Old Town Kapa'a

Cloudy, scattered showers high of 79, 59 for the low.

Getting up early and doing yoga is one of my favorite things. It's quiet. The only sound is my breath and sometimes Lucy snores. She and Baxter always follow me out, jump up on the couch, and sleep while I'm on my matt. Here it's even better; the fresh cross breezes rustling my hair. Bright morning sun signifying the start of a beautiful new day. A flurry of palm fronds and tree leaves rustling on moist, tropical breath. Birds greeting each other, happily chirping "Good morning! Did you sleep well? Isn't today a beautiful day?" I even enjoy the roosters calling as the sun rises. All of it makes for perfect morning yoga sessions. Just me, the dogs and nature. I'm looking forward to doing it outside, but this morning it was raining. That was even nice, the sound of rain falling. When I'm finished Baxter comes over to get some post yoga love, his favorite part about the whole affair. We are both on the matt facing each other. Me, on my hands and knees, he, in a stretch. If you've ever owned a dog, you know the kind. Their forepaws are stretched out in front and their butt is up in the sky, what the yoga pose Downward Facing Dog was named after. I look up, and Dan is laying in bed watching us with a smile on his face, he said it looked like we were doing yoga together.

It's time to get my implant dealt with, I have a dentist appointment at noon. I got outside and play fetch with Baxter until he tires and go inside to read. Dan is on the phone scheduling surf lessons for my 44th birthday. A few months ago Dan sent an email to Laird Hamilton, a world renowned big wave surfer, asking if he knew anyone who taught surfing. He was delighted to get an email back with a number for Mike. We knew Mike was going to be good, and, expensive. Dan researched local surf shops and learned it was $55.00 for 60 minutes, board included with discounted rates for surf boards thereafter. Mike, is $80.00, you surf until you are tired and, he'll rent us a board for how ever long we want with the option to change it out and try a different one. He also spends the first 30 minutes, on shore, teaching us how to read the water, giving us safety tips and showing us how to stand on the board. He says we'll definitely get up but may not make any turns. I feel a lot better going to him, even though he is more expensive. He isn't cranking the tourists out, he's doing it for real. The ocean here can be intense, since we've been here the North Shore has seen a 60 foot wave in a set of 40 footers. I want to make sure we are safe and Mike is the guy to show us that. We are going to Hanalei Bay, but Mike will decide what part of the bay based on the surf report that morning.

Laird Hamilton

Hanalei Bay

Dan and I are in shock as we leave the dentist. In Colorado, the implant was going to cost $1200.00, here, it's $3200.00!! I'm going to have one or two more consultations, from different dentists. I may end up going back to Colorado to get it done!

We decided to have lunch in town and have a walk about. Fish tacos at Mermaid's Cafe. A tiny, outside seating only, organic restaurant. Across the street, was Orchid Alley. We bought our first orchid, promising the super nice proprietor, Feyl,  (we talked for 45 minutes) that we were going to attend the monthly Orchid Club meetings. Then we strolled around, checking out the markets, restaurants and tourist shops that line the street, finding yoga for $5.00 on fridays, bought giant chocolate chip, macadamia nut cookies at Country Moon Bakery, and checked out a place to have sushi.

Ahi fish tacos, black beans, chai tea with coconut milk and lemon aid.

Orchid Alley

Some of these have a soft focus. All I had was my iPhone and they don't like to take close ups.

These smell like chocolate!

The orchid we bought.

A river runs through town.

Coconut Coast Bike Path

Where the river meets the sea.

Sleeping Giant Mountain in the background, a soccer field to the right.

We had a delicious brown rice stir fry for dinner and those cookies for desert. Thank you, my dear husband, for making dinner while I caught up on my blog.

We Made A Friend!

Cloudy, high of 72.

Last night was cold, down to 60 degrees and we broke out another blanket making three on our bed. I like to keep all of the windows open all of the time, so we could have closed those but, why?

We spent the morning reading and napping. My guilt for not finding a place to walk Baxter off leash drove me to read outside. He and Lucy sniffed happily around for about 30 minutes. Having tired of that, they wanted me to constantly pet them so I decided it was time to go inside. Dan, surfing the USGS website and checking out volcano videos, said he would get a tennis ball to play fetch with him in the yard, that would be sure to tire him out. I went right back to my book. Deb gave my the gift of an adventure book when we left. The romantic that she is, she imagined me reading an adventure while on an adventure. I LOVE THIS BOOK! Ahab's Wife, is beautifully written, even poetic. I read it in awe, wishing I could write like that. I can't remember when a book has touched me so. Coming in from outside I continued to read, fall asleep, read some more and finally fell asleep again before putting my book down for the day. 

              Lucy is happy just being next to us

We were feeling really lazy, we had planned to get some things from the store; the ball for Baxter, 6 birthday cards, and dog food, then go into town and have a walk about. It's so chilly, we have blankets over us while we read, so town didn't sound that fun for a day like today. Forcing ourselves to get off our butts, we made a quick lunch of PB&J's with Maui chips (the best chips on the planet, made for Frito-Lay o_O) and went to the store. Papaya's had the dog food, Foodland had the birthday cards and we dropped off our nephew, Austin's birthday present at the UPS store. I have been reading all the local papers to familiarize myself with the island and had read that Longs Drug was a gourmet store, we had a good laugh. But, it was there and so were we. We still needed a tennis ball for Baxter so we went in. It's pretty cool, a drug store with sections for grocery, booze, island made foods, tourist gifts and toys for the outdoors. 

Part of the wine selection at Longs Drug!

We are having spaghetti with eggplant, tomato, red bell pepper, capers, basil, garlic and olive oil (the yummy olive oil from Temecula) for dinner and wanted a nice wine to go with it. Da Kine Wines was a place we wanted to check out. A tiny little wine store tucked into the corner of a strip mall, Da Kine Wines has a small and well thought out wine selection. The owner, Danny, is a sommelier. He is tall, thin, about 28, with blue eyes and reddish blond hair. Growing up in the deep south he went to culinary school, became a wine merchant and moved here when a friend asked him if he wanted to run the store. We buy a Dominio de Eguren and a Venta Morales for $21.00. He is very passionate about wine, food, the island and music. When he finds out what we have done, and that we don't know one person here, he exclaims "you guys are crazy! But then again, I did the same thing!" He tells us that his eye just healed up after getting punched. A native, deciding he was a hippie and exclaiming "I hate hippies" had punched him in the eye. He gives us some tips on how to deal with the reverse racism here. I tell him I have been looking for a place to walk Baxter off leash (I have been putting in requests for this the past 2 days) and he calls up google maps and shows us a place close to home. He gives us a free CD by a local band called Acoustic Medicine and gives us his phone number. He tells us to call him anytime we want to know where to go or eat, or, if we want to do something. He works part time at Merriamn's, on the grill station so he can buy more wine for the store. I had read about Merriman's while I was in Colorado and learned they were opening their third restaurant in Poipu, thinking I would apply there. So our new friend works in a high end restaurant that serves local, organic food, owns a wine store, loves the outdoors and is in a band. Pretty cool!

A Great Day For A Foodie!

         

       Partly cloudy today with a high of 75 degrees.

       

The set up in our small home. Dan is on the couch, on his computer. The dogs are next to him and I am at the end, on my computer. One small, happy family!

The entrance to the Kapa'a Farmers Market

Huge avocados, pineapples, the forefront is some kind of "very rare fruit", lemons are in the back.

Baby pineapples for decoration

There are oodles of vendors. Some, like these folks sell things they grow in their yard, some are small organic farms. Dan and I have considered doing this since we have such a big yard.

Turmeric, the spice that makes curry yellow in it's original form on the left. I believe that is Taro on the right, used to make Poi.

Dan and I have never seen Ginger so big, each hand averaging 8" long 10" wide.

         

      People flock to this farmers market

Pretty

Would you like some fresh coconut water?

The parking lot is a drag to get out of. It only took once for Dan and I to learn! We parked the next street over and walked.

My first plant; a rosemary. At Whole Foods in Colorado a rosemary plant half this size goes for $20.00, this was $15.00

      All told we spent $50.00 for what you see here.

From bottom left clockwise: Lilikoi or Passion Fruit, Avocado, Cucumber, Lemon (they are large, juicy, soft and sweet) Papaya, organic eggs, Pineapple, Scallions, Mixed Baby Greens, Lacinato Kale, Mung Bean Sprouts, Basil, Parsley, Rambutan (red, spiky), Star Fruit, Sweet Yellow Cherry Tomatoes, Plum Tomatoes, Baby Ginger. Center: Eggplant, Limes, Blood Oranges, and Red Bell Peppers.

Most of you are probably thinking, that would go bad, there's no way I could eat that in a week. And that's probably true! But, this is my palette! Since all of my cookbooks are still on a boat, I am forced to create and I'm loving it! I am so excited to have this great produce, it's like most people get excited about winning the lottery, that's how excited I am! We ate all the fruit and veg we bought last week, in fact, we had to buy some more. Basically, we are having fresh fruit with yogurt, nuts and toasted coconut for breakfast, salad for lunch and a stir fry or fried rice for dinner. It's healthier and cheaper than the alternatives. This morning I finished off the peppers we bought last week. They were green, about an inch wide and 2 to 4 inches long, and mild. I still had a whole bag of them. I sauteed them with a little salt and the rest of the scallions, until they had little toasty brown spots and folded them inside an omelette, delish, and a little spicy!

We decided to celebrate the fact that we made it out here so we went to the Hukilau Lanai for a special dinner. Dan did such a great job of finding us a beautiful home, getting the dogs here seamlessly, and getting our stuff here that I thought he deserved some good eats! We had a great time! The 2 Island Orchids each helped. Absolute Vodka, Hawaiian Vanilla Bean and Macadamia Nut Liquor, packs a refreshing, sweet punch. 

                         Mmmm Island Orchids!

The restaurant is one big covered patio with an ocean view.

Appetizers; oregano, tomato and parmesan focaccia and perfectly tender calamari with coconut and Thai chili sauce.

I had the Hukilau Mixed Platter; butterfish (Walu), shrimp skewered on sugarcane, and cajun Spearfish (Hebi) over creamy parmesan orzo with a coconut Thai chili sauce.

Dan had the prime rib, the Au Jus was sublime, a perfect foil for the tender, succulent beef.

Some Bordeaux to go with dinner.

Macadamia Nut Tart and Cinnamon Ice Cream.

Hawaiian Vanilla Bean Creme Brulee.

Since we were celebrating our arrival, our waiter from Boulder, Colorado gave us a present. Yes, there is a bite taken out of the upper right corner =) inside the box were two perfect chocolate truffles.

Cheers to the successful start of a dream.

The Blue Jays Are Back!

The rain came down hard all night and we were snug, sleepy and dry. The 4 of us cuddled up on our queen size bed, cozy and happy. The neighbors little, yappy dog woke us at 7:15. Our legs still feeling a little weak from the hike, we are in no rush to get out of bed. We talk, pet the dogs and are generally lazy until Dan's mom calls. He is really happy to hear from her, his voice light, cheerful. He is so relaxed, fun, curious, happy, affectionate and childlike. The Blue Jays are back! That in itself makes this journey worth it. Didn't do much today. I talked to Diana about work, she thinks we can work together so when (if) we get set up I'll let her know. Other than that we went into town to do laundry. We decided to make a tradition out of getting a shave ice on laundry day. And, of course, we watched Lost and it did not disappoint!

Of chickens and Roosters
We have been getting a lot of advice via Facebook and emails about how to kill these critters and some have suggested eating them. I can't imagine killing, de-feathering and de-gutting one, maybe if we were starving! When Dan and I were here in June, our kayak guide Justin told us they got out of control because of hurricane Iniki. The worst hurricane to hit the Hawaiian Islands, in 1992, caused Kauai over a billion dollars worth of damage. Justin also told us that it was illegal to kill them, even if you hit one while driving your car. A friend of ours was told the same thing. Another friend, who went to Maui, was told "they were brought to the islands because many years ago there was an abundance of a certain type of (I think poisonous) snake. They were thought to have been brought into the islands (hiding in the wheels & carriages) of jets & airplanes. These rooster & hens were used to destroy them." There are two types of snakes here a blind cave snake and a sea snake. The Islands have never had any snakes other than these. Also, the friendly dog owner Tom told us a story he thought was funny about a lab chasing the roosters and chickens and killing them, running around with feathers in his mouth. We've only been here a little over a week but it seems to me tourists get told some pretty inaccurate things. This got me to thinking. After all tour guides are just like you and me, and maybe some of us, on the spot, who don't know the answer will make something up. He decides it's a good story and he tells his friends at lunch and they all have a good laugh. The next day a co-worker, angry at a rude tourist, decides to tell the same story to mess with them and it becomes (urban) legend. I did a search on the internet and this is what I found from Kauai Vacations.

Kauai's Wild Chickens and Roosters

Wild Chickens, roosters and families of baby chicks are everywhere, running through parking lots, backyards, roads, jungles and golf courses. The roosters are usually a beautiful red color, occasionally speckled with white spots. The hens are good mothers, constantly looking after their small chicks. They do not just cock-a-doodle-doo at first light, but all day too. (And night)

The story about where they came from is that early Polynesians and Europeans brought chickens to Kauai. The Filipinos brought the brightly colored fighting cocks, and Walla, the wild chickens. It is said that with Hurricane ‘Iniki, the domestic chickens and fighting roosters were freed from their cages to roam and multiply. On a recent trip to Tahiti, the same wild chickens were everywhere as well, so I question this theory. But why so many??

Kauai Wild Chicken Recipe
1 Kauai wild chicken
1 large onion
1 bunch seasoning spices of your choosing
1 large rock
Salt and pepper
Put all ingredients into a large covered pot. Simmer over a low flame for several hours. Remove the rock. Discard the chicken. Eat the rock.

I don't think anyone really knows how they got here. I don't think anyone here cares if you kill one. I do think if you eat one, they are probably tougher than eating a rock!