You Know You Can’t Hold Me Forever – Moloka’i, Hawaii – Somewhere In Time Travel Photo.

This is Moloka’i.

It’s a small Hawaiian island that gets missed by most travelers who focus on the bigger islands. Now I haven’t been to every Hawaiian island but I have been to Oahu (I ran a marathon up Diamond Head volcano), Maui and most recently Moloka’i.

Moloka’i is my favorite.

It’s not to say that the others aren’t great. They are. Let’s be honest it’s Hawai’i – all the islands are stunning, beautiful and can fill you with awe the minute you hop off the plane. But Moloka’i is different. It has that very special quality that kind of gets under your skin and you’re not even sure why. It’s the kind of place you feel more than you see. And if you don’t feel it in your soul you probably won’t enjoy as much as the other islands – the swimming/snorkeling isn’t as good as other islands and the food scene is a bit dismal. Of course if your idea of great travel fare is pizza, hamburgers and french fries you’ll be in heaven.

That’s the thing about Moloka’i though, upon first appearance it seems normal, maybe even ordinary – especially to those who frequent other islands. But it is far from ordinary. I fell in love with it when we visited this year but to me the mark of a truly special place is what happens after you leave – when you find yourself daydreaming about it, thinking about it randomly at times when it makes no sense, like at the checkout of a grocery store or when having a drink at the bar with your friends, when you start imagining who you would send there on a plane if you had a million dollars and that person is someone you love more than the world. When those things start happening you know that a place has hooked you. If you were Jimmy Buffet you’d put it in a song.

2013 was a hard year. It started good and turned to stress and sadness half way though. One my best friends was diagnosed with a very aggressive breast cancer in late July, then a couple months later my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer, I fell into a deep depression in October. Then my mom had surgery in December, two days before Christmas my friend had surgery and ironically on the date of her surgery one of my other best friends was also diagnosed with breast cancer. Then in just the first week of this new year my other best friend lost her mother to cancer that had only been diagnosed the month before. It was swift, sudden and shocking. The last 6 months have just been hard, almost surreal. Every time I turn around another stressful event is happening to someone I love. I would like it to end.

This is one of my favorite photos from 2013. This tree is located somewhere on the road that leads to east Moloka’i. We were driving along and I shot it through the windshield of the car. I love shooting from the car, through the window, the windshield or the rear window. I just like to shoot when moving. Moving photos mean more. They are the split second of life, the moment that happens in the blink of an eye. As a photographer you spend your entire life shaking hands with time. There are moments around us all time, everywhere in the world. We just miss them about 99% of the time because they are like Moloka’i. Most of them aren’t on the surface, obvious to the naked eye. Instead they hang out in other places waiting to be recognized. Every once in a while I get lucky and stumble upon one.

I loved this image the minute I laid eyes on it. It has a happiness, sadness and a sense of wonder to it. It makes me think of the yellow brick road song by Elton John, which I’m listening to as I write this. What lies on the other side of that road is entirely up to you and your brave imagination. It’s an ending and a beginning but whatever and wherever it is, it’s somewhere that only you can go.

It’s the place where we say goodbye but you say hello.

*Dedicated to Betty Flaherty and the beautiful Flaherty clan.

**Our trip to Molokai was sponsored by the Molokai tourism board but that didn’t affect my feelings about the island. I just really love it there.