A Different Kauai


So here I am back on Kauai after just a short time. I'm fortunate to have a husband who understands the need to help out our parents and gave me permission to visit more often. Hopefully I'll be able to help them get their house finished and sorted out and they can just concentrate on living their lives and not still building their retirement house.

I chose to come back in February due to the upcoming births of my next 2 grandsons, taking place in March and April, hopefully. I haven't experienced a Hawaiian winter since 1973 but I do remember them as being quite a bit cooler and a lot stormier than the summer trips I've made over the last 10 years. Well, what happens my first night here? I'm sleeping in my Washington pj's including socks and I'm covered with a blanket. No fans are running through the night and the doors and windows aren't opened until late in the morning. And the windstorm that hits takes down a palm tree in the folks' yard and blows around lots of building materials and other loose items on the lanai and carport. The big news was the monstrous waves expected to hit today, the biggest in at least a decade.

I headed out toward the north and stopped first at Kahili beach, a popular local surfing beach. If it weren't sunny I wouldn't have gone, the Hawaiian soil is very clay-like and it's a dirt road downhill to that beach. The surf was amazing and I was surprised the beach was accessible. So I traipsed down to the beach with all my gear and sat it on a driftwood log about 30 feet from the water. I was shooting with different lenses, trying for the best composition, lighting, etc and decided I might want to walk to the rocks on the north side of the bay. I noticed that the water had been quite high during the last high tide. I wandered away from my gear to ask a couple people if they knew the tide schedule, if it was going out or coming in when a wave came up a little higher than they had been. "I guess it's coming in" we all said simultaneously. I liked the look of that wave so got ready for the next one to try to get a picture of it. Well, it came up a little more energetically than the previous one. I snapped the shutter quickly when I realized that wave was going WAY further up the beach than it's little predecessor! My gear! I just began to RUN! (after a small scream!) and got there just as the water was reaching everything! I grabbed it all and headed up the shore, squishing in my sneakers and socks, winded and laughing!

Well, the waves were definitely big but nowhere near the 30-40 feet they were supposed to hit. The big windstorm messed up the giant waves so, though not as big, the wind made them quite dramatic. I took some shots at Kahili and Anini and looked at the Kilauea overlook and Princeville. The biggest problem was parking, I was not alone in my pursuit of the big waves. Once I got to Princeville I saw a massive traffic backup so decided to end my northward hunt there.  I did run back to Kealia beach which is always pretty wavy only to find it nearly glassy, then stopped for a quick look at Anahola beach. Included are a few of the better shots I got.

So the first day here is usually a relax after the long plane trip and time adjustment. Tomorrow the work begins and the blogs will most likely end...

A Quickie!

Road trip, that is!

Not last Sunday but the Sunday before (24 robbers came...) Mary excitedly came to me to ask if I could go on a road trip in a week. Our little Bonine family (Jon, Maricel, Isabel and Myka) was moving to San Diego and they only had to get their cars down but with 2 cars and only 2 drivers along with 2 little kids it was a daunting task. So they were looking for another couple drivers to share the load with. Mary has some credit with Southwest Airlines after cancelling a trip so she was willing to use it to get us back home. Another friend from the congregation was gonna do it but bowed out so Mary was scrambling. Sure! I can do that (Rick was good with it)! So that night I went over to Mary's and helped her make the flight arrangements and it was a GO!

Things didn't start out too smoothly. Jon told us they would be here at 6:30 to pick us up and hit the road but there was a lot more to do than he expected - cleaning, packing, breakfast, errands - they ended up getting here at about 8:15.  Late is understandable but they never called to let us know so we sat there in our coats ready to jump at any moment!

When we first hit the road Maricel was driving the van with Mary and I as passengers and Jon was alone in the car with the kids. It appears that Maricel is not very secure in her driving so she stayed glued to Jon on the wet, grey, drizzly freeway. Jon drives a lot for work so he's mildly aggressive and Mary and I were rather uncomfortable. We're a couple little old ladies and are more comfortable at a slower pace. We finally stopped for gas and switched drivers around and it was finally as Mary and I had hoped it would be: the family all together and Mary and I in the other vehicle by ourselves. Whew! We could slow down a little and leave a bit more space between us and the car in front of us.

Jon had booked rooms in Redding, the halfway point so that was our goal for the day. We met up with them throughout the day for gas, etc. The drive through Washington and Oregon was as I already described - wet, grey, and drizzly and as soon as we neared the California border we could see the clouds thinning out.

They got to Redding before us and decided to have dinner at Olive Garden so we met them there, then to our rooms afterward. Jon is a Marriot customer apparently so we had nice rooms. It was a little warm in the rooms so we had to turn on the AC (in December!?!?) to make them comfortable to sleep in. Mary was still too warm and didn't sleep very well. The next night she didn't sleep too well either, she was hot - cold - hot - cold... Such is life on the road.

We got up the next morning, hit the measly, mostly-carbs breakfast and were back on the road by about the same time, 8:15. I was amazed at how interesting the scenery was in spite of the time of year.  This day we were all just heading for the same destination and route so we did our own thing. Turns out there was a gas card in the van so we could fill up when needed. So we got to travel more leisurely as the old ladies that we are. I got to drive through the Los Angeles traffic and Mary got the last leg to San Diego.

Jon reserved a room in another Marriot for us near their house since we told them we were too old to sleep on the floor. It was another nice room, better than the first in my opinion and not a bad price. We got to stay there for 2 nights and they had a better breakfast buffet.



We got to go do some sightseeing on Wednesday since all there was to do at the Bonine's new place was clean, their furniture was due the day we left for home. I looked online to see what there was to see and chose to visit the Ocean Beach Pier and Tidepools. It's a long pier with a cafe on it and Mary wanted to try some local fish so we had lunch. We split one plate of fish 'n' chips, it was $10 and was HUGE. The weather was perfect, even too warm! I was hoping to be able to show Mary the tidepools after our walk on the pier but the sandstone was a little too slippery for the shoes Mary was wearing so all I could do was point to them and describe. We had a great time there. Then I tried to go to another tourist stop and, despite it being Xmas day, there wasn't a parking spot to be found! Then Maricel called to let us know that we could keep the car til the next morning so we just did a little more driving around.

When we got back to our room I discovered a message from an old high school JW friend who lived nearby so I called her and we tried to get together but there just wasn't enough time. Bummer! It's been like 40 years since we'd seen each other, it would have been fun! Mary and I were planning to go to the Chili's restaurant that was right next door to our hotel and get dessert but forgot it was a holiday - it was CLOSED! Darn! So we ended up sitting in our room watching a movie on my iPad. It was like the second worse movie I've ever watched - but we stuck with it til the end! And had m&m's for dessert.

In the morning we visited the local Kingdom hall and Mary accosted some of the publishers coming for field service. Then we went to the Bonine's and helped them a little, I lined their cabinets with the rubber shelf liner stuff. Just as we were ready to head to the airport their furniture arrived. They have a real large, nice duplex with an attached garage, a hot tub and a view!

The first leg of our flight home was very bumpy and we were seated way in the back. I was squished between Mary and a large fellow, both overflowed their seating and I had sore arms/shoulders the next day from holding them in. When we landed in Oakland we got to change seats and we ended up in the first row! So getting off was pretty quick! This time Mary sat in the middle and a small woman sat next to her so we were much more comfortable. Kevin was waiting for us in the baggage claim area so we didn't have to stand out on the sidewalk watching for him - it was very nice that way.

I hope Mary enjoyed our little adventure - I know I did!

About Me

My photo
After 2 unsuccessful marriages I spent 12 years as a divorcee, only to fall prey to another man's wiles. We had a fun 5 years together and then he decided he wanted more freedom so once again I'm single.

So I'm freshly divorced at 57 and have 5 great kids and now 7 grandkids. My kids are still a major part of my life but I'm busy helping my aging parents on Kauai.

I've lived in California, Hawaii and Oklahoma before finally settling here in Washington. I love Washington and come back to visit family, friends and take care of my garden often but will be temporarily a resident of Kauai.

I've moved 30 times in my life (no, my parents weren't in the service, at least not since I was about 2) and finally planted roots when I got my little house that I've owned since '91.

My family are Jehovah's Witnesses, I've been one since '72.