Da Keiki Blog

Another beautiful sunrise at Anini. There is almost no wind in the morning and the lagoon is glassy…

We went to the Hanalei farmers market and met Julian and other old friends:

They have live music at the market now, and a great lawn to sit and listen on. It’s right next to the Kalo (taro) fields/paddies and easy to get a great shot of the mountains:

Then we all went to the Hanalei pier to go swimming. the only parking space Andy could find was on the beach, facing the water and Hanalei River mouth (all the other cars were parked there as well). Sonja calls it a “Beach Park.”

We watched an outrigger race from the pier

Leilani got a swimming lesson from uncle Julian; she is really doing much better and will put her head in the water and dive down by herself. Hanalei beach is perfect for her, with a wide shallow area, no rocks and only small waves.

We got lucky again and found another nice campsite far from the noisy people, so we moved our tent. Later on Delfi an her parents came to visit us. The girls had fun playing together and Leilani made herself a limu-beard:

Typical camping on Kaua’i photo (though usually not this well organized):

Now that she’s almost swimming, Leilani is getting interested in this snorkeling thing that Mommy and Daddy keep doing all the time–I think we’ll have to get her a mask for her next birthday on Kaua’i:

Every sunset is different:

And every sunrise is unique too:

Leilani and Sonja arranged some found objects into camp-art:

In the end, it’s good that we moved: not only was our new campsite quiet, it was sheltered from the wind, and it had the perfect little tree for Leilani to climb. And how she loves to climb. We turn around and she’s 6 feet up in the tree:

We went hiking on the North Powerline trail with Julian and a friend of his, Malia. It was hot and humid, but everything was lush and green (no color enhancement needed on these photos):

Ferns (native, I think):

And wild orchids (non-native):

Unknown flower:

We realized we are all very geeky hikers:

Junior geek looking at the GPS:

There is a little side trail that leads to a great view of the Hanalei River valley:

After the hike, Andy found some firewood that we brought back. Leilani was proud of how strong she is and how much she could help us carry:

More campsite beach art:

Relaxing:

Jaya and her little sister Lila came to visit with their parents:

Leilani and Jaya played like old friends again:

And Lila charmed everyone with her smile:

Adam and Aditi:

Last Anini sunrise:

We broke camp at Anini and packed everything in the car. We drove to Beachhouse beach in Lawai for a day of snorkeling on the South Shore. We saw lots of beautiful fish, turtles (which even Leilani could see from shore) and surfers.

That evening, we were back at Anahola. Adam and Jaya brought their tent and stayed for the night with us:

We made a campfire with our wood and cooked veggies and breadfruit on the coals (in aluminum foil):

Tuesday morning, we went to see Jaya’s school, the public charter school KaNuiKaPono in Anahola. Leilani got to see how the big kids school looks like:

And then we went to visit Tutu and me, where everyone remembered us. Leilani was thrilled to be back, even though now she was the big kid among smaller ones:

Back at the beach some of us snorkeled …

and some dove

Relaxing at Anahola

Aloha

That evening, we went to visit Randy:

He grows beautiful bromeliads…

Invasive water hyacinths …

And chocolate trees…

His island models get better…

…but we didn’t manage a photo of Randy or Anita, who was just preparing to move back home to Sweden. We had a great dinner at Shivalik, one of two new Indian restaurants.

Wednesday, last full day, doing what we do best:

Andy had to get a photo of the red-dirt horse in Anahola:

We packed up half of our gear at the house and then met Ian and his family (Claus and Karla) at Lydgate… Ian doesn’t like his picture taken:

Mateo, Ian’s little brother:

Later we went to Monico’s for dinner:

And then went to see Adam and Aditi’s new house. Jaya showed Leilani her room and how she has to do homework:

Last morning…

Leilani is sleeping in, like most mornings. This time most of the tent disappeared around her…

On the plane:

Leilani was so happy that we let her watch the movie, then she fell asleep during the preview shows. It was the movie about Princess Ka’iulani, which was probably too political for her anyway.

In San Francisco, Leilani found a cocktail stick and used it as a hairpin (after we had washed it). Sonja did her hair up very nicely for her: