Hawaii Day #2

Kauai surprisingly isn't as hospitable as it was on our other two visits. Whereas, I can remember being distinctively hot on other visits, particularly on our first time here, when we'd sometimes walk a couple of miles to the nearby town of Koloa, this time around, things are slightly chill, with the temperature running about 60-75.

We've also discovered that the surf on all the beaches is very heavy, whereas the south side of the island is usually very nice in winter.

Nevertheless, it's Hawaii.

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Yesterday was about the same as Wednesday, really marking this as one of our most mellow vacations ever, I think because we're very familiar with the area already, having spent two previous vacations here.

We went out to Spouting Horn in the morning, to watch the waves come in amidst the rocks, setting off plumes of water as they push up through a particular hole in the rock. We also spotted a "real" spout far, far out to sea, since it's whale season (but it disappeared before we could really see much more).

In the afternoon we went out to Lydgate to snorkel. Lydgate is a beach on the east side of the island that's desirable because it's got a cove that's protected by a circle of rocks. Since Kimberly had problems on Poipu on Wednesday, it seemed like a good place to swim next.

It's a bit less like swimming in the ocean, and more like swimming in an aquarium or a lagoon, but nevertheless, it was nice. Kimberly was able to snorkel there without panicking, and hopefully got her feet under her for the sport again. I think we actually saw more fish at Lydgate than at Poipu, but there's not a real opportunity to swim per se. Nonetheless, it was enjoyable.

In the evening, after Mary got home from work, we played Mah Jongg. I hadn't played in twenty years, since I was in High School. Remarkably, Mary said that she hadn't played in a similar amount of time either. It was enjoyable for a bit, but (as with many Rummys), I'm not convinced it has a deep amount of strategy, and so after a while you're just drawing and drawing. Mary suggested that at the end you should be setting yourself up to have many draws that win, and that's certainly the case, but if it's really possibly with the random draws, I'm not sure how.

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Cat reports suggest that they continue to be bored, just lazing around on the couches while we're gone. I think they're hatching evil plans for what to do to us upon our return. But, it's good to know that Lucy hasn't totally freaked out.

Amusing Kauaisms & Hawaii Day #3

Kauaism #1:

On our first day in Kauai, we stopped by Koloa to pick up some lunch, which we brought over to some nearby picnic tables to eat. There were tons of chickens circling the table, hoping for handouts, plus two feral cats.

I've never seen cats & birds interacting so closely, but so largely oblivious to each other. When food was dropped (or, really, thrown), the cats would race the birds for it. Contrariwise, when someone got too near a cat, it would go bounding off, sometimes knocking a chicken over on its way. The chicken would cluck angrily, but there was no response beyond that.

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Kauaism #2:

Yesterday, we picked up some bananas from a fruit stand down near my dad's house. I say fruit stand, but it's probably not what you'd expect. It was a little caged area where you walked inside, picked up the fruit you wanted, looked at the price written on it, then dropped the appropriate amount of money in the lockbox to the side.

(We talked about how long it might have been since there was just a basket for money, instead of a lockbox. I'd suspect it's been a while.)

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Anyway, today.

We toured around a bit in the morning. My dad showed us a local coffee plantation, and we went on a tour of its grounds, which was mainly set up to show you how coffee is produced. We also saw another of the towns to the west, which was Ele Ele.

In the afternoon, we went to Lawai Beach, which I'd been wanting to. Kimberly was able to get out, and we watched the fish for a bit. But unfortunately she got some water in her snorkel after a bit, then panicked.

I had to drag her back into shore, which was a bit of a trial. I remembered my lessons on how to do so, though they were probably 25 years ago. You're supposed to float them on their back, and then do a one-handed breaststroke in. It should be pretty easy for a strong swimmer, especially in the buoyant salt water. However, it turns out to be a lot harder with a live, panicking person. In any case, I got her in, but unfortunately she wasn't able to snorkel more.

My dad and I swam around for a bit, looking at fish, and also for the watershoe that Kimberly had lost in the water (which was never discovered). The fish were great, definitely better (both more colorful and more plentiful) than at any of the other beaches. I saw three types of butterfly fish, some entirely huge parrotfish, a few types of wrasses, and a few cool all-black fish which I haven't been able to identify.

The rest of the day has been pretty relaxed. Yet another tasty-home-cooked dinner. Another game of Mah Jongg. We also played some Lost Cities earlier in the day.

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I've been healthy enough while here. I've remained congested, but it hasn't been enough to be more than the most minor nuisance. Unfortunately this evening a dry cough came up that's been driving me crazy. Hopefully it'll be mostly faded by tomorrow.