Satisfaction
Jenny & Adam
WAIPIO, Hawaii // After driving up the Kohala mountain road, we hiked for about 2 hours to reach a secluded lookout point on the north side of the Big Island. It was a 3 mile hike in Polulo Valley, which included going down a steep section to a beach, up the valley on the other side, and across a ridge line to an isolated grassy field. I could have stayed for hours just looking at the waves crash onto the steep walls of the valley from this small piece of land on a hill. There were another two guys there who had hiked in a mini cooler of beers and shared it with us. When they left we were all alone and just stared into the vast empty ocean watching the waves.
A few days later we drove to Waipio lookout and although equal in beauty to the one we hiked the day prior in Pololu, it just felt different. We got out of the car, walked 30 seconds, and there were about 50 people taking photos. it didn’t mean the same to us and felt too easy to observe and appreciate.
Often in the last few months on this trip we have realized not only does the journey mean more than the destination, but in this case rather, the destination and the difficulty to get there adds much more satisfaction, desire, and sense of accomplishment.