A Toast and Great Cheers to Hawaii 5-0

A few brief college years still connect our far-flung group of close-knit compatriots, now decades after first coming together. And this durable synthetic family came together once again for this year’s fantastic Hawaii 5-0 festivities. It was a festive gathering of old friends that also served to launch our Axelrod Adventures this summer.

“We have been close friends,” I used to explain to people when I first arrived in Los Angeles, “for 10 years.”  Then, I would introduce them as I moved jobs or made other new friends, as my “friends for over 20 years.” Last year, I jumped another decade and so these are now my friends “for more than 30 years.” I am truly lucky to see so much of, so frequently, my best college mates. They all have the official “Aunt” and “Uncle” title to my kids; they are as close to me as any sibling. So, my best college mates were in Hawaii for the Big 5-0, but there were other connections among and between us all. Len and Sue met in grad school. Jem went to grad school with them and I went to college with Sue. (Jem and I thus met through Len and Sue, and we would not have had our two kids but for these connections.) Janet and Sean, the other key members of the college family, reunited with us for the occasion. And, furthering the spirit, Len’s friend Sandra from undergrad joined the fun, along with his (always-game) mother, Marianne. Really amazing the tentacles and webs some random class at Drake University in 1988 (Sue, Janet and I all took the same class that year and met there) spun 31 years into the future. Nope, never, ever would have guessed at the time.

Ten years ago, most of us had done some travel events for our 40th birthdays, one person choose a weekend in Big Bear, another a long weekend escape to Cape Cod, and a memorable Mexico trip for Len’s 40th. But for 50, well, we were all feeling our mortality creeping a bit closer and so we wanted to go bigger. Hence the full house for a full week in Hawaii.

We had a great time celebrating the big 5-0…Hawaii 5-0! (Cue: da-na-na-na-NA-na, da-na-na-na-NA, Hawaii 50 theme.) We had amazing views from our lanai, which everyone used for a couple of hours every morning.

Some of us spent the morning at the house reading the news, doing crosswords on the lanai,

or a little bit of work on the lanai… (I work from wherever the cellphone and laptop are, and a Hawaiian lanai with an ocean view ranks right up there as a top commute)

or enjoying the pool.

We also did some classic touristy things during our stay. Even though both Jem and I had been to Oahu many times, (and there is a family rumor that at least one of the twins was conceived at the Sheraton Waikiki), we usually leaned more Kama’aini in our approach to Oahu. This time though, since Len and Sue had never been to Oahu (which is why they chose it for the location of their 50th birthday extravaganza), we spent some time on the classics — booze cruise, Dole Plantation, North Shore, and a very memorable snorkel day with a nice beachside lunch.

Sharks Cove for snorkeling is a winner and is only really possible in the summer. In the winter, this area has 20-40 foot waves, so I stay well away. Normally, we are in Hawaii for the winter months, so it was a treat to snorkel Sharks Cove.

Followed by a very nice lunch at beachside at Turtle Bay.

Some (most?) days we partied like we were all still in college and many cases of wine and beer were consumed.  With some higher end tequilas and whiskeys given our age demographic of course. We collaborated on puzzles, also in keeping with our age demographic.

What a great week, spending time with the definition of life-long friends. It went by so fast. I can’t wait until we do it again…and since our ages are spread out every year or so, we have two more 5-0 celebrations in 2020, and then a final one 2021 (youngest of the group), followed by perhaps starting the next rotation of milestone birthdays at 55, which would start the annual vacation partying in February of 2022 for the next 4 years after that. I am going to start planning now! As you all know, we like to travel!

Aloha!