Big Island, Hawaii
June 8, 2007

I would consider myself a somewhat seasoned traveler. Compared to others I am but an infant. In any case, I have my packing down to a near science. For short trips I can pack in less than 15 minutes. For longer trips it may take me up to 30 minutes. The trick, for me, is to pack light and to have duplicates of some items...specifically toiletries. My toiletry bag contains duplicates of items I use on a daily basis..except for make-up which one of these days I know I am going to forget. Oh wait, I have already done that once. To replace make-up items in a hotel gift shop is not cheap. Why am I telling you all of this? I packed for this short trip to Hawaii in the same way I would for other short trips, not forgetting a thing. However, upon arrival in Hawaii and as I attempted to take pictures I found that the battery for my digital camera was dead. D E A D, dead! A small thing really but I could have taken some really cool pictures. I have a camera on my cell phone but the pictures aren't the greatest.

We arrived Thursday afternoon and had the pleasure of being met by CD, my main contact for this client event. After being escorted to the hotel and checking in we stood in line for the tram with many other resort quests who also happened to be attending the main event. The tram would take us from the main lobby to the building where our guest rooms were located. The fact that a tram was needed should be an indication of how big this resort is. We boarded the tram and as we sat there I could see a passenger behind SRC but facing me. He slowly recognized SRC and his eyes got very big and his mouth hung open in shock, surprise and joy. He looked at his colleague and back at SRC. It was really neat to see that kind of joy and admiration from, not only this gentleman, but many of the 1600 people attending the event.

I was escorted around the resort property by CD who introduced me to people along the way. It is a huge resort and absolutely beautiful. The organization hosting the event had a huge BBQ for all participants Thursday night and it was amazing to see so many people enjoying themselves. Floating on the pool was a stage supported by two kayaks. On the stage was a band performing native Hawaiian music for the crowd. It was a beautiful setting.

I hate to admit this because the entire trip was awesome but a highlight for me was running in the early morning hours with CD and his friend and colleague, L (I don't know his last name). We started our run at about 5:10 a.m. with the sun just barely coming up. It was already quite warm and humid so the sweat just dripped off of me. Doesn't that paint a lady like picture? We ran three solid miles and, yipee, skippy for me, I ran all three miles without stopping. Granted I was running at sea level so that definitely made a difference but it was awesome. I am sure I left a huge impression on CD and L looking as lovely as I did. L did not even recognize me when I got down to the ballroom for the event. What a hoot!

The format for this event was different than what we are used to. SRC spoke to the group for about 15 minutes. The group of 1600 broke up into about 56 different groups spreading out over 9 breakout rooms. These individual groups had each created skits based on one of the 7 Habits. They tied the habit to their work life, demonstrating how the habit can work effectively and ineffectively in a work scenario. It was very entertaining. SRC was able to visit 4 of the breakout rooms and give a bit of feedback or encouragement based on what he had seen with one of the skits. After about an hour the entire group once again gathered in the main ballroom to watch the top seven skits (one for each habit). SRC was on stage with the CEO and they made comments after each skit. It really was very cool. SRC then closed with about 20 minutes of comments.

We finished our day by attending a BBQ at the beach. By the time we got back to our rooms SRC and I were pooped. I could have gone to the beach or to the pool but it felt so good in my air conditioned room that I just stayed there. I had about 2.5 hours before needing to leave for the airport. I used it wisely: watching Dr. Phil and Ellen (switching between channels), CNN broadcast about Paris Hilton, showering, and packing.

The trip home was, well, interesting to say the least. We flew from Kona to Honolulu where we found out our flight to SLC was delayed by two hours. On any trip this is not a good thing to have happen but it was especially disconcerting because of a commitment SRC had in Provo. I will not bore you with details of our 4+ hour layover or the trip that we spent trying to sleep. I will tell you however that despite the delay, crutches, etc SRC made it to his appointment with 5 minutes to spare. I stayed behind at the airport to get my luggage, which never came. My luggage was delivered the following day...everything intact.