a welcome home hat by my friends & parents and got to spend Easter with my family :)

I've been home now for just over a week and slowly integrating back into "normal" life: sorting through mail, getting back into my house, reacquiring a vehicle, exploring employment opportunities, surfing my home breaks, and catching up with friends.  In many ways not much has changed... It is easy to think that the better part of this last year gallivanting around the globe was just a dream... It is nice to return to family... Return to friends... Return to the comforts of home... But, it wasn't just a dream... It was a dream realized, lived through, and experiences that are apart of me now... They say "every story should have a beginning, a middle, and an end"... I don't see this as the end, but as just the beginning...

I came across this quote while watching a movie during my travels and I don't think any other words could sum it up better... As spoken by David Rastovich in Castles in the Sky -- "There was once a man who'd became unstuck in the world, and he traveled around like a leaf on the wind... until, he reached the place where he'd started out... his car, his job, his phone, his shoes; everything was right where he left it... nothing had changed... and yet, he felt excited to have arrived here... as if this was the place he'd been going to all along!"

The Beginning.