For Lia...King Crab

Just outside my front door facing west is a quiet sanctuary...a chair hammock swings beneath a broad and lush poinciana tree which faces a tiny garden of peace lilies, orchids, impatiens, ti plants, and other tropical greens...it is also an attractive sanctuary of sorts... for spiders. Crab spiders to be more exact. Unfortunately for me, they are drawn to this particular spot like spider magnets. And these are not just any spiders...oh no...these guys are...well, put it this way, they're really interesting to look at and hard to figure out. They're not like any spider you have ever seen before. They are small...but not too small, although smaller than the dreaded cane (which by the way have been curiously absent for the last 6 months), but they are...armored...yeah, that's what I'd call it. It's a hard outer shell, like a armadillo, or even more like a triceratops or stegasaurus. They've got this really creepy coat of armor on them. They're like some wierd prehistoric spider. And they spin webs everywhere. And not just any web...not some wimpy fragile web, these babies are huge and strong. You run into one of these and you spring back. It's like running into a web of fishing line. They bite too, these guys. Personally I haven't had the pleasure, but I've talked to some locals who can attest to quite a painful experience.


My guess is that these guys are just hanging around, minding their own business and just trying to catch a living. Just like everyone else. But they're everywhere and they are a huge nuisance. In every bush, path, tree, and in every other living thing. Even the babies have tiny little baby webs in my potted orchids where the geckos hang out. At least it's good food for the geckos. You know...that old circle of life thing. Anyways the geckos, as far as I'm concerned, have a lot of work to do. My sanctuary is a little too crowded for my liking.

Lia...for an extra spine chill, click on the picture to get a close up!!

Hey Cuzzin', What's Buzzin'?

Greasy Bryl creme laden hair, leather jackets, rolled up blue jeans, bobby socks, poodle skirts and horn-rimmed glasses. Greasers, yup...that's what we were, if only for an evening. We put the pedal to the medal, burned some rubber and created an evening to remember.

Eileen, our Sunday School Coordinator, enlisted my help (along with another girl) and together we put together a cool evening for the Christian Education staff and teachers. Our theme was the 50's...what a fun era to re-create!! We had so much fun creating an atmosphere with polka dots, LP's, old photos, and 50's music with Elvis Presley, Buddy Holly, Chubby Checker, Bill Haley & the Comets, Righteous Bros. and many more. Our focus was on creating a 50's style diner right down to a menu of burgers, fries, onion rings and root beer floats served by a bubble gum chewing waitress named "Flo". The 50's entertainment was provided by our very own DJ "Jumpin' Joe", who helped set the mood with old classics..."you ain't nothing but a hound dog...crying all the time...". Women rushed the stage as "Braddah" Elvis sang, security guards held back the crushing swarms, women screaming when he threw his slipper (flip flop) into the crowd. Rioting women fought over the slipper of Elvis. It was crazzzzyy!! What a riot!! Nostalgic 50's replica prizes were handed out to the winners of the bubble gum blowing, straw blowing, 50's karaoke, and hula hoop contests.

In appreciation of their service, every Christian Ed. teacher, aide and volunteer received an authentic 45 album with a recreated label...a coupon for a free breakfast and mocha freeze/smoothie from our local cafe...Common Grounds.

It's about time!!!

Aloha!!! After 8 months on the island I thought I could finally post something on our family blog. Forgive me in advance for not being as articulate as my beter half. Fact is after a day of which many hours are spent in front of a computer screen I'm often reluctant to get in front of another one you know?

Anyways, here is a Wow God moment for you. After pulling an all nighter in preparation for our Easter series at church (which begins this Sunday by the way) I walked into our regular staff meeting on Tuesday morning. I had spent several hours in a few passages of scripture that talked about the disciples call to drop their nets and follow Jesus. You may know the story "Follow me and I will make you fishers of men!" That morning I asked Alan one of my staff to read some scripture from a devotional booklet. Wouldn't you know it but the scripture assigned for that particular day from that particular devotional booklet was the very passage I had spent the night with just hours earlier!!

As we walk (or for those of you who live by the ocean wade) into the Easter season I pray that all of us begin to live a life that shows our God we are worthy of His call on our lives. Live with a Ressurection mindset my friends ... not just at Easter but every day God breathes life into you!!

Pastor Ed

My Blue Valentine

Uh, please pass the "comfort bag". I think I'm gonna be sick.

Dramamine, Bonine, no-name Superstore anti-emetic and anti-nauseant... whatever's in your medicine cabinet, you're gonna need it when you fly on one of these babies. No one "launched" during our flight (pun intended), but I think a few people were thinking about it.

Blue Hawaiian Helicopters, rated one of the best helicopter tours in Kauai. Cushy seats, huge windows, noise-controlling headsets, air conditioning and push button microphones to ask the pilot questions...like...could you turn around so I can get a shot of that? If you go, ask for the front seats, they are way-awesome. If they are taken, get the right side of the 'copter. That's where all the action is. Ed and I, mentioned we were kama'aina (locals with I.D. to prove it) and we were plopped right up front in seats #1 and #2. The best seats in the house. YAHOOO!!!

By far this has been my most extravagant and dramatic Valentine's day to date. A one hour mile-high (or more) adventure around the island exploring the inner most island secrets. Jurassic Park waterfalls and canyons...you could almost feel and hear the dinosaurs lumbering their way down the massive valleys to drink the pure thirst quenching liquid sunshine of the secret falls. The inner basin of long extinct Mount Wai'ale'ale's volcano crater. Dry from lack of rain, but during heavy rains.. known to look like the inside of a washing machine during the spin cycle. The majestic Na Pali coasts where every peak, jagged ridge and 1000 ft. cliff has been diligently carved out by the finger of God. It must have been like putty in his hands..but the results...in the words of our retired military pilot...are fan-TA-stic! Mama and baby whales dancing their first dance. See the footprint left behind Mama as she spouts. That's baby. Incredible!!

Honestly, it leaves you breathless and speechless. To see the beauty of God's creation, to fully understand that nothing goes on in this universe without his permission. Our greatest thoughts and actions are so feeble compared to the supremacy of God. In our ladies Bible Study, we've been studying the names of God. Last week was, El Elyon...supreme, sovereign Lord. He reigns over all...over everyone of us including the government, monarchy and not even Satan can act without beseeching the authority of God. That is FANTASTIC!!

The ride lasted an hour which was not nearly long enough...it could've easily been another 1/2 hour. However, the men who were green were glad to have their landlegs back.

The remainder of the day was very relaxing, but ended with a scrumptious dinner at Cafe Portofino. A waterfront restaurant in the port of Nawiliwili with lanai overlooking the ocean and inside...lush italian decor right down to the marble floors and dreamy live harpist. The restaurant appeared to be run by the Italian mafia. (just a joke) Every male employee had a thick italian accent and slicked back black hair. The restaurant seemed surprisingly absent of any other ethnicnicity beside haole which seemed strange as the Asians make up for at least 60-70% of the island's population. For appetizers we had an enormous portobello mushroom stuffed with tender hunks of steak(and I do mean, hunks) and drizzled with a bernaise sauce and a red wine sauce. YUM!! The salad was a mixed green salad with cucumbers, tomatoes, pine nuts, a brick of goat cheese (deep fried) with a creamy house dressing. For the celiacs, I had to... *sob* give up my goat cheese... *sob*. That was torturous. The meal was divine although I was sure I was going to suffer. Grilled Mahi Mahi with a delicate lemon picatta sauce, fresh green beans and cheesy potatoes. And dessert, a light selection of triple sorbets...papaya, mango and passionfruit served in a stainless steel champagne glass. Light, refreshing and classy. A perfect experience for the delicate palate.

(And for my celiac family...best of all, no real pain. Just some gurgling.)


**A HUGE MAHALO to our anonymous sponsors of the day. What a fabulous time we had!!**

Ed and the Strawberry Road Rash

For those of you hoping for an update on Ed, here it is....

Ed is recovering nicely from his wounds from last week's motorcycle accident. He gave them a good scrub today in the bath and they look wonderful....as wonderful as large, deep abrasions can look anyways! They look very nice with no signs of infection. Even his big toe is healing well which was of great concern because of the diabetes. We are being very diligent about putting the $700 gel medication on it. Gotta love the American healthcare system. Our private health wouldn't cover it but the Motorcycle Insurance company would!! It's about the size of a small Neosporin tube! Crazy! Ed still suffers from quite alot of pain in his right rib cage area but that may take awhile to heal due to deep bruising of the cartilage,rib bone and muscle.

We are so blessed to be a part of a family who regularly lifts us up to the Father in prayer. Thank you for your prayers. (The locals would say "Mahalo plenny"). They are being answered by our God of grace. Please continue to offer us and our ministry up in prayer.

Glass Beach

If someone told you that you gotta check out a beach near an old dump, would you believe them? And that stuff from the dump washes ashore...millions of pieces of broken glass from bottles, beer bottles and auto parts, would you go? The beach makes a lousy first impression. In the industrial part of 'Ele'ele, backed by huge, ugly tanks full of gasoline is a small little beach brimming with glass. "A colorful tapestry of sand and multi-colored glass" as quoted by the Ultimate Kauai Guidebook.

Ben and I (and Bela) decided to check it out. Ugly first impression is right...is there really a beach back here? Sure enough, a few cars randomly parked in the tall grass meant we had arrived but were not alone. Ben having survived a fairly short but bumpy dirt road piped up..."Where's the beach?" A tiny path revealed the rocky but pretty little beach. Definitely not a swimming beach or a strip-down-to-your-bikini-and-soak-up-the-sun kinda beach but a great one for beachcombing. Of course, I'm here with a pre-teen son with a very low tolerance for beachcombing and almost as soon as we've arrived...he's ready to go. But I am stubborn and persistent. We move on down to the shore. The sand is exactly as promised, bits of brown, white, green, blue glass and coral bits make up the pebble-like consistency of the beach. It's pokey to walk on bare-footed but not sharp. Each piece has been worn and weathered by each wave and change of tide over hundreds of years. Okay, maybe not hundreds of years..beer bottles and cars didn't really exist back then, but alot I tell you!!!

Ben and I had fun checking out the sand and the cool little natural "cave", took a few pictures and left feeling satisfied that another beach had been conquered and checked off our list of things to do and see.




Ben striking his Dad's GQ
pose.

Bullers Meet the Coast Guard

Lucky us...a rare opportunity for a ride on the fastest and loudest boat on the waters of Kauai. What are the Bullers up to now? You ask. Our family was treated to an early morning visit to the United States Coast Guard Kauai Station in the harbour port of Nawiliwili. We arrived with Jon, Sandra and Jackson at the Station where we had to sign in and meet with Senior Chief Kai. The senior chief gave us a quick tour of the station and his office, gave us a brief lesson of what the Coast Guards responsibilities are and technical terms of the boat itself. When asked how many emergencies they tend to in a day, his first response was at his last station in California...there were 2-3/day. Here in Kauai, Coast Guard rescues are quite infrequent if not rare. One of the reasons for this is that it seems the Hawaiian people take care of each other and the coast guards aren't made aware of any of their distress calls. They did have to rescue one tourist from getting caught in a current at Kalapaki Beach this week (nobody noticed her missing...her husband was out shopping) and a surfer, but other than those two incidents, things run pretty quietly and smoothly for them.
We boarded a smaller red boat that looked similar to a zodiak but with a steering wheel and some fairly fancy technology. Due to unusually high winds and rough waters, we weren't able to head outside of the port area. Senior Chief Kai had been preparing for us to head south down the coast to a secluded beach inaccessible by car and some whale watching. Unfortunately, neither were a possibility due to the swells. Still, rippin' some donuts in the port in a Coast Guard boat, blaring the siren and yelling "pull over" over the intercom was an experience not often entertained by the average joe and will not soon be forgotten. Jackson, Ben, Alyson, Ed, Jon and myself all had a run at driving the watercraft. Sandra opted not to drive but rather took the moment to soak in the sun on the starboard deck. For those of us now in the know regarding boating terminology, bow is front, stern is back. Port is left and starboard is right. That's about as educational as I can remember the lesson being. We also had very special guest drivers for our trip. Young and amateurish but eager to get in the driver's seat. Our drivers, ready for the Coast Guard are...

Ben, Jackson and Aly

Ed and "The Destroyer"

Okay first of all let me say that Ed is just fine. By the attached photo, you can probably guess what I am about to say next. Yesterday at lunchtime, while on his way to a meeting with a friend/church member in Waimea, Ed was involved in a motorcycle accident. Driving down the westbound highway through the sugar cane fields, two cars ahead of him suddenly came to a stop. Ed hit the brakes, but to his horror, hit the front brakes just a wee bit harder than the back. He knew he was going to be in alot of pain in just a few short seconds. Ed was launched up and over the front of his bike while he and his bike flew across the road and landed in the eastbound lane (oncoming traffic). They both skid to a stop and luckily so did the traffic. People were onsite immediately and called the ambulance. To my great relief, when I received the phone call, it was Ed on the other end calling from inside the ambulance. It would've been much worse to hear the voice of the EMT's or the police. Assuring me that he was fine (of course, I wouldn't believe it until I saw it) he asked me to meet him at the KVMH hospital where he was being taken for treatment and a good clean-up. Upon my arrival, I was relieved to see him in one piece with his coconut still in tact (physically at least)! One huge saving grace is that Ed is a stickler for wearing his helmet and a motorcycle jacket. What a complete godsend!! The gear saved his life! The one piece of protective gear he was missing was a pair of riding boots. Just an FYI... sneakers won't cut it in a crash. His helmet is surprisingly in not too bad condition, his jacket, jeans and sneakers ...shredded. Because of the lack of proper footwear, his right leg....also shredded. He sustained deep abrasions to the right leg all the way from above his knee to his ugly big right toe. He sustained the deepest abrasion under his big rt. toe because of the friction of hitting the road and the subsequent destruction of the shoe. He may require a graft there. Other minor abrasions were found on his right shoulder, elbow, hip and inner thighs. His ribs are also deeply bruised and VERY tender and painful. I suspect when he arises from his bed this morning, he will be in quite a bit of pain. The Vicodin is sure to help. Anyways, Praise God for huge mercies!! The accident and injuries were minor considering what the outcome could've been. An MRI showed all organs are intact and in the right places. No lacerations to the spleen or other organs!! Hooray!! X-rays on his lower extremities showed no breaks in his bones. Please pray for a speedy recovery and no unexpected internal bleeding. Ed is in relatively good spirits considering and is comfortable taking at least a month's break from "the Destroyer" as I like to call it. Heaven help the wife that has to pick up the pieces of her husband!! Oy!

My sincerest apologies go out to the woman who gave birth to this son and the man who helped raise him!

Smith Family Garden Luau

January 3, 2007: What a day!! We awoke to gorgeous weather....a perfect day for kayaking 4 hours down the Wailua River. Up and at 'em at 6 am for me. Our scheduled meeting time was 8 am at the boat ramp in Wailua. We rented kayaks and and were off to meet our personal river guides at the boat ramp...Jungle Joe and wife, Angela. What an awesome couple. We know them from church and they were more than happy to head out on the water with us. A BIG mahalo to Joe who took the day off from work to be with us!
We headed 3 miles down the glorious Wailua River which was calm and easy going on the way out but windy and hard paddling on the way in. We stopped at a rocky inlet where we tied 3 kayaks and 2 outriggers together and headed through the jungle on a slippery and rocky (but pretty level) 1 mile hike. A breeze, after the slick uphill 1 mile hike at the beginning of the 11 mile Kalalau Trail we attempted the day before. At our hiking destination was the spectacular "Secret Falls", so secret that everbody knows about them, but lucky for us, very few people were there to greet our arrival. At least, we beat them all there anyways. The pool at the base of the falls was quite nippy and only the bold, brave and beautiful made the attempt to go in. That being Jeremy, Megan and Tyler. Megan actually stood under the falls. What Canadian spirit! It was aptly described to have felt like a shower of hail from one Montrealer who stood under it for several minutes. Crazy Canucks! After a quick snack and a few minutes of picture taking, we hiked back to the kayaks on the way back to the boat ramp. It was hard work and exhausting and I (with my bum shoulder) was lucky enough to have Tyler as my paddling partner! Way to go MG!! (pictures to follow)

After a few hours of R&R at home, we headed back out to Wailua for the Smith Family Traditional Garden Luau. After meeting our native Okinawan hosts, Mamo and Joen Kaneshiro (the important local suppliers of the pig for the evening) and the rest of my family, we headed into the Luau Gardens for a group family photo and tram ride through the fabulous Polynesian floral, fruit and tree gardens native and imported to this Kauaian Island. Following a few minutes of free time, we headed to the "imu" pit for the traditional opening of the ceremony. A brief introduction of the Smith Family and explanation of the imu ceremony and then 2 young Hawaiian men blew their conch shells to the West, East, North and South to open the evening. They then picked up their 'garden hoes' and removed the sand from the opening of the pit to reveal the cooked pig beneath the grains. Hmmm....an aroma of grand proportions filled the gardens!!! The fresh smell of steamed pork. Yummy and well... it was later discovered to be certainly juicy!!! After a few snapshots of the pig, and me and the boys, we head over to the dining area for a fabulous buffet of Kalua Pig, Mahi mahi, lomi lomi salmon, chicken and a variety of salads and dessert. It was Ono-licious!! Following the meal, we headed to the Amphitheatre for a Traditional Story-telling of the Hawaiian people. It began with the fiery appearance of Pele, the Volcano Goddess atop a flaming volcano! Amazing!!! It was really hard to capture with my little camera the people and the dress of the different Polynesian cultures but I tried. There were colorful and fiery representations from the Samoan culture, Philippino, Chinese, Japanese as well as a few other islands. The show was absolutely spectacular, keeping us all entertained...even the stubborn and easily bored children in the family stayed focused and intrigued by the pyrotechnics in the production. Tyler on the other hand, was pretty much leaping out of his seat with excitement. This was everything he had heard about and seen on video from his grandparents previous visits to Hawaii. For him, this was the real Hawaii. The garden luau had something for everyone.

I would highly recommend this show to anyone interested in checking out traditional luaus on the island of Kauai. It certainly hit the "WOW" factor for us and all who attended that evening!

A Perfect Mele Kalikimaka

December 22, 2006 came with the arrival of my sister Betsy, husband, Bruce and nieces, Jodi and Kailey to celebrate Christmas. Oh boy, were we excited!! Yeah, time for fun in the sun!! They would have 4 sleeps with us and then they'd be off to their cute little restored plantation home in Kapa'a. Boo hoo.

Okay, without snow here on Kauai, Christmas was a little different. Sure we went through the motions of Christmas, but sweating during the hanging of the house lights and setting up of the Christmas tree hasn't been a part of my frosty and snowy past Christmas memories.
However, we were all forced to spend the perfect Christmas Day enjoying Poipu Beach on the south shore and boy, what a treat! We went snorkelling off the shore where we saw a sea snake, needle fish, parrot fish, unicorn fish, ornate wrasse, convict tang (a white fish with black stripes) , angel fish, the colorful state fish...Humuhumunukunukuapua'a....and tons of others. Also the tide pools intrigued us with huge sea cucumbers, rock-boring urchin, cauliflower coral, finger coral, crabs, and a pebble collector urchin. We were also treated to a visit from a rather large sea turtle, three monks seals....three!!...and a very active humpback whale breaching and playing in the distant ocean. It was, by any and all stretch of the imagination, an amazing day at the beach. The most amount of monk seals on the beaches of Kauai ever recorded at one time is 8. To see 3 on one day at the same beach was spectacular!! What a day!!

Jeremy and Meagan arrived last evening, exhausted after a very long and trying day of travel. Tyler arrives tonight.

On our list of things yet to do are kayaking the Wailua River, Koke'e State Park, a traditional garden luau, Allerton's and perhaps a cruise of the Na Pali coast including whale watching, sea turtles and dolphins.

A very Merry Christmas to all our friends back home in Winnipeg, especially our relatives and our Riverwood Family. Mele Kalikimaka to our Kalaheo MC Ohana!! Mahalo nui loa for your love!!

My 3 Holes with....Tiger

Okay, so I'm not the biggest golf fan, but I've never claimed to be. The odd time that I have gone golfing, I did enjoy it and once actually won. It was beginners luck, of course. Honestly, I'd rather watch paint dry than watch golf on the sports channel on Saturday. But this... this... was different. The 24th PGA Grand Slam 2006 starts today and Tiger's in town. Oh yeah, and Canadian Mike Weir, Geoff Ogilvy and Jim Furyk. Who are these last 2 guys anyway? Oh well, normally I wouldn't really care, but someone gave us free tickets for the whole 3 days and who couldn't resist, to see in person.... the famous Tiger Woods. So off I go (with my friend Maya in her silver BMW convertible) to the Poipu Bay Golf Course by the Grand Hyatt. Maya ditches me with the ho-hum excuse that she has too much work to do, and I'm off hunting Tigers alone. I arrived at 10 am in time for the Pro-Am but realized that (erg...arg...and general "nuts"!) I had just missed the Champions Clinic where photo opportunities and autographs were available. Oh well, who's to know? After all, this has been my only PGA experience so far. Upon entering the greens of the golf course, I stumbled upon the 1st hole. Not a bad place to be, I thought and grabbed a prime spot for the perfect photo. The crowd (of course) was at the 1st tee and it seemed that that was where all the action was. Cheering, laughing, clapping and general excitement could be felt all the way down the fairway. Should I walk down that way, or should I stay put? The risk was that as soon as I got halfway or further, the crowd would descend upon me on their way down to the hole. I'll stay put. Okay, so apparently I missed all the tricks and stuff at the tee, but I stood my ground and waited for my first glimpse of the Tiger. My friend Maya had seen him earlier on Sunday at the pool at the Grand Hyatt. She had said then that he was "Tiger-licious". We'll see about that. I was however, pretty excited to see him for real and in person, after all he does have celebrity status. Slowly he and his team made their way up the fairway and my relatively short wait was rewarded and my expectations had been fulfilled. There he was. Tiger. It's really him. But to my surprise, there were no flutters or jitters, no butterflies at being in the presence of Tiger, just...well, he IS after all just a guy. Okay, I know he's Tiger....celebrity, fame, fortune and whatever else. But he still is just a guy. I started to feel sorry for him that he probably couldn't go anywhere without being called out to, or photographed. I do have to be honest though, I did get caught up in the excitement! Flowing with the crowd from tee-off to hole, tee-off to hole, waiting for a glance toward the crowd and a perfect picture of the famous golfer. At one point, Tiger DID turn to the crowd and started calling out to....me?....who ME?...he WAS looking my way...why is he looking my way?....was I stunningly beautiful in my brand new shirt and sun visor, or was it the fact that I had 2 tickets around my neck and looked like a moron? ( Maya had ditched me and I had her ticket)...was he calling out to me?... Me...Tiger? ME?? Alas...sadly...it was not me but the guy walking behind me. They seemed to know each other and bantered back and forth for a minute. Oh well, at least he flashed his pearly whites in my direction. He was still far enough away though that I didn't get a photo of the exchange. But he did look my way!! HE LOOKED MY WAY!! I followed with the crowd flowing like a river along the secured off area, until the end of the 3rd hole. We then had to stop and allow the teams to enter through an enormous culvert while we (the crowd) were held back for security purposes. On the other side of the culvert was the 4th tee. By this time, I had to say goodbye to Tiger and ditch out as well. It was nearing noon and my ride home (Ed and his motorcycle) was coming. Ben was sick at home and after all, I guess I really should be there with him. Alas, my time with Tiger was short, but there's always tomorrow and Wednesday!

And if you are sitting on the edge of your seat wondering, he is a handsome guy as we all know, but I don't know if I would call him Tiger-licious!

Moonscape....or Hawaiian Red Dirt?

Near the beginning of the long winding snake-like drive up the mountains of Kokee State Park is this incredible unexpected photo opportunity. Many tourists stop along the highway for a quick photo op but don't really appreciate the beauty of this fragment of Kauai. I love this little piece of my new home and feel the need to dedicate this entire blog to photos of this tiny but brilliant and beautiful piece of Hawaii. Please enjoy these following photos.