The Rainbow State

I always knew that I would be indebted to many people as I worked on my PhD, and especially on my dissertation. I just didn't know how much. 2020 has shown me a bit of just how much, as I have reached out for help in my attempts to somehow, someway, get my research done. 

That's why I am very, very grateful that Sam and I were able to stay with his Uncle Jim and Aunt Beth in Laie, Hawaii for a couple of weeks. (They will definitely be making it into my dissertation acknowledgements, haha.) One of my dissertation chapters is based in Hawaii, and with the changes in Hawaii's travel restrictions (which, unfortunately for Hawaii-bound hopefuls, has changed back to the 14-day quarantine), I was able to be exempt from the quarantine, get research done, and enjoy time in Hawaii. And it was one of those research trips where the stars actually aligned and I found a lot of really useful material . . . and I got to go to Hawaii. 

[old-school card catalogues]

[and reallllllyyy old school microfilm reader in the corner.]

Now, before you start saying, "Oh wow, what a rough life you lead," keep in mind that this year has been really hard for me research-wise. Trips have been cancelled, I have no idea when I'll be able to get to the Library of Congress (even though it is 20 minutes away from our apartment, it is closed indefinitely), my dissertation schedule is delayed, I've had to do some hard work re-thinking and re-conceptualizing chapters, and then on top of that, I've experienced a lot of existential dread over the state of the field and my place in it. This year--my year in the archives--was the year I was really looking forward to, and it's been taken from me. That is hard. That has been really, really hard for me. I know that no one really understands getting a PhD (particularly a Humanities PhD) unless you've actually done it or are doing it, but it is certainly not a walk in the park.  So I am incredibly grateful for the times when things work out--especially this year. 

[Okay. Rant over. Now I'll just show you pretty Hawaii pictures. These are especially for you, Grandma, since I know that you love Hawaii and Laie.] 

[laie temple. the light in hawaii was always soooo pretty.]

[laie]

[so many pretty beaches]

[laie point]

[koko head. i did not hike all the way to the top. sam did, though!]

[this sign made me laugh. mostly because it was at the start of this trail.]

[this is about as far as i went. still a great view!]

[and these views are from the top. pc: sam]

[so many rainbows. this picture was taken from jim and beth's backyard.]

[sno cones]

[megan with a sno cone.]

[visit to pearl harbor]

[standing on the uss arizona memorial, looking at the uss missouri. according to sam's cousins, a lot of hawaiian school children get to go on overnight field trips on the uss missouri. pretty cool.]

[on the uss arizona.]

[downtown honolulu. this is a church some missionaries built in the 1840s.]

[honolulu stake center. so pretty.]

[banyan tree.]

[driving to hoomaluhia botanical gardens.]

[jurassic park vibes.]

[funny plant.]

[more beaches.]

[sunrise on the beach.]

[on a hike to laie falls. again, i didn't make it to the top--it was too muddy and slippery--but sam enjoyed the entire hike and these pictures are from him.]

[sam said the water was pretty cold.]

[this is the puu o mahuka heiau, a sacred hawaiian site from the 1600s.]

[and this is another sacred site, but this time, a buddhist temple from the 20th century.]

[byu hawaii]

[haiii.]

[laughing at something.]

[the beach and the ocean. if you look closely, you can see sam swimming.]