Day 9 - On to Maui

We woke up early this morning, packed our breakfast and hit the highway. All said and done we drove over 650 miles on the Big Island. We drove completely around the island and there is still so much we didn't see.

The drive through the Kau Forest Reserve was pretty bleak from a landscape perspective. The trees were just breaking through the lava. However, there were the most amusing highway signs. Billboards are banned in Hawaii and until you know that is the case I think most people don't really notice it while they are here. The signs I'm talking about were highway signs: "Warning open fissures. Do not drive over cracks." "Nene crossing" "Cattle crossing next 12 miles"

We pulled off the road in Punaluu to see the black sand beach. This time there wasn't a lava field between the the car park and the beach so I actually got to walk on the beach. The sand was black and coarse like coffee grounds.

We skipped South Point and headed in to Pahala in hopes of finding coffee but came away only with a photo of a posting for "Found Horse."

We ended up having a second breakfast in Keokea where we grabbed some Kona coffee and a lilikoi bar to go (think lemon bar but even better). From there we dropped down 160 and took
it along Keauhau Bay. At one point the road narrowed and we were on a thin lava strip above the ground, beach on the left and rocks on the right. Eventually, we made it back up to Mamalahoa Highway. In Keahou we dropped back down again and took Alii Drive along the cost as far as we could. What a stunning drive. Surf was up and everyone was headed into the water or to the beach to watch the action. The water was as blue as blue gets and so many different shades of it. Honestly, I've always thought the Hawaiian beach photos were doctored to look so blue but in fact the water is blue, blue, blue.

On the way to the airport in Kona we saw three wild goats standing on rocks watching the surf. They were pretty big and they had long horns. We've seen so many strange sites on this trip.

The flight to Maui was quick -- up and down. On the drive to our home for the remainder of our stay, Penny's Place in Lahaina, we saw SPOUTAGE. The Honoapi'lani Highway is a busy winding road that skirts the island's leeward coast. I had to drive for miles before I could turn around. I so wanted to look out the window at the whales but I knew I had to focus on the road. We doubled back and found a great pullout, Papawai Point, and sat on lava rocks and watched the show. We saw DOZENS of whales. There were lots of pec slaps and dives and best of all -- a head lunge. We stayed until the sun wore us down, probably close to an hour. Then we headed to Penny's.

We ended the day at Ma La Ocean Tavern where we snacked on hummus, babaganoush and feta mousse.


Mother's Highlight: Penny. I enjoyed talking with the owner of our new B&B about nursing, quilting and grandchildren.

Julia's Highlight: Whales! I also got a kick out of sitting on the beach in Lahaina at sunset looking for sea turtles with Mother. After a moment or two she said, "You know, we've been to some really romantic places."

Rural Hawaii

Day 8 - Our last full day on the Big Island

We started our day at Rainbow Falls. It lives up to its name and it is the first time on this trip that we've actually seen a rainbow. We've had plenty of rain but no rainbows.

Since we were in Hilo, we decided to take in the Lyman Museum. We got a parking space right in front of the museum and as soon as we stepped out of our car we were struck by a strong sweet scent that made us both hungry. Obviously there was a bakery nearby and now we wanted to visit it more than the museum. We went into the museum and asked if they knew what we were smelling. The clerk did not seem at all surprised by our question. She must get it all the time. Thankfully, she knew the source of the divine scent -- eclair bakery. To our complete amusement, she knew the bakery was on Waianaeue Street but when I asked her how to spell the bakery's name she said, "I have no idea." For a brief bit I thought the Hawaiians might find our language as daunting as we haoles consider their language. We used great restraint and took a tour of Lyman House before hunting down the bakery. It is actually called "E-Claire's Bakery" -- a clever name but tricky to spell for almost anyone. Claire told us that we must have smelled the baklava they were making for a wedding. We shared a piece and bought an eclair as well. They were both so good I don't know which I liked better. The baklava was made with a twist -- mac nuts, cloves and lemon. Good stuff! Claire recommended Naung Mai Thai for lunch so we followed her advice and had a very authentic meal. Mother said it tasted like nothing she's ever had before and ate nearly every bite. It was a fine meal but we agreed that we don't really have authentic taste buds.

After lunch and the museum we had a decision to make: Mauna Kea or black sand beaches. I really wanted to go star gazing at Mauna Kea but when we were in Waimea it was 20 degrees and there was hail on the mountain top so we skipped it. When we got to Hilo, it was rainy and cloudy all night long so we skipped it. Tonight was our last opportunity. I really debated about which to do then decided that this is Hawaii and I can see stars anywhere but black sand beaches are rare. We headed down to Hakuma Point and took Kaimu-Kapoho Road all the way to Kapoho Point. I was hoping to snorkel but there was a severe surf warning and the waves were thrashing the shoreline. We watched from afar. Even though we swore off Mexican food we found ourselves at Luquin's in Pahoa where we shared nachos for dinner. I would have tried a lilikoi margarita but our waitress had disappeared.


Mother's Highlight: I enjoyed touring the missionaries' house, the Lyman House. The guide was very good.

Julia's Highlight: When we first got back to our B&B I would have said my highlight was the amazing beach views along Kea'au-Pahoa Bypass; however, after I showered I drove up to the caldera to see if there was any lava glow. It was hard to focus on the smoldering volcano because I was so distracted by all the stars. For a brief second I wished I'd gone to Mauna Kea but then I thought about how it is 55 degrees by the Kilauea volcano which is close to 4,000 feet in elevation. It would have been COLD on Mauna Kea which is 13,500 feet up. No regrets -- I saw amazing beaches, old hardened lava flows AND more stars than I've ever seen before.

Local Thai lunch

Tastes exactly like it looks. Don't ask me what the tendrils are. I thought they tasted like lemon but Mother assured me it didn't. I think it an authentic Thai dish. It didn't taste bad, I'm just not that authentic.

Enviornmental Impact

We learned so much from the park ranger at Volcano National Park.

Way back when there was a rat problem in Hawaii. The story goes (at least the way I remember it) that a guy told a farmer that he had a solution. He took the farmer aside, opened a box and showed him a mongoose. Then the guy dropped a rat into the box and the mongoose killed it. The farmer was impressed, bought a hundred or so mongooses (I want to say "monGEESE" but it is actually incorrect) and set them free on the island and shipped them to his farms on the other islands. The thing is, rats are nocturnal and mongooses are diurnal. They never see each other so now, there are rats AND mongooses. The bad thing about the mongooses is that they are killing off the native birds. They are fierce hunters and frequently raid nests and eat the eggs. John Paul shared a story with us in Kona about the mongooses as well. According to him, the captain of one of the boats taking mongooses to one of the other island farms went to inspect his furry cargo. He stuck his finger in the cage and the mongoose bit him. The captain retaliated by kicking the crate overboard so that's why there are no mongooses on Kauai. Some say this is why Kauai has so many wild chickens.

Then there was a story of ginger. A woman went somewhere, saw this beautiful yellow flower and brought bulbs home to plant. Turns out the flower was a form of ginger that is invasive and grows aggressively. Now the roots are snuffing out the indigenous plants including the koa tree.

The third story she told was of the feral pigs, another island menace. Pigs aren't a native species. They were brought here for dinner. Some escaped and started breeding. Since there is no natural predator their population is increasing. Because lava is so porous it does not retain water; therefore, the land does not retain much water here in Hawaii. When pigs need a drink, there aren't that many puddles so they knock down palm trees or destroy other bromeliads that have water stored in body of the plant. They scoop out all the liquid and leave the giant husks behind. Water gathers in the husks when the rain falls and mosquitoes breed there causing another island pest to flourish.

Day 7 - Volcano, Hawaii

This is the view from the lanai at the B&B we stayed at last night. We woke up to the rushing torrents of the falls. As we sat on the lanai and drank coffee, the house chef prepared a made-to-order breakfast of macadamia nut waffles, omelets and local fruit. I think the pog was freshly made instead of store bought. There were four other people staying with us and we all decided to eat breakfast inside rather than outside because it was rainy and a bit chilly. Our chef, Leah, is a student at the University of Hawaii at Hilo studying marine biology. She came here from Virginia and it is doubtful she'll ever return. As per usual, Mother shared photos from our trip thus far as well as a few choice travel stories.

After breakfast, we headed to Volcano and to the park. I was hoping to sign up for a night hike but they don't do them any more. Instead, we took a crater walk. The guide was very informative and explained a lot about the endemic species. After the walk, we watched a couple of films about the eruption history of the volcanoes. The movies seemed to have calmed Mother's fears but piqued mine. They made me think about things that had never crossed my mind like how do you get around lava flow if it blocks the road? You can't drive over it or your car will explode. These are thoughts I never had before 3p this afternoon. Now, Mother is out cold and I'm wondering what our escape plan should be.

I don't know how we came upon it but some how we ended up a ukulele (pronounced "uke-uh-lay-lay") lesson by a local cultural arts organization. The women hosting the event were very friendly and led us in several songs. The ukulele is such a lovely instrument. I think Mother may very well end up taking one home. She came on this trip so innocent and now she is on the verge of becoming a coffee-swilling ukulele player.

We ate lunch in Volcano at the Lava Rock Cafe. The highlight of lunch was lilikoi cheesecake. Lilikoi is a yellow passion fruit and it is so sweet and delicate. Second to pog, it is our favorite island treat. Next to the cafe is a quilting cooperative. They do AMAZING work and are true artisans. It was like being in a museum. We both really enjoyed looking at all the quilts, patterns and fabrics.

Our new B&B, Hale Ohia Cottages, is lovely. They put your breakfast in your room the day before so you can wake up and eat it whenever you want. The danger for us is eating it all tonight instead of in the morning. I can hardly type knowing that there is pog in the fridge behind me.

We went back up to the volcano after sunset to see if we could see any lava glow but the only thing we ended up seeing was a Hawaiian band and close to two dozen hula dancers. What a way to end the night!


Mother's highlight: When I asked her she said, "Oh, my. We did so much today." Then she settled on breakfast. She like the waterfall and chatting with the couple from Vermont and their aunt and uncle who are from Missouri.

Julia's highlight: Mother singing along with the Hawaiian band and sharing stories with me about Mimaw dancing and Papaw wanting to visit Hawaii. She knew all the words to the first song because Mimaw used to sing it all the time. The song? "Hilo my Hometown"

Lilikoi Cheesecake

Lilikoi is related to the passion fruit and second to pog it is our favorite Hawaiian food.

Day 6 - Hilo, Hawaii

Waimea is a high elevation town and the coldest spot on our trip thus far. We bundled up before we headed out for the day then immediately started peeling off the layers at each stop.

After checking out, we went to Mamane Street Bakery and picked up some pastries for breakfast. The bakery was actually a tin warehouse lined with bagged bread and other tasty treats. I asked if they had a cafe because I heard they made good breakfast pastries and the owner said, "No, I just make things for people who come by." She turned around and pulled out a rack of freshly baked breakfast treats. It was a nice local find. I wish I had taken a picture but I was so thrown off by the unlikely transaction.

After procuring the baked goods, we stopped off at Waimea Coffee and picked up a couple of cups of today's special blend (happened to be "Obama Blend" -- the Hawaiians seem to be proud of the fact that the president is from Hawaii but at the same time I get the sense that not all of them love the president). We took our bagged breakfast to Hapuna Beach and ate while we soaked up the view. The beach is a postcard perfect depiction of the palm tree studded Hawaiian beach.

We spent the day traveling from Waimea to the Waipi'o Valley, following the Hamakea Coast down to Hilo and taking in several sights along the way including Akaka Falls and a couple of scenic turn offs. We missed seeing Rainbow Falls because we took a four-mile scenic drive that took us away from the highway.

A continual source of amusement to us as we travel around the islands is the Hawaiian language. There are only 13 letters in the Hawaiian alphabet so one would think it would be easy but it is surprisingly hard. Often there is just a one letter variation between towns or roads and when the last four letters are vowels it can be a little overwhelming. Thankfully, transactions happen in English but driving in a foreign language is remains daunting. Because we are pronunciation challenged, we can't remember anywhere we've been and we don't really know where we are going. Seriously, today we drove through Honoka'a, Hamakua and Kahana -- they are just similar enough to be completely confusing. Thankfully, instead of getting frustrated we just laugh. We laugh a lot.

Our new home, The Inn at Kulaniapia Falls, was tricky to find but we made it through the valley, over the hills, around the farms and up the mountain to the waterfall and our very brown room. The owner endeared herself to us by talking about "mac nut Belgium waffles" for breakfast. I hope she delivers.

Tomorrow we move to the town of Volcano.


Mother's Highlight: The water at Lapahoehoe Point was so beautiful. It was pretty much the most beautiful water I've ever seen. I also liked lunch at Hilo Bay Cafe (sweet potato and flaxseed burger with garlic fries, an arugula salad with parsley dressing and a coconut milk limeade).

Julia's Highlight: Laupahoehoe Point. The water was raging and blue and invigorating. The combination of the light sand, blue water and black lava rocks made for a jolting display of color with each white-capped crash of the waves. It wasn't a relaxing beach but the color and the fury were transfixing.

Lava cake!

Served with Kona coffee ice cream. Yummy!

Hawaiian beverages

Our first Hawaiian drinks.  Mother got a coconut milk limeade and I got a sparkling lemonade.

Day 5 - Goodbye, barn. Hello, princess room (Waimea, HI -- the Big Island)

I was so proud of Mother. Not only did she take a shower OUTSIDE IN THE DARK last night BUT she slept all night long unphased by life in our sweet little coffee barn.

At breakfast, mother had to leave the table to go get her camera so she could show the family staying at the B&B highlights from yesterday. It was precious. Afterward, we said our goodbyes, checked out and headed to church. Mother and I are both surprised by the number of churches in Hawaii and how religious the people appear to be. It is not uncommon to see people pray before a meal or talk about God or drop the name of a Hawaiian god in casual conversation. I think it is because they live so closely with nature that they have come to respect the power and importance of God. The people at Kona Faith Center were so friendly. Neither one of us knows how many people came up and introduced themselves to us. We also got lots of tips for the remainder of our visit (take the mountain road to Waimea, eat at the restaurant across the street from the pink house, someone even recommended a church in Maui). I liked the music, two guitarists and a ukele player. No piano. All the men wore Aloha shirts. Most of the women wore slacks including the pastor's wife. The highlight of church was a signed interpretation of a hymn. The pastor's wife surprised everyone by joining in. It was her present to her husband on their 27th anniversary. She told the congregation how she had been sneaking around since January trying to learn to sign the song. It was cute.

Our final Captain Cook stop was at the local green market. We snacked on homemade health bars, Thai spring rolls and organic lemonade as we walked around and admired the local art. On the way out of town we programed our GPS to take us to Mountain Thunder Coffee. The coffee plantation is 3,700ft up in the Kona highlands and they are one of the few organic growers on the island. They take coffee very seriously. We learned a lot about coffee and I have some concerns about Mother becoming a coffee drinker while on this trip. It was well worth the trek despite it being cool and rainy.

Everything is so beautiful in Hawaii it presents a challenge to driving; the challenge being, keeping your eyes on the road. Driving up the Kohala Coast, I saw a geyser spray in the ocean water a site I immediately recognized from my Alaskan travels -- spoutage. Whale spouts! I wanted to pull over immediately but traffic on the Queen Ka'Ahumanu Highway was a little thick so I had to focus on the road although all I wanted to do was watch the whales. I pulled into Kekaha Kai State Park and we watched the whales for close to an hour. We saw over a dozen sightings. At one point, Mother got distracted by a wild kid and by "kid" I do mean baby goat and as she stepped out of the car to take a photo the mother goat appeared. It is so strange to see wild goats. It is even more strange to be able to pull off the highway and watch whales dive and rollover from the shore.

Back on the highway, we were amused by signs warning us to beware of donkeys crossing the highway. At are new home, The Jacaranda Inn, we were encouraged to call the HI County Police dispatch if we see a wild donkey. I really hope we see a wild donkey. So far, we've seen wild cats, chickens, roosters, turkeys, mongoose, and goats.

This new place is so lovely you'd think that Mother was a prisoner of war in the barn. When we walked in she said, "Oh, my. It is so big. Look, the shower is inside. Oh, and there is a closet with a view. We even get a princess bed. Wow." One the way to dinner she talked more about the princess bed. She's so cute I can hardly stand it.


Mother's Highlight: When she saw the whales, she said, "This might be better than the coffee farm." When I asked her just now she said, "The whales." There was a pause and she added, "But I kinda like this princess room too."

Julia's Highlight: It was pretty neat to spot whales from the road but I would have to say my highlight was Mother. She is just so easily excited by everything around us

Day 4 - Captain Cook, Hawaii

The last 24 hours have been an adventure. I'm so proud of Mother.

Night in the barn was very different from day in the barn. When the sun sets everything that lives in the woods starts making a noise. It sounds like and aliens trying to communicate with various sonar devices -- lots of high pitched beeps. Mother and I laughed so hard when we were trying to go to bed and the sounds of the forest filled our little barn. The nice thing about our new home is the view of the stars at night. Just as I was about to go to sleep I told mother, "There's something out there that sounds like a monkey." Then I closed my eyes and drifted off. What I didn't know was that Mother's brain was going, "Monkey? Are there monkeys out there?" She didn't sleep a wink. At some point in the night it started to rain and she woke me up to tell me about it. I got up to check to see if our stuff was getting wet then later to see if the tin roof was leaking. Poor thing thought the rain pounding against our tin roof sounded like an army of drummers and the sleepless night continued whereas I was lulled into the deepest sleep I've had on our trip thus far.

We started our day on the deck of our B&B. We are probably a few hundred feet from the beach but 1,500 feet straight up. Breakfast was delicious. We ate lots of strange fruit, drank some pog (a Passion fruit, Orange and Guava juice blend) and sampled the homemade jellies from fruit grown on the property including jaboticaba and lilikoi. Afterward, our host, John Paul, took us on a tour of the property and quelled mother's concerns about our surroundings. When we were done with the tour, we sat on the lanai, cracked open macadamia nuts and planned our day. I don't know which is more labor intensive, shelling pecans or macadamia nuts. We didn't actually leave the property until after noon but we agreed that we felt like we'd already had quite the adventure.

We spent the afternoon touring around the Kailua-Kona area including lunch in Holualoa and a visit to The Painted Church. We tried to go to Puuhonua O Honaunau, or as most visitors prefer to say "Place of Refuge," but most of it was shut down due to the recent tsunami. Interestingly, while the tsunami did cause some damage, it also unearthed a previously undiscovered archeological site. Unfortunately, Kealakekua Bay sustained a lot of damage as well so we scratched it from our itinerary. While at "Place of Refuge" we walked along the shore and Mother spotted three sea turtles resting on a rock. They were so camouflaged that I would have never seen them if it wasn't for her. They were at least a foot maybe as big as a foot and a half wide and surprisingly thin.


Mother's Highlight: Waking up alive. No, really it was sitting on the porch and smelling a nearby orchid. I expected a floral scent when I sniffed the flower but I couldn't immediately identify the fragrance. Then John Paul told me it was a chocolate orchid and that was it -- chocolate! It smelled exactly like chocolate.

Julia's Highlight: While on the plantation tour with John Paul we saw a male Jackson Chameleon. He moved about as fast as a sloth so we got to see a lot of him. He was probably about... well I think nine inches long and Mother says closer to six so we'll go with 7.5 inches. He was bright green and he had three horns and big eyes. I also enjoyed sitting on the lanai behind the health food store, drinking organic Kona coffee and watching the sunset.

Day 3 - On to the Big Island

Again we woke up early. We made one last trip to Leonard's for the Li Ling malasadas then headed to Hanauma once again. Mom got a little sea sick just walking out into the water and decided to stay on shore. Interestingly enough, last night when we arrived the park was an hour from closing so they just let us in for free and then this morning, they'd only been open for 40 minutes and weren't yet setup to take money so they just told us to go on in for free. The walk down to the bay is beautiful and steep. They have a tram that charges $.75 for the ride down and $1 for the ride up. Both times we visited we walked down and splurged for the ride up. I saw so many fish, it was lovely. I really enjoy snorkeling.

Before heading to the airport we went searching for the largest pagoda in the world, Somju Pagoda. It turns out it is not in the Valley of the Temples like the GPS thought but rather in Honolulu Memorial Park. It was a beautiful old structure that was worth the hunt.

We had a quick bite at Rico's Tacos before heading to HNL. Lunch was a creative interpretation of nachos that included a gelatinous guacamole that came from a squeeze bottle. I think we are going to avoid Mexican food for the remainer of our Hawaiian stay.

The flight to the Big Island was nice. Thankfully the trades have died down and the flight was pretty smooth.

The Big Island is very different than Oahu. We landed on a hardened lava field and drove along the edge of mountain to a barn that feels like it overhangs the seaside. Two of our four walls are screened three feet from the floor to the ceiling and the other two are paneled in. Thankfully there is an indoor toilet (although the shower is outside). We dined at a local restaurant, Manago. Being here feels like we are with the locals and not in a tourist hot spot.

Mother's Highlight: I really got a kick out of the lady at the airport checking my bag and going, "Oooh, you got good snacks in here." That's the whole attitude of the Hawaiian people, they are so warm and hospitable. The clerk at Hertz even recommended a Rhema church to us.

Julia's Highlight: Discovering the Coffee Barn with Mother. It was little more austere than the New York Times led on. We had a hearty laugh and embraced our new home. I guess the airport should have been a clue to what we were in store for. The airport is completely open air. Instead of "gates" you board and deplane from huts. The baggage claim even has its own hut.

Day 2 - Oh, Oahu

Today we woke up at 5:40am and decided to hit the road. We started our trip at Leonard's, a local bakery that makes "malasadas" a pastry that's more like a cross between a donut and a sopapillas. We bought a half dozen -- 2 plain, 2 cinnamon/sugar and best of all 2 li hing malasadas which are dusted with a pink cherry blossom sugar. The photo to the left was taken at 6:15am. Just as we pulled in a bus of tourists pulled in behind us. I made mother run for the door so we could beat them. She won!

We took our breakfast and headed to Kailua Beach Park (our favorite beach) and on up to Lanikai Beach. We had two little pit stops in Kailua. The first was the post office. Sounds blah but this post office appeared to be inside someone's house. Mother sat on a couch in the lobby/den as she filled out her labels. At the owner's encouragement, we went to Island Snow for some shaved ice. She recommended it because it is the one Obama goes to when he is home. We went for a flavor called "pali pog" (passion fruit, orange and guava) and it was delicious. It was like eating flavored snow -- light and fluffy-- and when you got to the bottom there was surprise scoop of ice cream which blended with the melted shaved ice to make a puddle of yummy shake goodness.

We then drove up the coast to the North Shore stopping along the way to take in all the beautiful beaches we could.

At the North Shore we tried the legendary Matsumoto Shave Ice. We went with the traditional Matsumoto flavor (pineapple, coconut and lemon). It only took one bite for us to side with Obama and his preference for Island Snow. Matsumoto's shaved ice was more like a snow cone, not as fine as Island Snow's.

On the way back to Waikiki we stopped at the Dole Pineapple Plantation. I think the highlight of my day was when Mother saw they offered a train tour of the plantation and said, "Oh, I love little trains." It made me laugh for the rest of the day. On the train, the tour guide said, "Parents, please keep your child on the bench next to you or in your lap." I looked at Mother and said, "I'll just sit next to you if it's OK with you." We both had a laugh. After the train, we took a tour of the gardens. It was a nice pit stop.

We ended the day with a brief visit to Hanauma Bay. We are definitely going back in the morning for some quality snorkel time before we head to the Big Island.

Mother's Highlight: Last year she did a watercolor of an island photo she found on the internet and gave it to a friend who told her that it was a Hawaiian Island. Today we saw the same island from Lanikai Beach. The highlight was stumbling upon the real scene.

Julia's Highlight: Sneaking in some snorkel time. The fish were so beautiful.

Day 1 - Aloha and Happy Birthday! (Oahu - Hawaii)

This is the first site we visited in Waikiki! When we woke up, Mother called Paul and told him that Hawaii was just like Arkansas. Once we went around the corner she had to call him and take it all back -- it is definitely different than Arkansas. To our amusement it has rained so many times today that we have lost count. The showers are quick and last just seconds. During the day it is acutally refreshing and not one single person seems phased by it. At night, it brings a chill to the air that makes me realize we are experiencing a change in weather. There have been at least three brief showers since I started writing this post.

Once we experienced shopping like the locals do, we went to the Pearl Harbor Memorial. We had a two-hour wait before our scheduled boat to the USS Arizona. We filled the hours visiting two on site museums about the day of the attack and the aftermath. It was very emotional and we both learned so much about the strike that we didn't know. We watched several documentaries about the event and I was impressed to see interviews with Japanese soldiers describing the invasion. Eventually, we were ushered into a theater to watch a short documentary about the actual sinking of the USS Arizona. Afterward, as people stood to exit and board the boat to the site of the memorial, an announcement was made that our tour had been canceled due to the winds (There was some discussion about "the trades" this morning as the wind whipped across the veranda. I guess the trade winds peak this time of year.) Many people were upset and I was certainly surprised that we'd spent two hours poking around waiting on the trip but Mother quickly put everything into perspective with a smile and a shrug as she said, "Oh well, that's OK." I love her.

When we arrived, the shuttle operator at Hertz told us about an open market at the Aloha Stadium so we decided to check it out. I swear I had to pull Mother away from every single stall she passed. That woman likes to shop. Well, certainly look at everything. We endured a couple showers there which lead to me buying a pillow cover and several other touristy items.

A guy at the B&B recommended Teddy's Bigger Burger to us so we decided to hit it up for lunch. We got a Cajun veggie burger with avocado, jack and some mystery sauce. It was delish!

We ended the day with a walk on Waikiki beach.

It was a very good day and an excellent start to our island vacation. Happy birthday, Mother.


Mother's Highlight: Looking the the quilts at the street fair. She also liked Mambo, the dog at the B&B (the owner amused both of us by telling us that Mambo is a "Shihtsu-Poo" -- I'll leave the jokes to you).

Julia's Highlight: Mother comparing Hawaii to Arkansas amused me but I think the highlight was watching this one movie in particular at the Pearl Harbor Memorial. It was presented across three screens and was very active in presenting information by incorporating graphics that looked like they were straight out of a video game or CNN's War Room. There was also a funny moment on the way to the beach. I was driving and mother said, "Look at the beach." I looked over and all I saw were hunky surfer guys walking to the water so I said, "Look at the people." Mother's quick reply was, "Look at the road." We both had a good laugh. A close third would be these crazy trees near the Honolulu Zoo. I have no clue what they were but they look like their roots are above ground and sprout from the branches.