Heading to Hawaii Tuesday.
North Shore of Oahu. My goal is to run every day on the jungle trails along the beach. Slow AF. Lots of humid tropical sweat. I'll set up my writing space at a table looking out at the ocean, like when I worked on Survivor. Something about the sound of breaking waves helps the writing process. Then I'll grab a book and spend the day reading. I won't wear shoes all that much.
The team is heading over to race an invitational. That's the excuse for going but this isn't what I'd call an important race. Just a great week of training in the tropics, a fun competition in paradise, then a Sunday flight home. The course is different from last year, when we raced in the valley where Jurassic Park and about a million other movies were filmed (Google: Kualoa Ranch).
I should also add that I'm researching Taking Midway, next up in the Taking series. You heard it here first.
Boarding the dogs. Dropping them at the kennel this afternoon. I'd rather wait until tomorrow but Wags n Wiggles isn't open on Labor Day. I'll miss them sleeping in my office when I write tomorrow. There's something about having a couple big dogs sleeping under the desk that brings a nice calm to the work.
Here's the rub: I don't really feel like taking a vacation. It's always like this. Calene gets into vacation mode the minute we step onto the plane. I need to get four days in before I start relaxing in a beach chair. I'd be lousy on a cruise. I don't know why I'm so bad at vacations. But I just am.
And yet, there's something about Hawaii. It's magical. Once I settle in, I don't want to leave. I start eyeing property, thinking a second home in the islands would be a great investment, knowing all the while that my family has a condo in Mammoth I barely use anymore. I actually go to London more often than Mammoth. But it's nice to dream about an easy getaway with waves, warm breezes, and an inspiring place to write. Some of my best book ideas have come on Hawaiian beaches.
Which is why I need this vacation. I'm reading a very good history book right now as research for Taking Midway. I like it a lot. I'm turning the pages. It makes me want to be a better history writer, which is the highest compliment I can pay a book. The level of research is amazing. But it's also typical "tell don't show" history, an assemblage of intriguing facts that doesn't put you in the moment. I prefer the action to be up front, drizzling in the facts as a by-product of good story. All of which is my way of saying that maybe a week on a beach thinking (but not thinking) about how to write a better history book is what I need right now. The best problem solving takes place, in order, on: 1) a run; 2) in the shower; and, 3) on a beach, preferably with an umbrella rum drink in hand.
Rest in peace, Jimmy Buffett. That last one was for you.
So it's settled. I'm going on vacation. I'll let you know how it goes.
Aloha.