Kauai has a magical way of welcoming people to this island. When Terri Mansfield first visited Kauai in 1997, she knew she wanted to live here with her family. Until they could buy a home, they made trips here almost
Kauai has a magical way of welcoming people to this island.
When Terri Mansfield first visited Kauai in 1997, she knew she wanted to live here with her family. Until they could buy a home, they made trips here almost every year.
It was on one of those visits in 2009, while they were planning their daughter and son-in-law’s Kauai wedding, that she and her husband, Mike, received a welcome more heartwarming than they could have ever imagined.
That January morning while their children were swimming, Terri and Mike walked along their favorite path near the Grand Hyatt Kauai Resort in Poipu, sat down on a precipice overlooking the ocean and watched the humpback whales frolic, their large, graceful tails slapping the water’s surface.
“I had just reminded my husband that that day was the 50th anniversary of my father’s death. He died when I was 11 years old,” Terri says. “I also thanked Mike for being so strong, protective and supportive of me, our children and our future son-in-law. Mike has always been that way, ever since he asked me to dance at a school party just before our junior year of high school.
“While sitting there, I said to Mike, ‘I met you, we fell in love, we attended college together and here we are sitting together looking out and watching the whales playing in the ocean.’”
The couple was in a state of bliss, in total appreciation of each other, of beautiful Kauai and the fun they had been having helping their children plan the wedding.
Suddenly, only 300 yards in front of them, two humpback whales shot straight out of the ocean like a fountain, belly to belly and came crashing down into the water on their backs.
“We were absolutely speechless. It was such a spiritual moment,” Terri says. “We looked at each other and said, ‘Did we really see that? Have you ever seen two whales coming out of the water together belly to belly?’ Neither of us had ever seen anything so spectacular.
“It felt like the whales were welcoming us home to Kauai, saying to us, ‘We are doing this ballet for you, showing you that we are happy that your family is putting down roots on this island.’
I started crying because it was such a God-filled moment. It was just incredible.
“I said to Mike, ‘That was an example of the oneness that we all are. We are all connected,’” Terri says. “I don’t know that I could have felt that as strongly anywhere else on the planet as I do on Kauai. Kauai is the spiritual healing heart of the universe.”
Terri’s camera had been tucked into her day-pack so she and Mike don’t have a photo of the amazing display, but the image is forever imprinted in their hearts and minds.
Three years after the whales welcomed them home, the Mansfields purchased their house on Kauai.
Be sure to enjoy watching the humpback whales while they are still in our warm Hawaiian waters until April or early May, and you might get a show of your own.
March is one of the best months for whale sightings during the time the 40-to-50 foot long animals are here to breed, calve and nurse their young before returning to Alaska for the summer.
Have you experienced a magical moment on Kauai that made you know you were in exactly the right place in your life?
If so, call me to share your story.
• Pamela Varma Brown is the publisher “Kauai Stories,” and the forthcoming “Kauai Stories 2.”
