Waipi’o for my ohana is a place to connect with the ocean, the land, and our sense of place. It provides us a way to exercise, reset, and teach our son about currents, tides, habitats, and history. I guess we all didn’t realize just how important it was for our mental and physical well-being until this closure. We had always assumed that our rights to access the coast were not something that could just be taken away overnight.