KAUAI, Hawaii _ As I hurtled through the sky above a sprawling valley, in view of sapphire waves and verdant mountain slopes, the wind was whipping past me and my eyes were streaming tears.
My lips were peeled back, I was yelling incomprehensibly and my brain was blaring, "This could be the end."
But let me begin at the beginning, before I zoomed down a three-quarter-mile zip line on Kauai, the westernmost of the well-populated Hawaiian Islands.
I had never been to the so-called Garden Island, but I knew it by reputation. Less built up than Maui and Oahu, Kauai is blessed with spectacular hiking trails, secluded beaches and dramatic vistas.
That made it an ideal warm-weather destination to rev up and unwind, while talking to residents opened my eyes to Kauai's history and the consequences of more mainlanders visiting the island.
