How could my fiancé even suggest we honeymoon in Hawaii? Ken and I were from farming families and used to a no-frills budget. We’d both carefully saved our money for a rainy day. “It will be the trip of a lifetime,” Ken said. One trip–I couldn’t argue with that.
We booked tickets to Waikiki, and a friend sang “Hawaiian Wedding Song” at our wedding. In Hawaii we walked along the beach, bought fleamarket souvenirs, and enjoyed free performances by street musicians and dancers.
I thought about that trip a lot over the next 25 years as Ken and I farmed wheat side by side. When money was tight and we didn’t think we’d make it till the next crop came in, our tropical paradise seemed very far away.
In fact, a vacation of any kind didn’t come to pass. But “Hawaiian Wedding Song” always spoke to my heart. “I will love you longer than forever….”
There was only one place we could celebrate our twenty-fifth anniversary. Ken and I threw caution to the wind and took our second trip of a lifetime. Two trips, one love in a lifetime–I couldn’t argue with that.
Listen to Elvis Presley sing Anne and Ken’s song in “Blue Hawaii”!
