to Maui with love

This is a story about Hazel, an 87 year-old widow; Hazel has always dreamed of going to Hawaii but has never made the journey. It's also a story about those unexpected moments of human love that surprise all of us and touch our hearts.

The phone call came from Angel, Hazel's granddaughter. Everyone in the family knew about Hazel's dream. She had longed to go to Hawaii with her husband. In fact, her dream went all the way back to the 1950's, back to Eisenhower's presidency. But traveling from the east coast to Hawaii was (and is) no trivial matter. It meant flying 5,000 miles, making connections, suffering red-eyes, spending ten hours in the air, crossing six time zones, not to mention the expense. Given the human tendency to procrastinate, their trip never happened.

And now Hazel is a widow. She will never be able to share this trip with her life partner. She is 87 years old, in good health, but elderly. The dream is still there. But everyone has the sense that time is running out.

This was the story I heard when I answered the phone that morning. Angel wanted to make Hazel's dream come true. This is not an affluent family. Angel and her husband are hard-working owners of a small business. Only one of them can take time away from the store. Can I make the trip affordable? They have a modest budget out of which must come their air fare, accommodations, rental car, sightseeing, and meals for the week.

I gladly take on the job. Though it means a lot of research, a lot of planning, and relatively little in the way of commissions, I cannot imagine anything more rewarding than putting together this kind of independent travel... working with wonderful people who care so deeply for one another. To Maui with love! Who wouldn't want to be a part of making this dream come true?

The names in this story have been changed to honor the privacy of these very real, very wonderful people. The story is retold with their permission.

Hawaii Maui love dream travel family dream+come+true