My Bad!

My girlfriends can see it a mile away, they remind me through comments on the blog or thoughtful emails. This is what we asked for! This is what we've planned for. We wanted to be uncomfortable, we wanted to stretch ourselves. Deb says we still need to chill out, get familiar with the island and island life. Look at other options, editing may be my way of creating some normalcy, something familiar. She is right and I think we are in sync. Just this morning Dan and I were talking about how we need more down time. It's a process, not only do we have no where to go and nothing to do but we are living in a smaller space. We are releasing the busy, busy, busy lifestyle of work, family, friends and private time to nothing. No plans, it's whatever we want it to be. It still kind of feels like vacation since we don't have any of our stuff yet. No pictures on the walls, not much to cook with, Dan doesn't have his extra pillow. Not much familiar, just what we brought with us. Plus, the ability to have privacy is gone. No more going downstairs to read, do yoga or watch my shows while Dan does his thing. It's a readjustment on so many levels, we are rebalancing our lives. We are making progress, for example, I slept until 7 today! It's like taking off a tight fitting shirt on a hot, muggy day, it doesn't want to come off!

The rain cleared up today so we took the dogs for a walk. I was wrong about Kapa'a being like Aurora. Our neighborhood is filled with beautiful green manicured lawns, giant trees, blooming flowers, and million dollar homes on rolling, verdant hills. It is simply breathtaking. I have to get some pointers from my photographer friend John because every picture I take is not what I'm looking at. There is a lot of contrast between the shadows in the jungle and the bright sun, so my pictures are blown out, look like silhouettes, or the scene is so vast, my camera can not capture it. It's like taking a picture of the Grand Canyon. Sometimes I get lucky, sometimes the shots are just ok. I got some ok ones today. I'll post them because I keep getting requests for more pictures.

The entrance to our house. That isn't our house in the background, it's further inside. There is another house to the left.

It was great to get out and about today, I think we all had a touch of cabin fever. Continuing our search for a place to let the dogs run off leash, we found a park using our iPhones close to the house. Once we got there, it was total jungle with no entrance, at least none that we could see. The map indicated a reservoir ahead so we drove on. Distracted by the enormity of it all, a tree canopy, maybe 50 feet tall, shadowing the road for about a 1/4 mile. Colossal ivy plants crawling up the enormous trees with leaves the size of a frying pan. Again, the reservoir is a jungle, maybe you can get in but we don't see how. Dan, determined to find a place, keeps looking. Finally we come upon the Lihue Koloa Forest Preserve. We see other people, tourists, so we keep the dogs on leash until we get to a secluded area.

                                      

They are pretty!

Lihue-Koloa Forest Preserve

Lucy was so happy to finally get out and run, she doesn't run very far though. Usually she is right by our side.

Baxter is ecstatic to finally get to run!

Because of the heavy rains the river overflowed onto the road and Baxter and Lucy make the most of it. Baxter actually went for a swim, loving the cool, salt free water, he jumped right in, he wasn't prepared for the 3 foot drop! Can you find the 3 chickens?

Part of a gnarly root at base of a huge Rainbow Eucalyptus tree.

As I dry Baxter and Lucy off and put them into the car, Dan talks to a man who was walking his dog while we were. He's got the dog in the back of his pick up and is drying her off. Tom, about 55 with shaggy grey hair, a thin build and about 5'6" tall, is a 15 year resident having moved here from the mid west. He gave us a bunch of tips. One, don't let your dogs off leash when people are around and can see you, it can be up to a $500.00 fine. Oops, we thought we were out of sight. As we talked more he opened up and told us about nearby trails. There are locals who are wild boar hunters, they have packs of hunting dogs and usually go out in the early morning. He points to a nearby trail and says he's taken his dog Dixie, who is maybe 7 pounds bigger than Lucy, on that trail and ran into them. They have pretty good control over their dogs and will tell you to pick your dog up if they feel it is at risk. I guess he's had more problems with peoples pets than the hunting dogs, one having attacked his. As long as you stay on the trail, you'll be ok. They also grow pot up in the hills and he says they don't take kindly to people getting close to their crops. He's been hiking the trails for years and has not had any serious problems, just some scares. So, we are warned, we will be careful. 

Dan had it in his head to get me a pantry today, so on the way back we stop at Home Depot. He's been mulling around what type of cabinet would be best since last Sunday. Countertops? Closet cabinets? Particle board cabinets? The cheapest are the particle board cabinets. On the way home we stop at Bubba's Burgers. You can sit outside and look at the ocean and the beef is from Kauai grown cows. I saw them cows roaming around today in fields of green and they are tasty!

Before

After

View from Dan's side of the bed. That roof is attached to our house, where our neighbor Dan and his wife live.

Crappy bathroom window and screen with a great view.

Kitchen window

Kitchen and dining room

Living room. Dan is using a suitcase with a blanket (that our friend Gail made us) as an ottoman for now. He gave me the side with the built in ottoman, he's so sweet!

Looking from the "wall" in the living room to the dining room, the kitchen is on the right.

The kitchen.

Aloha! Almost time for the Grammy's!