Month: February 2024

The stay on Kauai was drawing to an end. Before the group moved on, they visited a waterfall (you have to do that in Hawaii). Often one visits the same ones each visit. Frequent flyer waterfalls (FFW). In Lihue, the FFW is Wailua Falls. The waterfall is prominently featured on the opening credits of a television series. Can you guess which one? The waterfall was also in the Elvis Presley file “Blue Hawaii” as was Lydgate Beach yesterday’s blog. (They probably didn’t have mice then or at least they didn’t mob Elvis.)

The group spent the day packing and answered the Chinese food yearning by visiting the local establishment. This may have been Jerry and Joyce’s 4th visit. Soon they will be regulars. Joyce advised Debbie to get a hamburger as it was inexpensive (cheap) and Debbie couldn’t play with the big boys on volume of food.

Joyce and Debbie went for a walk down to the water to by the harbor to watch the cruise ship go out. They also tried not to get hit by golf balls as one of the holes was elevated over the path. Makes for exciting walks. Debbie kept waving her hands above her head but wasn’t sure if the golfers would regard it as a reminder or a target.

Today Debbie and Joyce decided to go to the beach just to look around. They chose Lydgate. It is a popular beach on Kauai and a good place for a relaxing beach day. It is a protected beach and a good place for beginner snorkelers.

Debbie was happy because she was under a tree. They met a couple who went snorkeling and declared it the best snorkeling ever. Off course, Debbie and Joyce had no snorkeling gear but were doubtful of the lady’s assessment as she had her husband hold her hand in the water. Not in a romantic way but in a we’ve been married a long time and I don’t want to haul you out of the water and up the beach sort of way. It is fair to say that she did get in and the two did not.

The couple returned in time to point out the little mice surrounding and darting towards Joyce and Debbie. One even touched Debbie who took it calmly while Joyce s reaction was more like a NASA rocket launch or Elon Musk’s SpaceX.

After the mouse colony was discovered, the duo decided to walk to the campgrounds with the best playground ever.

That night the trio ate Thai food. It would appear that there is a hotness difference in seasoning between states. Debbie would have been more attuned to mild instead of medium. She worked through the repercussions of medium drinking copious amounts of water. Water is good for you right? Debbie had a lot of goodness that day.

The group took on a more adventurous day after yesterday

HHR: Yesterday was so booorrring.

Debbie: Well, you didn’t seem bored sipping that Mai Tai and floating on the pool. Anyway we are going to Waimea Canyon today.

Joyce: Waimea Canyon is often called the “Grand Canyon of the Pacific. It has gorges, waterfalls and a river which runs through it

HHR: And those cute little donkeys.

Jerry: No, there are no donkeys but plenty of chickens. I think you are confused. Although not sure how you can mistake a chicken for a donkey.

HHR: Debbie isn’t it true that you kept making the group stop to feed your angry desires?

Debbie: No, we stopped at a bakery to get Ensaymadas and malasadas.

HHR: What is a malasada?

Debbie: Something too good for you.

Joyce: I’ll handle this one. Malasadas are a Portuguese sugary treats. The name, sometimes spelled malassadas means “poorly cooked,” a reference to the almost crisp, sugary exterior contrasted by a soft, doughy crumb. We found it to be tasty.

HHR: What about ensaymada? It sounds Russian. Didn’t Debbie go to a Russian fort? I would support sending her to Russia.

Joyce: Ensaymada is a Spanish bread. The Spanish version traditionally uses said, reduced pork lard, here the bread is better based (at least we hope so)

Debbie: The Russians did try to establish a foothold in Hawaii. They built 3 forts. Fort Elizabeth was built in 1817 overlooking Waimea Bay. There’s nothing there now except ruins and a bathroom but then you never got out of the car.

HHR: So you say Debbie. Did you spend anytime alone at the fort?

Debbie: No, you were with me the whole time. We did see some spectacular views of the Napali coast when we got to the canyon AND it was not rainy. It is one of the wettest spots on Earth.

Joyce: We stopped for shaved ice on the way back at JoJos.

Debbie: It was delicious. It’s a pity that HHR forgot her purse again and we just didn’t want it to look like an inappropriate purchase for us to make for a reporter. We didn’t want to sway her objectivity.

HHR: Yes, well I am sure that Larry would have gotten me a shaved ice. Is it true that you tried to leave Joyce at a homeless encampment?

Debbie: No, not exactly. We are crossing on a swinging bridge and it might or might not have been a homeless encampment on the other side. We turned around and staggered back.

HHR: Where was Jerry? Did you leave him?

Joyce: Jerry said that he was not going on the swinging bridge but would guard the entrance. He also tried to keep up from driving into the canal. He says it is a big job to try to include Larry’s responsibilities. I think he was afraid we would start swaying the bridge.

Today was a time share tour for Jerry and Joyce. Sadly, Debbie, could not go because Larry was not there. (That’s a joke about Debbie being sad). Jerry and Joyce did not buy a timeshare but got vouchers for a meal.

The group went to the pool for the afternoon and circled the pool. Joyce told Debbie that she needed to practice being faster.

This blog is dedicated to the chicken.

Did you know that there are an estimate 450,000 chickens on Kauai.? That is 6 chickens per person.

They are everywhere. You can’t get away from them. They stand under your window and crow in the middle of the night. They greet you at the restaurants and stores sometimes escorting you inside. You can see them at the beaches running through the sand and sunning on the beach.

There is speculation that the chicken was brought from Polynesia. The Europeans also brought domesticated chickens. Two hurricanes, in 1982 and 1992,blew domesticated cages open. Today is a mixture of the wild and domesticated chicken. They have no natural predators.

So why don’t people eat them or their eggs? The meat is notoriously tough and the eggs are not tasty.

Joyce and Debbie both had Easter chicks when they were little. (A whole other blog) Joyce got pecked by her chick and is leery of chickens while Debbie learned to cackle like a chicken. Debbie says that she can commune with the chickens. Joyce wants to know if Debbie is communing with the chickens why do they stand under Debbie’s window at 3 AM and crow.

It’s a little hard to explain today. The group went to the Liwanee International center for a tour. It is where a Buddhist temple was built with a path of 80 something statues to represent the 1000 mile walk between 80 temples in Japan.

To summarize – Debbie’s interpretation: global consciousness, a geographic holy place, workers are volunteers, and no nails to build plus you got tea.

Joyce and Debbie took the walk. Jerry stood at the bottom and waited for Debbie and Joyce to fall off the side of the hill.

Later in the day, they walked around the Marriott and caught part of the playoffs. The group was not hardcore as they didn’t yell like the others.

Debbie tried to convince Jerry and Joyce to purchase a 2 million dollar open house that they toured. Joyce said that “La Cheap” girls did not shop in that price range.

They saw the blowhole and spent the afternoon walking along the cliffs.

They are happy to report that they did not purchase anything today including the 2 million dollar house. (Debbie is a little sad about the house).

Blowhole - an exciting movie

First a shout out to Lindsey on her birthday.

Today was move day to the Marriott Grad Vacation Club in Lihue.

On the way, the group stopped at the National wild life refuge. The Refuge is a good place to view seabirds rarely seen from land, like the red-footed booby (ʻā in Hawaiian), great frigate bird (‘iwa), and Laysan albatross (mōlī). The Hawaiian goose (nēnē) is also seen there. Remember all the nesting albatross

The Refuge is also home to the Daniel K. Inouye Kīlauea Point Lighthouse. It’s not active and you can’t go inside. You can however take a picture in front of the lighthouse.

The new rooms were on the 12th floor with a view overlooking the harbor. Debbie was most impress that she had a wall bed with lights hidden behind the wall.

When Debbie was a kid, the medicine show came to her town. The man set up a stage on a vacant lot with chairs for the audience. Medicine shows were touring acts that peddled cures and other products between various entertainments Debbie was so excited because there was going to be a hula hoop contest. She liked the medicine show – QVC early days). Needless to say – Debbie didn’t win the hula contest or we would of all heard about it. Her Mother told her that the medicine had alcohol in it and anyone might feel better with a couple of swigs.

Today the group went to a noni farm. What is noni? A prolific fruit that may help with several ailments. The speaker was a good speaker and gave several examples.

Noni is everywhere. Yes, it is. Noni is the first to grow in a lava field. Yes, we’ve seen it. Did anyone buy some Noni products? Why yes they did. Did they research it first? Well, not really but just did now. Does Debbie think Lindsey may reprimand her as her medical representative? Maybe but she doesn’t always read the blog and Debbie has temporarily suspended her dosage about an hour ago. Debbie did have a banging blood pressure read though.

Debbie has gone off to practice her hula hooping and take a couple of swigs since she is losing some of her noni.

It was a windy day. Joyce wanted to snorkle.

HHR: I’ll take over now. Debbie, is it true that you can’t swim and that Larry used to push you around in the water? I believe that you are a fake swimmer.

Debbie: What? No. My snorkel mask fills up. I am not a fake swimmer.

HHR: Is it true that you swim in circles and have trouble getting your flippers in? Is it true that you embarrass the others when you flop in the water.

Debbie: Ok well, I am somewhat ungraceful on my entry and I do list to the right. But why don’t you talk to someone else.

Jerry: We went to Anini Beach to snorkel. My back was hurting so I couldn’t go. We watched Joyce almost get run over by a windsurfer.

HHR: Oh poor Jerry.

Debbie: Hey, I have a leaking mask.

HHR: I heard that happens when your head is too big.

Joyce: Anini Beach is a beach located on the north shore of Kauai, Hawaii. It is well known for its excellent windsurfing and snorkeling by the coral reef. I saw 4 big turtles.

HHR: Oh Joyce! You are so brave. I bet Debbie would not have been so brave

Debbie: I liked watching the windsurfers. They had lots of fancy equipment. I windsurfed at this beach years ago.

HHR: Did you?

Debbie: Well, I stood up for a minute and Larry didn’t even try it.

HHR: If Larry didn’t do it then I am not interested

Today was somewhat rainy so we spent playing cards and a walk around the Shearwater property. There were lots of chickens and maybe an albatross.

Since Debbie mostly got beat at cards and is a much better winner than loser, today’s blog will be about the albatross. We will not discuss card games.

Albatross come back to the site where they were born to meet up and mate. They are monogamous and mate for life. They raise an egg every other year because it takes a year before the baby is ready to be on their own. The male arrives first and stakes out a nesting site. He waits for the female to arrive. They are happy to see each other and do the mating dance in celebration.

Albatrosses can have a wing span of up to 6 feet. They catch the breeze and with a flap of the wings can glide all the way to Alaska. Once the baby is hatched, the Mom and Dad take turns going back and forth to Alaska for squid every 3 weeks. (This information may not be totally correct). We gathered this from various sources. HHR could not be found to contribute.