Col: Mags made it until about 5:30 in the morning, so not so bad. She is now watching Looney Tunes - and although it's mindless entertainment - it is giving me a chance to read on the deck and watch the sun rise over Maui. I just came in for another cup of coffee and she said, "Mama, do you know who I'm going to marry today? Bugs Bunny. Or Prince Eric." Bugs has reached the upper echelon.
Drove to Big Wind Kite Factory on the west end in Maunaloa. I had read in a Wondertime magazine a long time ago that this store was one of THE BEST factory tours you could take kids on. When we got to "town," it was pretty much deserted - like there should have been little Hawaiian sagebrush rolling down the street. But, we found the kite store and its adjoining gift shop open. There was a woman in the gift shop who told us to let her know if we needed help, and a man wandering around. There were no free kite flying lessons. There was no tour of any kind of kite factory. There were some really cool kites, though, and we bought a pink one with a yellow gecko.
Then we drove to the "third biggest beach in all of Hawaii!" - and the most deserted: Papohaku Beach. Although you are supposed to be able to go there and see "not another footprint!" we did see a few other people, but along the nearly three mile stretch, the density of people was truly sparse.
You can't actually SWIM at this beach because the military at some point buried all their spare barbed wire and other sharp nasties right off shore - and it's a little rocky/dicey in the surf, but there are some nice shells and the sand is beautiful. (Not planning to swim, we didn't have suits, but of course both girls ended up wet. I was able to fashion Mags a pink dress from a sarong we had with us. When we got into town to buy some supplies a few friendly people remarked on how pretty she looked. She just buried herself in my leg and let out a wimper like an abused puppy. We walked the streets of Kaunakakai practicing this drill: "When someone says you look nice, you need to say 'thank you.' Let's try: Maggie, you look very pretty today." "NO I DON'T!!" We then tried to convince her that "Mahalo" meant "No I don't!" in Hawaiian, but she didn't buy it. We're still working on this particular issue.
SCORE one for the parents. It took us a few days, but we have figured out how to have a conversation and relax while the kids are awake. Step 1: Open chilled beverage of choice. Step 2: Dress kids in swimsuits. Step 3: Take chairs to fishpond. Step 4: Instruct kids to "go play." Step 5: Sit. Drink. Relax. Observe children having fun.
No comments:
Post a Comment