Aloha!

Hi, Everyone!

I’m in Kauai! We got here yesterday!

Before we came, we had to do lots of things to get ready! First, Grandma and I had to mail the Ground Hog Day cookies. The three boxes going to addresses in the US weighed about 23 pounds total, so Grandma put them in the car one by one and took them out the same way at the post office. I helped her put them on the folding cart so she could wheel them all into the post office together. We had to wait in line! The postal clerk made sure each one was coded to go to the address we wanted!

When we’re going away, we need to use up food that wouldn’t last until we got back. We had some heavy cream that needed to be used up, so we made cinnamon ice cream! We ate the ice cream up with Aunt Kara’s birthday cake!

On Ground Hog Day, it was cloudy! I did NOT see my shadow! That’s supposed to mean an early spring. Grandma told me we were going to Hawaii, so I could get a head start on summer. She decided I needed a new tunic, because my old one was fraying at the edges. The old one was made from a cut-off jeans leg. Grandma bought denim fabric to make the new one. There’s no pattern for a lion-san tunic, so Grandma had to design one. That meant I had to try it on several times, while she figured out how to sew it together! I like my new tunic! It helps me sit up straight in a sunbeam!

We started our trip to Kauai last Thursday. We used to be able to get there with two or three flights on the same day, but the airline changed the schedule. On Thursday, we flew from Rochester to Dulles airport in Washington DC, then on to San Francisco.

When Grandma found out we had to stay in San Francisco overnight, she decided she wanted to have a burrito from Uncle David’s favorite taqueria near the airport. Our hotel was right at the airport, and we couldn’t get food from the taqueria delivered there. We did get a breakfast burrito the next morning from an airport vendor.

The flight from San Francisco to Lihue was another long one — about five hours! I was lucky and got to sit in the empty seat next to Grandpa! I wanted to watch my favorite movie — The Lion King! That wasn’t available, so Grandma set me up to watch Luca, instead. I was happy when we could finally see the coastline of Kauai!

When we landed, there were folks wearing funny costumes to greet somebody on our flight! I got to make friends with them. Then I helped Grandma and Grandpa do some shopping! We went to Costco to get lemonade and chocolate muffins for when James and Thomas come to join us next week. There was a shopping list for groceries, too! It took a couple of trips to get everything on the list! We got everything bought just in time to watch sunset at Brennecke’s Beach!

There is five hours difference between the time in New York and the time in Hawaii! Hawaii is earlier, so it felt like time to get up way before sunrise! That made it easy to get to Hanapepe by 9 a.m. to pick up the bread order Grandpa made last week! I’m glad he put in an order, because most of what we like to have was already sold out!

Because we got an early start, we were able to drive to the farmers market in Lihue while some of the vendors were still setting up! I like to see the displays of flowers and fruits and vegetables! We bought some “pretzels” that were really batter fried on rosettes! Then we drove back to our resort unit to eat some of the baked goods we bought at Midnight Bear.

There had been rain in the mountains between Lihue and Poipu, but after lunch it stayed nice for a walk to the beach! I greeted my ginger and hibiscus friends on the way. There were seven sea turtles at the beach, including a very little one! No monk seals today, but I have lots more days to look!

Love,

Lion-sn