peace, love & Hawaiian harmony

TODAY marks the (real) first day of our vaca.... but let me digress for a moment or two.

We left home yesterday morning at a quarter of O'dark hundred to catch a 6am puddle jumper to SFO, where the journey really settles in. We spent just under 2 hours in the Red Carpet lounge where I had my morning java & a piece of fruit and we "googled" this & "googled" that to pass the time.

The flight over was delightfully uneventful & we landed at the Lihue airport before noon. While waiting for the Captain to work out the details for our rental car (our first year of being more GAS conscious than comfort influenced), I got a giggle out of a priest climbing into the BRIGHT RED mustang convertible parked next to us! I guess EVERYONE takes a vacation from something from time to time (?) Our Kauai home is 5 minutes from the airport, so we checked to see if we could get checked in & they were ready for us. We opted from a change from our own unit, to get something without upstairs neighbors and ended up where there are NO buildings between us & the ocean view. sa-weeet! This location puts the stairs INSIDE where it's cooler, rather than outside as you're hauling in groceries, or coming home from a day at the beach. It's a little smaller & less "updated" than ours .... but a nice alternative. (probably the top 2 floors to the right of the palm trees in this picture).

I unpacked while the Captain explored closets & cubbys- it didn't take long, since we opted for ONLY carry-ons this trip! Then off we went for a drive & to pick up supplies. Sleepytime came a little early since we'd been up since 3am- and it meant that feeling like I was ready to get up when the ceiling clock posted 6:15 wasn't a surprise. (apparently, some contraptions cannot be left at home). With the coffee on, windows & doors open brought in the cool ocean breeze and I could hear the local roosters calling for an early rise as well..... suddenly to find that it was not 6+ am but 5+ am!!!!!!!!!!! too funny. (oopsey to the clock-setter) So- here we are just after 7, our Hawaiian tunes merrily humming along while I (personally) melt over my first "location" papaya & locally made cinnamon bread, alongside my choc mac coffee. We're planning a walk before attending the welcome breakfast. Their 1 hour presentation can be fruitful if we win a 2fer kayak or board rental. ALOHA for now!