It was the summer after 9/11. People weren’t flying like they had been before the attacks. Somehow my parents found out about a deal to Hawaii and decided to bite. I remember being so scared to get on a plane. My mom kept saying if something happens, then we’ll all go out together. The we being me, my mom, dad and brother. That gave me little solace, but off we went. We flew to Oahu and spent several days there exploring before boarding a cruise ship that took us around to the other islands. The ship we were on was owned by a foreign company. At the time, there was a law in place that any foreign flagged ship had to make a stop in a foreign port when sailing between two U.S. ports. To comply, our itinerary included a stop at Kiribati’s Fanning Island. It took a full day from Hawaii to reach the port and another full day to get back. The island was small, uninhabited and beautiful. Just like you’d imagine a remote island in the Pacific to be. It had a surprising amount of amenities though for day trippers like us.

All in all a lovely day and such a unique place to visit.