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
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