"You better not say that unless you mean it", I said over the phone. "I would love it", he said. It was nephew Shane on the other end. I was sitting on the patio of my brother-in-law's house, Danny, in Arkansas. It was late June. I had been back in the U.S. for a couple of weeks.

While I had been traveling SE Asia, Shane had received a transfer on his job to Hawaii . I know, we all feel sorry for him.

He had just invited me to visit him. He had been there two months. I researched the possibility and determined my business in the states would be finished by early September and I would be free to travel again!

I booked the flight and notified him by e-mail that it was too late to change his mind, and turned off my phone so he could not call and cancel my visit.

The summer sure flew by. Visiting with family was really great (at least on my part). I even got to enjoy a family reunion while here. The kids have grown and all the adults have just got sweeter.

I waited until mid-June to return to Arkansas from tropical SE Asia. By this time, I was sure the summer would be in full force in Arkansas. I was wrong. It happened to be the coolest summer any of the Arkansas-ans could remember. I sat on the patio, the rain coming down, and temps going down also, all the way into the 60's . Bummer. I check my calendar. Yes, it says it is mid-June. Does cold just follow me?

On the 'sunny' side, I did get all my immunizations for my next round-the-world adventure and got other pressing business taken care of, and got to see the family while here.

Brother and sister-in-law, Johnny and Karla, dropped me off at the Little Rock airport the day after Labor Day. I will fly to Maui, Hawaii.

"Turn around and look to your left", Shane said on the phone. I was standing outside the Kahului airport in Maui. I had called Shane to find out where to meet him. We were at different spots at the airport, but, while talking, he had walked to where I was standing and told me turn around and look left . . . and . . . there he was.

I have found out that Hawaii, the 50th U.S. state, is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the land of warm beaches, diverse natural beauty, active volcanoes and loads of skateboards, surfers, windsurfers and a host of other activities, and over a million permanent residents (not counting visitors or military) .

The capitol of Hawaii is Honolulu, on the island of O'ahu.

Hawaii includes nearly the entire Hawaiian Island chain that includes hundreds of islands and spreads over 1,500 miles. There is also the Island of Hawaii, referred to as "The Big Island" to distinguish it from the state of Hawaii.

Today I start the first leg of my journey. It starts on the island of Maui. Maui is the second-largest of the Hawaiian Islands. In 2010, Maui had a population of 144,444, third-highest of the Hawaiian Islands.

Maui is a leading whale-watching center in the Hawaiian Islands. The Humpback whales winter here. They migrate approximately 3,500 miles from Alaskan waters each autumn and spend their winter months mating and birthing in the warm waters of Maui. Unfortunately, I will probably be too early to see them. They leave by the end of April. I leave way before then.

Stay tuned (if you wish) for coming posts as I enjoy this island paradise. Sign up for e-mail notifications so you know when a new post is up, if you haven't already but want to. You will see the 'get e-mail notification button on the right side of this page. Of course you know you can click on any picture in any entry to see it enlarged in a slideshow.