Hi everyone!
We never managed to connect with the goat cheese dairy, but Grandma figured out how to make Grandpa’s favorite product, lilikoi flavored goat cheese. She mixed Aunty Lilikoi syrup with the Costco goat cheese left over from making goat cheese biscuits! We had that as a snack spread on Midnight Bear bread the Saturday after Uncle Steven’s family left. It was yummy! Then we walked down to Brennecke’s beach to watch sunset.
On Sunday morning, I made a new friend during breakfast on the lanai! There was a tiny lizard that sat on the railing for a long time before it ran away! When Grandma and I walked down to the beach, I made a Sunday sea turtle friend and a Sunday monk seal friend. I could see the tracks where some of the other sea turtles had already left the beach. The monk seal was napping well west of the usual monk seal napping spot. Since that spot was vacant, I decided to get some sun there, myself!
Grandma really doesn’t like to throw out food, so she started figuring out how to use up the ingredients we had left over from feeding Uncle David’s family and Uncle Steven’s family. For Sunday dinner, we had a frittata that used up onion, red pepper and cilantro left from Uncle David’s salsa, along with the potatoes, goat cheese and mozzarella left from meals with Uncle Steven’s family. It was yummy! Then we watched sunset from our lanai.
On Monday morning, Grandpa came to the beach with Grandma and me to see who was there. We had our marine trifecta by 9:35 a.m.! There were one sea turtle and one monk seal on the beach, and we saw whale spouts and splashes, too!
After lunch, Grandma and I walked to Makahuena Point to look for more whales and turtles. We detoured to watch the surf coming under the natural bridge just west of the radar reflector. Then we saw whales spouting and splashing! We walked east to the turtle cove, then we took another detour so I could greet my lion statue friend from other visits.
On Tuesday I slept late! By the time we got to the beach, all the sea turtles had left, but we saw one in the surf at Brennecke’s beach. There were three monk seals on the beach! One was in the usual monk seal napping spot, and two others were a little bit to the west. They were taking up a lot of prime water access! Grandma and Grandpa and I spent some time watching for whales and we had another marine trifecta before 10 a.m. I made a new friend who was setting up to teach a haku making class in the park!
With only two more full days before we left, Grandma wanted to make sure she got everything done! We drove to Waimea to put in our order at Aunty Lilikoi. The clerk there remembers me every time I come! I picked out the items for Joe-san and Nancy-san, then Grandma and Grandpa chose enough other items to fill a mailing box. We watched another pretty sunset from our lanai!
On Wednesday, there were no sea turtles on the beach when we checked in the morning. There was a monk seal in the surf who swam over into the keiki pool section of the beach. Grandma wanted to snorkel and take underwater pictures of fish, so we stopped at the surf shop to rent snorkeling gear.
Grandpa came back to the beach with us to watch while Grandma snorkeled. She saw lots of fish! Grandma says next time she’ll bring water shoes, because trying to get across the rocky edge of the beach in swim fins didn’t work very well!
After lunch, Grandma and I went back down to the beach. There were two monk seals near the water just about where Grandma had been snorkeling! The NOAA workers were concerned about the number of monk seals who had been swimming around in the protected waters off the beach instead of simply napping on the sand. They didn’t think that was safe for either the seals or the swimmers. So even though monk seals are endangered and aren’t to be bothered when they’re on the beach, the workers decided these monk seals needed to be moved. First, the life guards asked all the snorkelers and swimmers to get out of the water. That included the families playing in the shallow water off the keiki beach. Then, the workers took big boards and slapped them on the sand to wake up the napping seals. The seals weren’t happy about that! The workers shoved the seals into the water with the boards, then slapped the boards against the water to direct the seals out through the reef opening. Once the seals were gone, everybody could get back in the water. I hope those seals will get the message to choose other places to swim!
There hadn’t been a sea turtle basking during the day on either Tuesday or Wednesday, and there weren’t any on Thursday, either. Since Wednesday was Ash Wednesday, Grandma wondered if the turtles had given up beach basking for Lent! Someone was building a big sand castle in the turtles’ usual sleep spot. I was happy to see that the monk seal on shore was back in the usual monk seal napping area, where he wouldn’t be disturbed.
There were two nearby attractions that we hadn’t visited yet this trip, the historical site and Moir Garden. After lunch, Grandma and I took a walk to see them. At the historical site between Brennecke’s restaurant and the road, I learned more about the ways the land was used and the posts erected at one corner of the site. They marked the position of the sun at sunrise and sunset at the winter and summer solstices. The direction to other Polynesian islands was marked at the base of each pole, so they worked like a navigational map!
When we got to the Plantation Gardens, the welcoming signs were gone! The resort restaurant building was empty and it looked like the gardens weren’t receiving a lot of attention. There were still some nice bromeliads and blooming orchids, but all the water features were dry.
The cactus in the Moir Garden don’t need much water, so my big cactus friends looked OK.
Grandma and I decided to walk back via the beach. It was a windy day with lots of surf! The area where Karin and Bill took their surfing lesson had bigger waves that would have made learning more difficult. At Poipu beach, a monk seal had just come onto the sand where the seals had been removed the day before! The waves had washed away the sand castle in the turtle resting area. When we went to Brennecke’s beach to watch sunset, it wasn’t as windy as during the afternoon.
Friday morning it was time to leave! Grandma used up the eggs, cheese and Portuguese sausage she’d bought to make our arrival supper for a breakfast omelet. We packed up and checked out of our resort unit. Our flight didn’t leave until the afternoon, so Grandma made a picnic lunch. Grandpa suggested we eat it at Lydgate Park. When we got there, it was raining! That reminded me of a departure day from an earlier trip with Joe-san and Nancy-san! We ate in the car, because the rain was blowing into the picnic shelters. The rain stopped just before we left. I saw a chicken egg when Grandma and I putting the picnic leftovers in the trash can!
Getting home took a long time! Grandpa dropped Grandma and me and the luggage off at the airport before returning the rental car. When we got on the first flight, from Lihue to Los Angeles, there was an empty seat for me in our row! I made sure to keep my seat belt fastened at all times!
It was dark by the time we arrived in Los Angeles. Grandma said it was time to dress for cold weather again and helped me put on my hoodie. The second flight, across the country to Newark New Jersey, started after my bedtime! The sun was rising just as we reached the east coast. We paralleled Manhattan Island and the Hudson River on our final approach into Newark. We had a long connection time in Newark before our final flight to Rochester, so we went to the United Club and had breakfast. When we got to Rochester, James’ Odyssey of the Mind team was competing at the regional level. Aunt Kara picked us up and took us home during their lunch break. The team went on to win third place in their division!
When we got home, there was a lot of unpacking to do. Grandpa picked up the mail and Grandma bought some food. Katie’s lion had graciously offered to sit in the front window while we were gone. I made sure to thank him for taking good care of my window and my blanket!
Love,
Lion-san