I went to Hawaii in February with Henry and his family to celebrate his parents' 25th anniversary. It was the best vacation of my life.
Beautiful lush green trees and mountains, red, pink, purple and yellow hibiscus and orchids, ocean, beaches, sand, sunsets, rock, caved-in volcanoes . . .
We spent quite a bit of time on the beaches, swimming, boogie boarding, kayaking, soaking up the sun, and snorkeling. One day we went to see the Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbour. Another day we spent at the Polynesian Cultural Centre. We also checked out the shopping centres at Waikiki. On Sunday we attended an Independant Reformed Church in Honolulu, and then later drove to the northshore and watched the waves pounding on the beaches and sea turtles venturing close to shore. Henry and I had a pencil drawing done of us by an artist on a campstool on the sidewalk the last day we were there.But for Henry and me, the best day was February 22. That morning we all piled in the car and headed out with our swimming gear on to find Lanikai Beach, which is one of the best beaches on Oahu. On the way, we stopped to let Henry out with his wonderful camera, as there was a view he wanted to get.
When he came back, we went down to the beach. The beach was beautiful - fantastic - awe-inspiring - I can't think of a word to comprehend it. I stood in the ocean for the first time in my life, felt the waves tugging at my feet and the warm breeze through my hair, breathed the salt air. We swam. The water wasn't as warm as I thought it might be, but it was nice. It's different swimming through such big waves. Later, we took out the boogie boards. A boogie board is like half a surf board with a lead that velcros to your wrist. We took the boards out past the breakers, watched for a big rolling wave, and then threw ourselves onto the boards, riding the wave in to the beach. Once I got the hang of it, it was great fun, very exhilerating.
We basked in the sun for a while, not too long, but long enough for Henry's chest and back to burn quite hard. Then Henry decided it would be funny to throw me in the water. He picked me up and started toward the water, but lost his balance and started to run. Eventually, he fell, landing beside me in the water. I was ok, but his knees and one ankle were skinned rather badly.Later that evening, Henry and I had to drive to town to pick up stamps for my post cards I wanted t
o mail out. He was quite definite that no one else could come along. On the way, he asked if I would mind if we stopped at Alala Point in Lanikai, where he had taken those photos earlier in the day. Once there, we took lots of beautiful photos. The sun was going down on the other side of the island, reflecting on the clouds in a rosy glow. The breeze was a little cooler after the sticky day, and the waves were crashing over the rocks on the point. Henry took a number of photos of me against the ocean, trying to capture the spray with his camera. A fisherman nearby took one of the two of us.The sky was nearly all dark, and we were the only ones around the point
, so we headed back up the bluff to the car. On the way up, Henry casually mentioned that he wanted to take a few more photos from the ledge overlooking the ocean. So we found seats on the ledge and I opened up his camera bag for him. He wanted his telephoto lens, he said, so I took it out of the lens pouch and gave it to him. He took some more, then asked for the wide angle. I took the other lens pouch out and opened it. Inside there was not a lens - there was a small blue velvet box. I was kind of in shock for a second, I think, until Henry took the box. He turned to me and apologized that he couldn't get down on his knees (because of his fall earlier). And then Henry Bosch asked me to marry him. I believe I said, "Yes! Yes!" even before he was quite done.Henry and I are both so incredibly joyful and blessed to have each other. We thank God for His guidance.
