![Courtesy of Joey Amato.](https://outsfl.com/media/astroid/assets/images/blank.png)
In 1987, I visited the island of Hawaii for the very first time. My mother and I decided to join other family members on the vacation of a lifetime. Hawaii had always been my mother’s dream vacation, so she was eager to go. Being 7 years old at the time, I don’t remember much about that trip with a few exceptions. One notably was having to wrap a hula skirt around my neck because I was too short for it to go around my waist.