THE VACATION

Yes, I capitalized everything on purpose. Two weeks in Kauai. Ahhhhh. Irma and I both agree, it was our best vacation, most relaxing, destressing, and restorative. For those who haven't been, Let me play travelogue for a bit and reveal a little of our journey.....

The Kiahuna Plantation is very well hidden behind thick flowering hedges, surrounded by gardens and pristinely trimmed lawns. It is secreted between a massive, block-like Marriot time share complex, and the (soulless feeling) Kauai Sheraton (from where the web-cam overlooks the shared Sheraton/Kiahuna beaches). The condo's are simple, we stayed in a one bedroom unit perhaps 100 yards from the beach, overlooking putting-green manicured lawns and gardens. Plumeria trees filled the area with their rich aroma, in the evening, our lanai was shaded by tall palm trees and several other types of flowering trees.

We started each day with coffee on our lanai, listening to the Mynah's squawk, and the Zebra Doves coo, often they would drop right in on our railing and serenade us. The aroma of the coffee would mingle with the floral scents, sometimes the ocean breeze would waft the salt air aroma to us. Coffee will never taste as good, nor any day start as softly and with as much promise as this.

It was in this quiet beginning that Irma and I would consider our day. Whether to start with a walk along the beach, or plan a more extensive hike. What we might fix for dinner that night, or where we might eat. We'd banter about shopping, or consider which luau or tour we might like. Sometimes we'd just listen to the gentler bird sounds, lost in our own thoughts, sometimes we'd laugh at the screech of whichever bird it was that I dubbed "Monkey screech bird" our first morning. Whether 30 minutes, or 2 hours, each morning lent an air of tranquility to the rest of our day. That is a legacy from Kauai that I'm going to hang on to.....

Anyway, that's a small taste. I'll write more later.

Clear skies,
Jim