Someone asked me why I was using the title Beyond the Rail. The simple answer is that on a trip to Hawaii with 53 high school kids I learned that I like "going beyond the rail". I had been to Hawaii 9 times without really seeing it. We did the usual fly in, stay in a luxury resort or an upscale condo and do the tourist things on those 9 trips. On the 10th trip, I drove a car full of 17 and 18 year olds for 4.5 wks. We camped and hiked in places that I knew were there but had never "gone over the rail" to see. You know what I'm talking about...that rail at the end of the parking lot where all the tourists stop and take pictures. This time we went around the rail and up or down the mountain to see the sights. And oh what glorious sites there are on the other side! Places where tourists don't go or at least not the non-adventurous tourists. I came back a renewed person with a totally different perspective on life. I learned that I can hike mountains for 12 mi.; I learned the hard way about going down the slippery sands on the crater, and I can even sleep on the floor and like it! Diving at night with the manta rays was the thrill of a life time. It just doesn't get much better than this.
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