I visited Hawaii for the first time in July 1980, with Don, who was attending a legal convention; we stayed at the Sheraton in Waikiki, and I loved the warm waters of that sunny beach. I was especially enchanted by the young dancers I photographed at an outdoor show.

The following year, in September 1981, I was intrigued by the offer of my friend Markene to go sailing with her on a small boat, stopping at various islands.  We left from Waikiki, where we stayed at the pink Royal Hawaiian, and ended up in Maui, where we spent a couple of extra days at the Pioneer Inn in Lahaina; but those days on the sailboat were very romantic.  We docked to watch red sunset and cook food on a grill, we slept on deck under the stars, we swam with the fishes in the crystal clear waters of Kaanapali; and we visited islands not on the beaten tourist path: Lanai, with its pineapple plantations, and Molokay, once a leper colony. 

I travelled to Hawaii a few more times with my daughter Samantha, an easy destination for a child, to teach her how to snorkel and show her the wonders of Polynesian arts and craft.  We were in Waikiki on Ohau in July 1993, in Kauai, the green island, in April 1996, our favorite, and in Hawaii, the Big Island, in December 1996, where we couldn’t explore much of the black volcanic landscape because Sammy came down with the flu and a 104 degree fever.