Adventures in Paradise

 

 

"Sometimes Hawaii is not like the brochure"

Famous travel agent warning

Between the ages of 9 and 12, I was transfixed by a television series called Adventures in Paradise. Along with 77 Sunset Strip (which started in 1958), those two shows were like a drug to young men like myself. Whereas 77 Sunset Strip was a show about a Los Angles private eye firm (remember "Kookie"?), Adventures in Paradise took place in Tahiti.

I don't know or remember how much of Adventures in Paradise was filmed on location, of if the entire show was filmed elsewhere to look like Tahiti. It really did not matter to me - I was a nine year old kid. All I know is this - I would go to bed after watching that show thinking about laying on a beach all day filled with ultra white sand and azure blue water. It became part of my "bucket list" at a very early age. I wanted to go there so bad, it hurt.

Flash forward to 1987. I was working at a company which sold MIL SPEC data storage devices to our government as well as some foreign governments. A partner company I was working with in California had the Royal Australian Navy as a customer. We would travel to California, meet with our partner company, and sometimes a representative from Australia would be there also. I loved it when someone from Australia came. I loved the way they talked, I loved their mannerisms. As an adult, I really wanted to visit Australia, but I feared that would never happen. That is one that would be part of my bucket list and would probably stay in the bucket long after I kicked the bucket.

One day I received a call from our partner company. "Change of plans. We are moving our operation to Sydney to be closer to the customer. Also, to save money, the Australians want to negotiate directly with your company to eliminate extra burden costs". I was speechless. How in the world was this going to work? It was the end of the year, and my department's travel budget was all but gone. The next thing I know, through the power of company politics, I was called into my manager's office and told to "get a passport - you are going to Australia".

I was due to leave after a busy Navy Reserve weekend. I got home Sunday night, unpacked my Navy stuff and repacked for a two week trip to Sydney. Monday morning my wife took me to the airport where I met up with the other two men going with me. We left mid morning  and once we landed in Los Angles, we transferred to the Qantas terminal. The plane we were going to take to Sydney was an odd looking jet. It was much smaller than a normal Boeing 747. It was short and squat and called a 747 SP (Special Plane). It was the only passenger jet available that could make it from Los Angles to Sydney without a refuel. We took off before midnight and began our very long 16 hour flight to the "Land of Oz".

It was a great trip. We got the legal and engagement documents done early and then came to agreement on price and delivery. We were done early and going home. Christmas was right around the corner so I was ready to leave, to rejoin my family. We were booked on a regular jet for the flight home, which meant we had to stop for a refuel. I asked the lady at the flight counter where we would be refueling and she said "Tahiti". Suddenly, my life flashed back to when I was nine years old. I was going to paradise! I could not believe my luck! First Australia, and then Tahiti!

We took off from Sydney and headed east over the Pacific. I was very excited. In just a few hours we would be landing in Tahiti. Just before landing, the pilot came on the intercom. "Ladies and gentlemen. When we land at Tahiti, please take any valuables with you before you deplane. Many of the locals who will be cleaning the plane are thieves. Also, there is civil unrest on the island, so the French military will handle you during our four hour lay over". What? This can not be! The television show was not like this. I had a bunch of souvenirs to give to the kids at Christmas. Now they were to be stolen?

We got off the plane and had to walk across the tarmac. It was hotter than blazes and it was not yet noon. The French "peace keepers" took charge of us and they were anything but kind. In fact, they were down right rude. They all had automatic weapons hanging from their shoulders and looked like they could use them. We were herded into a room with no air conditioning and had to stay there for three hours. Our possessions were searched, we were questioned, and worst of all, treated like criminals rather than passengers. We were finally able to get back on the plane and took off. Nothing of mine was lost, stolen or broken, except my life long fantasy of Tahiti.

Now when I watch the new version of Hawaii 5.0, I think "Wow - would it be ever nice to live there!" It looks so good, so colorful, so inviting - especially on a Hi Def television. Then I remember Tahiti. I remember that old adage from the travel business - "Sometimes Hawaii is not like the brochure". Or in the case of Tahiti, just the opposite.