Rock fever

According to Urban Dictionary:

1.	rock fever
	The hemmed-in, claustrophobic, trapped feeling mainlanders get when they spend too much time in Hawaii. Dude, the surfing's been great, but I've got the rock fever. I gotta get back home to Cali.

Going on a road trip this past weekend made me think of rock fever... Even though I have lived on the mainland for a few years now, it still amazes me that you can drive across states. I grew up on Oahu, where you have to fly if you want to go anywhere else - of course you have to fly to other countries, but you also have to fly to get to other states and other parts of Hawai'i!

I can't say that I ever experienced rock fever because I have been fortunate enough to travel to many different places, including some of the outer islands (Big Island, Maui, Molokai, Kauai), different parts of the mainland, Japan, China, Singapore, and Australia. In fact, I don't think there has been a year that I didn't fly somewhere...

But I know that some people living in Hawai'i do experience rock fever. While Oahu is a beautiful place, it is only so big, and people living there for a long time can get tired of it or itch for change. And there isn't really anything a person can do to "cure" rock fever other than travel somewhere! But you can't always just pack up your bags and leave - everyone has to consider the cost of traveling (airfare is so expensive!), working people have to take time off, parents have to coordinate their children's schedules (school, activities, etc.), pet owners have to find pet-sitters, etc., etc., etc.

I consider myself very lucky to have experienced the best of both worlds growing up - living in the best place in the world (in my biased opinion, haha), yet still being able to travel the world. Once I graduate and start working and paying for my own expenses, it will probably be a different story... No more summer/winter/spring breaks to travel, and I won't be able to afford traveling all over the world. I guess rock fever is something to keep in mind when deciding whether or not to move back home. Some people will never suffer from rock fever, but others could be significantly affected by it! I guess I'll never really know until I move back home as a self-supporting adult...