Last Chance

We started the day talking through what it was we wanted to do on our last day here. It was good to talk it all through and to figure out what it was we really wanted to get, do, or experience on our last full day here. We're going to have to leave first thing in the morning to catch our plane to Las Vegas, which should let us get on a plane to Denver. Hopefully there won't be another foot of snow delaying everything there...

We had our breakfast out on our patio, the last of all the things we had bought to have for breakfasts. 

Then, as usual, a hen came up to check us out while we were eating. We shooed her off, but a little later, another came to look through the glass at us while we were getting ready to go. All week, one of the hens has been coming up to the glass, watched us, and lain down on the welcome mat to watch us as she napped. 

It's fascinating that the chickens like watching us as much as all the tourists love watching them. But I really wanted a picture of one of the hens watching us through the glass, and I managed to get that. 

Our next quest had to do with this lady. She has a little Ethiopian Food store in a tiny village of tiny shops built from containers and parts of containers and some stick-built buildings as well. She's only open three days a week, and by the time John found her, she was only open today before we had to leave. 

So we made it out there just a bit before she was open, wandered around to look through a consignment shop and a little Japanese tea shop that actually bought leaves from Japan and stone ground them to make her own matcha. She had a wonderful little setup in there to do the Japanese tea ceremony for anyone that wanted it, and would actually make matcha with coconut water, so that she didn't have to add sugar for the tourist palette. I politely declined her prepared teas, but cheerfully bought a small packet of her matcha. I'll drink that. 

Then we went back to the Ethiopian Food place, and ordered the combo with beef. She told us it would be about ten minutes, and she actually started to grill the beef for the combo after we'd ordered it, so it would be perfectly fresh. 

Ten minutes later was got this amazing platter of food. I am, once again, grateful that we can share big meals. I don't think I could have come even close to eating this whole thing, as I was good and full even after half. She makes her own sourdough teff pancakes to go with all the lentils and beans and it was so good, tangy, chewy, rich with flavor. 

That was worth doing. 

We then went walking on the beach. This was the Kapa'a beach that we'd biked by the other day, and today the huge swell, winds, and the rain from the night before had whipped up the waves until they were huge. The air was full of salt, and it was a wonderful walk, even though the sand was coarse and difficult to walk through. 

There were native, local surfers out here. This wasn't something that a tourist could handle. Knowing these waves, where it was shallow, where it was deep and safer, and how the swells would behave out there would have been necessary. They were fun to watch because it was obvious they knew what they were doing out there. There were also life guards in towers all along that beach. 

And while we were walking, a kid, probably tenish came out with his mom, and he ran out into the surf, taking it professionally, while she plopped herself on the sand to watch. His hair was sun bleached, streaked gold against the natural brown, and he moved easily into the surf. All that energy was amazing to me. And necessary against the constantly dangerous and moving water.  I watched him eel his way out to where the other surfers were, and knew that the men out there were watching out for him as well as the life guards, but it was still oddly terrifying to watch. But he's probably been doing this for a great deal of his life. There was one dad out there, dragging his baby along on a surf board, and the baby was giggling and hanging on with ease. 

This is their life. 

It was beautiful out there, and on one side, you could see all the rain that we had been promised for most of the day.

And on the other was the sky clearing for the rest of the day. John took this at nearly the same time I took the picture above. I'm always amazed by this place. 

We took most of the rest of the afternoon to go to the farmer's market at the field by Kapa'a, the Safeway, and the market we'd been hitting for food all along. We got one mango and two pineapples, and decided against getting apple bananas to take home. They were good, but they were best experienced here. 

After the shopping, we went back to the condo and basically took a nap, so we'd be ready for our evening plans. Most of which actually went back to our first day here. 

We walked South on the beach walk, taking the bike and pedestrian walkway back to the Wailua Drive-inj. It was a beautiful evening walk along the water, and the wind was huge. There was a kite surfer out there, dancing with the waves and water and wind. 

It was now a path that was familiar and comfortable to us. It was funny to realize that as soon as we get familiar with a place, we often leave it. And we don't usually go back to exactly the same place we've been before. Thirty years ago, we stayed in a resort in Poipu and there was no way we'd do that again. 

And yet... something we do repeat. Like the chili pepper fried chicken, this time we had it with the Luau pork and cabbage, with mini dinners of each and I got a bit of the macaroni salad as it was Right to have with a plate lunch. 

It was really good. The chicken was amazing, crisp, sweet, soy, and a little heat. I loved the cabbage all mixed in with the pork, taking on its flavor, but adding some crunch and the vegetable bulk I really wanted with the rice. 

It was fun to see the second board that everyone had scribbled on, and all the memories that they'd left behind. I wasn't actually tempted to leave anything on it; but it was fun to see what everyone else had done. 

We ended with the Wailua shave ice again. This time we got the triple coconut that had coconut syrup, a haupia cream crown, and toasted coconut on top. It was absolutely delicious. Each component working so well with all the others. 

The girls, because they don't have to make change or deal with ordering, seem to be way happier because they can concentrate on just making each shave ice as well as they can. So they come out looking like small works of art. I love that. Especially when they taste great. 

After we ate ours up, we headed back home. Walking. I'm supposed to have my A1C test when I get home, so we'll have proof if the exercise after sugar really does help out. I'm hoping, so then I can just get on with my life and know that I have a pretty good handle on it. 

And on the walk home, we saw the moon lighting the ocean before us in a path of silver. 

It's been a great visit, with a lot of things lining up that normally doesn't. I should have noted more of that with the Napali Coast tour we had yesterday. During this winter season, it's usually raining like crazy all the time. The cliffs should have been shrouded with mist and clouds. The water should have been choppier so we couldn't have gotten so close. The bigger swells and wind should have made water visibility near zero, so snorkeling should have been futile. And sunset at 6 doesn't happen for most of the year here. Not to mention the rarity of a green flash... so many things. The crew themselves were marveling at how everything was lining up just for us. 

So I'm grateful. It's been an amazing trip, lumps and bumps and all. And it's been fun being able to share it all with you guys. My hands were super sore from hanging on to the boat yesterday, but with the 1HP exercises, a hot tub, my ice packs, and the crazy keyboard, it seems that I'm able to write, so I'm happy with that, too. Hope you're all well, and tomorrow we get to go home.