5,066 miles

Modern air travel is cool. I traveled 5,o66 miles today, from the edge of the Atlantic, across an entire continent, then part way across the Pacific. 18 hours door to door. Thanks to the direction of the earth's spin, and the fact that I was headed west, I still had enough daylight at the end of the trip to go for a swim.

Here's something funny from my travel day: USair recently removed ALL entertainment from ALL of their domestic flights, even long flights, like Boston to Phoenix. 6 hours. No wifi. No movie. No music. So guide Heather and I played 78 games of whirlyword on our iphones. Did you know that dolman is a word? Me neither. Hahahahahaha are we there yet?

Hawaii and I have some work to do. We've had our lumps in the past. Operating a business here can be challenging. You might think this place might seem small, right? This tiny dot in the middle of the Pacific? No. It's massive. And it feels even bigger than that when you're swimming around it and you look up to the top of the volcanoes that form the island. It's raw. Untamed. Still growing. Maybe it's because I'm a New England guy, raised where things are pretty much settled geologically speaking, but this place puts me back on my heels every visit.

For the next 24 hours, we'll be preparing for our guests' arrival.  We'll be meeting with our chefs, property managers, and our local guide and lifeguard Ryan, who will picking up bicycles, leis, and anything else we need. Heather and I put our hands on every detail of these trips. When we pick up our guests tomorrow, they will be greeted with a fresh lei and offered a chilled Perrier and a moist facecloth to refresh after their long flight. That kinda stuff.

We have 7 SwimVacationers this trip, 4 of them have been on our Kona trip before, 2 of them have been on our BVI trip, and 1 is brand new to us. I'm chomping at the bit to bring them for a swim.

Hopper