An Officer and A Geek: 07/20/14

Sunday, July 20, 2014

I wish I were Kamaʻāina

Sometimes you meet people and you know immediately that you will be friends. I am especially that way with animal people. Marian and Paul love their 4-legged family members as much as we love ours. So, when they need to leave the Island, they sometimes ask us to stay with the "kids." It's a hard offer to pass up ... living like a local in Hawaii. I have come to love it there and feel like we've done most of the tourist things, so I like to just "be."

After a whirlwind weekend in Maui, we arrived on Oahu to be greeted by Paul and Marian. The time there started out with a cookout on the beach.This is living. We got to spend a few days with Marian and Paul before they headed to the mainland. Hiking, Snorkeling, Chasing Rainbows and being shown all their new favorite spots. Paul and Marian are indescribable. Kind, spiritual, smart, generous of spirit. There aren't really enough nice things to say about them. My only question is why they are friends with me? I'm not worthy. Remind me to keep going back to Electric Beach and Table Tops. Some awesome places to eat ... Ed's Bakery has amazing Haupia Pie, Nico's is always a safe bet, Monkeypods at Ko O'lina has great options, Roy's in Waikiki was amazing with the best martinis, and the Poolside Grill at the Marriott Ko O'lina where you can dine with sharks swimming underneath and along-side.

For the next two weeks, we hiked ... snorkeled ... slept late ... ran errands, etc. I wrote reports on hikes, but there were some other amazing highlights.

I became friends with the people because I wanted to pet the dogs while I was missing mine.

Keegan is super cool three-legged dog. She makes up for the missing leg with an extra large heart. She is getting older these days and doesn't have it in her to walk as far as she used to, but she used to be quite the hiker. She loves to plop down in her special spot and loll her tongue while getting belly rubs.

Missy reminds me of Bunny. Goofy and happy. She loves her long hikes and gets so excited in the car that she whines and howls all the way there. She was a Japanese street dog that was lucky to be adopted by a truly amazing couple. Apparently, she was a bit "testy" but not ever with me, not even the first time I ran up to her. I always think dogs are good judges of people. Heck, I married the Musician because my dog picked him. I guess Missy thought I was good people. I love the way she greets you with a smile every time you come home.

Johnnie is a cat who thinks he's dog, but he likes to wander. He will sneak out and hide and make you worry about where he is. Then he will come in and sit on your lap for a cuddle. He sleeps beside you in bed, and smacks you in the face at 5 in the morning when it's time for breakfast.

Gracie is just as spunky as Johnnie, but not quite (almost, though) as sneaky as her brother. She is more likely to warm your clothes (or prevent you from getting them) and to play with her toy. You may not see her, but the moment she hears the can ...

I just love the Honu. They float in the water and are so graceful. They rest peacefully on the sand. They have such soulful eyes and gentle faces.

We spent some time on the beach at Waikiki. An afternoon at the Hale Koa beach just can't be beat. More beautiful sunsets. And we ate at some of our old favorite restaurants. Paina bowls and Acai bowls can't be beat.

Friday nights are fireworks at the Hilton and it's free from the beach ... so we had to catch them. It only lasted about 5 minutes, but really beautiful. I bet Fourth of July was absolutely spectacular.

One of our favorite spots is the Byodo-In Temple. It is serene and beautiful and we spend some time there every time we make it to the Island.We didn't ring the bell for good luck this time, there were plenty of other people doing that for us.

This time, the Koi pond was being cleaned, so we fed the birds instead. This may have been one of the coolest experiences of my life. I truly felt like Snow White.