.plan

One of the strangest things about traveling on business is going out for
a meal and eating alone. On my first business meal, I quickly realized
that I never eat alone in a public place. My pizza is delivered,
my fast food is taken to go, and my Chinese is carried out. I never
go to a restaurant, greet a waitress, and make an order for one.
But that’s exactly what I did on Thursday. Only one
menu please. Thank
you.

When that business trip takes you to a tropical paradise, you
miss more than just a little chat over a side salad.
You miss the ability to share the experience.

On my first to Hawaii, I had a single day to myself for sightseeing.
I had a car, a map, and a list of destinations. I traveled to several
stunning waterfalls and visited one of the more unique places
on earth:
Volcano National Park.
I was able to witness water plunging
into the volcanic rock. I was able hike through a real life rain forest.
I scampered through a lava tube and peered into the deep caldera of
a live volcano. However, I did it all completely alone.

I resorted to telephone calls to get some company.

Now I don’t want to sound that I pined by the phone pleading for
attention. There were certainly some advantages to my plight.
I could move at my own pace. I could see exactly what I wanted to see
for exactly as long as I wanted to see it. It was a day like no other.
But it just helps to have some company. It helps to have my wife along
for the ride.

Tomorrow, I’ll likely wake to a glorious sunrise, where streaks of light paint the
bay outside my
hotel
window and glisten along the rocky coast. All my
wife will see of this is a simple photo. A photo could never do this
scene justice. A thousand photos couldn’t communicate just how bad I
want her see it for herself.