ESCAPE ARTIST | Fresh off a full room and spa renovation, the JW Marriott Ihilani Resort & Spa serves up the best Hawaii has to offer by Terence Loose

He wants golf, tennis and fishing. She wants spa treatments, shopping and fine dining. And both want Hawaii’s white sand beaches, blue waters and warm sun. Usually, that means a multi-island jaunt – a few days in Waikiki dodging tourists and fighting for space on the sand, a few days in an outer island detoxing from the madding crowd. But for the savvy traveler, there is a spot that provides both. The JW Marriott Ihilani Resort & Spa, located on Oahu’s sunny western shore in the secluded 640-acre oceanfront Ko Olina Resort.

Fronting one of four tranquil blue lagoons (calm enough for the youngest of ocean goers) with a crescent moon white sand beach, the 387-room Ihilani just went through a complete room renovation. And though the shopping and nightlife of Waikiki is a mere 30 minutes away, it’s distant enough to allow the Ihilani guests some peace, tranquility… … Continue Reading

THE ESCAPE ARTIST | Swimming from sharks in the South Pacific by Terence Loose

Tahanea 16°51’S, 144°40’W / Weather: Sunny, 80°

Escape difficulty:  7

Open most atlases and look up Tahanea. Actually, don’t bother, you won’t find it. That’s because Tahanea, an atoll in the South Pacific chain of 77 atolls that make up the Tuamotus, part of French Polynesia, has no hotel, no village, no people. It is simply a ring of coral with a few spits of sand and some palm trees. Picture those screen savers aimed at taking the stress out of your workday –aquamarine lagoon under blue skies with a few harmless puffy clouds and swaying palm trees thrown in. That’s Tahanea. In other words, the perfect getaway for an escape artist.

Now, when I said there were no people, I didn’t mean there were no locals. There are. A lot in fact. I’m talking large blue crabs, family dinner-size snapper, car-sized manta rays and a dozen variety of sharks. Like many locals, they are very territorial. Of course, being me, I had to discover that the hard way. … Continue Reading

ESCAPE ARTIST l The misadventures of one man on the run from commitment, responsibility, and any job requiring nice shoes… by Terence Loose

Escape Artist | A few years ago, I woke up shivering cold on a deflated camping mattress in a friend’s spare room. Like the camping mattress, I was broke. I also had no car, no job, no prospects, and a pregnant wife by my side (yes, mine). I was 35 and starting over from scratch. It was like the day after college graduation, only without the crushing hangover and silly hat.

As in college, I had spent the few years prior chasing pure fun, utterly denying the demands of the modern world and basically shirking responsibility whenever I could. It started two years before, my wife Gayl and I had sold our house, our cars, and anything else that wouldn’t fit aboard a 32-foot sailboat and left our nine-to-five cubicled existence astern to sail to the South Pacific in search of adventure, freedom and anyplace that didn’t accept MasterCard. For those two years, our biggest decision was whether to go for a cocktail in the cockpit or a sunset snorkel. … Continue Reading