Kalalau Lookout & Kilauea Lighthouse, Kauai, Hawaii

Kalalau Lookout is one of Kauai’s must-see attractions. Its beauty is easily not revealed because if you don’t wake up early and wait until noon, you won’t see it for what it really is because Kalalau Lookout is covered in thick fog at noon. So you’d better wake up early to enjoy the beautiful valleys and coastline. If you miss out on the best morning views, maybe you can try your luck in the evening. The fog at Kalalau Lookout also lifts towards evening. However, the disadvantage of going in the evening is that it is not easy to drive down the hill, and it can be very cold standing on the hill.

I still vividly remember the second time we went up the mountain, standing at Kalalau Lookout and seeing the fog suddenly lift, we were stunned by the view – the sun shining in the hollow of the valley, creating a picture of light and shadow on the hillside. On the other side of the mountain was the blue Pacific Ocean, and with the white clouds above us and the faintest hint of fog in our faces, we felt like we had stepped into a wonderland.

I got mad at Ken once on Kauai because we couldn’t make our flight, which caused us to leave Kauai a day late. But it was totally my fault, not Ken’s, but I always have a tendency to capriciously take my anger out on others. Originally I thought it was a terrible thing to miss our flight because the hotel and rental car had to be paid for another day! But no one expected that because the extra day on Kauai, we happened to find more incredible treasures of beauty, one of which was Kilauea Lighthouse.

We went to Kilauea Lighthouse on a national holiday and the lighthouse wasn’t open to the public, yet we were able to take pictures from a distance at the entrance. I had only ever seen such beauty in classical paintings before – the sapphire sea was deep and mysterious, the seagulls circling, the path to the lighthouse was bathed in sunlight, and the waves lapping against the cliffside rocks made a wonderfully cyclical and ever-changing sound. I was reminded of the Bible verse: a lamp before my feet, a light on the path. Everything is like a fairy tale that exists only on postcards, and yet we have the opportunity to be there.

In retrospect, perhaps if Kilauea Lighthouse had been open to the public that day, I might have been able to get a close up view of the lighthouse. But getting close to it may not be as good as seeing it from afar, as the saying goes, you can see it from afar, but you can’t play with it, and I think that applies to the use of light in photography.

God has been so good to us because He let us miss our flight, and I realized at the end of the trip that this was His best plan. The corkage is a blessing in disguise. I have learned to appreciate any imperfection on the trip, because I know for sure that God’s plans will always exceed my own plans and expectations!

卡拉劳观景台是可爱岛的必去景点之一。它的美轻易不显露出来，因为如果你没有早早起床，而是等到中午才去，那你将看不到它的真实面目，因为中午的时候卡拉劳观景台被厚重的大雾覆盖。所以勤快点吧！早点起床，才能欣赏到美如仙境的山谷和海岸线。如果错过了最佳的早晨观赏，也许你傍晚还可以试试运气。临近傍晚时，卡拉劳观景台的雾气也会渐渐散去。但是傍晚去的劣势就是下山的路不好开，而且站在山上会很冷。

我现在还清楚地记得我们第二次上山，站在卡拉劳观景台看到雾气突然散去的时候，眼前的景色让我们都惊呆了 – 阳光照在山谷的凹陷处，在山坡上形成一道道光与影子的图画。山的另一边就是湛蓝的太平洋，我们的头顶上白云朵朵，迎面隐隐约约飘来一阵阵的雾气，我们感觉像是踏入了仙境。

在可爱岛上我对Ken发了一次脾气，原因是因为我们没能赶上飞机，导致我们晚了一天离开可爱岛。但是这完全是我的错，不是Ken的错，但我总爱任性地把火气撒到别人头上。原本我认为误机是个很糟糕的事情，因为酒店和租车的费用都要额外再付一天！但是谁也没想到，因为在可爱岛上多呆了一天，我们又发现了不可思议的宝藏美景，基拉韦厄灯塔就是其中之一。

我们去基拉韦厄灯塔的当天是国定假日，灯塔并不对外开放，然而我们还是在入口远远地拍下了照片。这样的美景以前我只在古典油画里见过 – 蓝宝石般的海面深邃而神秘，盘旋的海鸥鸣叫着，通往灯塔的小路沐浴着阳光，海浪拍打着悬崖边的礁石发出阵阵循环往复却又千变万化的美妙声音。我想到了圣经上的经文：脚前的灯，路上的光。一切都像是只存在于明信片上的童话，然而我们却有机会身临其境。

回想起来，也许当天如果基拉韦厄灯塔对公众开放了，可能我就能拍到灯塔的近景了。但凑近了也许不如远远地观赏，俗话说可远观而不可亵玩焉，我觉得这句话很适合用于摄影里的光线运用。

神太眷顾我们了，因为祂让我们错过了飞机，整个行程结束了我才发现，这就是祂最美好的安排。塞翁失马，焉知非福。学会享受旅途的每一次意外和错过，因为神的安排总是超过你自己的计划和预期！