Mama Said

I know I caught this bug on the bus from the cruise ship to the airport.   A lady had that cough, you know the one that sounds all wet.  And then on our plane from Honolulu to Kona, there was another person with a bad-sounding cough.  Three days later, that disgusting cough blossomed in me.  I fought it.  I drank water, took Ibuprophen, and greased myself with Vicks yet I pushed on.  We snorkeled.  We walked. We drove around the island.  I tried to ignore being ill.  But on the first day in Hilo, I threw in the towel.  I felt feverish and I conceded.  I could not kick it alone.  A walk-in clinic checked me in.  An hour later, I had antibiotics.

After the spectacular volcanoes, we moved to Kauai, the Garden Isle.  Shea was to meet us here.  I could not wait, but what to do?  I was still sick; the weather was rainy and Stan had the beginnings of the cough.  Meanwhile, our accommodations in Kaui were to be in Princeville on the North shore of Lihue.  We received welcome notices from the resort saying something like . . . we have lovely accommodations outfitted with ceiling fans but our special climate does not require air conditioning.  What??  In this humidity and warm temps?  I am sick and I am accustomed to sleeping at 68 degrees and there’s no air conditioning?  Airbnb agreed that the ad for our resort apartment included air conditioning and refunded our money.  Ok, but then we had no place to stay for the night.  Yikes, we are in Hawaii without a reservation—you certainly don’t want to find yourself here with no reservation!  We and Airbnb spent hours trying to find a new 6-day reservation and at 7 pm we gave up and luckily found a tiny beachy hotel with good air conditioning for just the night.

We caught Shea early the next morning at the airport just before she boarded her 5-hour flight to Lihue to join us and told her, “We are sick and you are likely to get it if you come  Plus we have no place to stay and weather forecasts call for rain every day for the next week.”    She canceled her trip   It was a a heartbreaking moment.

We found a new resort with air conditioning for the next six nights.  We were scheduled to stay at a lovely resort on the North Shore until we found it was au natural. Our next resort is not only much nicer but it is on the South Shore – soon we will have seen the entire island of Kauai simply by moving from place to place.  The good news is that Stan’s cold never developed into a serious case; the bad news is that we asked Shea not to come.  And the weather was still rainy.

Surprise, surprise.  Shea gave us a couple of days to let our colds get better then picked up a work assignment from Oakland to Lihue, Kauai!  She arrived on Saturday at about 1 pm and we spent the afternoon and dinner together.  It was a gift! A heavenly gift and we are so thankful for our visit!  God had a hand in this.  Shea has lots of seniority so she can pick and choose her work trips but those that include Lihue are rare.  Some angel out there gave up their route and Shea picked it up. 

The three of us get on so easily; so naturally.  When we three are together, it is always a party! Stan and I adore that girl!  We power-chatted, cried a little, and laughed and laughed. The sun came out brilliantly that afternoon.  Stan drove us to all the beautiful sights near Princeville where we saw huge green rugged mountains with waterfalls here and there, the Maniniholo Cave (cavern), and those famous roosters strutting around- make no mistake, feral roosters and hens, and chicks are everywhere in Kauai and Oahu. There was one just outside baggage claim at Lihue. We took photos. Little did we know we’d see so many, many more!

What a day!  What a visit!  Now I can stop my pouting and display of a bad attitude and get on with being my happy self again!

Kauai is a paradise.  It is called the Garden Isle and it is easy to see why.  It is a spectacular place, and it is my favorite!  Rain is plentiful here but so is sunshine.  The island colors are like a pallet of lush green tints and shades; plants seem to grow right before your eyes!  The mountains are not rounded as they are on the other islands.  They are jagged and pointed and volcanic black with a blanket of beautiful green growth.  I dare to guess how many waterfalls are on this island, nearly every mountain has several.  Some waterfalls fall 800 feet of cascading water.  It is possible to hike to Kauai waterfalls but hikers are warned that trails are often muddy and steep.  On the trails, vines grow thickly over rocks and trees with variegated leaves the size of dinner plates, and new fern heads as big as saucers remind hikers that much of Hawaii is covered by native rainforest.   One short walk in the forest shows why this alluring island was chosen as the on-location site for the jungle scenes in Jurassic Park movies.  While the musky, humid air, damp earth, thick trees, vines, and undergrowth are fascinating and beautiful to observe, the jungle hints at a menacing quality.

Hawaii is the natural state for flowers, especially this time of year, the Frangipani trees, also called Plumeria, are in full bloom now and send a sweet fragrance when the air is still.   They are a favorite flower for making leis.  Every day the star-shaped flowers with five swirling petals drop from their trees.  As if a wedding flower girl has just walked by, the sturdy white or pink flowers carpet the ground below.  Ladies are often seen wearing these flowers tucked behind their ears.  Hibiscus thrives here as do Red Bottle Brush shrubs, Crown Flowers, Hawaiian Gardenias, and lots of types of lilies.  Nearly all rental accommodations here are hotels or apartments.   Airbnb apartments here are most often part of a Hilton, Wyndham, Marriott, etc., resort.  The accommodations are spacious and superb (when air-conditioned, of course) and the grounds are like living in a botanical garden.

Let’s talk about beaches.  When most of us picture a beach, we see a sandy beach with swaying palm trees but beaches come in many forms.  Here in Kauai and all of Hawaii, there is a variety of beaches.  In some rough and crusty black hardened lava lies all the way to the water.  Ouch, ouch, these beaches hurt bare feet.  Some of Hawaii’s beaches are black sand made from lava ground into granules by the elements.  These beaches scorch feet and make a mess on legs, towels, and beach shoes.  Some shores have no beach at all but are ocean-side places where wild, ferocious waves crash like bombs on boulders and cliffs sending tremendous two-story white sprays into the sky.  Some Hawaiian beaches arch around a bay and have golden sand granules twice or three times the size of sugary white sand on the beaches Gulf Coast of Florida.  Surfers always find the beaches with the best waves and no rocky shore. 

I’m in love with all oceans and their beaches.  Even though I think the beaches in Hawaii are wonderful, overall I think the Florida Panhandle beaches are among the world’s finest and prettiest.  But I’d be happy to live in any place that looks out on a beach, whether it is black, white, golden, or rocky, whether it is in Hawaii, Florida, Portugal, Spain . . anywhere.  The sea whispers my name.

Change of scenery, change of culture coming up!  Farewell and Mahalo Hawaii.  Next destination. . . . Tokyo!!