Kauai Dec 8, 2004 - Feb 9, 2005

--writing with Apple laptop--

--Becky writes unless noted by Marilou--

This is our 8th trip to the island.

Monday, December 13, 2004

We arrived on Kauai the evening of Wednesday 8th, so Lou didn't get to see daylit Kauai until the next day. Though, we all got to see a good sampling of island Christmas decorations as Lona, our neighbor, drove us from the airport in Lihue to our home. There were lots of lights on homes and businesses, lights wrapped up the trunks of tall coconut palms, and lights on trees in homes that I'm sure already have many presents under them. Being tired as usual, we had a simple dinner at home and went to bed.

Lona told us that a cold front was coming in the evening we arrived. That night and the next day were cooler. It might have reached 80 on Thursday, with our first evening's low around 67. Extra blanket time!

Thursday, awake early, we went to Lihue to hopefully find a Christmas tree and to do some shopping. On the way we stopped at our favorite breakfast place, Ono Family Restaurant and had omelets (o-no, means 'good' in Hawaiian). In Lihue we found a pre-lit tree we liked at Home Depot, and it was a good thing we wanted one of those, because all their cut trees were gone. After shopping around town and acquiring a good collection of stuff, we covered everything in the back of the pick-up truck because there were scattered showers, and piled the three of us in the cab of the truck and headed home.

Stopping briefly at home, we unloaded the truck and then went to our nearby favorite lunch place, Paradise Grill. After we ate it was mid-afternoon and time for some relaxation. So, we came back home and relaxed. Simple enough.

Friday, we hung around the house waiting for some packages to arrive. Marilou and I began to put the Christmas tree up. Looking around for the perfect spot, we finally decided the dinning room was it. I took down the hanging ceiling light fixture, which we had been wanting to remove anyway, and we took the leaves out of the dinning table, rearranging it to one side of the room, which made a nice space for the tree in the front corner where it's lights will be seen from the street. We spent most of a lazy afternoon decorating.

The mostly rainy weather that the island had been experiencing was cleared out by the cold front and Steve, our yardman, came by to mow. He had just gotten back from a vacation in the Philippines and had stories to tell.

Our packages arrived; my computer, which we were expecting, and place settings from Donnie & Denese, which were a surprise (MK & I had admired the style at their house). With the day's responsibilities fulfilled we napped and then went to the Dolphin Restaurant for dinner. Life is rough --grin-- and we are still changing to this time zone causing our days to still end early.

The temperature continued to drop Friday evening into the low 60's. Frigid! Before the sun went down we closed all the windows in the house. With no heating system one learns the tricks quickly. Knowing that Lou had gotten us an electric blanket for Christmas, I convinced her to give it to us early. Thank goodness she went for my story about being good all this year and deserving of an early present! lol

We awoke Saturday perhaps 30 minutes later than the previous morning, as we adjust more to this time. Today we needed to be home for Vince the wonderful satellite TV man to make a house call. Our satellite reception went down sometime while we were not here. One drawback to not being in a house 24/7; things go into disrepair and are not discovered until we arrive. Lou and I left Marilou dealing with Vince and the TV situation while we went to a nearby local craft fair. We found a few items for presents. And as usual, I found a few things for myself when I should be shopping for others. lol

Vince was not able to solve our problem on Saturday and came back on Sunday. Now that's determination and follow-through! On Sunday he tried a new receiver and that seems to have been the problem, along with 3 software updates that happened while we were not here the last two months.

After Vince left we went to Lihue again. Sunday was partly cloudy and it warmed up to a nice breezy 79 degrees. In the Nawiliwili Harbor a cruise ship was in port. We had an early dinner at JJ's on the harbor.

Back at home, Lou was glad to have TV. She'd done okay without, her withdrawals hadn't been too horrible, though she quickly disappeared into her room and didn't come out for a while. --grin-- She needed a fix.

And while we're still without TV upstairs, due to a new satellite receiver not arriving yet, Marilou has started playing the newest Zelda game. I dare not begin to play it, for I would be soon lost in the black hole of game playing and never be seen again.

I've ironed a bunch of aloha shirts in anticipation of our visit to the Big Island on Tuesday. We are going to take Lou over to the volcano for a sacrifice. She's not too sure about it. --evil grin-- We will come back to Kauai on Friday. The Hilo area on the Big Island (officially called Hawaii) is our second favorite part, next to Kauai, of all we've seen of the Hawaiian islands. We've not been to Molokai or Lanai, yet.

Monday. Marilou and I had coffee on the porch, as usual, and Lou watched TV in her room. I believe she got up before we did. The sky is without a cloud. There is a very nice breeze from the south. It was in the low 60's last night and expected to reach 79 today. We're washing clothes this morning and planning our trip on Tuesday morning. Don't know what we'll do this afternoon.

Hope all of you are well.

Becky & Marilou

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Saturday, December 18, 2004

On Tuesday the 14th, the three of us flew Hawaiian Air to Oahu to Hawaii, the Big Island, to the town of Hilo. We had booked into a B&B south of Hilo in an area known as Puna, the eastern side of the island and near the current lava flow.

Here's a look at Kauai as we took off from the Lihue airport on Tuesday. That's Nawiliwili Harbor with a docked cruise ship (large white spot in center). The weather was perfect. Kauai's largest mountain, Mt. Waialeale, just a bit over 5400 ft, is at the right (the plane's wing is pointing at it). And for you folks who haven't read my logs before, Mt. Waialeale is the wettest place on earth, with an average rainfall of 44 feet per year. That's 528 inches! Thus all the beautiful waterfalls for which Kauai is known.

On the Big Island, Mauna Kea is the tallest of all the Hawaiian mountains/volcanoes. There had been a light dusting of snow on it's top the night before, not unusual. This picture, taken through the airplane's spattered window, shows the clouds collecting around the mountain and how the island slopes to the sea, unlike Kauai which is much older and has eroded into many mountain ranges with valleys between.

After getting our rental car, and I imagine Lou was glad to have a seat to herself (the pick-up's bench seat isn't great for 3 all the time), we stopped in Hilo to look around. Downtown Hilo is like stepping 50 years back in time. Some of the most historical buildings in the state survive here, despite tsunamis.

Hilo is on the wet side of the island. The Big Island is the youngest. Kauai is the oldest. They are very different from one another. The chickens don't run loose here like they do on Kauai. --lol-- Here the volcano mountains slope to the ocean in long continuous lines. Kauai is eroded into many ranges and valleys.

We found our B&B about 30 minutes southeast of Hilo. It's at the shore, the last house on a dirt road, and is built on lava that flowed in the 1700's. The shoreline at this part of the island is rough lava rock cliffs. No beaches. The house sits atop a 50 foot cliff above the ocean. The waves crash against the rocky shore creating thunderous booms, occasionally sending spray up to the top edge. Even though the B&B had a lap pool, Marilou found it to be a little too cool to enjoy a swim. She tried.

Our hostess clued us in on where to find the local grocery store and some restaurants. Marilou and I were already familiar with Pesto's in Hilo from our previous trip 4 years ago. Marilou fixed dinner in our suite that first night. The next morning over Kona coffee (grown on this island) and breakfast we got to know our hostess more and another couple who were staying here, too. We discovered (though we knew this and were choosing to forget it) that our plan to sacrifice Lou (Marilou's mom) to the Goddess Pele at the volcano was amiss because Pele only accepts virgins. Rats! lol

So, instead, we went to the Botanical Gardens north of Hilo on Wednesday. Marilou and I had been there before and thought Lou would enjoy it. This garden is one of the best. At the garden, Marilou and I stopped to talk to a keeper who was tying orchids to palm trunks, when Marilou felt something crawling on her foot. She reached down to flick it away and to her horror saw that it was a very large centipede that was trying to get between her foot and her sandal. Centipedes here bite with a potent poison. Fortunately, the creature was just as startled at Marilou's flailing as she was at it's being on her and she managed to get it off of her without being bit. What I saw during the whole thing was Marilou suddenly dancing frantically and then a huge centipede twisting and turning in front of me on the path after she had knocked it off of her and it was trying to right itself just inches from my feet. And before I could react much more than be surprised, it did right itself and very quickly disappeared into the plant growth along side the walkway. It all happened so fast. The man on the ladder tending to the orchids shook his head and said flatly, "That was a big one. That would have really hurt". Well, yeah!

Here's some pictures from the garden, below & right.

After the jolt at the garden (Marilou may never be the same), we drove back to our accommodations and rested for an hour or so and then had dinner at Pesto's in Hilo.

On Thursday, we headed for the black sand beach south of Volcanoes Park with the plan of stopping at the volcano area as we drove north again. At the black sand beach the sea turtles were lounging on the sand. I saw three different turtles. The sand really is black and it sparkles in the sunlight. It also gets hot. Slippers are good.

Then we drove back north, up the side of Kilauea, the active volcano, to see it's giant caldera in Volcanoes National Park. At the caldera the landscape is very barren and steam vents smoke all around. In all this bleakness, some plants manage to survive. Native Hawaiians still perform ceremonies at the edge of the caldera and make offerings to the Goddess Pele. There are also many smaller craters and cones in the park. Most have blown sometime in the past 150 years, with Kilauea having blown last in 1983 and is still to this day flowing to the sea. It flows under older lava fields through tubes that empty the hot stuff right into the ocean. Seventy acres have been added to the Big Island in the last two decades.

Thursday evening, we stopped in the small town of Pahoa for dinner. A Tai restaurant had been recommended there. The town is like an old American western town with board sidewalks on either side of a central road in front of the wooden faced stores.

Each night we've hit the sack before 10:00p. The weather had been wonderful the two days of our tourist activities, as our pictures display.

By the last morning at our B&B, we had made good friends with our hostess. So, on Friday, there were somewhat long goodbyes at our leaving. It was raining a light steady drizzle. Pele cried for our departure. The flight back to Honolulu and then to Lihue was a good one. I love little airports. And it was nice to be arriving on Kauai earlier in the day rather than the usual dusk arrival we make when we come from Atlanta.

Saturday, we let Lou rest, though she was up before Marilou and I. We didn't make her go anywhere, until dinner time. --grin-- Before dinner, Marilou and I, mostly Marilou, put up some of the Christmas lights on the house. Steve came by with a Century Plant that needed a home. We found a spot for it in the front yard. Lou wrapped gifts last night, so there are some presents under the tree now. I need to go shopping.

Hope you are well,

Becky, Marilou, & Lou

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Tuesday, January 11, 2005

We had a very nice Christmas. It's amazing how Santa Claus can find folks who are at new locations. I'm very happy he has that wonderful ability. In the evening of Christmas day, we all went to a Luau at Kilohana, an old plantation that's one of the largest on the island. The large family house is now a restaurant called Gaylord's and has many shops selling fine Kauaian items. Twice a week, Kilohana has a public luau. In ancient times, luaus were held only by the royal family and for special occasions. A pig would be roasted in a covered pit and much happiness would be shared by all. Kilohana roasts the pig in the traditional way and has many other hawaiian dishes also. They put on a show that is part native hula, part hollywood musical, partly poking fun at the whole affair. A good time is had. And good food! This was MK's and mine third time there, though being on Christmas day this time was extra special. The owner and choreographer of the production did her once a year dance by herself. She was a treat, performing a very sweet hula that expressed her thankfulness and reverence for the day. The hula, as you may know, is as much about what the hands are saying as anything else.

Before the meal was served and the show started, we took the wagon ride around part of the plantation. The driver tells of the history of the place and about the Clydesdales that are pulling the wagon. These great horses are in their early twenties and still going strong. They wore bells in honor of the special occasion. The driver has spent the past 18 years taking care of these animals. The first foal (on Kauai) from another pair of Clydesdales at the plantation was born this past summer. Also, two new adult Clydesdales were FedExed in this past summer, literally. Federal Express flew them here from the mainland with great fanfare as a marketing ploy. A discount was given to Kilohana for the publicity FedEx garnered from the event.

Now, that may have been more than you care to know about the Clydesdales of Kilohana. As for myself, I come from a horse-loving family and find this kind of thing interesting. You'll just have to bare with me.

Some more holiday pictures.

(D&D, we know our house decorations are no where near as pretty as yours! So, don't even start.) --grin--

As I've mentioned before, it has been very rainy this year and it hasn't slowed down for us or the holidays. This is good for the watertable. For the past 4 years that we've been coming to Kauai, there has been talk of a drought going on, so this extra rain is really needed to get things in balance again. Though it IS a stretch to imagine what a drought looks like on the island that has the wettest area on earth. I guess it's all relative. And so we enjoy the rain, for even the rain is somehow more beautiful here on Kauai. Really.

Here's some pictures (by Lou) from the "end of the road", at Ke'e Beach Park, perhaps ten miles west of Princeville. There had been reports of 40+ foot waves for several days before this, much bigger than when Lou took this shot. The north Na Pali Coast begins here. It is too rough for roads to be built and is now all protected land. About two thirds of Kauai is protected land.

Tuesday after Christmas, the weather gave us a wonderful sunny break for the reservation we'd made to take a tour through Na 'Aina Kai Botanical Gardens, which is fairly close to our house on the northshore. Marilou and I had been through the gardens last year, too.

Here's some pics from the garden. The koi were coming up out of the water to get the food from Marilou's hand.

During the week before New Year's, Lou began to get very homesick and wanted to go home early. So, we moved her flight home up about 10 days and she left on January 2nd. Before she left we saw the new year come in, quietly at home, after having a real candlelight dinner at Dolphins Restaurant --- the power went down for about 30 minutes as we finished our meal due to, I'm guessing, the large amounts of rain. When we got back home we had hoped to see, from the comfort of our porch, the fireworks Hanalei shoots from the harbor. The rain had other ideas and wouldn't let up that night. There were no fireworks, except what folks in the neighborhood were shooting. The next day it continued to rain and we saw in the newspaper pictures of streets in Kapa'a with water to the curb top.

After that particularly rainy new year's night, there were many waterfalls on the mountains the next day. Perhaps you can see some of them in this picture. I can count six, granted I know where to look. Actually there are many more.

And the big waterfall (center) that flows everyday is really roaring in this pic.

Sunday, the day we took Lou to the airport, the sun came out, which was a very welcomed break from the clouds. On the way to Lihue, we stopped at the lighthouse to show Lou the view. The lighthouse is on the northern most point of the island. There were a couple of humpback whales about 300 yards out, jumping and blowing. Some of the Laysan Albatross that winter here were taking off down the slope next to the lighthouse to go out for their noon fishing. They have to get a running start and use the grassy hill for take-offs. Then they have to negotiate a really goofy looking landing back onto the grass using the wind just right. While in the air, they can soar effortlessly for hours without much more than a few wing beats. They nest in the same area under Australian Ironwood Pines that grow on top of the hill. There were also Red-footed Boobys, Newell Shearwaters, and Great Frigatebirds flying and roosting. And of course, a pair of Nenes (naa-naa, small geese) were sleeping near the lighthouse. The Nene is Hawaii's state bird. Locals say the Helicopter is the state bird. There are no gulls in Hawaii, at all.

Here's a picture looking west from the the lighthouse. The red dot marks the approximate location of our house. The mountains are the ones we see up close and personal from our porch. You can see in this shot that the mountains can have clouds on them and the rest of the area be sunny. The mountains create these clouds. That's why the big mountain in the center of the island is the wettest spot on earth. It grabs the moisture as the air passes by and convinces it to rain, often.

We also stopped at some nice falls just off the main road as we took Lou to catch her flight. With the amounts of rain the last few days, the falls are all gushing.

After seeing Lou off at the airport, Marilou and I drove on south to the Kauai Coffee Plantation to stock up on coffee. Kauai coffee is very good, though not as well known as the Big Island's Kona coffee.

This past week we've been painting the master bedroom with new colors. When we bought this house it's entire interior was painted a light mint green color. While it's a nice restful color, we want to change it, at least in places. So, we're starting with the upstairs bedroom. Of course, when there is a beautiful day, we HAVE TO go to the beach, consequently the painting is slow.

Here's an incredible sunrise picture taken by Lou.

And a pic I took of our neighbor's Cook Pines in a sunset, as seen from our porch.

Here's the Hanalei River valley. This (below) is seven photos I've stitched into one. If you walk to the other side of our street, this is what you see, only you'd be looking from that small hill at the left of this view and the ocean would be seen to the right. The square patches of water and green in the flat valley are taro fields. Water is flooded into the fields as a weed deterrent. This is the largest area in all of Hawaii where taro is still grown. Taro is the ancient staple food of Hawaiians. Poi is made from it's potato-like root. The leaf is also eaten. All together the taro plant offers a very balanced nutritional source. I've tasted poi several times. While it doesn't have much of a taste at all, I can see that one's taste could be cultivated for it. I've not had an opportunity to try the leaf. And I understand that the root is sometimes fixed in ways other than poi. I've not tried that either.

Hope you are well and having a great new year.

Becky & Marilou

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Tuesday, February 8, 2005

Time is ticking down to our departure. It's something we don't like. And to appease our drooping feelings, we've already bought our tickets back to the island -- for June. A future we can live into.

Our bedroom has a new color and we like it. It's surprising how color affects other color. The ceilings in the upstairs of the house are exposed beam with tongue & grove boards which have a white-wash on the natural wood and we've not liked that finish ... until now. The chocolate milk color that's now on the bedroom walls brings out the tan of the ceiling wood, instead of the white, which we are liking much better.

On one of the walls in the bedroom there are three, count 'em, three doors. This is a decorating and furniture arranging nightmare. I got the brilliant idea (if I do say so myself) of painting faux shoji screens on the wall between the doors, since we're going with a Japanese inspiration in the room. Marilou has carried this idea to new heights. She, along with her new compound miter extending saw, has cut wood strips instead of us taping and painting all those shoji frame lines. (We've always wanted one of those saws anyway. lol) Now the faux shoji screen effect isn't as faux. It's turned out really nice. (And I HAD to get one of those newfangled laser level and stud finder thingys to help with the job of putting up all those little pieces of wood! Of course.)

We've ordered a nice chair and ottoman for the bedroom. One that will be comfortable in which to sit and read. It comes from the mainland which means it'll take at least sixteen weeks to get here. We still need to get new bedside lamps and other odds and ends for the room. It's getting there though.

Marilou and the new saw. Watch out, Jamie ...

It has continued to rain much of the time since my last "travelog". So, when the sunny days come, it is a real pleasure. Sunday, Jan 6th, was one of those days. The morning sky had not a real cloud. As we sat on the porch drinking our coffee, tiny wisps of want-a-be clouds would waft off of the mountain tops and then disappear before they could go 100 yards. A glorious day to go to the beach and that's what we did. At our favorite, Kalihiwai (ka-lee-hee-why) Beach, the waves were just right for a little body surfing practice.

Each day since Sunday has been beautiful. The workmen have made real progress on the outdoor shower.

Monday, 7th, the previous owner of our place here, Hal Williams (no relation), dropped in to say hello. We had not had the pleasure of meeting him when we closed on the deal in January of '04. (Yes, it's been a year!) He's a movie and TV actor. He was on his way from California to the Pro Bowl in Honolulu and stopped in Kauai to visit friends. We are very impressed by his easy going way. He seems to be very nice. I asked him about his latest acting endeavor and he said it's a movie called Guess Who, a loose take off on the movie Guess Who's Coming To Dinner. So, we'll watch for it's release in the near future.

I finished this oil painting last week. It's of Polihale Beach, the end of the southwestern accessible-by-road part of the island. From this point on it's the Na Pali Coast and very rugged as you can see in the background the beginning of the cliffs. The sandy textured and colored formations in the foreground are limestone deposits which are hard enough to walk on. The water washes sand over this area and forms these sculpted shapes. The painting is 30x40 inches.

We leave the island tomorrow, the 9th. As usual, it's difficult to leave, especially since the weather has been so wonderful the past few days. And as usual, we will be glad to see our kitties, friends, and family. Plus, I've got a mural to finish at Donnie and Denese's.

Hope all of you are well.

Becky & Marilou