Hang Gliding in Hawaii—Groom's Day Out

Hey, dude! Just remember if it doesn’t work out, I am waiting in the wings for Caroline. She is probably too good for you and most likely too good for me. You are a lucky man, Drew.

I thought long and hard about what kind of party I would throw for Drew. I considered that many years from now his kids might read this and wonder about their dad. Drew is not the stripper-popping-out-of-the-cake kind of guy.  He is not the go-to-Vegas-and-get-blind-drunk kind of dude. Drew is a good guy, and one of the kindest and most considerate men I know, with a wicked sense of humor. Drew puts the rest of us to shame.

I decided to treat Drew and the rest of our group of friends to something Drew has been talking about for many years – hang-gliding in Hawaii.

As far back as I can remember, Drew has had a desire to learn to hang glide. When we were kids together, we took a trip with our families to Monterey, California. There are high cliffs on the other side of the bay overlooking the ocean. We spent hours just watching hang gliders take off, land, and soar along the coast.

Since he was already in California, I thought, hey, only a jump over to Hawaii. Our Hawaiian journey started with margaritas at the airport and passage on the new Airbus A380 in a private cabin on the upper deck of the plane. Drew didn’t know where we were going or what we were going to do until we got to Oahu. Caroline was in on it and had packed for him. I called the whole event, “This trip is not unlike marriage; you don’t know where it will lead or what challenges you may face.”

When we arrived in Hawaii, it felt almost like a dream. The vibrant green mountains and deep blue Pacific Ocean were beyond beautiful. Most of the women walking around wore string bikinis, but, of course, Drew never even looked – much.

We checked into a resort on the south side of Oahu on Friday. That evening we started off at Buzz’s Steakhouse for some of the best dry aged beef I have ever eaten. Then we moved on to a famous scotch and cigar bar.

We tested some of the best that Cuba offers, and some of the oldest and best Scotch. Drew had a Montecristo #2 with a 50-year-old Gordon & MacPhail Scotch. I followed suit with a Hoyo de Monterrey Double Corona and a 50-year-old Oban. That's living!

After getting toasted on some pretty good scotch, the party moved to Ballarrinas, a gentlemen’s club. That is the classiest and best men’s club on the island, so no one popped out of a cake without clothes on. Actually, after a few 50-year-old scotches I almost ended up without any clothes on, but I digress.
Nine o’clock in the morning came around fast after our night of debauchery. We had to be at the cliffs for our hang gliding lessons by 10:00. I set the hang gliding day up with a couple of ex-Navy SEALs. The guys in the group could either learn to hang glide or to sky dive.

At this point Drew still didn’t know what I had set up for him and he was starting to get edgy as we came closer to the cliffs; maybe it was the slight hangover. When we turned a corner on a cliff, and there were six or seven hang gliders soaring above us, it finally dawned on him. A great smile came over his face, and he whooped and started banging the door of the Jeep we rented. That reaction made the whole trip worth it.

The day consisted of two hours of training and safety, then our instructor John took us one-by-one for about a half-hour hang gliding experience overlooking the deep blue Pacific Ocean.

The experience of floating free above the ocean, with the views of the island was one of the most epic experiences of my life, and Drew felt the same way. I never felt scared even looking three hundred feet down to the ocean below.

Sunday, we were going to take our first solo flight, not over the cliffs, but over the dunes on the other side of the beach. We would never be more than twenty feet off the ground as we soared down the dunes to the beach below.

It took me three tries before I soared the 300 yards down the dunes, but it only took Drew one. I watched as he gracefully flew down the dunes grinning the whole time. Drew considered that this may be the last irresponsible thing he will do in a long time because Caroline would be keeping him sane and happy.

We left Hawaii early Monday morning on the same Airbus A380 we came over on. I felt the hang gliding adventure helped to bond all of us together, more so than the gentlemen’s club. And yes, in the end, for laughs, we did have a stripper pop out of a fake cake at the bar in the hotel, but after soaring over the Pacific in a hang glider, it just wasn't that exciting.

Drew, you could not have picked a better partner than Caroline, and we all wish the best for you both.