Living the dream!

Wow! Time flies! We've been back in B.C. now for a month already.... catching up with friends and family, 2 weeks of swimming lessons, lots of time in the pool, eating lots of Okanagan fruit - cherries, berries, peaches, apricots, yum! - some beach time, recovering from reverse culture shock!  It was quite shocking to leave our quiet, peaceful life in Molokai and come back to a BUSY summer in Kelowna. But we're adjusting and settling back in.

Right now we are in Vancouver with my sister Leah. We all drove down together on Thursday and dropped John off at the border to begin his bike ride to California. We were very sad to say good-bye but are excited that he's living his dream! He'll camp along the way and have an amazing adventure no doubt! We'll fly down to meet him in Santa Maria mid-September - we're already looking forward to the reunion!

Zara testing out the recumbant bike while John gets ready to start his long journey. 

The kids are having a great time with their cousins! 

Waterplay in the backyard

Fun at Buntzen Lake - just 15 minutes from Leah's house!

Ruby and Bella on the trampoline

We had an amazing time at the UBC Botanical Gardens doing the treetop walk. Suspension bridges hung between the trees, all on tension settings with no damage to the trees.... up to 70 ft. above the ground. So much fun we went through the course twice! 

After the treetop walk we spent a bit of time at Spanish Banks... a beach near UBC that I had always wanted to see. I guess we've been so spoiled by the beaches in Hawaii that none of us wanted to stay for too long! We were a bit turned off by the brown water but there were hundreds of locals hanging out and enjoying the ocean on a hot sunny day!

Then our adventures took us to Granville Island where the kids enjoyed the "Kids Market" and we got some yummy food to eat for supper while watching all the action in False Creek - kayakers, stand up paddle boarders, yachts, sailboats... a busy place on a gorgeous afternoon.

We were happy to hear from John last night, texting us to say he had arrived in Port Townsend. He spent the first night in Anacortes and had breakfast with his grandma the next morning. We will be following his journey on the map and putting a white light around him daily, sending him love and light for a safe adventure. Any light you can send him would be greatly appreciated!

We're all well.... enjoying life.... big love and hugs to all our friends far away!

A surprise for Zara!

Zara loves surprises. She has been involved in surprise birthday parties over the years and has asked me more than once to "please plan a surprise birthday party" for her! I had to explain that when you request a surprise it kind of defeats the purpose! Most recently she witnessed my sisters surprising me with a visit to Molokai for my birthday in May. So about a month ago I decided to surprise her with a 2 day (1 night) trip to Honolulu. I booked the tickets and the hotel and have been secretly waiting for the day I could take her to the airport and say "Suprise! We've going to Honolulu!".

So Monday morning I took Bella and Thor out on the trampoline and let them in on the surprise.... Thor was fine with it but Bella was distraught that she wasn't coming with us. She was hysterical as we drove away and Zara couldn't figure out why Bella was so upset about not going on a day trip to the east side (which is where she thought we were headed). I pulled into the airport saying I was going to get a chai tea at the coffee shop there and I could see she was confused when I parked in long term parking! Then even more confused when I pulled 2 backpacks out of the trunk. As we got into the airport I said "Would you like to go see the Iolani Palace"? She said "Yes". I said "How about right now?" She look totally confused and then I said "Honey, we're going to Honolulu!"

I had imagined her jumping for joy, but she burst into tears and said "I didn't even get to say good-bye! I thought we were going right back.... I just waved good-bye... I didn't even hug Bella and Thor!" So we called home and she said teary good-byes to John and the kids and then after a few minutes of letting it sink in she started to get excited!

We had a wonderful time! We ate Thai food (3 times!), marvelling at all the restaurant possibilities, we shopped (overwhelmed by all the options). We hung out in Waikiki for the afternoon and just took in the sight of so many people on the beach and swimming in the ocean. We could certainly understand why people would want to be there! It's so beautiful! We walked and walked until our feet ached! Then we took a break and walked some more! Zara loved staying in a big, fancy (by our standards!) hotel. I lost count of how many times she went up and down the escalators!

Zara having a "ball" at the International Marketplace in Waikiki!

Culture shock!!!

We spent 2 hours at the Iolani palace - the highlight of our trip for sure. Recently Zara and I have read some wonderful books about the history of the monarchy in Hawaii. They are the only state that was at one time a sovern nation with a monarchy, and therefore the only state that has a royal palace. The story of how they were overthrown, by a small group of American men who thought Hawaii should be annexed to the USA and would not give up until that happened, is very sad. We have a much deeper understanding of why the Hawaiian people feel the way they do towards the U.S. and can appreciate the sadness and sorrow that came along with the unlawful, unfair, corrupt stripping away of the monarchy's power in the late 1800's. It's a moving history and we were thrilled to be in the Palace where so much of that history took place. We did a self-guided tour that was so informative and included wonderful stories of life in the palace. At times I felt very emotional as history seemed to come to life. A wonderful experience for a couple of royal enthusiasts!

Love the over slippers we had to wear to protect the floors! We weren't permitted to take photos inside but it was lovely. The palace was taken over by the US government as soon as the Queen was forced to abdicate and used as government offices for years. It's only quite recently that it's been restored to its original splendor and open to the public.

Bye-bye Honolulu! Back to sleepy little Molokai we go!

Neither of us were ready to come home! Although John and kids were happy we came back! It was so nice to have time to reconnect with my sweet daughter, who is growing up so quickly. Now Bella is wondering when she and I are going to Honolulu!

Looking for baby honu

One of our favorite sea creatures here in Hawaii is the sea turtle, (honu in Hawaiian) and we are always thrilled when we see one. This is the time of year they come up on the beaches to dig their nests and lay their eggs. There is a beach on the north side of the island called Mo'omomi that seems to be the main place they make their nests and this morning we had the privilege of going out there with a volunteer to monitor them. The nests were all marked and there were lots of visible turtle tracks. We were hoping to see babies or at least the tracks of the hatchlings, but no luck this time! We had a wonderful morning though and felt very blessed to be there.

Two big nests right beside each other. The sticks were numbered, marking each one.

Being on the north side, this beach is the catch-all for any plastic floating by.... it's distressing to see and makes me feel even more committed to limiting the amount of plastic in our lives. We are hoping to go out again next week with trash bags!

Hope you are all having a wonderful weekend! Aloha!

Life in these islands

Oh my, it's been ages since I've posted!  We're down to our last few weeks here in this magical place and life has been quite busy. Purging, packing, organizing... the usual! I had planned to do a post reflecting on our time here, but decided to post some photos of the last few weeks instead. Will get to that other post soon I hope!

The kids (and my cousin Troy!) had fun making masks at a workshop at our local library. 

Dancing hula... a common past time around here!

Making ice cream (actually frozen yogurt) with our dear friend Julie.

Bella at dance class.... she is loving it!

My hula halau danced at a Kupuna fair (Senior's fair) last week as part of the lunchtime entertainment. We wore the skirts that my hula friend and I made this winter. And I made the lei that we all wore, with plumerias picked from trees at the nearby condos.

A few of the halua were "off island" as they say here, and a few others are here for the winter only so we were a smaller group. That's DJ, my kumu hula (teacher) on the right in the black. 

Sorting through our beautiful shell collection! Each shell is a treasure and a gift... was hard to choose which to keep and which to leave behind. 

This sweet little pineapple was grown in our garden! The wind blew it off it's plant so Thor brought it in and we cut it open and ate it!

We're making the most of our last weeks here.... spending time with friends, enjoying the beauty of this place. Life continues to be beautiful!

A day at Kalaupapa

In years past while visiting Maui, I would often look over at Molokai and wonder... "what's over there? what's it like?" All I knew about the island was the fact that there had been a leper colony on it at one point. Was it still there? I really didn't know. But now I do! We have had the privilege of going down to Kalaupapa a few times... it's an amazing place. I went down with my folks on mules back in December and had a wonderful time. Since then John's been down 6 times! Our friend Paul is the volunteer coordinator for the parks dept. there and John has been volunteering in the nursery, designing and installing a new irrigation system for their propagation house. Last week I went along to explore and experience more of this incredible place.

The view from the top of the trail.

The Kalaupapa peninsula lies 1600 feet below the cliff tops. The trail is a series of 26 switchbacks that go straight down the side of the pali (cliff). It's absolutely spectacular and felt far safer hiking it than sitting on the back of a mule! I like having control of how I get down, where I place my feet, etc! My legs started to feel like jello about three-quarters of the way down and I was very happy to get to the bottom and walk along the beach and into Kalaupapa.

 

 

 

 

Looking back at the pali and the trail from Kalaupapa. If you look closely at the photo above, right in the middle you can see parts of the trail zigzagging down the cliff.

I had the huge honor of walking around by myself while John worked in the nursery. Very few people get this opportunity as most folks that visit come through the tour company and have to stay with the tour for the few hours that they are there. That is really the only way to visit unless you volunteer with parks, or work there. Many of the people who have lived on Molokai for years have never been down to Kalaupapa. To have the day down there to wander and explore was a huge blessing.

 

 

Lots of dilapidated old buildings.

 

 

 

 

I have read a few books about Kalaupapa and what life was like for some of the people who were sent here once they were diagnosed with Hansen's Disease (the proper name for leprosy). It was a tragic time for the more than 8000 people who were sent here over a period of 80 - 100 years. People taken away from their families and sent here to be in isolation, where they could not spread the disease. Little children, mothers and fathers.... no one was spared. This photo above is the visiting room. There used to be a glass window that ran right down the middle of the room from end to end. When family or friends came to visit (which was quite rare), the patients would be on one side and the visitors on the other, with absolutely no contact allowed. In later years they changed it to chain link fence so at least conversations could be had, but still no contact.  

A fun old building... even a licence plate from Alberta! No idea how it got there!

 

 

 

 

A beautiful spot to sit and journal.

 

 

 

 

After an hour or so of exploring on my own, I met John back at the wharf where we jumped into the ocean and snorkeled. The water was crystal clear and there were fish everywhere. It felt like we were in a giant aquarium! So wonderful!

 

 

 

 

After a swim and picnic lunch we met up with Paul who took us for a little tour of the peninsula.

 

 

 

 

Up on top the crater rim. It was so windy!

The geography of this area is fascinating. About 2 million years ago there was a huge landslide and part of the mountains on the north side of Molokai fell into the sea, leaving the incredible sea cliffs that we see today (the highest sea cliffs in the world). Then about half a million years ago, a volcano just off shore and underwater erupted, forming the peninsula at the base of the cliffs. The crater of that volcano is still part of the peninsula and has a small lake at the bottom of it that is 800 ft deep!

 

 

 

 

The green cliffs are breathtakingly beautiful.

 

 

On the east side of the peninsula near the original settlement of Kalawao.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Walking along the beach, back to the trail up the pali.
 It was quite a hike back up! My calves hurt for a few days after that!

What an incredible day! We were blessed to have some of our new friends (Julie and David) spending the day with the kids so we could have the day together at Kalaupapa. They had a wonderful time and weren't ready for us to come back when we did.

There is so much more I'd love to share about Kalaupapa and the history there but it's beyond the scope of this blog post. If you are at all interested in learning more about this bit of history I would highly recommend a couple of books: No Footprints in the Sand is an amazing memoir written by a patient who just died a few years ago. Molokai is historical fiction. It's well researched, well written and hard to put down... about a young girl sent to Kalaupapa at the age of 7. An amazing, heart wrenching, but beautiful tale.

 Both of these books have left a lasting impression on me, making it even more special to be down there, feeling the energy of all the people that once lived there. A handful of patients remain in Kalaupapa, living out their last years in this beautiful place they call home. If you are ever in Hawaii, I would highly recommend a trip to Molokai, and to Kalaupapa. Make sure you read one of the books first though so you can truly appreciate the history! It is truly an unforgettable experience.