Hi, everyone!
There was still rain on the horizon at sunset last Tuesday, but at least it wasn’t raining on us! The surf had calmed down a little and there was a big group of boogie boarders catching waves at Brennecke’s Beach. Moose-san and I were trying to figure out how they decided which wave to ride.
On Wednesday, we finally had another sunny day! We all walked to the beach to say hello to one of our monk seal friends. Then, after lunch, we all went to visit Plantation Gardens. Moose-san and I liked the koi pond and all the orchid plants!
There are other tropical flowers at Plantation Gardens, too! Most bromeliads have water in the center, but Moose-san found one he could sit on without getting his tail wet! Then we made friends with a heliconia. We haven’t seen many of them on this trip, except in bouquets at the farmers markets!
The part of Plantation Gardens we like best is Moir Garden. Mrs. Moir was the wife of a sugar plantation foreman. She planted a garden full of cactus! Some of our cactus friends from our visits in previous years had been cut back and the garden looked a little sad. Maybe cacti don’t like so much rainy weather! We did make friends with an agave, and our prickly pear cactus friend was blooming. When we were done visiting the gardens, we went across the road to Grandma’s favorite souvenir shop to buy Christmas ornaments for Bill and Karin and James and Thomas. Moose-san and I got to pick them out!
When we had visited Poipu Beach on Wednesday morning, we saw a monk seal, but no whales or sea turtles. After our trip to Plantation Gardens, we all walked to the turtle cove in Keoneloa Bay (next to Shipwreck Beach) on the greenway path. We saw some whale spouts and fins, as well as some turtles swimming just outside the cove. Moose-san and I made friends with this Pacific golden plover. Somebody told us that these birds fly non-stop from Alaska to Hawaii every winter. That’s a very long flight! The Wednesday sunset at Brennecke’s beach had low clouds on the horizon, but the rest of the sky was clear. Guess what? We saw more whales while we were waiting for the sun to set!
Thursday was our last full day on Kauai, and it was sunny again! When we walked to the beach to look for monk seals, we saw that the flooded pond on the resort lawn had dried up completely. There was only one of our monk seal friends on the beach. He is only two years old! Moose-san and I think he is big for his age!
Grandpa brought us lunch on Thursday from a noodle food truck. The portions were yummy and very generous! Grandma suggested we all walk to the turtle cove again for exercise. At the end of the greenway path, Moose-san and I made friends with this blooming royal palm tree. When we got to the turtle cove, it was very windy! Moose-san and I had to shelter under a rock ledge to avoid being blown away! We did see more sea turtles, and Grandpa saw a whale jump completely out of the water!
Our last sunset, on Thursday, was completely clear. Grandma let Moose-san and me stay up late so we could go to Keoki’s Paradise for the last dinner on Kauai for this trip. We were seated at a table right next to the musician and hula dancer! We shared a single piece of Keoki’s famous hula pie for dessert. Moose-san and I helped cut it into pieces!
Friday morning it was time to pack up and leave Poipu Kai resort. There was some time to fill between checkout and our flight departure. First, we stopped at a t-shirt store in Old Koloa so Grandma could buy some new t-shirts. Then we drove into Lihue and took a side trip to Menehune fish pond. The local legend is that the wall separating this pond from the adjoining river was built in a single night by the menehune (Hawaiian leprechauns). Now the wall is overgrown with mangrove plants. That’s good for the young fish, because they can hide in the mangrove roots until they get big. Our last stop, before the airport, was Kauai Beer Company. Joe-san and Grandpa had a last chance to drink a local beer they especially like, and everybody had salad and taro fries. The fries were yummy!
Our flight from Lihue was headed to Los Angeles. Moose-san and I could see how far the flaps were extended for takeoff! Grandpa explained that the runway at Lihue is relatively short, so big planes need all the lift they can get to take off! Right after takeoff, we could see Nawiliwili harbor and the big ocean liner that was docked there. There was a lot of cloud cover, but we did see Mount Haleakala poking out when we flew past Maui. By the time we got to Los Angeles it was dark and past my bedtime! Moose-san and I slept on the overnight flight to Chicago.
We got to Chicago just after a big snowstorm! When we changed terminals to board the plane to Rochester, Moose-san and I found a new play area! The Rochester plane arrived late because the snowstorm had moved on to Rochester. Then, after we got on, we had to wait some more because the plane needed to be deiced before it could take off again! The flight attendant gave us two snacks –pretzels and a stroopwaffel — to make up for the delay. When we did take off, there was nothing but clouds to see. We were on final approach over the Genesee River before we could see anything on the ground! We had a safe landing and all our luggage made it, too!
Today, the snow piles on our deck are shrinking. I asked Grandma if we needed to dig out Grandpa’s car again! She said we’ll have warm enough weather the next few days to melt that snow without us having to do anything about it. Later today, when it’s already tomorrow in Tokyo, Uncle David’s family will be leaving Japan for their new home in Ottawa, Ontario. I’m looking forward to adventures visiting them there!
Love,
Lion-san
Please tell me what hula pie is. I never heard of it. Great Aunt Betsy
Great Aunt Betsy, Hula Pie is the specialty dessert for all TS restaurants in Hawaii (mostly Duke’s restaurants, but also Keoki’s Paradise). It’s a chocolate cookie pie crust piled high with vanilla macadamia nut ice cream, coated with fudge sauce, spritzed with whipped cream, then sprinkled with more macadamia nuts. Here’s the website that describes how to eat it: http://www.dukeskauai.com/hula-pie
We had a good time with you, Grandma and Grandpa. We liked seeing the gardens again, the monk seals, turtles and the sighting of whales. The meals were great and the hula pie was too. I got my stitches out today so all I have to do is make the skin look wetter. I bet you are looking forward to visiting David and his family. I’m glad they have moved closer.