Anaehoomalu Bay, Kohala
In the summer of 1997, I spent many, many late afternoons at this beach. It’s an hour’s drive from my home, but three or four times a week, I got in the car and drove to the bay, spent 45 minutes briskly walking the shore line, 15 minutes swimming, then sat and watched the sunset, and drove home in time for dinner.
The previous two years had been spent in a quasi retreat, safe in the confines of my home, trying to understand the chemical sensitivities that had started to plague me several years before and trying to figure out how to chart the rest of my life.
The summer at the beach was better than any of the many therapies I had sought, including acupuncture, Rolfing, controlled diet, Epsom salt baths, alternative dentistry, and more. The fresh air was like a tonic and I cannot even begin to express in words the effect of the healing waters of the ocean. I was blissed out.
It was on one of my walks, here on this beach, when I came up with the idea to return to school and finish up my English degree. I thought I’d go back to school and hone my writing skills. Writing, I thought, could be done in the safety of my home (away from the myriad chemicals and synthetic perfumes that get me sick), and the miracle of electronic communication would be my conduit to a new profession.
And that’s just what I did, graduating from the University of Hawai‘i at Hilo in 1999 with a degree in English and a certificate in Women’s Studies. As luck would have it, the university hired me soon after graduation to help with PR and communications, so I didn’t even have to stress too much about finding work. (And they allow me a home office!)
So this beach holds a very special place in my heart because it put the wind back in my sails and showed me a new way to tack through life.
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