Hawaii 2009 - Day 1 & 2

Hello everyone – time for our first Hawaii update. We are loving Kauai and the chance to be together as a family and to RELAX in the SUN! The picture here is of Craig's parents, John & Doris Harvey showing how you tell the weather here in beautiful Hawaii.
Our flights here were uneventful, but boy is it long! Especially when you fly coach class! But hey, we are grateful to have the frequent flyer miles to use. Craig was able to get upgraded to United Economy Plus for 5” more legroom than the rest of us on the LA to Kauai leg of the trip. He enjoyed boasting to the rest of us from his left side, window seat that he was the first to see the mountains of the islands peeking up above the clouds though he didn’t see the school of whales that our pilot pointed out as we approached Kauai. All of our luggage arrived safe and sound (many may remember the tale last time of Doris’ missing bag!) We landed at 5:30 p.m. Hawaii time last night and after about 14 hours of travel to get here, we were ready to get on solid ground. And thanks to all who kept me in their thoughts and prayers as I flew with my recently diagnosed case of pneumonia; I did very well and my coughing was greatly reduced from what I had recently experienced. In fact, I am already feeling better. Note for the future; this gal needs a warm, sunny climate in the winter.
After picking up our rental car, the first order of business was the short trip to the Marriott Kauai Beach Club where we are staying. We love that the airport is so close to the resort. We stayed long enough to drop off our luggage, look around the room and we were out the door again. We had not seen this part of the resort before with the one bedroom villas; Craig’s parents have their own bedroom and bathroom and balcony. Craig and I are on the other side of the door with a small kitchenette, our own bathroom and balcony and small living area. At night our couch disappears as we pull down the murphy bed from the wall. After one night we can report it is actually pretty comfy all things considered. So, soon we were out the door and on our way to…Costco. Of course, if you know us, you know that is always the first order of business. Dinner precluded shopping…you will all be glad to know the hot dog and soda tastes the same here as at home. We did some shopping but not as much as normal – remember, we only have a kitchenette – a tiny frig, tiny dishwasher, microwave and sink. Oh…and a toaster. But we have enough provisions to have breakfast here…and some yummy snacks. Gotta love a Hawaiian Costco – one row devoted entirely to Macadamia nuts and anything you can put a macadamia nut in!
Back to the resort, provisions sent to the room and put away and most of us were ready for sleep – at 8:30 p.m.! Yes, but our bodies tell us it’s 1:30 a.m. so don’t fight it! We all slept well. But sleeping in later than normal is not an option – the local roosters who wander the grounds will make sure they announce the morning bright and early. And they did! Because we are only one floor up from the ground their sound was so loud we thought they might fly right into the room!
We had a wonderful breakfast fixed by Craig…Honey Nut cheerios, cinnamon raisin bagels with cream cheese, coffee and orange juice. We are “cozy” for meal times at our little card table size dining room table, but hey, no complaints. I won’t repeat the breakfast menu each day; mainly because it will probably be the same! After breakfast we roamed the outside of the resort, around the gargantuan pool area. It is one of the best features of this resort. The beauty of this place is amazing. So nice to have the option of pool or beach; sun or shade. And there were surfers out there though the lagoon is somewhat protected which makes it nice for the average person who doesn’t want to stare down a 20 foot wave. Craig and his folks walked on to the car to go for an outing; I found the lounge chair of my choice and settled in to a wonderful day of relaxation with a good book and ipod. Time to heal my body.
Craig and his folks found their way to a WalMart and did some shopping for various sundries. If you are a Harvey or with a Harvey, shopping will always be involved in the plans! And then I hear they searched high and low for the local Subway restaurant and finally stumbled upon it by accident. I met them back at the room for yummy 6” subs, chips, diet coke and sliced apples. It was so good I think we could do this every day and just might. The afternoon was spent back at the pool, this time Craig and his father joining me. Doris stayed back to take a nap. Ah, the joys of individual decision making.
So now everyone is showered, rested and we are ready to venture out for dinner. I’ll be back with a report on that later…okay I’m back! We all remembered a place where we had dinner 3 years ago that was a local place and were so proud that we ate somewhere that was not a fast food chain. We set out tonight to find something and lo and behold, there it was! The Garden Island Barbeque & Chinese Restaurant. Kind of like Chinese but other stuff too. When you get your Chinese entrée it comes with two scoops of white rice and a scoop of macaroni salad, heavy on the mayo. I kid you not. A little much. Like starch with a side of starch. But we all enjoyed finding a familiar place and having something other than a hamburger or hot dog. We will probably venture back there again this week. After dinner, believe it or not, we headed back out to WalMart for some items that were forgotten in the earlier shopping trip of the morning. Okay, not very original but we think we have all we need now. Craig got a $5 tourist tee-shirt. I got a blow up raft for the pool. Yeah, like my lungs are going to be able to blow that up.
Well, that’s a recap of our first two days. More fun to follow.