May 1st is Lei Day here on Kauai. Local school children celebrate the holiday with colorful leis, homemade ti leaf “grass” skirts, and hula. Aloha and happy May day!

Aloha Friends,

Humans are not the only ones who like to visit Hawaii in the winter. Every year thousands of whales come down from Alaska to Hawaii in December. They give birth and hang out in the warm tropical water for a few months. Then they all head back in March.

Having a clear sunny day, we thought it would be a time to go looking for whales. It’s nice to pack a lunch, grab a couple beers and head out for a day at the beach. We barely got our beach chairs onto the sand before we saw the first one. There’s no mistaking a whale when you see one, they’re big! They like to play and breach, making huge whale belly flops! They’re very silly and a lot of fun to watch. Quite entertaining!

My husband and I ended up seeing quite a few whales sitting on this little beach. It’s just north of Kapaa Beach Park and is nearly always deserted even though it’s in town. I think it’s because you can’t see the beach from the road, people don’t realize it’s there. Be sure to check it out if you’re on Kauai, especially if the whales are here. It’s a perfect place to watch them from.

Thanks for reading my diary! Aloha!

PS The beach is close to the Tamba surf shop if you’d like to pick up a cap like the one I’m wearing.

Aloha friends,

Every year Kauai celebrates the holidays with the Lights on Rice Parade. I’ve always wanted to go as I’ve heard it’s quite spectacular. This year we finally got to attend. There were 61 beautifully decorated floats and about 13,000 happy spectators! It was so much fun!

This was my favorite float. It had a gingerbread theme with a flurry of snow falling. The snow was actually bubbles...the kids loved it!

Lots of folks made an evening of it and packed picnic style dinners, I think we may do that next year. If you’re on island during the light parade I highly recommend you check it out. We had a great time.

​Thanks for reading my diary!

Aloha Everyone,

It’s been hot and humid here the past week. Trade winds are down so it feels rather sticky. Saturday we went down to the bay to enjoy some cool air and watch the water. As we drove down the hill we noticed a new cruise ship in the harbor. It was a big boat! I think this is the biggest boat I’ve seen here. I had to take a photo. If you look closely at the pic you can see it has two waterslides! The Carnival Legend.

We ended up meeting some of the passengers later in the afternoon as they were walking back to the ship and we were parking our truck. They were quite a ways away from the boat but, still had smiles on their faces despite the muggy weather. I had to ask them about the waterslides and if they all had gone down them. They did! They were so excited to tell us about the waterslides. They were having a great time. Turns out they’re from Canada. The boat was at sea for 5 days before reaching Hawaii! I think the feeling was mutual when I say it was fun talking with them for a bit. We wished them aloha and waved as they walked away.

​Thanks for reading my diary!

Aloha Friends!

This is the sunrise I woke up to this morning. I ran outside to take a photo. It was so pretty until it started to rain...haha! We’ve had some strange weather lately. The trade winds are blowing the wrong direction and it’s been really humid and warm. It was 80F when I dropped the keiki off to school this morning! As I was driving home the rain stopped and there was a beautiful rainbow. The sun shining brightly in the sky. I got my laundry drying on the line now. Fingers crossed it doesn’t rain again or our clothes will get a second rinse! Have a wonderful day....no rain no rainbows!

Aloha Friends,

We had an awful storm blow through Kauai last month. On April 14 we got over 2 feet of rain! The thunder was so strong it shook our windows! All of this rain caused flash flooding and mudslides. The north side of the island got the brunt of it. Hanalei was nearly under water, cars were washed away and homes were flooded. Kuhio highway was completely blocked by a huge landslide. Amazingly no one was killed or seriously injured.

The weather was either rainy or overcast for what seemed like forever. When the sun finally made an appearance we put our home renovations aside and headed to the beach. It was a beautiful day for a picnic.

Lydgate beach is a family favorite. Weeks after the storm the ponds are nearly unrecognizable. The area is littered with fallen trees and debris. It was sad to see it that way but, clean up has started and the baby pond is almost free of wood. Despite the lack of swimming, people have been making the best of it...we’ve seen some awesome structures built.

My husband grilled carne asada (beef) on our hibachi. Yummy tacos to celebrate a sunny day!

Thank you for reading my diary!

Dear Friends,

I have been struggling to write this post. Saturday I received this horrific text message. I had just got up to start the coffee. I came back to my room to enjoy a lazy Saturday morning. It was already a bright, sunny day. I suddenly heard the loud noise of an emergency alert from my phone. I commented to my husband that was odd since it was such a beautiful day and we shouldn't be getting a flash flood warning. I opened my old flip phone and couldn't believe what I was reading! I read it out loud. What to do?! At this time all our other phones began going off as did our house phone. My husband turned on the TV, the same message was being broadcast across the screen in bold red type. We only had a few minutes.

I had the idea to try to hide the children under our bed...hoping the heavy duty steel frame and mattress would somehow protect them. The girls grabbed their pillows and water bottles and slid under the bed. My son got in the bathtub and I put a mattress on top of him. I ran and grabbed some granola bars and threw a few to everybody. Then under the hide-a-bed I went with my water, cell phone and Ipad. My husband left the TV on loud so we could all hear it from our hiding spots. I tried to call my parents. 5 times. The calls would not go through, as I'm sure everyone was trying to reach their loved ones. I called my sister, she answered. In a panic I very quickly stated where everyone was hiding and that a ballistic missile was headed toward Hawaii. For a moment I could tell she was in disbelief...in shock from what I was telling her. I was so scared. She told me how much she loves me and how much joy I brought to her life. I started to cry. I told her it shouldn't be long before the missile hits Hawaii. She talked to me while we waited. After what seemed like forever, the announcer on TV said it was a false alarm! What?! We struggled out of our shelter spots. What happened?!

As well all sat glued to the TV it became apparent that it indeed was a false alarm. We were not going to die by a nuke attack today. And then our phones started the familiar wail and we received this message..."there is no missile threat or danger to the State of Hawaii. Repeat. False alarm". 38 Minutes later. Joy and relief soon gave way to anger and frustration. How could such a mistake happen? What took so long for them to send out the "oops" message?

Even several days later, I still wasn't feeling quite right and my sleep was disturbed. I went out to buy the newspaper hoping to find some answers. As I was making my purchase I started chatting with the cashier at the store. We've become friendly over the past few months. We talked about the missile scare and how we both were dealing with it. I looked over and saw a lovely, yellow lei on the counter. I commented on it's beauty and she encouraged me to smell it. Oh my goodness this lei smelled heavenly! My friend said that someone made it for her birthday. She proceeded to walk around the counter, put the lei over my head and hugged me! I wanted to cry! She gave a second lei to my husband along with a hug. How thoughtful that she gave us her birthday lei! I can't tell you all how much better her act of kindness made me feel. Almost like a weight had been lifted...that it was OK to move on.

In the evening my husband draped the lei over our headboard. The scent of the flowers filled our room. I feel asleep last night with a feeling of peace.

Aloha.

Aloha Friends,

It's getting chilly here on Kauai! Dare I say cold? Yesterday, according to the National Weather Service, Lihue set a record low of 55F! My car said it was 57F when we took our youngest to school in the morning. We saw folks bundled up! 55F really doesn't sound that cold but, homes here do not have heating so it did feel a bit chilly even inside. Later in the day we had a lovely afternoon with bright sunshine and temps hovering around 78F.

We picked up a Christmas tree. It's a cute little Norfolk pine. Live in the pot. I think this tree will be perfect for our tiny home. If you look closely at the photo you'll see that I have socks on. Brr.

Thanks for reading my diary!

Aloha friends,

My husband and I went out this morning to watch the sunrise from the beach. It was a cool, cloudy morning. I was surprised how warm the water felt when I got my feet wet. As we were walking along the sand I looked over and saw this rock. Someone had painted it and left it to be found. Isn't that thoughtful? I love the saying on it..."Not all who wander are lost". Thank you to the kind person who left the rock!

Even through the clouds it was a beautiful sunrise. It ended up being a lovely day. I hope that you had a blessed Thanksgiving as well!

Aloha Friends,

Yesterday was such a nice day here on Kauai. The weather was a warm 80F with a light breeze and cotton ball clouds filled a blue sky. As soon as my husband got off work we packed a cooler, slathered on some sunscreen and walked to the beach.

It was great spending time together, enjoying a cold beer and talking about how much we love living here. We've been here 3 months now and I gotta say that I can't imagine living anywhere else. It took a lot of courage to make the move but, I'm so glad we did. Kauai has been good to us.

Someone asked me if I feel like I'm on vacation all the time. No, it's not like being on vacation. I do pretty much the same things I did before back in San Diego. I make breakfast and lunches, get the keikis to school, do laundry, bake bread, shop, prepare dinner. My life is much like it was before except for one huge difference... it is absolutely beautiful here. Oh, and one tiny difference, we live in a much smaller home. So, it doesn't feel like I'm forever on vacation but, I sure do love getting out for a few ours at the beach.

Well, our lovely afternoon weather began to change. We noticed dark clouds approaching from the north. Rain was threatening. Just as we were thinking we should gather our belongings and head home a huge rainbow appeared on the horizon! It was so pretty! I wanted to share it with you.

​Thanks for reading my diary!