November 12, 2026
Our first trip to Hawaii, twenty-five years into our marriage.
April 14–19, 2026 · Kauai, Hawaii
Twenty-five years of marriage, a Christmas surprise, and our first journey to Hawaii.
It All Started with an Anniversary
Toward the end of summer 2025, something occurred to me. The following year, Kamila and I would celebrate our twenty-fifth wedding anniversary.
Twenty-five years? Really?
I actually checked the calendar to make sure. And yes, there it was. Twenty-five years of marriage.
We had spent much of those years doing what most families do. Working, raising children, paying bills, and putting other things first. There was always something more important to spend money on.
So I thought it was about time we did something special. Something just for the two of us.
Kamila had always dreamed of visiting Hawaii. Whenever an unexpected expense came along, she would jokingly sigh that we wouldn't be going to Hawaii that year either.
Well, what if we finally did?
And what if I gave her the trip for Christmas?
The Christmas Present
I started searching for vacation packages and eventually found an offer through Costco Travel for a five-night stay on Kauai.
At first, I considered booking something more luxurious. But after talking to a few younger colleagues who had visited Hawaii, I changed my mind.
They all told me pretty much the same thing: You don't go to Kauai to sit in a fancy hotel. You go there to explore the island.
That made sense. Why pay for swimming pools and hot tubs if we would spend most of our time somewhere else?
So I booked the trip. April 14–19, 2026.
Now came another problem. How was I going to wrap an entire vacation and put it under the Christmas tree?
I printed the reservation on a sheet of paper, but I couldn't come up with anything clever. Not until Christmas Eve.
That's when I noticed a roll of paper towels sitting in the closet.
The cardboard tube in the middle was hollow.
Perfect.
I rolled up the reservation, slipped it inside, wrapped the whole thing in Christmas paper, tied a ribbon around it, and placed it under the tree.
Before we started opening presents, I quietly asked our son to have his phone ready to record.
Kamila picked up her gift. At first, she seemed excited. Then she removed the wrapping paper.
Paper towels.
I watched her expression change. Her smile faded, and I could tell she was trying very hard to hide her disappointment. This was clearly not the romantic Christmas present she had been expecting.
I finally told her there was something unusual about that particular roll.
She looked inside, reached into the cardboard tube, and pulled out the folded paper.
Then she started reading.
And reading.
And reading it again.
The disappointment turned into tears of happiness. For about ten minutes, she barely said a word. She couldn't quite believe what she was holding.
Later that evening, she kept asking me whether it was really true.
It was.
We were going to Hawaii.
Of course, I soon discovered that giving someone a vacation for Christmas comes with additional expenses. Before the year was over, Kamila was already showing me dresses and asking whether they would be suitable for the beach.
Apparently, the vacation had started long before we boarded the airplane.
Getting There Was Half the Adventure
On April 14, we left home early in the morning for Chicago O'Hare Airport.
Traffic was surprisingly light. We made it to the airport in just 38 minutes, probably a personal record.
Our flight was scheduled to leave at 7 a.m., but things didn't go exactly according to plan.
A thunderstorm caused problems at the airport, and our runway was temporarily out of service. We sat in a Boeing 737 for more than an hour before finally taking off.
And let me tell you, there wasn't much room to stretch your legs.
We connected through Denver and eventually continued across the Pacific.
By the time we arrived on Kauai, I was exhausted. After so many hours in an airplane seat, my legs needed a little convincing before they started working normally again.
The airport in Lihue was a surprise of its own. Compared with Chicago or Denver, it felt almost like a roadside rest stop somewhere in Indiana.
Small, simple, and rather charming.
Picking up our rental car was another little adventure. Eventually, we figured out the shuttle system and collected our Chevy Malibu.
Then we headed toward Poipu, where we would be staying.
One thing became obvious almost immediately. People drive slowly on Kauai.
At first, I wondered why. Then I decided it didn't really matter. We were on vacation. There was no reason to hurry.
Not Quite What the Brochure Promised
We stayed at Castle Kiahuna Plantation & The Beach Bungalows.
The online photographs looked wonderful, with buildings close to the beach and beautiful surroundings.
Our apartment, however, was in one of the buildings farthest from the ocean, on the second floor.
To make things more interesting, the neighboring building was undergoing renovations, and construction noise was expected during the day.
Not exactly what I had imagined.
But the apartment was clean, the air conditioning worked, and the bed was comfortable. And since we planned to explore the island rather than spend our days indoors, things worked out reasonably well.
After all, I had wanted a roof over our heads.
I got one.
Waimea and the Other Side of Paradise
One of our most memorable excursions took us toward Waimea Canyon and the mountainous western part of Kauai.
The landscape was extraordinary. Deep valleys, dramatic ridges, and viewpoints overlooking scenery that seemed almost unreal.
A view from our drive through Kauai’s western uplands.
We drove along the winding roads, stopping whenever there was an opportunity to admire the views.
For much of the day, the weather cooperated. But as we climbed higher, clouds began moving in, and eventually the final viewpoint disappeared into fog.
To make matters worse, one of the places I had most wanted to see was closed for reconstruction.
Well, that's traveling. You plan, and nature makes its own decisions.
Later, we stopped in the town of Waimea for lunch and a walk.
This was a different side of the island from the one shown in vacation brochures. Some streets and buildings looked neglected, and the nearby shoreline was much less inviting than the beaches around Poipu.
It reminded me that no place is quite as perfect as its promotional photographs.
Still, we found a small restaurant serving pork tacos. They were tasty, although I thought the portion could have used a little more meat.
After lunch, we discovered a shop selling freshly prepared fruit drinks with ice.
That turned out to be one of the nicest little surprises of the day.
The shoreline in Waimea, where we stopped for lunch and a walk.
We stopped for fresh fruit drinks after lunch in Waimea.
The Ocean Has Its Own Rules
After we got back from Waimea, we headed down to the beach.
The sun was strong, the water looked inviting, and watching the surfers became one of my favorite activities.
Some of them were incredibly good. I had never watched surfing this close before, and it was fascinating how naturally they moved with the waves.
Eventually, Kamila convinced me that I should go into the water too.
I wasn't so sure.
Those waves looked powerful, and I wondered how my knees would handle them.
But I gave it a try.
I took a few steps into the ocean, and a wave lifted me off my feet and carried me straight back toward the beach. Since the water was shallow, I ended up rolling around in the surf like something the ocean had decided to return to sender.
I got up and tried again.
Same result.
I tried a few more times before finally accepting defeat.
The Pacific Ocean had made its point.
I went back to sit on the beach and watch the people who actually knew what they were doing.
I gave the Pacific a few chances to let me in. It kept sending me back.
Turtles, Coffee, and Roosters
One of the things I loved about Kauai was how different everyday life felt.
At Poipu Beach, sea turtles come ashore in the evening to rest. Seeing these animals on the beach was a wonderful reminder that we were visitors in their world.
A sea turtle resting on the sand in Poʻipū.
And then there were the mornings.
One Saturday, we sat on our balcony drinking coffee. The ocean was sending wave after wave toward the shore. Roosters were competing to see which could crow the loudest, while birds were singing all around us.
There was no need for an alarm clock.
We visited a small craft market where local artists were selling their work. We bought a few souvenirs and presents for the children back home.
A T-shirt display at the craft market we visited on Saturday.
We also discovered Little Fish Coffee, a small, popular coffee shop with a pleasant atmosphere and excellent coffee.
Another evening, we enjoyed dinner at RumFire, where I tried monchong, a fish caught in the deep waters around Hawaii.
None of these experiences was particularly extravagant.
But sometimes a good cup of coffee, a quiet morning, or a simple meal becomes just as memorable as a famous landmark.
A Few More Miles Before Goodbye
During our stay, we also explored Kīlauea Point, stopped in the Wailua River area, and made our way to Hanalei Pier on the north shore.
Five nights had sounded like a reasonable amount of time when I booked the trip.
Once we were there, however, I began to realize how much there was to see.
Kauai is not a place where every day needs to be filled with activities. Sometimes the best thing you can do is stop, look around, and enjoy where you are.
On April 19, it was time to leave.
We returned the rental car, made our way through the little airport in Lihue, and boarded the flight home.
The overnight flight to Denver was considerably faster than our journey west. We arrived about an hour early, with daylight beginning to fill the sky.
Later that morning, we landed in Chicago.
Our first Hawaiian adventure was over.
More Than a Vacation
When I first started planning the trip, I thought I was simply buying a special anniversary present for Kamila.
But looking back, it became something more.
We had spent twenty-five years building a life together, raising a family, and dealing with all the ordinary responsibilities that come with it.
For a few days, we had the opportunity to leave those routines behind and experience something completely different.
Was everything perfect?
Of course not.
There were flight delays, a room farther from the beach than expected, closed viewpoints, and an ocean that seemed determined to throw me back onto dry land.
But those are part of the memories too.
And whenever I think about how this whole adventure began, I still have to smile.
An evening at Poʻipū Beach, with sea turtles resting along the shore.
A dream vacation to Hawaii.
Hidden inside a roll of paper towels.