We all needed sleep.
Sunday had been a long, long, long day of travel.
My seventy year old body doesn’t handle eight hour airline flights well anymore.
We slept, but our internal clocks couldn’t release their east coast groundings.
I woke a bit after 3 a.m. I tried to go back to sleep, but couldn’t.
So, I dressed and came down into the kitchen.
After a day’s absence, I reconnected with my daily devotional routine. This was followed by checking emails from home and Trinity UMC.
And a bit after four, another restless sleeper, Dan Callow, came down.
We chatted and reminisced, and somewhere in the fives, Dan’s wife, Judy, joined us.
Dan noted the arrival time for sunrise. Gradually, we worked our way out to one of the decks to look for the sun.
As soon as we walked on the deck, we were taken by the chatter of the birds. They were in lively conversation with each other.
Butch, who was up now, and Dan, quickly turned to apps on their phones that can identify the calls of the birds.
It wasn’t long before we could see sunlight backlighting scattered clouds and the etchings of palm trees.
Even though I’m not a coffee drinker, the aroma of Peet’s coffee filled the kitchen.
When Betsy and Marian joined us, we started figuring out breakfast.
We decided to place a to go order at The Cafe Hale’iwa.
With a list of the orders, Butch, Dan, and I drove to the cafe. We placed our order, and then drove to Malama Market to pick up some groceries. This is a compact store with no space wasted on junky displays. As you know, Hawaii is in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, so groceries cost more here.
We found what had been requested. On the way out of the store, an individual who might have been homeless asked me about buying him some cigarettes. I politely declined.
When we arrived back at the Hale’iwa Cafe, Dan walked in, and came back out with our breakfast order packed in a box.
No wrong turns were made in getting back to the house.
Our brides, our commanders were pleased with our efforts.
No complaints surfaced about our delicious breakfast.
At mid-morning, we found the strength to amble down to the beach. We took a short walk, admired the cool Pacific, and its shades of blue.
Gazing into the shallows, we located a couple of turtles. One popped up his head. A few small interesting pieces of coral were found, and then we took the short walk back to the house.
Once there, we collapsed on the shade covered entry porch. We enjoyed the tropical breeze, and glasses of cold ice water. The birds continued their chatter, and they blended into our drowsy conversations.
Napping dominated the early afternoon, and then Dan jostled us into a little exploring.
We piled in the van and drove over to Kaiaka Bay Beach Park with Haleʻiwa Beach Park in the adjoining parcel. Both locations offer lots in terms of recreation, camping, and picnicking. The sandy Haleʻiwa Beach shore is a favorite of local surfers.
Departing the parks, we drove into Hale’iwa and luckily found a parking space in the busy lot behind a section of local shops. We wandered through several shops, but we made a wise choice by stopping at Scoop of Paradise for ice cream.
We ended up at Longs Drugs Pharmacy(CVS) a good place for tourists to browse and find local favorites to take back home.
Additionally, we walked across the busy main road, the two lane Kamehameha Highway, and made our second visit to the Malama Market. This shopping spree focused us on securing a few more items for Tuesday morning’s breakfast.
With our bags from Longs and Malama, we were back in the van heading toward the house.
Out on that straight stretch of road, we made a quick stop at a local farm stand where we purchased a pineapple and a couple of papayas.
Back at the house, we unloaded, put our wares away, and five o’clock was approaching. Dan took drink orders, and I gathered some snacks.
Betsy placed an order to go for a variety of pasta dishes from Uncle Bo’s in Hale’iwa. Tonight for dinner, Betsy’s nephew, Parker, and his wife, Brandy, would be joining us.
At 5:30, I rode back into town with Butch and picked up our order.
Dinner with Brandy and Parker was fascinating. Brandy is an admissions administrator with the Kamehameha School, and Parker, a professional Honolulu firefighter. We peppered them with questions.
Brandy and Parker’s responses gave us great insight into their professions. From Brandy, we learned so much about Hawaiian culture along with the groundings and educational goals of the Kamehameha School.
And Parker didn’t let us down with a behind the scenes look at what it takes to serve a community as a firefighter. Plus, they both gave us valuable insight about navigating the rest of our week in Oahu and Honolulu.
With our time zones and sleep patterns still askew, we needed some rest for Tuesday. Our schedule had visits to Pearl Harbor and the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
On the Kamehameha School website, I was captured by this quote:
“Nurture the child and the lahui thrives.”
Hawaiians translate “lahui” as nation, people.
This quote made me think about my life.
For seventy years, I have been nurtured.
But, it is those early formative years that mold a child’s future.
Lucky for me, the nurturing wasn’t absent.
Imagine the impact on a child who doesn’t have that good fortune.
might be baloney 