Judy is a long-time resident of Hawaii, living on Oahu with her family. Her keen sense of fun and adventure come through loud and clear in this recent report of their long weekend on Molokai.

I owe a debt of gratitude to my son Garren and his wife Jody, because they helped me to feel a decent age, if only for a weekend. We three plus another family shared company at Molokai Ranch which is a new contribution to Hawaii's visitor industry. Lord knows, Molokai needs an economic shot in the arm and I need to feel the joy of youthful activities! 

The ranch has a total of 54,000 acres and they have created three camps, each with several two-unit "tentalows" set upon wooden decks, complete with bathrooms, views through the trees of the ocean, and a  large open-air lodge with a full cafeteria, tables for eating and a fireplace surrounded by lounge furniture. The ranch has a large collection of buses and vans manned by friendly cowboys and gals to take you to various activities. There is also an elegant resort-type lodge with rooms and a pool for those who haven't had enough of Waikiki or Las Vegas settings.

As soon as we arrived and settled into our "tentalows" (which any happy camper knows is half bungalow and half tent), we tore into our first buffet breakfast in the dining hall.  Pound #1.) Then we departed for our first of many chosen organized activities of our stay -- the cattle drive. About 15 of us rode horses for some miles while "driving" some rather young calves to greener pastures. Now, I know a lot of you go horseback riding, and maybe even to dude ranches, but how many of you can do both with the sight of the beautiful blue ocean just down the hill from your trail? 

Anyway, it was slow enough for safety and friendly banter, but fast enough for fun. If any "cattle" strayed from the general path, we could always dash out to "round 'em up". A couple of hours later, we jumped off our "steeds" with achin' okoles, and were comforted with a chuck wagon lunch. (Pound #2.)

That afternoon we had put in for kayaking. I don't know why, but Jody and I practically led the pack as we paddled in unison a few miles up the coast where we stopped to beachcomb and listen to our guide explain to us how and why the early Hawaiians built the large rock-wall fish pond located there. Interesting to note, the stones are so huge and strategically placed that they stood up to the winter storm waves and in today's world would require heavy duty construction equipment to move them.  How on earth did those ancient Polynesians build such things? 

We did our paddling over rather safe, shallow water, a perfect coastline for tourists to take their chances. Then we paddled back without mishap, got a good tan, might have worked off the lunch calories, and thoroughly enjoyed the kayak, water and history lesson.

The all-you-can-eat dinner was excellent, with cooks right there to fast-cook your scampi, and grill your steaks to order, in case you are not satisfied with the buffet foods.  We brought our own wines and enjoyed some of that on our private sun deck while gazing at the stars.

Speaking of stars, did you know that you can see them extra-well from a small island (population 7,000) like Molokai?  Not many manmade lights, no obstructions on the hillside, and our first evening was practically cloudless.  The ranch provided the 50 guests in our camp with a first rate astronomer who took us out on the pitch-dark lawn and talked to us for about 2 hours about the stars using everyday language.  There were about 25 people who preferred to stargaze rather than to catch some much-needed sleep, and we lined up about 10 times to look through his telescope and view heavenly bodies such as Venus, Mars, Mercury, the Southern Cross (you can see it well from only one state in the US -- that being Hawaii, of course), Milky Way clusters, colored stars, and the moon at two different powers.  We even saw inside a lunar crater!  Of course, we saw several satellites cruising across the sky.  We were all in awe and since the next night the skies were rather cloudy, we considered ourselves very lucky to have had this unexpected thrill.

The next day was a bit quieter, but certainly something to write home about. We had signed up for what is called the "Ropes Challenge Course".  This is where "Supermen meets Mother Nature", or "You want me to do what?" After driving us to a lonely spot in the hilly outback, we were expected to "overcome our fears" by climbing a half tall telephone pole and standing on the top of it, and swinging across a valley on a rope!  Of course, Molokai Ranch makes sure everything is perfectly safe, (except for heart attacks) so the well trained facilitators rig you up with l0,000 lb. test safety belts that cut into your crotch and keep you awake lest you pass out. 

I gotta admit, I was the only one out of our group of 20 who did not actually stand on top of the pole and yell out a profound message to the world, but I did swing across the valley once. After reaching the other side and swinging back halfway by gravity, we were expected to pull ourselves back to the starting point by pulling on the rope. My fingers were practically frozen to the clasp, but I managed to return, shaky legs, racing heart and all. I made the bad decision not to go on the second valley crossing because it looked even spookier, but in actuality it might have been more fun, because you walked back instead of pulling yourself back. My mistake, as there is really no danger of falling, and the view of the ocean and valley is breathtaking. Still, my kids saw me on the first fling, and still talk about it.

That afternoon my son and his wife went mountain biking on dirt trails while we others went on a wonderful nature walk with a guide. I needed to feel the ground under my feet. We also found time to do some shopping, although there's not much to buy on Molokai, and then spent a few hours on the beach snorkeling and sunning. One gal picked two gallons of opihi, which is a salt water limpet growing on the ocean rocks, and very popular as a delicacy.  Needless to say, the beach is private to the ranch; not a bikini bimbo or an airborne surfboard in sight!

There are other activities on the ranch to choose from and even a full course of kid-friendly activities, complete with facilitators. There are swimming pools, lots of boogie boards and snorkeling gear at the beach, other horse riding activities, rodeo games, family adventures and hikes, arts and crafts, tidal pool searches, and an emphasis on the Molokai cultural heritage. But the best thing to me was the miraculous way the ranch made me feel (almost) as young and agile as my kids. My next challenge is Oahu's own brand new Water Park. Garren swears I won't break my neck!

---