Vacation in Paradise: The Musical
AHHH, vacation. I have been looking forward to this venture for quite a while. Where am I going? I went to beautiful Kauai! Not only did I have a wonderful time and many adventures, but being the musician I am, it became a musical montage! As we landed the first leg of our flight in Honolulu, I could hear the beat before my feet hit the concourse; that’s right, “Hawaii Five O”. I continued enjoying the beat in my head until I heard “last call for flight to Kauai!” What! We just landed! Now I’m running the full length of the airport, with “Hawaii Five O” playing faster and faster in my head (Polly would be so proud at how fast I can play this), to not miss my connection when my husband yells, “STOP!” Stop? Why? We need to catch that flight! Our friends realized that we were on the next flight out. Whew! Ok, ok, back to “Island Time, Maan”. As we arrived in Kauai and set out from the airport in our trusty clunker rental, I saw a strange bird in the parking lot. A bit plump, short, squatty. . . a chicken! Here it comes, the music…”Roosters Lay Eggs in Kansas”. Roosters, chickens, they were everywhere! On the road, in the road, alongside of the road, coming out of the forest, the fields. It was an invasion of chickens! It may have been disturbing, but it was not going to bother me while in paradise! Oooo, another one….”Almost Paradise”. The view from our condo was beautiful and what song came to mind? Many!! Looking out into the ocean sunset I began to hear the Hawaiian version of “Somewhere Over the Rainbow”. I thought the music was in my head, but the music wouldn’t stop. I shook my head a bit, only to realize the music was coming from the resort itself!
Our first day of adventure began with an ATV ride through breathtaking views. As we drove down the road all of a sudden it opened up into a vast, lush, valley lined with beautiful green mountains. Sweat began to bead on my forehead. Did the earth just shake? Dinosaurs!!! You guessed it. We were at the site where they filmed parts of Jurassic Park and Jurassic World. Hey, I hear the theme song now! Little did I know, by the end of the day I would be humming many theme songs. Who knew Kauai was the land where films were made. We saw the most picturesque cove only to find out these films were shot there: Hook, The Descendants, Pirates of the Caribbean 1 and 2, among many more. I stood on the hill imaging the Black Pearl on the shore whilst pirate music circled my head. “Let’s go” came the words from our guide. “ARRRGH” I grunted back. Ok, let’s continue. Next stop was a rope tied to a tree as you gazed across the river to the other side. “Who knows what movie this was used in?” the guide asked. Silence. Oooooo, pick me, pick me. I tried to be silent. I thought to myself, come on people really! So I began quietly in my headed…. Da ta dant taaaa, da ta daaaa, da ta dant taaaa, da ta da da da…. REALLY! Come on people! I began to hum a bit louder as I reached for the rope…I was going to do it! I became Indiana Jones himself when suddenly a kid sped past me and jumped on the rope swinging out into the water. That’s right; a kid got the credit when I was the musician humming the theme for Raiders of the Lost Ark! Well, at least I wasn’t the one that ended up in the river. This was quite the adventure and the week had just begun. So many songs, so many things to see.
The next day we paddled down a river and hiked back to an area that was a bit Congo like. Yes, they filmed Mighty Joe Young here. Wait, the waterfall, that’s familiar too, “Da plane, da plane”, yes…Fantasy Island. The next day we snorkeled in warm waters and saw so many colorful fish! I was quite at home as I hummed “Yellow Submarine” while swimming about. I swear I saw Nemo and Dory! I just didn’t want this to end, but unfortunately the week sped by. Every day was a new adventure with new songs, coming in and out of my head. Sadly the paradise vacation was coming to a close and it was time to say Aloha…..wait; another song…..”Aloha Oe”. Sorry, couldn’t help it. As we landed back in Los Angeles it was nice to be home, but now I had to prepare for Christmas as it was mid-November……”Mele Kalikimaka”….I know, I know, I couldn’t help it.
I hope you enjoyed the story of my trip as well as a wonderful Holiday season with family. Now it’s back to work for the Golden West Pops. Stay tuned and I’m sure we can put a few tunes in your heads.
