I See Boobies!!!

We visited the Kilauea Lighthouse: http://www.kilauealighthouse.org/, dedicated in 1913.  It is located on what is now Kilauea Point National Wildlife Refuge http://www.fws.gov/kilaueapoint/.

Looking over to the lighthouse on Kilauea Point

Many birds nest on the cliffs and soar on the strong and steady winds

We saw a ton of sea birds nest along the cliffs and soar up and over the cliff on the strong winds.  We even saw Boobies!  The Red-Footed variety, that is :)

Why are they not Blue-Billed Boobies?!?

And Frigate Birds

We saw some really BIG boobies....

Grammie and Dougie

Brotherly Love: Dougie & Ian (pose inherited from Grammie...)

Albatross are common in this area.  They use the cliff tops for nesting and taking off.  They need a pretty long runway to hoist their ginormous selves into the air.  Once airborne, they are incredibly elegant.  Take off and landing though have earned them the nickname of Gooney Bird.  We saw many Gooney Birds!

Goonies?

Definitely!  A very large flock of goonies...

 We also saw my favorites:  the Hawaiian State Bird - the NeNe

(As he would look directly under the fountain drain), "Where does the water go, Daddy?" 

Ian doffs & dons Daddy's hat

Lost

Many of you out there have watched ABC's Lost, and many of you also know it was filmed here on Kauai.  Today, we had our own Lost experience!

While in the surf with Stefan, Eric's sunglasses got kicked off his face (7 yo, boogie board, big waves...).  

They were Lost...

Our boogie-boarder

He and I looked for them.  We actually saw them wash up once.  Then they were Lost again...

I gave up, figuring he should have worn the $5 Fau-kleys (or were they Fay-Bans?!?) in the surf. I guessed he would learn that lesson!

I went to shower off the kids and muck about in the pool.

Stefan made friends

Pop and Ian on the super-fun slide

Dougie, the speed-demon, on the super-fun slide

Daddy and Ian on the super-fun slide (NOTE: pic taken earlier.  Notice the sunglasses?!?)

Ian plays with the fountains

"Pop - Where'd it go?!?"

"OH!!!  Right there!"

Some time later, Eric walked back with:

HIS SUNGLASSES!!!

They are now Found!

They had washed up in the high surf and the lenses were poking out of the sand.

So, if you do not wear your $5 knock-offs, diligence really will pay off.  I guess I learned that lesson... :)

Yeah, That Was My Son

This evening, while Stefan was in the big pool and Dougie and Ian played with another boy in the kids' pool, I chatted with this boy's parents.  They are in from Calgary - a long trip to get away from a long winter!  This other boy is Dougie's age and they were playing around very happily with their kick-boards-cum-boogie-boards.  The parents were telling me how they explained to their son that the kick-board was a boogie-board.  And he thought it was great!!!.

Then, (orchestra plays the Jaws music...) a boy came over and "explained" that it was a kick-board.  Not a boogie board.

I chuckled, "That was probably my eldest..."

They chuckled.  Out of embarrassment.  I laughed.  Eventually they told me that he had even explained to their son that if it were a boogie board, it would hold his entire weight.  "Show me..."

If there was any doubt in my mind that it was my son, there was none left now!!!

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Hopefully this boy will never ask Stefan if Santa Clause is real...

Until We Meet Again... And Again... And Again...

On the inter-island flight, our seats were grouped, but not together.  Ian and Eric sat next to each other, Dougie and I sat together and Stefan ("I don't mind sitting alone!!!") sat in the row between us.  He was to have the middle seat.  A very nice couple had the seats on either side of him and were generous enough to let him have the window seat.  I am sure they figured that it would keep a seven-year old occupied to watch out the window as we passed over Ohau and onto Kauai.

So not the case...

Stefan kept THEM occupied instead.

He talked their EARS OFF the entire time.

I thanked them and let them know they were very generous and wished them a lovely vacation.  Without us.

That first day we went to the Shrimp Station (again, Oh-So-Good!!!), guess who showed up just before we were leaving?  Oh yes, Stefan's seat mates!  Poor people.  They thought they could get rid of us.

This afternoon, after going to Lydgate Park and Kapa'a Town to get some great Ahi Poke, we headed back to my parent's hotel.  They have a kids' pool that has fountains and a slide - seriously great!

Just who do you think we should pass?  Yes.  The very same couple.  AGAIN!  I made my exit after this poor lady said, "...and we are only here for one night!"  Eric stayed and chatted (while I wondered if he was OUT OF HIS MIND!).  I could not blame them if they had been exasperated, running into the same verbally impulsive kid every single day of their three allotted days on this island.  I get exasperated!

Thankfully, they were not only kind in words, they were also very genuine and had enjoyed their repeated run-ins with us.

PHEW!

Turns out, the third time IS a charm!

Lydgate Park

This morning we went just up the street to Lydgate State Park.  In spite of being on the East side of the island (translation: high surf in winter, beaches closed to swimming of any sort...), Lydgate is fantastic for kids.  It has a huge play area in case you/your kids are tired of the sun and sand (yeah, right!).  A swimming and pseudo-snorkling cove has been created by building a rock wall (seen below).   The lagoon is no deeper than an adults' chest.  The tide still goes up/down and waves lull in and out, but the surf has been broken up by the rock wall.  Fish will come and mingle on the edges of the rock, creating a great place for kids to take up snorkeling.  Stefan first snorkeled here when he was 4.  We still can not convince Dougie to do so at 5-1/2...

Ian and I sat on the rocks that divided the main lagoon and a "baby" lagoon (a lagoon inside the lagoon - shallower and very calm) and watched fish for a good long time.

Stefan snorkeled and engineered sand structures

Dougie tried re-creating the Panama Canal.

 Eventually Ian came to join them in their digging.

Ian tries out snorkeling...  from the lounge chair... 

E Kanikapila Kakou

E Kanikapila Kakou presents free weekly musical concerts as part of increasing the education and literacy of the Hawaiian arts and artists.  The evening started with a hula and ukelele lessons and then a performance of the taught song.

Then we enjoyed an amazing concert by LT Smooth.  He and his band were amazing.  To think he was a crack user at 8 and a heroin addict at 12 is hard to believe.  Thank the Lord, truly, that has all changed for him.  Here is an article written by the Honolulu Advertiser on him:

http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2007/Aug/17/en/hawaii708170301.html

I took some terrible pictures (it was dark inside):

LT Smooth and his band: Vatanui and Bruce Collins

And the hula dancer: Pati Taulaulelei

Stefan found a soulmate in one of the women in charge of the raffle.  She taught Geo-Physics post graduate courses and worked on the ice roadways up in the Arctic.  For those of you that have met/talked with Stefan, you can see how he would find her attractive.

For me, it was, perhaps, a small glimpse into his future.

Their similarities, dispite the age gap, were exceptional.  Just as their dancing was...

Stefan and Lyn dancing to the music

If you would like to hear a taste of the concert and what he can do, (and MAN can he strum those strings!) check out the You Tube video:

Horsey Ride

Our vacation came complete with sunshine, surf, 4-door soft-top jeep, grandparents and...




a horse...

Ride 'em Paniolo!

Must tuck the shirt-tails into the Thomas skivvies to avoid exposure...

Good Horsey!

Look what we captured!

Who has captured whom?

Possibly the best attraction around :)