Jennifer. J. Chow

Waiting on Hope

I’m a huge proponent of getting out in nature, whether it’s to relax or remove oneself from digital devices. I find it literally grounding, and though my family opted to travel to Leslie’s stomping grounds this summer (the Big Island), it was my first time, and I wasn’t sure what I’d discover.

We did plan for nature-y things like hikes (that journey to Papakōlea Green Sand Beach is no joke) and didn’t plan well for other nature-adjacent happenings (hello, deluges and supersized bugs).

But the things I enjoyed the most were when hopeful glimmers transformed into magical realities. I’ve organized our amazing encounters by type:

Water

I’m not a huge ocean swimmer even though I live close to the beach. I generally enjoy dipping my toes in the water. It’s been years since I’ve snorkeled—just the once, when I encountered impaired visibility and bland sightings (ooh, a sea cucumber!).

My kids convinced me to try again. This second time that I snorkeled, I hopped out soon after, panicking about the breathing and worried about the waves. They cajoled me into trying again; this third time, I relaxed…and found myself floating and observing so many colorful fish. We even noticed a sea turtle while snorkeling—wow!


One night, we also took the manta ray tour. While bobbing on the surface of the water, we peered down for signs of motion. The first manta ray we saw was pretty far away. Then one rolled right underneath us. I’d heard of such things, but this was literally inches from me. The manta had rolled and was coming at me with its mouth wide open! It was 99% exciting and 1% scary even though I know that mantas are supposed to the gentle giants of the sea.

Sky

So, remember that I said it rains a lot on the Big Island? The irony wasn’t lost on me that when we visited a waterfall, we got soaked not by the spray, but the water pouring from the sky. My light jacket was no match for the very wet weather.

Despite the rain, we still decided to follow our itinerary and go to the visitor center on the Mauna Kea peak. I’d read that the elevation (9200 feet) was such that sometimes you’d travel above the rain clouds  and get a spectacular view. As we drove, though, we encountered a lot of haze, and I wasn’t so sure… But then right before we reached the visitor center, everything cleared up. We got an amazing vantage of the sun setting. Talk about hoping and being persistent!

Notice the layer of clouds below the blue

Land

Of course, the main attraction on the island for us was the volcano. We went to the national park twice to see the smoldering. Though we actually arrived during a predicted eruption window, the dates kept shifting. On that fateful day, we were on the other side of the island and thought we might swing by to check on the volcano at night, just to see if there might be a small glow. While we were on the way over, we got an alert that it was erupting. It seemed like we were driving under a red sky and headed directly toward a huge flame. And while I’d seen pictures of volcanoes in magazines, it was surreal to be close enough to hear the ground rumbling and see the rivulets of lava flowing.

In my publishing journey, I’m currently at that Hope stage. For the first time in years, I’m in between contracts. (Sorry to the fans of my previous series.) Now I’m waiting for the hopeful writing glimmers to magically transform into real books for readers…

Please share below about a hope fulfilled:

33 thoughts on “Waiting on Hope”

  1. What a perfect thing to read at this exact moment! Thank you for letting us go on a vicarious trip back to the Big Island with you. I did not take on the green sand beach, but we did do the manta ray tour! I remember screaming into the water (in an excited way) the first time one swam up under me. That’s an experience you’ll never forget! Thanks for the vicarious nature bath this morning!

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  2. Jennifer, as one of your many, many fans, I’m waiting for your hopeful writing glimmers too.

    My most recent hope fulfilled: M and I stayed up until the wee hours of the morning to see the Blood Moon. (Can’t remember the month.) It was so awesome!

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  3. Here’s to that contract glimmer magic! Hope it happens for you very soon. I have an Orchid Isle hope fulfilled story as well. Mine involved a whale watching tour where we not only experienced multiple sightings, but were able to listen to a pod of whales singing below our boat and then the sound a whale makes just before breaching, about 20 feet from us. It was spectacular.

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    1. Whoa, that’s amazing! It gives me shivers hearing about the singing. And I didn’t know that there’s a special sound before the whale breaches. I’ve only gone whale watching twice, in the local area–once we saw the teeny glimpse of a tail while the other trip was more successful; we saw the entire whale, but it was still quite a distance away!

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      1. I didn’t know they made a special sound then either, but we had a marine biologist with us and she told us what it was. All I knew was that it was a different sound than the singing we had been listening to. Your snorkeling excursion sounds amazing. I love the sea turtles.

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  4. I would say a hope fulfilled was to move closer to my Daughter and that happened we are right across the street. I never thought I would move to Arizona I like to garden and it is not possible in this heat. Thank you it was exciting to see the photos of Hawaii. Deborah deborahortega229@yahoo.com

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    1. That’s wonderful, Deborah! I’m so glad you’re closer to your daughter now. My dad moved nearby, and I’m so grateful my kids get to see him more often! P.S. I’ve been to Arizona a few times in the summer, and that heat!

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  5. What great photos! Looks like it was a great trip.

    Hope fulfilled? Everything I have is right on the edge. Get back to me this time next month when hopefully (hah!) The Boy will have fulfilled my hope that he successfully completes his program of study and finishes school!

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  6. I’m so glad you got to visit my beloved Big Island! (Though bummed you were there when I was in California.) It’s been a long time since I hiked out to the green sand beach, but I remember it being worth the walk–and the glorious picnic we packed out with us.

    And how fab that you got to see green turtles, mantas, AND the volcano in all its eruptive glory! Magnificent, right?

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    1. I know, right? Wished you were there. I’ll have to time it right so we can meet somewhere…Santa Cruz, Fairbanks, or the Big Island! (In hindsight, we should’ve packed a picnic to that beach…)

      It was such a lovely time! The food was also magnificent. Still dreaming of Two Ladies Kitchen mochi…

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  7. What a magical trip, and such good timing on everything! My middle son’s family has been to Hawaii a lot, but I haven’t.

    Hope? I’m without a contract, too, and writing books that I hope someone will someday publish. Working on a cozy series and a stand alone.

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  8. Wow! Snorkeling in Hawaii – how cool. Love the pics and reading about your adventures.

    “Hope springs eternal” was my mom’s saying and I’m passing it on to you. May your next contract be in your hands very, very soon.

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  9. I have read all of your books but the two standalones. I loved them and am sad that they are not continuing. So many of my favorite authors have gone that way. It is a hard business out there. My only hope fulfilled right now is that Hubby Dearest, the dog and I get up every day in pretty good health at our ages in life to enjoy another day on God’s Green Earth. And read books, watch old movies, talk to friends, work jigsaw puzzles, and breathe.

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  11. Jen, thank you so much for taking us on this lovely trip! Gorgeous pix and I loved the turtle video. (Also, I clicked onto Insta to view those treats, yum!) Someday I hope to visit Hawaii. I had no idea there was such a thing as a green sand beach. I’ll never get over that I didn’t go to Left Coast Crime in Hawaii that year, sigh. I hope that you receive good news very soon re: new projects. We will be there to gobble those books up!

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  12. jenn, sorry for the late response in the voice texting! What a gorgeous post I’m jealous you got to the big island. I always wanted to go there.

    right now all my hopes are on health for the family. Fingers crossed they come true

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