Molokai - Day Nine (Saturday)

Note from Col: Ellie has become a coffee fiend like her mother. This morning, she sat there by the coffee pot asking for "fockie." "FOCKIE!!! More FOCKIE!!!" I gave her a few drops in her milk which delighted her and caused her to chug the milk with loud gulping noises usually reserved for frat boys downing beer through a funnel. (This video is actually from Jay's birthday, and he has just opened presents, which included the head warmer thing he's got on. It's for days when he wants to ride his bike in bad weather back at home. He did not wear knit headgear on a regular basis in Hawaii.)



Clouds have been threatening all day. When we got to the beach at the end of the Halawa Road, and Jay crossed the stream of water coming down from the waterfall and headed to the beach on the left. Shortly after they got the gecko kite aloft, a local came down in his old pick-up truck and suggested to me that I call them back. (I, of course, was just standing by the car watching Ellie sleep in her carseat and trying to look engaged and like I was enjoying it. After all, it's not like it's actually a "parking lot" there - It's a "gateway" to the beaches.) Now, when a giant, long-haired, deeply tanned Hawaiian guy approaches and suggests that you to get your family to safety for fear of a flash flood coming down from the daunting cloud-socked waterfall-fed crack in the earth, you call your family back right quick and thanks for the warning. (This article from last Sunday's Philadelphia Inquirer features Lawrence Aki, who may very well be the same guy. Or at least his brother.)








Safe from the dangers of the left beach, Mags and Jay swam for a long time in the high waves of the right black sand beach. Ellie and I walked the beach and played with Pepe, the Molokai dog - who was part pit bull, I think and part Mohican long-haired mongrel. And all casual and very cool.





After a picnic in the sun - as we watched the tide come in and the clouds alternately push to the front of and then ebb back into the triangle created by the sea cliffs - we took the road back to civilization (using the word loosely). Mags crashed in the back of the car, and we decided it was a great opportunity to get her a nap - in the car - it being only the second time she has fallen asleep in the afternoon since our arrival.



We had to go into Kaunakakai to get some Molokai coffee, sea salt and macadamia nuts (not Molokai grown because then we would have had to buy them from Purdy, the crazy nut guy) for Ric. So, the macadamia nuts are probably treated with pesticides, herbicides, fertilizers, growth hormones, conditioner, toner, latex paint, rubbing alcohol and mascara. And, the trees are probably pruned, God forbid. But the nuts are good and from Hawaii. We did spring for some 100% Molokai coffee from Coffees of Hawaii. Why, you may wonder, did we have to go to the Friendly Market today? Because, even though we have an entire day to kill tomorrow before our flight home, the grocery store is not open on Sunday. In fact, nothing is open on Sunday here - you are lucky to find stores open during business hours Monday through Friday, let alone on the Lord's Day of Rest. Of course, Maggie woke up midway to town because Ellie was SCREAMING as part of her cute way of telling us that she is tired. Unfortunately, neither child has slept since. I really hope nap time resumes once we get home. Jay mentioned today that he can't wait to get home in part, just so we can send the kids to KinderCare for a few days.

Yeah. So anyway, we saw some cool snails in the front of the house this morning, AND we saw some nenes on the Halawa Road - right in the area where it says "nene crossing" - and they were banded - and when they made noise, they said "nenenenenene!!!" - so, although we are not bird experts, we're pretty sure about this one. They looked pretty blase about the whole "jump out of the car and take our picture" thing. I wonder if they can fly and are just so well taken care of that they don't want to or if part of the problem with their endangered status is that they're unable or too stupid to fly away when in the face of potential danger. Funny, but right now, Ellie is sitting on the floor talking to herself - she's going back and forth between "Nene!!" and "Cock-a-doodle-doo!!" (There are also a fair number of chickens walking the Kamehameha V Highway in Molokai.)

Jay's Note: What's even more interesting is that when Col is in the presence of nenes, she also goes "nenenenenenenene!"



Col's Note: I'll miss watching the geckos on the windows at night and hearing them chirping from the rafters. I'll miss living in a little house that I can almost keep cleaned up - where there's a place for everything and at the end of the day, everything in its place. And, I'll miss the daily hunt for beach glass during low tide. As I was searching today, a number of different thoughts came to me about beach glass collecting that I think will definitely need to be put into words soon - before I lose the closeness I have right now to the subject. Too tired right now, and I need to get some sleep tonight before the Hell that will be tomorrow night's red eye home. And I'll miss my friends the nenes. NENENENENES!!!