Hi, everyone!
In Hawaii, the crescent moon is a smile! At home, the crescent is more like a “c”. Grandpa says the difference is we’re closer to the equator here.
Last Wednesday, when Grandma and I went to beach in the morning, there were two monk seals there! One was on the island and one around the corner from the main part of the beach. The monk seal volunteers were my friends from last year! They explained how the seal on the beach got an ID tag bleached onto her fur.
For lunch, we had Spam musubi from Dim ‘N’ Den Sum. Hawaiians are especially fond of Spam, and musubi is a Japanese fusion preparation with rice and nori. While Grandpa was picking up lunch, Grandma and I went to Sueoka’s to buy a lei for Aunt Kara. Arriving on Valentine’s Day seemed like a good double excuse for getting one for her! After lunch, we went to the culinary market at Kukui’ula to get a special sweet pineapple. There was a long line, even at the very start of the market! We worried whether we would have to leave to go to the airport before we got to the head of the line, but we made it!
It seemed to take a long time for the passengers to get off the plane Uncle Steven’s family was on. Uncle Steven said they had to wait for a gate to be free because they arrived early. Then it took even longer for everybody’s bags to appear. We finally got back to the resort and had pizza for dinner. It didn’t take long for James and Thomas to settle down with electronics!
Thursday morning, Grandma and I took Thomas for a walk to the beach. On the way, we saw a tree trimmer climbing a palm tree with special climbing shoes that gripped the trunk. There were two sea turtles on the beach, then we walked over to visit the monk seals.
Grandma wanted to look for nenes, so we walked away from the beach toward the recycling center. Thomas found a nut that he offered to a hen, but she wasn’t interested. We didn’t see the nenes, but Thomas found a coconut. He wanted to open it to drink the coconut water, but he didn’t have any sharp tools.
After lunch, Thomas found a YouTube video on how to open a coconut without tools. He followed the instructions. It took a long time, but he got the coconut open! When he tasted the water inside, he decided he didn’t like it.
We got lunch from Dim ‘N’ Den Sum again, and apple bananas from the Thai fruit stand. In between, I helped Grandma make sticky buns for breakfast. We didn’t have a rolling pin here, so Grandma wrapped up a piece of driftwood to use. She decided it was easier to use an empty beer bottle!
When we went to the beach in the afternoon, the sea turtles were already coming in for the night! One of the two monk seals on the beach was napping a little too close to the surf. When he got a wave in the face, he moved higher up the beach, turned around and buried his face in the sand! I found a sand castle before the waves washed it away!
Friday morning was a big adventure for Uncle Steven’s family! After breakfast, they went for a family surfing lesson! Grandma and I walked along the beach to meet them and got there just as they were taking their surfboards to the beach.
All the surfboards were too big for me, so Grandma and I watched from shore. First, their instructor talked to them on the beach. Then they headed for the water and out to the waves!
The instructor was very careful to pick just the right kind of waves for beginners — big enough to move the board, but not too strong. James got the first turn and stood up right away! Everybody got up at least once, but Thomas was the only one to ride a wave all the way to shore and walk off the board.
Friday was sunny but cool! Thomas got cold waiting for waves and came in before his lesson time was up. James came in right after him. Thomas dug a hole in the sand deep enough to bury his leg!
Uncle Steven and Aunt Kara caught some more waves. As they tried to refine their technique, they had some wipeouts!
Thomas was still trying to warm up after lunch, but by dinner time everybody was ready to celebrate. James and Thomas had fancy juice drinks with their dinners at Brennecke’s. We all watched sunset from our corner table.
Even though he didn’t like the taste of coconut water, Thomas wanted to open another coconut! He couldn’t find one lying around at the resort, so we went to the Saturday market to get one. There were more vendors there this week than last. Midnight Bear bread and the sweet pineapple sellers each had long lines at their stands.
Thomas showed me how he gets a coconut open. First, he stomps on the outer husk to break it up. Then he pulls the fibers of the husk off the inner shell bit by bit. That takes a long time!
While Thomas was working on his coconut, I took a short nap in the sun with James. Then Grandma and I walked along the Koloa bypass road beyond the Thai fruit market to see the flock of nenes we’d notice driving past. There were 13 nenes there, very close to the road!
When Grandma and I got back from our walk, Thomas had the inner shell of the coconut exposed! When he finished pulling the rest of the husk off, he went to his favorite bashing spot to hit the coconut with a rock. After a while, the shell split around the middle. Thomas was able to pry the coconut open!
Grandma decided she’d better find a YouTube video to show her an easier way to get the coconut meat out of the shell. Turns out, steaming the shell loosens the coconut meat. Thomas found another coconut today, so we’re going to have a lot of coconut meat to use up!
Love,
Lion-san
Do you also eat papaya while you are in Hawaii. I learned to eat papaya when we were in Hawaii and now buy it right here in New Paltz. I recently bought a really huge papaya, biggest I have ever seen.
Impressive!!!Looks like a wonderful trip! Meanwhile, we are having perfect winter weather!
Grandma