When I was younger I spent about a year living right at Waikiki Beach, and it was there I really began to appreciate the culture of relaxation. The people, the beach, the weather, all of it, drove me outside and transformed an introvert into, well, an outdoor introvert. The shoes came off and I practically lived in my bathing suit. I got out of my books and into swimming and hiking. I ate fresh pineapple and coconut all the time because it was everywhere. My hair grew so long I would sit on it, my skin tanned dark and I actually got a muscle (I think). By the end of the year I looked more like a local than the haole that I was.

When I returned to the mainland, I did miss that feeling of maluhia, but found it again on our own local beach, sipping a Mai Tai at the Catamaran Resort on Mission Bay, just a few blocks from where I was born. After all said and done, I guess serenity was always right in front of me. This is my interpretation of a vacation at home.

½ cup pineapple juice
¼ cup sweet & sour mix
¼ cup Curacao
½ cup light/dark rum mix
Crushed Ice
Pineapple Wedges