Kalalau Lookout at Kokee State Park: A Grandfather's Memory 27 Years in the Making

​Teacher Notes from MB

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Sometimes, there are moments in life that stick with you.  Moments you remember in vivid form, as if it's a movie playing in front of you.  For me, Kalalau lookout with my grandfather played out for 27 years.

When I was younger, family took a trip to Kaua'i to visit family.  After a few days of settling in, my grandfather  wanted us to see Waimea Canyon, a geological wonder in the middle of the island.  In addition, he had high hopes for us to catch a glimpse of one of the most stunning views in the world at Kalalau Lookout.

My memories at 14 are hazy.  I remember bits and pieces from the trip, pieced together with Kodak pictures developed long before iPhones.  I remember the drive up, the switchback roads, and the views from the canyon.   I remember my grandfather telling us to just wait and see what was at the top.

I don't remember parking.  I don't remember walking out to the lookout.  But I remember standing on the edge, looking at a wall of clouds.  And I vividly remember my grandfather sighing, looking down in disappointment, shaking his head, and saying "oh well, wasn't meant to be."

I had no idea what he had hoped to see at the time.  I returned 27 years later to find out.

When we first got to the lookout, I was immediately disappointed.  In front of the same railing from 27 years ago was the same wall of cloud that disappointed my grandfather years earlier.  Now older, and knowing what might be on the other side, my heart snank too.  My grandfather sat in a memory I couldn't break free from.  After losing him five years earlier, I was hoping for that small connection between us.  I was hoping to share his moment of joy with DC and our teen travel partner.  I felt just as disappointed as he had been.

Until a couple sitting on the grass spoke up.  They told us that just five minutes before we had arrived the clouds and cleared and the view had opened up below.  They suggested we wait.

​Why not?  I had waited 27 years.  What was twenty minutes?  We decided to eat our packed lunch, (a must have traveling that far into the park - our lunch box is HERE.) (affliate link), and wait out the clouds.

As I stood by the railing and waited, I thought a lot about how life comes and goes.  About my grandfather, who had spent his life in Detroit before traveling later in life.  He loved seeing the world as much as I did, yet waited well into his later years of life to start seeing it.  I was lucky to have been on this spot once at 14, let alone return.  In addition, I was now able to share it with DC and our teen travel tagalong.  Not to mention that in turn, we would get the chance to share the experience with the world online through teaching about traveling.

Twenty-seven years felt like a lifetime ago, yet I felt myself waiting there with him.

The clouds opened a little at a time, as if a curtain was being pulled back across a stage.  I held my breath and waited.  Each time they moved, I hoped for just a little more.

And a little more....

I finally saw what my grandfather hoped I would see years ago.  The clouds opened up to the world below, sharing the Napali Coastline in it's incredible surreal form.  Standing 4,000 feet above, you feel as though you're looking at a picture. 

Yet everything about the moment is a dream turned into reality.

As I looked out across the coastline, I smiled as I breathed a sigh of contentment.  

I was in the right place, at the right time, with the right people.  

I could see my grandfather smiling.

​He told me it was worth the wait.

Read about Waimea Canyon

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