Little Red Rooster crows about Kauai

After a long flight from San Jose, we flew into Oahu where we caught our connecting flight to Kauai.

By the time we rented a car (be forewarned that any maps you get on Kauai will not be to scale and appear out of whack. I'd believe they're designed to purposely confuse you if I could figure out a logical reason why), we drove around confused and frustrated searching for about an hour (but how frustrated can you be in paradise, right? and Kauai is not all that big). We finally found the Sheraton after asking three different people who told us three different directions (are they confused also?).


We were just in time to unpack, open the balcony door, breathe deeply then head downstairs to the lanai for free Mai Tais and entertainment by the ocean.

It was raining and foggy the day we took a bus tour to the Waimea Canyon which is the Grand Canyon of the Islands.

We had to go back the next day in our rental car to actually see the canyon which was still a bit foggy. Our highlights of Kauai were the people we met--very friendly, open and down to earth.


On the bus tour our driver, a native of Kauai and consummate story teller, shared a story of his childhood on the island. To make that loooong story short (the long story is much better but I could never tell it the way he did nor do I want to lose half of you with a novelette length story here) here it is; when he was a boy on the island, living up the mountain, the sugar cane factory had a train that transported the cane to the mill down closer to the water. When electricity came to the island one of its first uses was a traffic light at the crossroads where a dirt road transected the tracks. It was such a novelty whenever the train made the trip, that it captivated and fascinated him and his family.

On holidays they would pile into the family car and head down to the ocean to picnic and swim. Sometime in the afternoon, they would hear the sugar train start to move down the track. The whole family would jump into the car and race to the intersection to watch the new wonder; the big "eye" that would blink and ding. He’d clap and dance around with excitement at this red-eyed wonder, a highlight of their day at the beach. Here is the red-eyed wonder, now a little worn with age.

I love the red earth of Kauai.

It makes the lush green of the island stand out even more. I think that might have something to do with my love of the Kauai coffee (for me it beats Kona). We spent an afternoon sipping all the different varieties of Kauai coffee and watched videos of how their coffee is processed.

There are some really wonderful spots to go to on Kauai. Briefly, here are a few we made time for:



A river boat tour takes you to the Fern Grotto down the Wailua River. We'd made the trip over 30 years ago when we’d gone behind the falls of the fern grotto—so magical.



Walking down the path, photographing all the beautiful, exotic flowers (while stumbling over everyone else taking pictures) I was anticipating the grotto.



Then, when we arrived, I learned that the big hurricane of 1992 caused a landslide which covered the hillside walkway, closing it forever. Now there is a platform to view the grotto at a distance, not the same as going inside and experiencing it.

On the upside, the boat owners had brought along entertainment, a family who sang, danced and played music for us. The older “Auntie” sang the Hawaiian Wedding song for a newly married couple, and those of us on our wedding anniversary (41 years for Fred and I). We talked to her afterward and made a real heartfelt connection.


On the ride going back down the river, she dedicated a song to us, welcoming us back to Kauai. We were very moved.

Lighthouses, churches

and protected sea lions sleeping on the beach.

Palm trees, sunrises and sunsets.

Gardens,

strange pine trees

. . . . and island roosters unique to the island of Kauai (that’s a story for another day but here is a little video I captured of a rooster showing off for me).

A little love from the island of Kauai.(Be sure you have your audio on to hear his crowing-so funny)

Writing? Don't ask.

A friend wrote me a note the other day mentioning that the blog tells only of my travels and she asked where she could learn about my writing. This is my writing, for now anyway. I have several short stories in a shared mystery anthology with some friends (Valley Fever, Where Murder is Contagious), another short story in a German anthology (good news is it’s been in print for over 10 years bad news is it doesn’t do you any good unless you read German), one unpublished novel, and some short shorts out of print now (sounds like a familiar Christmas song).

The past few years, I kind of burned out on writing and submitting; so little pay for so much work--but really, teaching had exhausted me and I just couldn't put on my creative writing cap. Berated by my writing friends for not writing, I'd avoided mentioning writing at all when I could get away with it. This blog keeps my mind working—even though it’s been quite a few months since the last entry, I have been writing down ideas, doing a memoir and working on some ancestry stories—and, as I do regularly, writing a journal.

Then, there it was again the other day, the dreaded, “Are you working on your manuscript?” “No, but I’ve started a new short story—sci-fi.” I’m superstitious when it comes to talking about writing. Either you're doing it or you are not and talking about it takes the wind right out of your sails—or sucks the ideas right out of your head. “What’s it about,” can be deadly to your ideas until you’ve got them all down.

So, send me good energy and maybe I'll get published again this year, just don’t ask if I’m

writing.

I'm still dwelling on October in Hawaii. First night on Kauai

and sunrise next morning.

Kauai was our first island this trip, which we hadn't been to in over 30 years. LOVED it, again.

more to come. . .