Hawaii 2010
So here we are in Kauai. Our traveling yesterday went very smoothly: all planes were punctual, there was no real turbulence, our luggage arrived as expected, and Shannon's dad easily found us at the (relatively tiny) Lihue airport.
We saw Mary briefly last night, but she is now on her way to Taiwan. (Is she there yet? I don't know. She had to make a number of different connecting flights, and it was going to take some godawful number of hours.) So today it was just Shannon, his dad, and me.
Last night I had terrible dreams about Cobweb. In my dreams she was very very sick. So I emailed Ilah this morning and asked if she's okay, but I'm sure everything is fine.
This morning Shannon's dad drove to Lihue Airport again (for the third time in 24 hours, since he took Mary there to go to Taiwan the morning after we arrived), because Mary had packed 4 bottles of Pond's cold cream in her carry-on bag, and the airport nazis wouldn't let her take it on the plane because she might use it to blow everyone out of the sky. So she left it at the Hawaiian Airlines desk, and Gary went and picked it up.
Then we went to a beach near Lihue, which required wading through a stream that came almost up to my knees. I was wearing jeans, so I got pretty wet. Then Shannon and his dad swam for an hour or so, while I saw on the beach and listened to Midnight's Children. It was very nice, because I could still hear the waves crashing, and there were some beautiful green mountains off to our right, and it was all very relaxing. Also, Shannon's dad hasn't shown any surprise or dismay over the fact that I don't plan to go in the ocean on this trip. He always makes me feel comfortable. It's great to see him again.
Then we went out to lunch at a burger joint Shannon and I had patronized on our first trip to Kauai (2001?), and lunch was excellent. I had a teriyaki mahi-mahi "burger" and bottomless lemonade, and shared my fries with Shannon (as usual). It was very nice to re-visit someplace we went on our first visit, and our waiter was very attentive. He even tried to take my plate away while Shannon was still finishing my fries. I guess he saw me push away the plate and figured I was done.
Shannon's dad sings as often as Shannon does! It makes for a magical musical vacationing experience. Right now, Shannon's dad is singing "Day-O" in the next room. I think he's trying to get Shannon's iPhone to recognize and identify it. Shannon loves his "magic box."
I seem to have brought too few shirts, which is a first for me. I guess I was careless when I was packing. I also brought a shirt that is a size 2X, and I haven't worn that size in years. Oops! I was just throwing in tank tops and other summery shirts, and didn't check. Luckily, we plan to go to our favorite t-shirt shop (located near Koloa), where they sell these lovely stonewashed-looking shirts, and buy ourselves our customary shirts. Every time we've gone to Hawaii, we've bought shirts at this same store, and they are always favorites to wear year-round.
Shannon's dad is decidedly anti-Obama. Very conservative. We try not to talk politics with him, but sometimes he doesn't cooperate. I try not to get involved.
Shannon's dad keeps offering us macadamia truffles and chocolate chip cookies. I have no will power. They are very tasty. Shannon and his dad don't like nuts in their sweets, but they somehow manage to overcome their revulsion and snack on the truffles anyway.
We don't really have plans for our time here. Shannon will probably want to swim each day, which is fine with me. I mostly just look forward to spending time with his dad and enjoying the beauty of the island.
We saw Mary briefly last night, but she is now on her way to Taiwan. (Is she there yet? I don't know. She had to make a number of different connecting flights, and it was going to take some godawful number of hours.) So today it was just Shannon, his dad, and me.
Last night I had terrible dreams about Cobweb. In my dreams she was very very sick. So I emailed Ilah this morning and asked if she's okay, but I'm sure everything is fine.
This morning Shannon's dad drove to Lihue Airport again (for the third time in 24 hours, since he took Mary there to go to Taiwan the morning after we arrived), because Mary had packed 4 bottles of Pond's cold cream in her carry-on bag, and the airport nazis wouldn't let her take it on the plane because she might use it to blow everyone out of the sky. So she left it at the Hawaiian Airlines desk, and Gary went and picked it up.
Then we went to a beach near Lihue, which required wading through a stream that came almost up to my knees. I was wearing jeans, so I got pretty wet. Then Shannon and his dad swam for an hour or so, while I saw on the beach and listened to Midnight's Children. It was very nice, because I could still hear the waves crashing, and there were some beautiful green mountains off to our right, and it was all very relaxing. Also, Shannon's dad hasn't shown any surprise or dismay over the fact that I don't plan to go in the ocean on this trip. He always makes me feel comfortable. It's great to see him again.
Then we went out to lunch at a burger joint Shannon and I had patronized on our first trip to Kauai (2001?), and lunch was excellent. I had a teriyaki mahi-mahi "burger" and bottomless lemonade, and shared my fries with Shannon (as usual). It was very nice to re-visit someplace we went on our first visit, and our waiter was very attentive. He even tried to take my plate away while Shannon was still finishing my fries. I guess he saw me push away the plate and figured I was done.
Shannon's dad sings as often as Shannon does! It makes for a magical musical vacationing experience. Right now, Shannon's dad is singing "Day-O" in the next room. I think he's trying to get Shannon's iPhone to recognize and identify it. Shannon loves his "magic box."
I seem to have brought too few shirts, which is a first for me. I guess I was careless when I was packing. I also brought a shirt that is a size 2X, and I haven't worn that size in years. Oops! I was just throwing in tank tops and other summery shirts, and didn't check. Luckily, we plan to go to our favorite t-shirt shop (located near Koloa), where they sell these lovely stonewashed-looking shirts, and buy ourselves our customary shirts. Every time we've gone to Hawaii, we've bought shirts at this same store, and they are always favorites to wear year-round.
Shannon's dad is decidedly anti-Obama. Very conservative. We try not to talk politics with him, but sometimes he doesn't cooperate. I try not to get involved.
Shannon's dad keeps offering us macadamia truffles and chocolate chip cookies. I have no will power. They are very tasty. Shannon and his dad don't like nuts in their sweets, but they somehow manage to overcome their revulsion and snack on the truffles anyway.
We don't really have plans for our time here. Shannon will probably want to swim each day, which is fine with me. I mostly just look forward to spending time with his dad and enjoying the beauty of the island.