Hi, everyone!
After La Vache went home last week, Bill-kun and Karin-chan were supposed to come with their mommy and daddy on Sunday. But when we woke up Sunday morning, we got an e-mail that they wouldn’t be here until Tuesday! It was snowing in Tokyo, and that made the trains run slow, so they couldn’t get to the airport in time to catch their plane. They had to wait two days for the next plane that had room for them! Lots of other people missed their planes, too, so they had a hard time getting back home to wait.
Since we weren’t going to the airport, Grandma and Grandpa and I took a walk along the shore. We saw sea turtles swimming in the turtle pool and I made friends with a lion statue in front of a resort. Then we walked over to the beach and there was a sea turtle sleeping there! I was sorry La Vache didn’t get to see a turtle on the beach when she was here. I saw a sand castle and wanted Bill-kun and Karin-chan to come so we could build one together.
On Tuesday, I got ready to go to the airport to meet Bill-kun and Karin-chan. We had booster seats for them to use in the car and I had a lei to give Karin-chan. I was excited when I finally saw them arriving!
There was a little bit of sunshine, so we all went to the beach after lunch. I took the sand toys along, and we built a sand castle! Everybody helped! Karin-chan and her daddy made the towers and walls, then Bill-kun dug a canal. He tried to fill the canal with water, but it kept soaking into the sand! Guess what? There was another sea turtle on the beach!
Wednesday was cloudy, with a little rain in the morning. Bill-kun and Karin-chan’s daddy wanted to see Waimea Canyon, so we all got in the car to drive up the twisty road to the overlook. It wasn’t raining, but when we got there the canyon was filled with clouds and we couldn’t see very much! We decided to turn around without going to any of the other overlooks. When we were going to the car, we saw some goats grazing above the overlook parking lot. Later, we heard that the higher overlooks got 3 inches of rain that day! Because we didn’t stay very long at Waimea Canyon, we had time to have lunch at Puka Dogs! Bill-kun and Karin-chan chased chickens while their daddy and Grandpa waited in line to get them. Then we sat in the plaza to eat them. They were yummy! After lunch, Bill-kun and Karin-chan fed pieces of Puka Dog buns to the birds.
Wednesday was also the day that James and his parents and Joe-san and Nancy-san came! There was snow in Rochester and Arlington, but their planes made it to Hawaii on time. I said hello to James right away! Original Lion-san and I were happy to see Moose-san and James’ Lion-san, too! The whole family is together! Bill-kun and Karin-chan met James for the very first time. They introduced James to Original Lion-san and they gave James a sushi bath toy. James had a lot of fun playing with his cousins! I helped James learn how to slice up his sushi maki rolls with his play knife! For dinner, we had bread that Bill-kun and Karin-chan’s daddy baked.
Thursday was rainy off and on again, and cloudy and very windy! Grandma baked sticky buns for breakfast. Bill-kun and Karin-chan went shopping with their parents, and James and his mommy and Grandma and Moose-san and I took a walk to Poipu Beach Park. I had to help Moose-san climb up the ladder to the slide, so we could slide down with James. Then we sat in the mouth of the big playground lion! It was so windy that the tops were blowing off the waves near the beach!
In the afternoon there was another sunny period. Bill-kun and Karin-chan and their parents walked to the beach while James took his nap. Bill-kun tried riding on the boogie board and he really liked it! Moose-san and I decided to try, but the tether was bigger than Moose-san!
Friday, it was raining AGAIN! The sky was a little lighter to the east, so we decided to drive to my favorite playground on Kauai, Kamalani Playground at Lydgate Park. It rained on the way there, but it stopped for a while when we arrived. Bill-kun played a song for Moose-san and me on the chimes, then Joe-san helped us explore a little cave. One of the holes was just the right size for Moose-san! We made friends with the fish in the mosaic, and then we went to the monkey bars. Bill-kun is really good at traveling on monkey bars! I tried it, but even using my tail I couldn’t hang on! Look at Bill-kun go!
James fell asleep in the car on the way to the park, so his daddy stayed with him in the car until he woke up. Moose-san and I checked out the baby swings for James, but when he woke up he decided he just wanted to watch everybody else play. It started raining again, so we all went back to Poipu. James let Moose-san and me ride with him on the way back.
It was rainy the rest of the day. Bill-kun and Karin-chan and their daddy played a rainy-day game, then their daddy made two more loaves of bread. Grandma and Grandpa and Joe-san and Nancy-san made dinner for Bill-kun and Karin-chan and James, while their parents went out to dinner to celebrate Valentine’s Day. We ate one of the loaves of bread, and it was yummy!
Grandma and Grandpa and I got up very early on Saturday morning to take Bill-kun and Karin-chan and their parents to the airport to start their trip home. I said goodbye to everybody before they went through security screening to get to their flight. On the way back to Poipu, I sat in Karin-chan’s booster seat. Their visit was too short and too rainy!
Love,
Lion-san
Despite the rain we are having a good time! It has been fun seeing everyone. love Moose-san