Our First Day at Hanalei Bay and My First Post

Our first of many afternoons at Hanalei Bay Beach was filled with a mix of sun followed by several short rain showers. Despite the weather issues, we had fun and the best part is it only took 2 minutes to walk back to our place.

Until next time, Pres

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

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On the way to Hanalei

We just landed in Kauai. Preston went to get the rental jeep (cuz that’s how we roll) and I am waiting with the bags, sitting across from a row of trees covered in coral blossoms. They look like giant bougan villas. Their skinny branches and leaves are dancing in the same wind that keeps blowing my hair in my face. The airport music is the traditional Hawaiian melody, and if I look to my right, I can see the straight deep blue edge of the ocean on the horizon.

Yesterday was a great beach day. Matt, Kate, Preston and I packed up our towels, iPods and grilling goods and headed to Kailua Bay around 11. Pres and Matt were dropping us off with the stuff so we wouldn’t have to carry it all so far when Kate and I saw an abandoned shopping cart on the side of the road. We knew we had a little way to walk along a street before we got to sand, so at the embarrassment of Preston and Matt, we turned it over, brushed it off and loaded a good amount of our stuff along with the grill into the cart. Magical! We parked it when we got to the sand, leaving it for the next person that had too much stuff to carry.

The day before, we had scouted out this beach and decided to get there early and snag one of the shady spots under a tree. We walked up just in time, claiming our spot shortly before another group of people that were eying our shade spot. Somehow, I still managed to get a sunburn, which is not a normal occurrence. It will probably be gone tomorrow, but for now, the 1/8 American Indian in me is sitting right on the surface.

Throughout the day, more and more people began to join our group. We hung out on the beach, grilled burgers and hot dogs, jumped the waves and enjoyed several fruity beverages. Preston and Matt insisted on listening to Texas Country music, so much so that I even got sick of it. As the sun started to set, the beach became more and more freckled with people gathering to watch the fireworks show. They shot fireworks over the ocean off a boat in the bay. It was hard for me not to say, “That was my favorite one!,” or, “Oh, I like the sparkly ones!”

We packed up this morning and said goodbye. I have to give props to the inter-island terminal… the restaurant there amended their breakfast burrito to include only ham and veggies, served with salsa, jalapenos and fresh avocado. I don’t know what’s with ESPN and eating contests… they were showing highlights from the 2010 Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest that we saw yesterday morning.

So from the airport, it probably takes about an hour to get to Hanalei. We have heard talk of a place that serves a frozen banana treat along the way… maybe that will show up on Katie’s Plate.

Kate, Matt's sister, took all of the 4th of July pictures with her fancy pants camera. As I have invited her to write a post for this blog, hopefully she will post some for you. If not, I will update with pictures as soon as I can.

That's Kate.

Matt got me Coco Loco Pina Colada mix, which is milk free! 

Oh, and I forgot a hair dryer, so I've been drying my hair 

with a large oscillating fan. Can you tell?

Preston and Matt on Matt's lanai (balcony).

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During the early morning escapades

Coffee for Royalty at the Beach City Grill.

And by escapades, I mean Pres and I woke up before everyone else in Matt's apartment and rather than wake the seven other people up with our "vacation mentalities," we left to explore and consume on our own.  We found the Beach City Grill, a bar/breakfast place that Pres remembered from his last visit.  We were a few minutes early, so we took a drive around town, during which I realized that there is some kind of organized running race taking place today.  I wanted to go find the start of the race and see what was going on, maybe stop and cheer for some people(yes, I realize that sounds dorky), but then I remembered that we are on vacation in Hawaii and there are better things to do!  Back at the Beach City Grill, we got in some good breakfasting time while watching on TV the 2010 Nathan's hotdog eating contest.  Thankfully, my back was to the TV.

Getting to Oahu was an adventure; I always forget how draining that day of travel is for us.  Especially with my allergies; airplane food is not conducive to a no egg/dairy diet.  I think the cart lady gave me like three bananas, two packets of baby carrots and several servings of juice(to go with my vodka!) on the plane.  So when we landed, I got to the nearest hamburger and quickly remedied the problem.

We are staying with our friend Matt in Oahu for the 4th of July before we head over to Kauai tomorrow.

That's Matt.

I highly recommend staying with friends at vacation destinations.  Everything is already there, the place to stay, the friends, the fun plans.  You don't have to try to meet people and make "couple dates" or go to an organized party with the "fanny pack people."  Not that we would do that anyway... but there is this awesome feeling of being air-dropped into a party and all you have to bring is the fun (yes, I realize that was dorky too).  Also, I feel almost like a local walking around here.  Or maybe I don't feel like the locals are looking at me and thinking "stupid tourist, get off my island." My favorite part of this morning was the Thank You I got from the Hawaiian lady at the grocery store checkout counter after I bagged our own groceries.  Sometimes, it's a good feeling not to be doted upon.  (Don't quote me on that though!)  

Last night, we went to "The Pub" with Matt, Kate (Matt's sister that is also visiting), Rachel (Matt's girlfriend) and one of Rachel's friends.  I have no idea if "The Pub" is the real name of this place, but that's what Matt calls it.  It's his place, not that he owns it, but he goes there a lot.  Of course it was and Irish Pub.  Somehow we always find one of those no matter where we are.  Excellent burgers, excellent company.  Back at Matt's apartment, Preston and I realized that we had been up and going for 24 hours.  24 HOURS!  When we said that out loud, it was like my body said "Oh.  Okay.  I've done my job for the day.  I think I'll shut down now."

That's Me.

The first thing we did after we got to Matt's Apartment was head over to Kailua beach. This is where we will spend the 4th of July, hopefully underneath the little shade tree, with some good company, good grilled food and good beer.  We are looking forward to so much on this trip!  And the best part is that I already have the "island mentality" which usually shows up around day four of a beach trip.  

Good times ahead.

Location:Kailua Rd,Kailua,United States

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It's time!

We leave for Hawaii soon.  Check out our trip blog for updates!
Hanalei Happenings

And don't even think about robbing our house; we have people watching it.

The art of reading

image from http://www.oliverray.ca/girl_reading.htm

When I was  little, I knew exactly what I wanted, bookwise.  Christopher Pike, and sometimes R.L. Stine, but not the Goosebumps series because I didn't like the TV series based on the books.  Add in a few others from that same shelf in the bookstore, like The Face on the Milk Carton, and Tomorrow, When the War Began, and you have my elementary school reading career.  Vampires.  Witches.  Kidnapping.  Etc.  

I always question the argument that some books are too inappropriate for kids to read.  I do realize that I probably shouldn't have read Sleepers in the seventh grade, but I don't think kids are going crazy because they read Harry Potter or the Twilight Series.  Sorcerers and Vampires are nothing compared to the demon possessed Fear Street cheerleaders or the murderers that Christopher Pike invented, both of which have the potential to be very real... but really, I spent days reading those types of books and I turned out okay.  

As an adult, reading feels a little more tricky.  Is it okay to read my beloved horror/suspense books, or would that make me an unsophisticated reader?  I can't just re-read the books I grew up reading, so what else is out there?  I'm the one paying for books now, so have I wasted my money if I don't finish a book (Well, actually, I consider this a sunk cost, but that is a different post)?   And it takes forever to just pick one out; just because the cover is neat doesn't mean the book is good.  I have personally fallen into the trap of finding one good author and reading all of their books before I move on to something else.      

So when I saw the "best books of the summer" list on the cover of this month's O magazine, I picked it up fast, never mind the little voice at the back of my mind that kept whispering "old people magazine, old people magazine..."  Maybe Oprah had the answer.  I flipped through the pages, expecting to find paragraphs and charts that would tell me what books to read depending on my demographic status (ie: Books for your 20's!) but instead I found O's Declaration of Reader Independance.  It debunked the little man, sitting in the old dusty room, writing all those book rules that I thought I had to follow.  I hope it is as freeing for you as it was for me.

O's Declaration of Reader Independence
With thousands of books landing in stores every year, it's all too easy to go with the flow and let group-think choose what you'll read and treasure next. But here's one thing about reading: It's very personal (at least if you're doing it right!). In other words, there are no rules beyond the ones you care to make—and choose to follow. With that in mind (and with July Fourth upon us), we propose that you declare your independence from common wisdom, lore, and the opinions of others, and that you hold as self-evident your right to:

1. Not finish a book, whether you've read to page 10, 50, or 250. (But if it's Ulysses, you get points just for getting past page 1.)

2. See the movie first—especially if you've heard the book is kind of lousy; the movie just has to be better. 

3. Read two books at once—and occasionally get the plots mixed up.

4. Reread a childhood favorite. But be forewarned: Charlotte still dies. 

5. Judge a book by its cover. Or its title. We defy you, for example, not to pick up Mary Roach's Bonk,which, um, scores on both counts.

6. Wish that Cormac McCarthy would use a little punctuation now and then. 

7. Be miffed if your friend doesn't like a book you recommend. On the other hand, you have our permission to be miffed if she gets miffed when you don't like the one she recommends to you. 

8. Ignore memoirs by people who have barely cracked their 30s. 

9. Declare yourself unmoved by the existential struggles of vampires, zombies (even those in league with Jane Austen), talking dogs, or what we worry is the next trend: scary-smart monkeys.

10. Believe that books can be magic carpets to enchanted lands, even while realizing that they're inanimate objects made of ink and paper. (Unless they're e-books. And it's okay to love those, too.)