Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Winding down...

It is our last day in Hawaii. We don't take off till late afternoon so we have time this morning to make one last trip out to the flea market to pick up some more gifts for folks at home. I have so thoroughly enjoyed this trip and all the amazing things we got to do while here but now am eager to get back home. I miss all my friends and am itching to get to some home improvement projects that this trip has inspired. I also want to do some quilting that has been brewing in my head from my trip to the museum.

Our plans yesterday were to visit another beach that is highly recommended, swim and get some sun but the weather did not co-operate. First of all, the entire way to the North Shore we could see lots of gray clouds in the direction we were going, second, the beach we wanted to visit was packed and no parking to be had. So we headed on up the road to find another beach. We stopped at The Pipeline, where the big surfing competitions occur, and we did try to enjoy that beach but the wind was pretty strong due to the storm blowing in over the water which cold and the waves too strong to spend much time in the water. After 10 minutes or so laying on the beach we got rained on. Jeff was ready to get out of there. So we headed on up the road to find Giovanni's Shrimp truck. Kate claims they have the best shrimp on the beach so we had to try them out. They were delicious. I also had a coconut/pineapple smoothie, the perfect compliment to the shrimp. After we ate and visited the tourist souvenir booths we headed on up the coast to try to find another spot that was enjoying better weather. We stopped at the same beach were Kate and I tried the SUP and managed to enjoy it for about 15 minutes before the rain made its way there. So we packed up again and headed to the grocery store that we passed to pick up some Li Hing Muy spice. It is used in lots of different ways, sprinkled on fresh pineapple, mango or other fruit and on dried fruit as well, I even saw gummy bears that were dusted with the spice as well. My favorite way that I experienced the spice was in a traditional lime margarita, very yummy. I think it would be good in lemonade too. It is made from dried plums that are crushed into a powder. I had to have some. (We stopped at LuiBeuno's so I could have another margarita made with the Li Hing. Yummy.)

We finally just headed back to Kate's and if the weather co-operated we could lay out in the sun in her courtyard. Kate arrived home shortly after we did. We also got rained on there. It was a gentle rain each time but those drops feel like tiny needles piercing your skin yet cooling and refreshing at the same time. We headed in after a short while and decided to eat in for dinner. Kate got to preparing Shepard's Pie for us and we helped with peeling potatoes, sharing stories and laughing. Jeff did a few small home repairs for Kate as we were waiting for dinner to bake. After dinner and everything was cleaned up we watched a few episodes of The Big Bang Theory and laughed at the silliness of this group of intellects and their inability to socialize successfully. It was an enjoyable evening.

I am sorry that there aren't any photos today. I didn't get anything different yesterday and I reviewed my other photos and I think I have already shared the best ones. Soon we will be back to our normal everyday lives and our days here will be memories to share and laugh over for years to come. It has been a really awesome and amazing trip, one I hope to make again. Kate is the perfect hostess too. Thank you Kate for this wonderful time shared with you and for letting us take over your entire house and turn it upside down with all our stuff. We love you and can't wait to do this all over again whether here in Hawaii or where ever else your life takes you to.

Have a great day and remember to be thankful for all life's experiences that await you.

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