10.31.2008

First Impressions

We got to Lihue (Li-hoo-ee) Airport, on the island of Kauai last night at about 7:30 HI time (10:30 PDT). Wow. A balmy 76 degrees with a light breeze and misty rain greeted us as we got our rental car (a Jeep Wrangler). We were pretty much beat after a long day of travel so almost immediately after checking in we went to bed.

This morning I took a couple of pictures with the camera in my phone. The first three are from our lanai (patio).

The man-made lagoon that divides the property in half.

Joe, a sort of mascot of the property, and quite possibly the ugliest goose on the planet.

Yes, there are chickens here. In fact, they are everywhere, running wild.

We had read about the unpredictable weather, and had even read about the chickens, but nothing really prepares you for the sheer number of wild barnyard chickens feeding and scratching everywhere. And I mean everywhere - alongside the highways, outside the condo, near Wailua Falls...everywhere. They are mostly pretty cute and funny, with one exception. Andrew Doughty, the author of The Ultimate Kauai Guidebook, Kauai Revealed, puts it best.
OK, so you don't normall think of roosters as hazards. And normally they're not. These guys are wild in many parts of the island and can be charming. But our roosters have proliferated since Hurricane 'Iniki feed so many back in 1992, and they are particularly stupid here. They don't seem to knopw when they're supposed to crow, so they do it all day long just to cover themselves. (Probably for liability purposes.) If any of these two-legged alarms clocks are near where you're staying, you may find yourself waking up real early.
Honestly, I still can't get over the sight of a rooster and his harem of hens pecking and scratching right next to the highway. It's just weird.

Speaking of the wildlife, I got an even bigger surprise tonight as I was bringing our supper in from the grill (I'd grilled chicken...just because of the irony). As I stepped into our condo, I heard a noise behind me and was startled to see a wild pig behind me. It had evidently been feeding in the bush near our door. It was too dark to get a picture, but if it shows up again, I'll be sure to include it in a future post.

Today was a day to get oriented to our new, temporary home, get some groceries, and a few other necessities (bug repellent for our hikes and bamboo mats for the beach). I LOVE this place! Here are a few reasons I fell back in love with Hawaii today.

Black swan in the lagoon that is a few feet from our room.

















The love of my life on the beach about 50 yards from our room. The surf are currents here are too dangerous for swimming. This is a walking beach only.













Wailua Falls - about 8 miles from our condo. There has been several days of rain in the last week, so there is a LOT of water today. It's a 170 ft. drop from the lip to the pond below.

















And yes, even here, are wild chickens. This is a hen and a chick. There are actually two chicks here.

















Not a bad setting for a BBQ, eh! Nice, plump, Asian Barbeque-seasoned chicken breasts and a Trader Vick's pre-mixed Mai Tai (thank you Costco).










Tommorrow, we do some more driving around the island to get acquainted with our surroundings and visit Poipu beach, said to be one of the best on the island for snorkeling and swimming.




10.30.2008

En route!

This my first attempt at updating my blog using my iPhone and so far...it's been interesting. I was able to get a wifi connection here at SeaTac using the new attwifi service that is free for iPhone and at&t wireless card owners - a nice perk for the extra $ spent on the data plan. Di and I are en route to Kauai for two weeks of R&R.

We're getting ready board soon, so I'm keeping this short. We'll keep you posted during the week.

10.22.2008

Wow

Wow - time flies when you're not paying attention. Sheesh. I had no idea it had been so long since my last post. My apologies to my friends who actually take time out of their schedule to check out my site.

I have to say I am pretty excited about things right now. I am a week away from our first major vacation in four years and we're remodeling (yes, another remodeling project) our basement. An electrician came and spent a couple of full Saturdays and a Sunday to help us wire up several new lights, switches and outlets. Blessings of hiring a pro! He also cleaned up our breaker panel, by tracking down wires that went...nowhere and deleting them. For the first time in the 20 years we have lived in this house, everything electrical works correctly. All the 3-way switches, all the outlets, and he even figured out a way to make everything in the basement a true, grounded system. Something that wasn't done when the house was originally wired in 1948. SWEET!

In case you're wondering...we passed our NAUI Scuba Diver certification so we will be spending my 50th birthday on, and under, the water...off the island of Kauai. I am so pumped! I can hardly stand the wait. We've scheduled a boat dive for two different days on our trip. I am hoping to rent an underwater camera to take some pictures. If I do, I'll post some here...I promise.

Anyway...we've got a lot going on right now and I am very pleased that God has seen fit to bless us with good health to enjoy the ride. Love to all of you and thanks for your patience!

Aloha!