A Paradise Path in Hawaiʻi / Beauty Everywhere

Hawaiʻi Paradise

A path winds through the grounds of the Grand Hyatt Resort on the island Kauaʻi in Hawaiʻi, as seen during our 2018 Kauaʻi Trip. But beauty can be found everywhere.

It seemed like no matter where we went, we saw views like this at every turn. Yes, this particular view was at the well-kept grounds of a resort, but we found beautiful views all over the island during our visit there. Beautiful beaches, nice gardens, crashing waves, roadside trees, tall mountains, and so on. There was so much beauty to discover there.

Before we went to Kauaʻi, I had always heard that all of Hawaiʻi was a collection of island paradises. Maybe that seed was partly planted by watching shows like Fantasy Island and Magnum, P.I. when I was younger. The original Hawaii Five-O (with the letter O instead of the number 0), was slightly before my time, but the newer Hawaii Five-0 (with the number this time instead of the letter - confusing, isn’t it?) was on our television each week in its early seasons starting in 2010, and we enjoyed the beautiful views that they would show.

Fortunately, the murders and other dangers depicted on Hawaii Five-0 were not enough to keep us from going there. Although we wondered if we should plan not to be there on a Monday night because that was when a murder would happen in Hawaiʻi each week on television, before they moved the show to Fridays. After that, we really did not know what night not to be there. So we threw caution to the wind and spent an entire week there.

Anyway, our expectations (for scenery, not for murder) were high, and those expectations were exceeded. Beauty was everywhere, just as you would expect. And we were happy to see it all.

What Is Beautiful?

While we were there on the island of Kauaʻi, people would often ask where we were from. I guess we did not look like locals for some reason. We would usually starty by saying that we were from Tennessee. Sometimes they would ask for more specifics, and sometimes they would just say, “Okay,” as if they were actually saying, “Okay, now I can check that off my customer service list.”

But then some would say, “Oh, Tennessee is so beautiful!” Sometimes, I would wonder if they were meaning the Smoky Mountains on the opposite end of the state from us. Other times, I would wonder if they had even looked outside at how beautiful things were there.

After we got back home, I started thinking about that from time to time. I would occasionally look around at the scenery and notice things that I had not really paid much attention to before. The more I looked, the more I realized that it really is rather beautiful here, too. Maybe not in the same way that Hawaiʻi is beautiful, because we have different scenery and different climate here. But it all is still beautiful if you take the time to look around.

I have been reminded of that again right now when travel is limited. Yes, we could go some places, but once we got there, we would be limited on what we could do while we are there. So we have decided to just stay at home. Instead of focusing on the places that we did not get to go, I have been trying to focus more on the place where we are, whether it is at home or driving to church or a store. I notice the scenery a little more now, and I do realize that there is a lot of beauty to be seen here. Maybe those people in Hawaiʻi were not crazy at all, and maybe they were not trying to make us feel better about our return trip home. Maybe I just need to pay attention to what is around me more.

The world is a beautiful place, no matter where you are!

Bible Verse

For I know that the Lord is great, and that our Lord is above all gods. Whatever the Lord pleases, he does, in heaven and on earth, in the seas and all deeps. He it is who makes the clouds rise at the end of the earth, who makes lightnings for the rain and brings forth the wind from his storehouses. - Psalm 135:5-7

About the Photo

Besides the beauty to be seen in this photo, there really is not that much that is special about it. We had breakfast at the hotel restaurant buffet each morning, and as you might expect from such a thing, we ate quite a bit. So each morning after breakfast we would go for a walk on the hotel grounds to give our food some time to digest and to enjoy the beautiful scenery. This photo was from one of those morning walks.

I did enhance the photo slightly in Aurora HDR. The sky was a little overpowering for the foreground, so I darkened the sky slightly while lightening the foreground. I also increased the color saturation slightly, just for good measure. But when you start with a scene like this, you don’t have to do too much work to it at all.

Photo: A single Raw exposure, processed in Aurora HDR. Read more about photography tips, photo software, camera gear, and more at Steve’s Photography Tips.
Camera: Olympus OM-D E-M10
Lens: Olympus M.Zukio 25mm f1.8  and Olympus 14-42mm IIR
Date: July 10, 2018
Location: Grand Hyatt Resort, Poʻipū, Kauaʻi, Hawaiʻi