Somehow I never realized just how far it is to get to Hawaii, so in case your equally challenged, from Vancouver to Honolulu you're looking at a 6 hour flight (or longer if you’ve got a brutal head wind).  Vacations are something I seem to have a love/hate relationship with, I do enjoy visiting new places, I like meeting new people and experiencing new things.  That said it does feel a bit luxurious to fly off, spending a considerable resources to just get away from the everyday.  I think there is a part of me that simply feels that I don't quite deserve it when there are so many people who aren't able to do likewise, and it spends the earths resources at a somewhat ridiculous rate.  How do vacations (to Hawaii) fit in with sustainability and social justice?  What is there to be gained in the traveling to these far off places from those perspectives?

On the other hand, traveling does have some redeeming qualities that need to be acknowledged, it helps a person disconnect themselves from their day-to-day life and gain some perspective on what is happening.  It also provides an opportunity to meet people in a different location and culture and gain a better understanding of them and how they understand the world.  This understanding IS important it helps us to humanize people groups that we could just as easily demonize if we didn't have any first hand experience that helped us to understand their point of view.  Traveling also educates and gives a person common experiences that they can use to build stronger relationships with those that they travel with.  This trip is Joanna and I heading off to spend some time together and to meet up with some friends from Victoria and spend some time away and together.  I hope that this will help me to build a stronger relationship with Jo's friends and make them my friends as well.  So there's the two sides that I see of the coin and part of my struggle with vacations.

And I am looking forward to doing some body surfing, surfing, snorkelling, hiking, spending time in the sun, reading and relaxing.  Time for some fun!!