Having just spent the past year writing a book about being Totally Wired, I can't tell you how great it felt to be totally un-wired last week. No internet, no cellphone - just the sun, sand and sea turtles. Here's what I did on our first trip to the Big Island of Hawaii:

- Beach reading (I finally read the Devil Wears Prada because it just seemed like a book you could read while drinking Piña Coladas. I also read a YA novel called Cuba 15)

- Kayaked and snorkeled with some very flirty fish and huge sea turtles

- Hiked down to a 100 foot waterfall and got soaked in the mist

- Walked by a wild horse on a trail

- Ate some amazing food

- Visited my colleague's mom who operates an organic coffee farm. She let us sample passion fruit, apple bannanas, cocoa beans and macadamia nut butter all grown and made right there

- Saw lots of craters and smelled lots of sulfur (no, we didn't hike in to see the lava)

What you notice right away when you leave the airport are literally hundreds of name or graffiti-like messages spelled out in white rocks on the black lava fields. Some were memorials, but I bet lots were left by some very board teenagers.

P.S. I've never been to Burning Man (which also happened this past week), but my husband has been a few times. I am considering going next year. Current TV covered Burning Man this year both online and on-air. For anyone who is curious about what goes on in the Nevada desert, check out TV Free Burning Man.

Posted by anastasia