Good 'Ole Mary

Mary, my buddy who went to New York with the boys and me back in '05, then we went together to San Diego to help a family move last December, has always wanted to visit Hawaii. Since I was planning trips twice a year I knew I could time a visit so she could accompany me. That was, of course, before I knew I'd be MOVING to Hawaii. Anyway, November was the next scheduled visit and she jumped at the chance!

I went home to visit my family and winterize my yard and timed it so I'd return with Mary and then, because I'd moved here and didn't know I'd be doing that when I originally booked our tickets, I just didn't fly back with her. She whined about having to get on the plane and fly by herself but all turned out well.

Surprisingly, when we got here she was up to a trip to the beach so I took her to the same beach I'd taken Rachyl to when she first got here - Kahili Beach, my new favorite. We just walked down to the beach and found some rocks to sit on and watch the surfers for about an hour.

We were fortunate enough to have timed our flight when most of my friends were heading to Oahu to attend our International Convention. That meant there were lots of empty houses and few left behind to house-sit. By the end of Mary's visit I was house-sitting 4 places to different degrees. We were here with the folks from Sunday - Tuesday, then Wednesday we moved over to the funhouse to watch it for Kathy. The following Wednesday we moved into a very nice place with a stunning view and stayed there for the remainder of Mary's visit, then I stayed a couple more days to take care of their cat, dog and young chicken. And I was also stopping at a neighbor's place every day to feed their pets.

In our first week I got to show Mary all of the sights that she could handle, with her sensitivity to heat and sunlight. So the 2nd week we were just in relax mode. While we were on the road a lot we carried a cooler and took our lunch and ate on the beach several times. Mary treated me to many meals out and paid for all my gas. Such a generous friend! Well, maybe that was because she only had to pay $99 for the buddy ticket I got with our Alaska Airlines credit card!



We were originally going to go to a luau but after checking around decided instead to do the Na Pali Coast sunset dinner cruise. It was a good choice! There were swells about 8' high and lots of wind so we flew out to the far end of our cruise, then came back leisurely while Captain Ian told us all about the valleys and pali (cliffs) and their history. The ride out was exhilarating, Mary found the best spot where we could be outside but not get blasted by the wind and sea. She was very worried about getting seasick but everything turned out fine. There were a few sick ones on the catamaran but fortunately Mary was not one of them. But oh! I didn't mention the dolphins! On the way out we had spinner dolphins accompanying our boat for a while. Then on the way I saw a flying fish! It almost looked like a hologram because it was travelling at the same speed and direction as our boat. It was about a foot long and bright silver! A couple and I were the only ones who saw it and we just stood there in amazement til it was gone - then we all basically high-5'd each other for witnessing such a cool sight! On the way back the bottle-nose dolphins lead our boat for a while. They'd swim beside and between our hulls, then take off in front of it and jump! While that was going on the spinners were in the distance just have a dolphin party! Jumping completely out of the water! Weee! The simple meal they offered was one of Mary's favorites of the whole trip - pulled pork or chicken salad sliders, pineapple slices and some salad or something. Food is not my first priority so I don't remember exactly.

Oh! Another thing about our boat trip. We bought the tickets for Tuesday and the weather and swell were so bad that the captain decided not to do a sunset cruise that day but gave us lots of options: we could choose another day, get a full refund or go out with him to wherever he decided to go that afternoon, it just wouldn't be the Na Pali coast. So we chose Mary's last day here because it was predicting the best weather. It was a perfect day for it! (for November, that is)

There are lots of little stories I could tell from the visit, the nene at the Kilauea lighthouse overlook that almost let Mary pet him, the parrot in the cage on the roadside that squawked and jumped when Mary reached her hand out, feeding the chickens grapes at Ha'ena, the foul-mouthed, drunk partyers at Salt Pond, the moon party and the discovery of the '49ers, the numerous visits to the Kauai Coffee plantation, the adventurous drives down roads previously unknown, the search for pineapple fields, etc.

So will she be back? Maybe in the new system...

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About Me

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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.