ONE FISH, TWO FISH, RED FISH, HUMUHUMUNUKUNUKUAPUA'A FISH

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In honor of the birthday week

Of Dr.Seuss, we shall seek

To imagine how he would see

His books if located in Hawaii

In a way that's unique

Horton Hears a Hulu is one

Green Flash & SPAM could also be done

You could find Yertle on the Hawaiian Beaches

As well as the Starfruit Bellied Sneetches

This exercise in fun has barely begun

The simple to read Hop on Poipu

Would be something that all would find quite new

Mele Kalikimaka, so sayeth the Grinch

Is a phrase we might find that would work in a pinch

And it's easy to find a Beach Thong One & Thong Two

Morals abound as in the "Better Butter Battle"

Seuss loved to grab convention and give it a rattle

Another could be Ten Pineapples Up on Top

I could go on and on but I really must stop

As our time is short and must cease this prattle

"You're Only Old Once", the author once said

His advice hasn't ended although he's now dead

"Oh, The Places You'll Go!" is a fitting refrain

As we pack up tomorrow and hop on the plane

Well tanned, content and obviously well-fed

It's now apparent the downside of giving me a little too much free time and a self-imposed goal of recapping our activities here on vacation. However, I've rarely met a theme I couldn't twist for my own enjoyment, so don't expect things to return to normal even though the vacation is ending... Since this week marked the 106th birthday of Theodore Geisel (aka Dr. Seuss) and a number of school activities were planned to celebrate reading, I thought I would offer my own tribute. Geisel was challanged to take a list of 250 words to create a book kids would be eager to read, and the resulting "Cat In The Hat" energized generations of readers, myself included. His rhyming pattern was anapestic tetrameter while I lean more to the simpler anapestics of the limerick style.

Actually got to come face to face with rain today a few times as we headed up to Elsie's with a treasure trove of unused food. I was able to get in the car before a squall soaked the Gang of Four but by the time wereached Lihue, the sun was emerging. Elsie had a church activity today that ran longer than she expected, so we missed her and dropped our food off in exchange for a last batch of fresh oranges. We did our final shopping at Hilo Hatties and dined at Costco before heading home. Dianna & Mary wanted to check out the shops in Koloa, so as designated driver I went with them and then stopped at the Hyatt where I was able to get a few blog-ready photos including a rainbow that preceded another intense rain shower which I got to soak in.

We had a whitefish (not red or blue) and two corn dish meal with dinner rolls as we cleaned out the refrigerator and then caught a nice windy sunset. Played cards and then prepared to pack up tomorrow for a 2:00 PM flight to Oahu.

ROLLING AROUND HEAVEN

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As the time approached Eleven O'Clock

We boarded Kilohana's rolling stock

We passed by the pigs and the cows

Saw trees with fruit laden boughs

And heard an occasional crow of the Cock

Our wheels were rolling as we did not lag

Filling with coffee and chocolate our reusable bag

The occasional shower didn't dampen our mood

As our cinnamon rolls highlighted our food

And we even got a cover photo for Hawaii Surfer mag.

We move closer to our Friday departure from Kauai and checked a couple more things off our to-do list. We had scrambled eggs with diced bacon & sausage as an accompaniment to another batch of cinnamon rolls, which came out much closer to the gold standard of my mom's Norwegian Cinnamon rolls. Rule of thumb - more butter is better...

The Kilohana Plantation had an hour long train ride around their grounds, so we hustled up to ride the rails. We passed through a variety of exotic tropical orchards and plantings and stopped to feed the wild pigs. The scene was reminiscient of the rush through some of the food lines at the Smith Luau we attended last week. At the conclusion of the ride we headed down to Port Allen to visit Kauai Chocolate under the guise of doing reseach for Ted and then picked up some coffee at the Kauai Coffee Company store. We stopped for a quick photo-op of Eula surfing in the mist and then headed home to resume the task of trying to empty the contents of our refrigerator before we pack up Friday morning. More shrimp, pork, fish, corn casserole and salad was consumed, but we're not making enough of a dent.

"Some watched while others must sleep", as we played some cards and watch the Duke-Maryland game before arriving at dinnertime with no appetites. Their was no sunset to view to speak of, so we passed the early evening with a series of Back Alley games and a Five Crowns match.

Tomorrow we pack up our perishable food to take up to Elsie's and do any last minute shopping. We don't fly over to Oahu until 2:00 PM on Friday so we'll save our packing until then. A famous birthday acknowledgement is in store for tomorrow. Stay tuned....

WIND ON THE WATER

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"Blowin' in the Wind" is something we know

As we're under the influence of a persistent low

But we won't bemoan our fate

Since food and scenery remain great

And it doesn't affect where we go

We hoped for a low pressure vacation

So this hasn't dimmed our elation

As the wind is blowing

The water is flowing

And beauty is evident at each location

Week One gave us our sun so to be fair Week Two is about air... We started the day with some excellent crab omlets and hash browns prepared by Merlin and then plotted our course for today. All we knew was that we'd be tacking into the wind as once again the day dawned cloudy and windy. My chore of the day was fixing the condo complex's guest computer which would entail a visit to the East side of the island, and we wanted to visit some of the great waterfalls on the island. We found the Computer Hospital in Kapaa and I had an enjoyable conversation with the owner. He wants to sell his business due to health problems but one computer business on my resume is enough for me although based on the level of support I've found so far, a guy could stay busy..

The Wailua River, home of the Fern Grotto and adjacent to Elvis's famous Coco Palms ( which sadly has fallen into complete disrepair since Hurricane Iniki in 1992) has a beautiful waterfall named Opeaka which has a view easily accessible off the roadside. We enjoyed the scenery and snapped a few photos including one of a parasailor on the beach at the mouth of the river. We then headed off to Wailua Falls, an impressive 80 foot falls made famous in "Fantasy Island" The flow was only moderate due to lack of rain but beautiful just the same. We returned home for lunch and I headed to the office and installed the new network card, loaded IE 8.0 and was relieved when a connection was established. I was given mahalo and fresh avacados, a variation of the country doctor taking chickens for service... although finding a chicken on this island wouldn't have been a problem either.

Played some cards and then Dianna & Mary went for a nice round-trip walk to Brenneke's and then we prepared dinner. Pork chops, corn casserole, and salad greeted us after a quick sunset viewing followed by an evening of spirited Back-Alley card playing. I prepared another batch of cinnamon rolls and deferred the blog entry until morning.

RAINY DAYS & MOON DAYS

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Tsunami Postscript....

In the last week, you've heard a familar refrain

That rarely have we encountered much rain

But the clouds rolled in

And the wind caused a din

Allowing just a glimplse of the moon's wax and wane.

Saturday's trauma had taken it's toll

So rest and recovery was our goal

While we sat around and waited

Our appetities were sated

By helpings of my Cinn-nami Rolls.

The day after the "Tsunami that Wasn't" dawned cloudy and windy, so we weren't in any hurry to get out and about. Merlin & Mary headed off to church after I whipped up some pancakes and scrambled eggs and the remaining Hawaii celebrants relaxed around the condo. Eula had yet to see the movie "UP" and since we were constantly joking about it in regard to our whale distractions, we all sat down to watch it. M & M returned from waht's probably our last major shopping trip and the they rested while I caught up on my reading and we watched a little TV. We watched virtually none of the Olympics while we were here as I was content to get my news from the Internet or work on my blog while we read our engaging in that somewhat forgotten art of conversation. I've enjoyed having time to get to know Eula and hear some of her stories and I think we've all valued a chance to just have "being" time instead of overloading on "doing" time.

Merlin prepared some of the salmon he brought back from his Alaska trip which resulted in an excellent meal finished off with brownies that Dianna had made. Since we didn't have any oil for the recipe, Dianna "Julia Child'ed" the recipe and substituted butter which worked great. We were looking forward for the Full Moon rise as the sun set, but the "clouds got in our eyes" and in the way, but I was still able to get a few photos. As the evening went on, the view improved but we had to fight the wind as we stood on the lanai. A few card games and then I stayed up to prepare some cinnamon rolls before bidding Aloha and Mahalo to February 2010.

Monday arrived even windier and cloudier, but did provide a spectacular veiled sunrise that I caught on camera. We had scrambled eggs, sausage, cinnamon rolls, and a variety of island fruits for breakfast and then sent a small scouting party out to the Koloa Sunshine market for some Avacados for our afternoon taco-fest. We ran into the new friends from Florida that we had met at Koloa the previous Monday and hung out with Saturday at Kalaheo during our Tsunami-Watch and Dianna gave them some info on the McMasters slack-key guitar concerts. It's fun how easy it is to make connections when you've got a relaxed environment and willing participants... We returned to Makahuena and I went to the office to print our tickets for our Pearl Harbor tour in Oahu on Saturday. Their computer was on the blink and when the uttered the magic words, "Do you know anything about computers?", I switched into full Nerd mode (after idling at 80% for most of the vacation). The Network Interface Card needed to be replaced and as a 10+ year old techology,l I was skeptical I could find a substitute. I worked on it for 1/2 hour and then offered to look around when we went in to Lihue. I tried a few places but most people had no idea what I needed. With wireless capabilities built in to most computers and the declining cost of hardware, it's difficult to justify repair, so I may be out of luck - we'll see tomorrow..

We had a late lunch early dinner of tacos prepared under Eula's guidance, and then we headed off to our E Kanakapili Kakou concert which featued a Hawaiian pianist and Hula teacher/dancer. They were both very talented, but we all agreed that this season's offerings didn't have the spark of previous years. We got home by 9:00 and Eula was ready to call it a night while the four of us were able to get in four hands of pinochle before winding down. We hoping to take a train ride and visit a waterfall if the wind dies down a little.

SPLISH SPLASH, I WAS TAKING A BATH

We were awakened by an unusual sound
As we were alerted to head for higher ground
We awaited the potential Tsunami's force
While perched on a hilltop golf course
A better refuge could not be found

The wave has come without fuss
Leaving only a memory that time will not muss
We give thanks for our fate
As we'll mark down this date
As the day the ocean almost visited us


So much for a restful Saturday... We were awakened by Tsunami Sirens at 6:00 AM and Mainland phone calls from friends and family alerting us to the potential for a Tsunami to hit the Islands around 11:30 AM local time. An 8.8 magnitude earthquake had hit 200 miles south of Santiago, Chile and generated a potential tsunami. Sixty years ago a 9.5 quake hit the same area and generated a wave that killed 1100 on Hilo, so everyone is being cautious. We decided to head to Kaleheo and parked at the community golf course with a view overlooking the ocean 947 feet above sea level. It turned into a community picnic as everyone brought out blankets and chairs and watched the horizon. We had bathroom and restaurant facilities and a great vantage point, so it was an ideal spot to "ride out the storm"

For our book club, I've been reading a “spiritual” memoir by a Eugene author, called “Rolling Around Heaven” and it seemed appropriate to sit in my sand chair facing the ocean to watch. I went up to the clubhouse for a slightly better vantage point out of the sun and worked on my blog since I figured this might generate more interest. I was tempted to pass time on the golf course but when they started landing helicopters on the first fairway, I retreated to my book. The event passed with only minor surges of a few feet on the other islands, so we headed back home around 2:00 PM so everyone could rest up from our "Waiting for the Flow" event. I had intended laundry to be my most exciting activity for Saturday and finally sudsed up around 5:00 PM. Dinner is slated to be shrimp and pork and corn with card playing in the evening. We're hopeing for uneventful slumber tonight. Stay tuned....

HANA-LAZY

As we greet another active and sun-filled day
We head north to engage in frolic and play
We visit Elsie in Kapaa
Aquire Ono Burgers to gnaw
and end our visit in a land called Hanalei

We celebrated our first week on the Island by heading north again, this time to visit Elsie in Kapaa. We had a leisurley breakfast and then drove up by 11:00 to Elsie's and visited for about an hour. About 6 weeks ago she got knocked down by a car that was backing up and broke an arm and was seriously bruised and just now had recovered. She filled our truck with fresh oranges from her tree and we vowed a return visit to off-load our extra food before we leave next week. An item on our to-do list was to eat at Ono Burger at Anahola so we stopped in for lunch. The burgers were as good as advertised so we went down to Anini Beach to digest and enjoy the view. Dianna got to stick her toes in the water before we headed to the Kiluaeu Lighthouse. Eula got a ride up to the viewing area and we enjoyed some beautiful views and whale action.

We headed in to Hanalei for Doug & Sandy McMaster's Slack-Key guitar concert at 4:00 PM and enjoyed a wonderful relaxing concert. Eula won a lei in the raffle but was allergic to the flowers so she passed it on to Dianna. Doug and Sandy are trying to put togeter a Mainland tour so we offered them a place in Portland if they make the trip come to fruition. Shopping stops at Walmart, Costco, and Big Save for milk, a roasted chicken, gas and other staples preceded a late dinner. Cards and then bed – no big plans for Saturday so we can rest....

....A Tale of a Fat-Full Trip...

Just sit right back and you'll hear a tale
A tale of a fat-filled trip...
That started at a tropic port
In search of a chocolate chip

The Professor & Mary Ann were the only ones on board
As they went in search of treasure inside a cacao gourd
The tastings were long and hard, at the end they were quite spent
The result of ten flights of cacao averaging 70+ percent

Endorphins started to kick in as they began to feel quite mellow
Hugs were eagerly exchanged between more than one gal and fellow
The quest was rewarded at the end of a three-hour tour
As the chocolate overload provided anti-oxidents for a 2 week cure

Once they finished the adventure of the cacao
It was time to press on for a full-body luau
Thrilled by Hawaiian,Tahatian and Maori dance
They ate plenty and left nothing to chance
As they sampled the offerings of pig,fish,and cow


Got a chance to start our day with a chocolate tour in the highlands of Kapaa. With the decline of pineapple and sugar agriculture on the island, business leaders are exploring the potential of niche crops with value added potential and cacao is one such crop. The growing climate of Kauai is well suited to cacao and vanilla, so we got to see efforts at an experimental farm in the hills of the east side about Kapaa. We joined about 2 dozen our intrid souls as we sampled various tropical fruits and honey and then learned of the process of converting raw cacao into familar chocolate servings. Thanks to Ted's expertise and chocolate tastings we've done back in Hillsdale, much of this was familar, but we some some interesting new techniques and equipment, icluding a chocolate grist mill that will grinf cocoa nibs down to a smooth paste after 24 hours of processing. We tasted 10 differnt types of dark chocolate ( containing no milk solids) with cacao concentrations of 60% -78% and rated them. Our tour guide was knowledgable and entertaining so it was definitely time well spent.

We made a Lihue Costco run and availed ourselves of the $3 Costco gourment lunch for 2 and picked up some staples for the week ahead. We got back to the condo by 2:40 and had about 90 minutes before we needed to head out for our Smith Luau. Played some cards and then all five of us headed back east to the Wailua River, the site of Smith's Fern Grotto boat trips and the Tropical Paradise, where the luau and stage show occur 3 times a week. We toured the grounds, saw the unveiling of the Kalua pig and sat done to a boutiful luau. Teriyaki Beeef, Kalua pork, sweet & sour Mahi-Mahi, chicken, and great coconut custard and coconut cake more than satisifed me. We had center seating for the hour long stage show highlighted a variety of ethic dance styles in the Islands, including an enthusiastic fire juggler. Had a perfect evening to enjoy the experience and we all returned home pleased by 10:00 PM. Tomorrow may be a trek to Waimea Canyon..

I'm having difficulty consistently and conveniently posting pictures on the blog, so we'll be mostly text until I figure this out. I have a good backlog of interesting photos to support my documentation...

Happy Birthday to Rick Seifert and Leah Rutz, two bright stars for their respective generations that, among other things, have nutured the success of the Hillsdale Farmers Market! Thanks for being- right here - right now... MTP

It's Always Sunny in Poipu-delphia

Time on the Island moves at a different pace.
The rats here are turtles and there is no race
Everything is magical, filled with surprises
Your only guarantee is that the sun always rises
And provides a fresh day to fully embrace

Schedules fade as an Island rhythm emerges
A laid-back attitude replaces those old needs and urges
Whether by food, music, or soft ocean breezes
fading sunlight or a floral aroma that pleases
Allow ebb & flow like a wave as it surges

I suppose I don't need to give a long list,
as you probably already get the gist
We're having a good time
Even if it doesn't always rhyme
Though certain details are missed.


Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday were filled with those things that we enjoy so much about Hawaii, but probably seem less inspiring from a distance. We've had great sunrises and sunsets, the whale actions has been frequent, and we continue to marvel at the front row seat we have from our lanai. The weather has been about the best I can remember although we are transitioning from perfect to delightful to merely pleasant by weeks end.

Merlin and Mary were able to make it to Lihue to church on Sunday and stock up at the "general store" (Wal-Mart) before returning to lunch, some card playing, and the requisite nap option. Since we had raced around Waimea on Saturday, we figured we'd stay close to home on Sunday.

I was in charge of breakfast on Monday, so we had pancakes and sausage and then made sure we were in position for the Koloa Sunshine Market at noon. This is a cross between a typical Summer Hillsdale Farmers Market and a 5:30 AM post-Thanksgiving "Black Friday" sale with eager buyers awaiting the signal to shop. We rode the surf of shoppers and emerged 15 minutes later with our prizes of papayas, apple bananas, radishes, green beans, avocados, and other tropical bounty. Our Monday night enertainement was E Kanikapila Kakou, the free Feb-Apr music show which means "Let's Strike up the Music", and showcases Hawaiian musical talent. It's these shows in the past that we've seen everyone fro 17 year old to 100 year old ukulele whizzes and learned much about Hawaiian cultural traditions in song and dance. Hula and music from Maui was presented Monday night and was located at a new venue which took away a lot of the intimacy from the old location but made the performace accesible to more people. We didn't get home until after 10:30, so we decided to defer our plans to head up to Waimea Canyon until Thursday and let everyone sleep in.

Tuesday was quiet as we only went out at lunch to get takeout and eat down at Brennakes Beach before3 coming back to enjoy cards and reading. Merlin prepared some of the halibut he caught in Alaska this summer, so the whales weren't the only things that migrated from Alaska to Hawaii for our enjoyment. Played a variety of card games before everyone retired. Dianna & I get to go on a 3 hour tour of a Cacao Farm tomorrow and then we're all attending a Smith Luau in the late afternoon, so we'll have a full enjoyable day. Aloha until tomorrow...

"AS SEEN ON TV"

A mind like mine is a terrible thing to waste
Under the guise of keeping decorum and good taste
But by arousing my muse
I’ll fabricate some news
And endeavor to do so with much haste

This time of year there is little vacillation
As for a fortnight we abandon our vocation
The call of Hawaii does beckon
Its impact is something we reckon
Will lead to a restful vacation

Day One of S.P.A.M. 2010
Always provides things on which we depend
Sunrise, breezes, palms and a whale slap
Laughter, good food, and sunset are fodder for my rap
But will it show up in the words I have penned?...

As I was saying when I last wrote 248 days ago… thank goodness for a metaphysical GPS - the inner nudging that gets you where you need to go despite your best conscious efforts to go in a different direction. Through fits and starts and ups and downs, we have managed to make our way back to Kauai, about 50 yards east of where we started last year for another round of the S.P.A.M. Chronicles. For those who may have slept in the last year, this will be a sporadic recap of our Hawaiian adventures in the areas of Sights, Play, Activities, and Music in a mnemonic tip of the hat to Hawaii’s favorite meat by-product. Pictures and descriptions to follow…

Today’s theme is “As Seen on TV” and In a scene out of National Lampoon’s Vacation , we held our breath and crammed our luggage in the Caddy as we headed out with a new participant to our tropical party, Eula Belle Burks, Dianna’s great-aunt on her dad’s side of the family. We had the good fortune of having her and her son Barry come up from Visalia, CA join us for Thanksgiving in Portland, so we invited her to join us in February. We boarded our plane without incident but then found ourselves somewhere between “Airport 77” and “Airplane” when Eula & Mary had the misfortune of being trapped in the lavatory during a particularly violent and unexpected period of turbulence. Eula wedged herself in and hung on vowing not to get bucked off the toilet as she once was off a horse… The hopper to Lihue was much calmer and we were able to get a car with even bigger trunk and be on our way..

First priority was food, so Hamura’s Saimen Shop filled the bill and our stomachs and we arrived at our new digs just after sunset. We were staying in a different unit which we also got from VRBO.com and in a small world coincidence it was owned by an Aptos acquaintance of my college friends Carolyn & Rich. She ended up selling thee unit in December, but we still felt there was a nice connection. Once we walked in and saw the view from our lanai we knew we were in the right place as we overlook the point where we would hike out each morning of our stay over the last few years to view sunrise. Now we can sit on our deck and watch whales cavorting. Our attention span is now similar to the dogs’ “Squirrel” moments in the Pixar movie “UP”

Our big event for Saturday was the Waimea Town celebration which had ideal weather this year. Merlin has retired from the ukulele competition but we still in our element in the ice cream eating contest. The organizers of the event all recognized and welcomed Merlin back which reminded us again of the benefit of the warmth of communities like Hillsdale & Waimea. We returned home after sampling some of the local wares at the fund raising booths and found an electrician working on a sticky problem regarding lack of power in one of the upstairs bedrooms. When we mentioned we had just come from Waimea, he said he recognized Merlin from the TV as the local channel had been replaying last years Ukulele Contest. When we talked about the Monday night performers we had enjoyed over the years, he said his grandmother had played with Bill Tapia (who is now 102) at the Royal Hawaiian. We had a good chat and a successful outcome as electricity was flowing by dinnertime.

We raced down t o a glorious sunset and then had fish & chicken burritos with the leftovers from lunch. We watched “UP” and everyone retired after a busy day while I swept the cobwebs from my blog and posted one man’s view of Paradise circa Feb 2010…