Hawaii Part 2022

 Gina is a good photographer, I am not. Luckily she gets herself in the frame every now and then: And here are a couple shots from the last night. I so enjoyed sitting on the lanai and enjoying coffee and rainbows or clouds in the morning/ sunsets and tea at night. Such an incredible view.

This is not the last post, just a note that we made it home after an uneventful flight and drive home. Far less dramatic, thank goodness, than the flight out. Here is a picture to prove it, the sun is coming up as we are coming in: Earl and my mom made out just fine, though he certainly missed Gina and has been super chatty since we got back. Here is Earl ready to “play chain”. It’s a silver necklace that he loves chasing around on the bed: And here he is in the middle of Gina’s unpacking:    

   

Our dining habits are questionable right now - but that’s vacation, right? We finally tried the mahi mahi at Paia Fish Market. So good. The fried shrimp also delicious, perfect texture and consistent width. Then we stopped for a citrus squeeze (lime, lemon and pink lemonade) and Lahaina (banana, coconut, pineapple) at Ululan’s Hawaiian Shave Ice - Kihei.   Our goal for the day was to drive around and listen to music and see new sights. We were aiming for Makena to check out the lava fields but got a late start and turned around when the sky opened up. The morning started with a little trip to get “the ultimate donut”. Pretty tasty but not as fun when you are the only donut-eater. Nic and G aren’t big fans, particularly of the filled-donut variety. We made a trip the prior day to Slaughterhouse Beach, so of course stopped at the Burger Shack and I did this: I’m going to need more than push-ups when this is over!  

#picturesdon'tdoitjustice

We've been catching up on Stranger Things (or Gina has, Nic already blazed through the series a few times). And at the end of the Lanai trip all a little tired so had popcorn and re-watched, "What's Up Doc?" still a family favorite.

Sometimes the things you worry about most turn out to be the least consequential. We had no problem getting up and ready at 5 am, finding parking or arriving in the vicinity of the boat to Lanai Island. But we did have a bit of a difficult time finding the boat itself (covid-fog?) and once out in the water to snorkel, I was torn between two snorkelers: Inky Blue (Nic) and Sicky-Poo (G). Nic is an explorer at heart. This summer I woke to find his bed empty. The sun had only just come up over the horizon - I called to discover that he wanted to see the sunrise and have breakfast out so made a plan to bike out before sunrise, all the way to Sausalito. He is prone to taking off to see where the road leads. Knowing this, as I realized he was having a fine time in the water, checking out the fish and getting the hang of his fins, I was afraid he would just keep exploring. There aren't any boundaries in the ocean. Above the water I waved and he replied, "I can just take off into the ...

I think you guys call it Lazy Beach or Airport Beach. I am not sure but whatever it is (behind the Westin), it was just our speed yesterday. We got there early (for us anyway), easily found a spot and carted ourselves, our snacks and our stuff down the boardwalk to a perfect spot. Mostly it was sitting and enjoying the sights and the sun. I messed around with the snorkel a bit and tried my GoPro in the water (footage was totally underwhelming unless you are using it as a sleep aid which worked wonders when I showed it to Gina last night). We saw a big pod of dolphins - and a few of them leapt completely out of the water. Super cool. I saw a small pod of glittery fish, and an octopus. Gina got to heat up in the sun. We stopped at the Fish Market for takeout on the way back. Perfect way to spend a day.

 I've never considered the thickness of napkins but Nic does. Even on vacation. We took a drive to Kihea and landed on the beach near the Four Seasons so we could get the shot Gina took when she was there with Nic and Grandma in 2015.  Walked along the path a little and got our feet wet. The sky was crazy cool. Sharing this weird picture from Nic. AI generated picture (you enter text and it generates a unique image). I could only imagine the text he must have entered to get these horrors. Sharing them to balance the palette a little.

 

It was a picture of G and Nic at the Burger Shack - here are some more. The shakes were yummy. We didn't get into the water but it was beautiful - just a little too windy and hot for a long stay.  

 We got tons of cool shots today but I love these three so much I don’t want to dilute them. More tomorrow.

Going in the water the other day without any gear, I understood why you'd want a mask. Looking from the surface is cool, peering beneath the surface is even cooler. Going in with a mask, I understood why you'd want a snorkel. Why not laze around floating in the water so you can stare at the fish as they go about their busines? Going in with a snorkel, I understood why you'd want flippers. Barely get anywhere with these feet. So many different shapes, colors and sizes of fish. From bright yellow sort of triangular to long skinny and white with two small dark eyes. I saw a black fish with bright purple lips. Schools of fish darting about together. Striped fish, some paisley looking little guys. Another snorkeler tapped me on the shoulder to point out a sea turtle just cruising by. Probably my favorite sighting of the day was a small octopus... sitting on the bottom, then walked away and his colors totally changed. Can't wait to get back out there.

My JV volleyball coach always screamed, "sacrifice the body!", when someone would miss a hit that could've been blocked with a dive. Gina sacrificed it for an entirely different reason today - my birthday!  After a long night of little sleep and lots of aches, I thought Nic and I would have to go solo again. Luckily, G mustered the energy for a lunch celebration at Mama's Fish House. The star of the meal might have been the sip of complimentary soup - something with broccolini and sage, we all loved it. It was all pretty tasty - tasty enough that we could say, "Hated it!" when the server came to collect our plates. You might not know it, Jess, but we always do that (at home or out) and recall that story you tell about people doing it. :) Of course everything is better with Gina and Nic, they made the meal.  We stopped to get snorkel stuff so we can play at the beach tomorrow if all goes well. G is drinking maple/lemon/cayenne and watching Stranger Things wit...

 Nic can charm you with shots like this: And this: And then scare the bejesus out of you with something like this: It's time for me to step out of the stone-age of camerawork. When I think of trick photography, I think of: