Not so long ago about three months ago I was out in the dunes of Glamis with my bf. We had recently been having financial trouble as is the rest of the world it seems, due of course to the recent economic bs that we all so abhorrently have to suffer with. His job hours were cut down to practically nothing and living in good ole San Diego where the average price for a one bedroom apartment is $1300.00, we found ourselves up Sh*t Creek with $1600.00+, a child and a dwindling income. So on a whim we decided to get away for the night, go ride some bikes and just forget about our troubles...at least until Monday.

The Thursday prior to our rendezvous, I had this dream. I dreampt that we, his brother, my bf, and his brothers wife, were on an island having a gathering of sorts when I looked out across the water shaken by a sight I didn't wish to see. On an island in the distance a volcano erupted and we were forced to flee for shelter and were split up.

Everyone needed to go their own direction to escape the lava flowing in off the ocean. Of course I was distressed because my boyfriend and I were split up and he was no where in sight but I ran for shelter under a trickling waterfall where behind it was a cave. I was uncertain as to whether or not it would keep me safe but it was my only option so I stayed there for shelter.

Later on after the lava flows had subsided I was reunited with my boyfriend and I embraced him; so thankful that nothing had happened to him. Then I told him I was so angry at him for leaving me and he says to me, " I knew you would be okay."

I woke suddenly in my sleep that night to wake him and tell him about the dream I just had. I nudged him awake and he grunted, obviously annoyed that I was trying to wake him up just to tell him yet another one of my bizarre dreams. So I told him knowing he wasn't really listening but I just needed to get it off my chest and went back to sleep.

On Sunday before we left the dessert my boyfriend and I sat next to the smoldering campfire still hot from the night, holding hands; both thinking of our troubles waiting for us at home but neither wanting to talk about it. Instead we sat there holding hands, happy that for a least a few moments we could enjoy some peace.

Ahead of us was something shining on the ground. We made bets about what it was, I said glass, he said plastic. So I went over to see what it was and sure enough it was a piece of glass. I really wasn't surprised, after all bf is always right... Well at least that is what I tell him. We spent sometime telling each other how grateful we are for each other and that no matter what, things will be okay. Love is like the courage of a thousand lions hearts beating to the sound of war drums.

He left for a moment to go pee. I sat in my chair still admiring the fire and wishing for a cool breeze, tweaking my hat and examining myself in my sunglasses to make sure I still looked okay enough for him. Which he always says I do so why I even check, I dunno.

He came up behind me putting his arms around me and in his hand was a rock. I suppose there is something to be said about me. I am the kind of person who finds the most trivial things like rocks to be amazingly fascinating. Maybe it's because I like to imagine where it has been or wonder about its history that it will never get to tell me about.

So there it was a rock. I examined it like I do most rocks. Checking all the crevices, giving it a quick toss to test its weight, holding it up in the sun looking for something special. So I said, "What is a lava rock doing in the dessert?" My bf didn't think much of it other then it making me happy for what is still a great mystery to him. I didn't think much about it either and let my imagination wonder for a moment about what a great distance it would have to travel or who brought it there and why was it removed from its homeland.

We packed up our stuff not much longer after that and when we got in the truck to head back home, I told him that the rock was a sign. Coming from Sandy Lala Land, saying things like that aren't unexpected yet he smiled at me as though to say, "as long as your happy baby, that is all that matters."

Monday had gone on as per usual. My bf had been sent home early for the 5th month in a row so he wasn't so happy when he got home. Regardless I did my normal routine of making every joke possible to lighten the moment and get a smile on his face. After all, my policy when it comes to hard times is; If there isn't anything you can do at the moment then don't worry about it until you actually can. Too much time is lost grovelling over things we can't control and what you lose is time that could otherwise have been spent on happier things like laughing and of course... me.

Tuesday was an interesting day. It was Tuesday April 7th, he came home a little bit later then early... as per the new usual. He was quite. I knew this quite. This was the kind of quite where I knew something was on his mind that he needed to talk to me about but didn't know how to bring it up. So I asked him what was up. We sat down outside at our patio table, I waited a moment. He says, "how would you feel about moving to Hawaii?"

Of course I was like hell yes! We spent so much time daydreaming together about living on an island away from the city were we could be surrounded in paradise; of course our interpretation of paradise also consisted of running around naked all day while harvesting foods and boinking in the sand but that is another story.

"Are you serious?" I had to ask. He said that his brother who lives in Hawaii just got him a job that pays nearly 3x what he was making then. But there was a catch. He says, well if I accept the job it is possible that I could leave in a month. This I was not too particularly happy about, being separated from him is one of those things I never thought about, at least not for any extended period of time. Yet I knew that the rest of us, the dog, the kid and I would have to stay back for at least a couple months because of our lease.

Of course he follows it up with, you would have to stay back for 4 months because Star (that is our dog) needs to be quarantined and it's required by Hawaii for dogs entering into their state. So I needed to take a moment to process all the information and sort out my feelings before I said anything overly "girly" to him. There is a level of maturity I do try to maintain when it comes to more serious things and this was definitely one of them.

So, I stowed myself in our room and meditated about it for a little while. I shed a couple tears at the thought of being away from him. I thought about what money does to people but I also thought about why he would consider it. Then I remembered the rock. The lava rock that he had given me in Glamis a few days before.

I thought about the dream I had, had just a couple days before that and it all made sense. I told him it was a sign. And with that, I made my decision. Hawaii here we come! Unfortunately he ended up having to leave the next week so we have been apart now for 3 months. With only one month to go.

And the rock, well let's just say it is packed and ready to go on an adventure that can only be told by the great adventurer herself...um... that's me in case you didn't know.

To be continued...Big Island Hawaii Adventures and Myth.