Riding the Waves of Life by John Mont, Ingredient Division Sales
Time for a 10 year Mont Family Vacation – only 8 years later? We had the opportunity come up to travel to Hawaii with my daughter Riley’s DePauw WBB (Women’s Basketball Team) & families. This was their winter trip to play in a basketball event in Hilo, HI. All of us (my wife Rhonda, daughter Riley, son Logan and I) were able to make the trip – this was our Christmas Celebration/Trip together. We had never been to Hawaii until this trip or opportunity. It was also great to get to know all of the players and their families better. We were all coming to Hawaii for the weather, the beach, the tropical activities and a bit of Women’s College Basketball. During the trip, there were plenty of planned events. As a group, we went to see the Pearl Harbor Tour – specifically the USS Arizona Memorial. This was quite the Tour to open all of our eyes that we have people that give up their lives to provide all of us better future
lives. The USS Arizona sank in Pearl Harbor but was never de-commissioned. There was a Wall of Names to re- member all those lost in this event. The DePauw WBB Team played well overall. They won the 1st game but lost the 2nd one. Early in the trip we learned that Riley would not be able to play due to a current injury that she is working through – good to shut down to heal. She handled it well and helped cheer on her teammates. We did a bit of island hopping in Hawaii. Initially, we flew to Oahu (Honolulu) then flew over to Hilo for the games and back to Honolulu for a few more days. Oahu has about 1 million people on it while the total population of ALL islands is about 1.4 million people. Our entire group was able to attend a Germaine’s Luau. We were able to enjoy some Hawaiian entertainment with a little Christmas twist for the holidays. The group was able to enjoy some real Hawaiian food that was cooked special for the event. The Mont family made sure to have our Hawaiian shirts for this special night of fun. The family was able to spend a lot of quality time together. We had a lot of laughs along the way – many great pictures. Hawaii provides some great beach time opportunities to see “white caps” and the surf/waves. The Hawaii sun is definitely quite different – great sunrises and sunsets. Yes, some of us did spend a bit too much time in the sun but still are all good. We continued to go with the flow of life with our travels home. The family ended up experiencing 6 flight cancel- lations overall. The only way to get home over the holidays was to separate and make things happen! Sometimes you have to just “Ride the Wave” that is right in front of you to get where you need to be. Logan and myself ended up renting a car on Christmas day from the Minneapolis Airport and driving home. Both of us were put on later flights in December respectively due to a cancelation but both flights ended up being canceled. We picked the right “wave” to ride – we made it home. It ended up being a special Christmas for a few hours – my wife and daughter really had out done themselves with a great meal and Christmas celebration once we arrived. It was a great 4 hours of Christmas together as a family – many hugs and smiles of joy. Thanks to Crest Foods for helping make some great Mont Family Memories for a life time. This Trip provided many different things to do and try. We continued to ride each and every “Wave of Life” during our trip. It showed us to continue doing the different and enjoying each and every “Wave” that comes our way – make the most of everything!
12 Crest Ink October, November & December 2022
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