Kauai

With travel reward points set to expire - they were also lowering their value - we blew it all on a trip to Kauai. The spectacular Napali coast from the air...

from a helicopter, to be exact. Beth flew out from snowy Iowa. 30 years ago, she stayed at the hotel of Elvis's Blue Hawaii fame.

We communicated by mic within the cabin.

Also went on a whale-watch...

with Captain Andy,

but the unusually choppy waters meant staying closer to shore; ie no whales; only the constant mixing of Slinky Tikis -the catamaran's signature drink.

The boys loved the sand & surf. They'd lie on the sand and wait for the wave to pull them back down.

Hawaiian shaved ice, which I knew as KORI, its Japanese name. Apparently, Japanese sugarcane harvesters introduced kori to the islands in the '20s. A block of ice shaved so finely that you can gently scoop it up soaked with fruit flavoring. The Japanese variety has a well of azuki beans at the bottom.

BTW, it's always interesting to see Japanese culture - language, food & customs - so ingrained in Hawaii. I turned my head at the Honolulu airport, overhearing "yoi-sho," kinda Japanese for "whoa" (my father said it all the time), when lifting something rather heavy. This guy was white. Another time, at a buffet, another man (also white) next to me, thinking I was confused about a dipping sauce, told me, "That's SHOYU - Japanese for soy sauce." The first time anyone has ever explained to me what soy sauce was. Only in Hawaii?

***

In a pre-9/11 moment, the Hawaiian Air pilots invited Michael & Jack into the cockpit, trading the captain's hat for a photo op.


Hawaii seems mostly very rural and relatively poor, except for pockets of tourist resorts with upscale restaurants and boutiques. And these chickens...
which are everywhere. The yellow pages offer services for "chicken removal."

Whether by air, sea, or luau, I think we heard the story of Hawaii at least three different ways. Jurassic Park & South Pacific were filmed there. I also learned the islands were moving apart, albeit slowly; the scale of comparison to bring the point home was always the growth rate of a fingernail.