Day 12, Aug 18 - Sunday

This morning was very uplifting. Vienna and I went to church, here in Kauai. Again, it was a lovely service, very similar to other LDS services I've been to. The sisters in Relief Society were very welcoming to all of us visitors. There were more visitors/tourists then ward members. They gave each of us a crocheted lei, which is amazing considering someone had to make each one and they gave out at least 20. They must give out at least half that every week. Also, they asked if any of us could play the piano or lead the music. I don't play but I did offer to lead the music and, of course there was someone who could play so we were fine and I really enjoyed contributing to the day by leading the music - I always do. Again, in Sacrament meeting, they said "Aloha" so we could say "Aloha" back. What a nice tradition.

After church, we had lunch at a little outdoor grill at the Coconut Marketplace, near our hotel. The first thing the waiter said to me was "What kind of beer do you want?" When I told him that I don't drink beer, his response was "Wine?" I told him water would be fine. Apparently, he really wanted to sell some beer. We heard him ask the same question to several people. One woman asked if they sold bottled water. He said, "Yes. It has hops and barley in it." He also said that if I didn't like my sandwich that he could bring out a beer to wash it down. Well, the food was really good so he didn't have to do that.

In the afternoon, Andy and I took a drive to see the Waimea Canyon, what Mark Twain called "the Grand Canyon of the Pacific." Sadly, Vienna was tired and preferred to stay behind in the hotel. We started up the west coast of the island. Our first stop was the Kauai Coffee Company. This was one Andy wanted to see. As most everyone knows, I'm not a coffee drinker, either. But, seeing the video about how the coffee beans are processed was fascinating. I never knew they came from small fruits, called "cherries." The fields of small trees were beautiful, too. Plus, Andy got some free coffee - Score! After that we stopped in a small town called Hanapepe. It's called the "Biggest little town in Kauai." It is a very nice little town. We walked across a swinging bridge that was a bit scary but fun. Then, we walked up a hill for a lovely view of the town. The town is also known for its abundance of a flower called bougainvillea. There were white ones and bright pink ones. Hanapepe also had a great old movie theater. Andy's been able to take pictures of about three theaters in Hawaii to contribute to another website of his. After Hanapepe, we went up to Waimea Canyon. It was a long windy road up there but well worth it. Andy thought the canyon was just as beautiful as the Grand Canyon. Well, I wouldn't go that far, but it was truly majestic and sublime, as Andy put it. There was lots of red clay, green trees and deep canyon ridges. It was wonderful. On the way back to the car, we stopped to admire and take pictures of some roaming chickens (you know how we love them). There was also a goose that someone called "Winston." We met a couple of locals, too, that confirmed what we heard about the chickens. They put it this way: "Hurricane Eva took two chickens and Hurricane Inike gave five."

On the way back, we stopped at a Russian fort. Apparently, the Russians tried to use Kauai as a base of operations in the nineteenth century. Andy enjoyed walking around it but forts are not my thing, so I sat in a tree watching the chickens. There are some really beautiful ones. I swear some of the roosters could win at a county fair. They have lots of beautiful colors and long tails. Vienna had a nice time on her own this afternoon. She watched TV and relaxed. For dinner, we went to a local grill and had steak. Then, it was off to Beezer's for Ice cream, again. Tomorrow we'll be kayaking. I am really looking forward to that.

 

 

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