In the Beginning: Aloha

We’d already visited a lot of states on the bike. Yearly trips to Sturgis took us to South Dakota, Montana and Wyoming. We’d been to Wisconsin many times and Iowa. We didn't count these states as “official” yet.

There was one state though, that we visited in 2009, two years before our quest began, that we did count as number 1 of 50 – Hawaii.

We were married on September 9, 2009 on the island of Maui, one of the single most wonderful days of my life. 

We flew into Hawaii a few days before the wedding, and took one day away from our families to rent a Harley and travel the island.

We didn't know where we were going, or really care. We just started following the road, stopping whenever we felt like it to take a picture or get something local to eat.

The sites we saw were amazing – breathtaking views (and breathtaking sheer drops of the cliffs),

and rain, sun, and the smell of the ocean mixed with flowers and volcanic soil was intoxicating.

At one point stopped on the roadside to take a picture, and a local man walked up to us and starting chatting. He told us to stop and park at the next pull-over just around the corner. We’d see a footpath that went down into the valley. He said to take that path to see some amazing sites that no visitor usually gets to see.

We hesitated. It sounded like the plot of a bad slasher movie. Or it was going to lead us on yet another amazing site seeing trip. We started down the path, a little concerned that around any twist or turn someone would jump out at us and rob us of our belongings (a set of keys and a camera – they wouldn't have gotten a lot). That never happened and we will forever be grateful to that local stranger for pointing out the path.

As we were returning the bike I asked the rental attendant to take a picture. This is our first official picture, and while it doesn't specifically say that we are in Hawaii, it will have to do, since there is no state line to take a picture at!