Lanai, and no meetings

I am never fully off the grid, but I can do a vacation without taking a meeting. Mentally, it is very hard for me to turn off the business brain, but sitting on a beach for hours reading a book is a good start.

Emily and I took a short trip to Lanai. The last time either of us had been in Hawaii was when the whole family went to the Big Island for a few days and a day seeing Pearl Harbor. Since I am on the West Coast right now, it made sense. I always struggle with where to go at this time of the year, when it is warm, and there is a beach. I have heard only great things about Lanai, and so did Emily, so we went.

The ocean is gorgeous, and the sand is soft, and of course, it is not crowded. The resort butts up against a public beach; it was fun to watch the snorkelers, paddleboarders, and swimmers enjoy the water.

We took an extremely rocky hike along the shoreline. It was a round-tripper, but I called my first audible at this point by walking onto the golf course, calling the front desk, and having them pick us up. Hiking is probably not my thing.

We had dinner at Mozza’s, which is a nice addition to the place, and the only place where you can eat something good. There is a Nobu (which does not serve sushi) at another hotel, and we never got there because we opted to call an audible on the last night. We tried all the spots to eat from the Lanai Grill, Richards Market (grocery store that also serves poke), the spot at the golf course, and nibbles at the pool (the last two provided by Malibu Farms). The food, besides Mozza, is truly inedible. We couldn’t bear another bad meal where we pushed our food around the plate. I know that resorts have bad food, but this was next-level bad. So unacceptable.

The average age in Lanai is 41, and the 15-25 age range is the lowest at almost 9%. There are only about 3100 people who live on the island. In June 2012, Larry Ellison bought 98% of Lanai from Castle and Cooke, which builds large planned communities. They owned 98% of Lanai but supposedly lost money during their ownership before selling to Ellison. Oddly enough, Castle and Cooke, through a merger with Dole, was at one point the largest producer of vegetables and fruits. It appears that neither of these owners has thought or cares about the health and community that lives on the island, because it is a food desert. The majority of food is sourced from the mainland, so why can’t the Four Seasons figure out how to source better? Sigh.

So, we dipped. We flew to Honolulu for our last night. We had a massage in Lanai, flew to Honolulu (one of the better courtesies of the hotel), and landed in 25 minutes, meaning that in 30 minutes we were sitting at Mitch’s Fish and Sushi Bar. A dive spot serving up raw fish that was in the waters of Japan and Hawaii that morning. We could not have been happier.

The next morning, we went to Dean & Deluca for coffee and a few items. Good old brands don’t die, they just show up in weird places. We hit up Leonard’s for donuts. I mean, when in Hawaii.

And last, we stopped at Onigiri Onibee, which obviously specializes in onigiri. As we can never help ourselves, we bought a variety of things. The best was the soft soy egg sitting inside rice, with a piece of nori to wrap it before you eat. It was excellent.

Between the relaxation, the conversation, and the audible, it was a perfect vacation.