Waves

During the planning stages of this trip, we each made a list (small list) of the top things we wanted to see and do while here. For me, there was only one thing: a sailing day. We took a sailing trip in Maui a couple years ago - and while the day itself was amazing, the aftermath was horrific - I have never been so badly sunburned in my life. It took months to fully recover - and I'm not exaggerating. I had many 'spots' that I watched for a long time thinking 'so this is what a skin cancer looks like'. Thankfully, all is well and I learned my lesson.

Yesterday was our sailing trip and it was GLORIOUS. We left Port Allen at around 8:30AM and returned at 3PM. Our journey took us up to the Na'pali coastline. We saw a mama whale and her calf so incredibly close up - and then dozens of spinner dolphins, too. It was glorious. The water was crystal clear and changed in the blink of an eye from greens, to deep blues, to turquoise. We saw two sugar mills - one working, one closed (and for sale). We also learned about the "Forbidden Island" - Niihau, privately owned and inhabited by native Hawaiians. The history is fascinating. The Robinson family has owned the island since 1847 when they purchased if for $10,000 gold from King Kamehameha IV. It has been in the family ever since. The Robinson family also owns much of the island we are on - Kauai. Only 15% of this island is 'developed' - and while it seems like there's construction everywhere we look, it is in fact just a couple small recently developed housing tracts. With homes starting at $1.9M.

Niihau is also for sale - for $1 billion. A bunch of us on the boat talked it through and decided if we pooled our next paychecks and a couple of paychecks after that, we might be able to buy a rock or two on the beach. The family has said they will only sell to someone who doesn't plan to develop the island and who will allow the native families that have lived there all their lives to remain. There is no running water, no electricity anywhere on the island. They just recently built a solar powered school - only our boat guide said there was no information on exactly how or when the solar panels were delivered to the island. There are supply barges that arrive and leave about once a month. So it's going to be hard to find someone with a billion dollars lying around that they want to spend to support an island community of less than 250 people. But if I had a billion, I might consider it. The beauty of the island is that addictive. They say if a resident of Niihau leaves for an extended period, they are not allowed to return. Guess that keeps everyone honest and maintains the isolated culture as it's been for centuries. They only speak the Hawaiian language on the island, and they don't want folks leaving and returning with new ideas, new language, etc.

I spent the day with my newly purchased rash guard (SPF 50) [which was purchased at a little surf shop and I was sure it would be overpriced - it wasn't - $36 - a bargain] and capri pants and slathered every exposed part of my body with SPF 50. It worked. I have a bit of a pink forehead and a pink nose - but I'm fine everywhere else. I'm actually a little too fine 'cuz you'd never know I'm on vacation on the beach - but we still have four full days to go and I'm sure I'll get some color in those 4 days. Just a bit of color - no frying allowed.

We met some really nice people on our trip including a wonderful lady named Barbara from Chicago. She was visiting the islands with her cousins. They were a great group - in their sixties, probably, but you'd never know it. We talked and talked and while everyone around us was diving off the coastline, we struck up a conversation about our kids. She has three boys. She asked where B. wanted to go to college and I told her he was thinking about the Musician's Institute in Hollywood. And she told me she had a cousin who was a very successful studio musician - his name is Barry Goldberg and he has a blues band. She said 'I'm encouraging you because he can make a living at that if he wants to - and I'm sure my cousin would be happy to talk to him about it. He lives in Southern California'. So we exchanged names and phone numbers. And then we came back to the condo and looked him up on the Internet and it turns out it isn't just that this guy has eked out a living - it turns out he's quite well known, has quite a following and has been in the industry for many, many years. So he's a great contact to know. B. listened politely to Barbara when he returned from his dive and seemed intrigued.

But later, on the ride home, when we were being pounded by waves and surf - literally got drenched at one point from water coming up over the bow and we were on the top deck of the boat - those below had been drenched long before we were - B. told me that he's pretty sure he just wants to go to a 'state school' for four years and still pursue being a musician but not necessarily a studio musician. Huh? When did that happen? That revelation was a good distraction from the water pouring onto the lower deck and the pounding we were experiencing from hitting surf at a cross angle. We were all really glad when it 'calmed down' a bit and I was particularly thankful that we weren't under sail power 'cuz if we had been, I'm pretty sure we might have tipped over. It was not really 'stormy' weather but the ocean didn't seem to care about that - she was all white caps and surf.

Kids. They change their minds every three seconds and I can't keep up. So now he has this incredible 'contact' in the music biz and no need for it. I'm keeping the number just in case. And I told B. if Barry is anything like his cousin Barbara, he's going to pick up the phone and call B. - so I told B. 'you'd better think of what to say and listen to the man. He could help with that dream, whatever it may be'.

We ended the day with a delicious meal at Brenneke's. Had prime rib and the kids FINALLY found a place that served pasta alfredo. Only it came with sun dried tomatoes, mushrooms, and broccoli, which they asked to leave off. The portions were small-ish (for the boys) though they both seemed full. And the Easter Bunny left some treats for them so that was our dessert. J. had mahi-mahi and I had prime rib. Delicious!

Today, we are having an American breakfast and then the kids are getting their ears pierced. We had a talk with H. and told him 'you can get your ears pierced in exchange for extending your grounding for another few weeks'. He asked 'so you mean I can't hang out with friends when we get home if I get my ears pierced'. I said 'yes, that's what we mean'. He did give it a two second thought and then bagged his friends and said 'I want to get my ears done'. And I'm OK with it 'cuz it will be 'done' and we won't have this ongoing conversation about when he can get it done for the next umpteen months of my life. I know it's sort of 'giving in' - but he does realize he screwed up badly and is seriously grounded. And is subject to us getting him an AM bus pass to match his PM bus pass.

J. is planning to play golf tomorrow and hopefully, we'll find a place for the kids to take some surfing lessons and then they can spend the day in the water. I will also try to get a bit of beach time in for some 'color', hopefully. And we need to do laundry and tidy up the condo a bit today.

Aloha, everyone. Wish you were here.