I'm thinking for myself

I try to remind Vivian to think for herself as often as I can. When I'm not telling her to listen to me.

Sometimes Vivian says something like "but my teacher told me so". And I tell her "Honey - think for yourself. Don't believe it just because your teacher said it. Or mommy or me for that matter". 

We were having an argument the other day in the car. Vivian had finished watching Dr. Suess' The Lorax on the iPad. I haven't seen the movie. And I don't remember the details of the book. But Vivian noted that in the movie (not the new 3D one) you don't see the Once-ler's face. And at one point the Lorax or someome calls him a monster. Vivian announced that she thought that the Once-ler was a monster.

Vivian has an active imagination. She often has nightmares. So we try not to add to the menagerie of monsters in her head. This line of reasoning led Jo and I to vigorously defend the Once-ler from acquisitions of monsterhood.  To which Vivian loudly and clearly stated "Dad! You want me to think for myself. I'm thinking for myself and you are telling me what to think."

Silence.

I needed a minute. My response: "People will often guide you one way or another. You can choose to listen to what they have to say. But in the end you need to examine the evidence and make up your own mind. So if you have considered it through and think the Once-ler as a monster, it's yours to do so."

And I thought she wasn't paying any attention.

Waves

I'm mesmerized by them.

When you spend a bit of time by the ocean they become a part of your life and the sounds you hear and the rhythm of your thoughts. Manini beach - our beach - the beach we visit everyday was hit by the trailing edge of the phenomenon that wrecked havoc in Japan last year. It swept a few homes off their foundations. Sandy Esperanza, the beach supervisor, showed us where the homes were jostled around by the tsunami. The beach was closed for six months.

I went to Captain Cook's memorial today. It's a short SUP or kayak ride from Manini but we didn't want to chance it with Evan and the rougher surges of the last few days. So I walked down the long way. I stood on the edge of the lava rocks with my camera as a wave came crashing into the rocks. I was standing at least twenty feet into dry rock when I started taking these photos. By the time I was finished a few seconds later my feet were damp. I guess it was a bigger wave than the last few. At it's peak the spray is about 30 feet up in the air and the ocean is about 20 feet below where I'm standing.

Vacations Never End

They just get old. And after 9 months I'm almost ready to be home. I think we all are.

We spent at least one night in London, Hyderabad, Delhi, Jaipur, Agra, Mussoorie, Goa, Mumbai, Pawna, Bangalore, Singapore, Kuala Lampur, Sandakan, Kota Kinabalu, Hong Kong, Hilo and Kona. We traveled approximately forty thousand miles.

Most useful travel accessory: Evan's Baby Bjorn Travel Crib. Don't leave home without it. Most versatile travel clothing: My Keen Newports. Wore them to the beach, trails, parties and even lunches at the Secunderabad Club. I wore them everyday for nine months and then left the remains for Savitri's husband to wear. With some care he'll own them for years.

Most important travel tip: Do it. It's cliched but it is surprisingly easy. Kids aren't a burden. In fact their flexibility and adaptability are inspirational. The cost isn't that much more than just living in Austin for the same time. There are a hundred reasons within easy arm's reach why you shouldn't embark on months of travel. We couldn't find one that was a show stopper.

The kind of travel we liked the best is going and staying put somewhere for a while. We spent over 10 days in Goa, about two weeks in Hong Kong (in both places over two trips), over a week in Mussoorie and almost three weeks in Hawaii. And that's the way we like to see places. Slowly and lazily.

Except for  Kuala Lampur, Singapore and Sandakan, every other place we visited was either with friends and family or to visit friends. Seeing places is great. But being with people you like is even better.

Evan and Vivian had an amazing time. Vivian was on the cusp of learning Hindi. She acquired a familiarity and comfort with India and traveling that I hope stay with her for life. Evan transitioned from a bumbling toddler to a worldly wise traveler. He has a limited vocab, but it includes a first-hand notion of the sun, moon and stars, chocolate, wine, cheers, dolphins, monkeys, backpack, airplane, beach, waves, sand, and who knows what else.

My primary objective was to spend some time with my dad and figure out the next steps. I achieved half of that. Which is good enough. And Evan and Vivian got to know him one tiny bit. Next steps shnext schepts.

Thanks to everyone who made the last nine months so memorable. In Austin, Hyderabad, and along the way. Who took the time to travel with us. Who blessed us and wished us well with fair winds and sunny skies and gentle rains and connecting flights. And finally thanks to my lovely wife who kept things moving along smoothly and took everything in her stride.

The final analysis: will we do it again? Most certainly yes.

Tsunami Tsigns

Tsunamis are no laughing matter. The last two big ones - in the Indian Ocean and Japan together almost killed a quarter million people, making tsunamis the worst natural disasters on record.

But the tsunami signs in Hawaii are pretty funny. They comes in twos and show which way you need to run. The Crossfit box in Kona has the tsunami warning sign on it's t-shirts.

Gecko

They are all over the house and garden. Inside and outside. Yesterday one landed on the driver side window while we were driving through town. This guy (or gal) stuck to the glass of the window while I was driving at 30 mph. Their feet stick to stuff due to van der Waals force - the same force that help keep molecules together. Evan classifies them as "buggies" and gets pretty excited when he spots one indoors.

When we picked Jen up from Hilo and arrived back to Kona, it was about 3am her time. She had been traveling for most of the day. So she was disoriented. Because when Jo warned her that most likely there were geckos inside her room she freaked. This is someone who rarely shows emotion. Turns out she heard "iguanas" and imagined the large fanged and horned lizards freely roaming around on her walls and bed.

The hibiscus come if every color. We even have a white one with a deep purple throat and pistil at one end of the driveway at the vacation home. I took this photo while waiting for malasadas at Tex Drive-in in Honokaa on the north side of the Big Island.

Waipio Valley

A couple of days ago we visited the most beautiful spot in the state of Hawaii - the Waipio Valley. Here's an areal photo from google images.

There's a road that goes to the bottom. That's the gash on the left shoulder of the valley in the above picture. The valley floor is 2000 feet down. The road is a mile long. In several stretches it's got a 25% grade. We got here at 5pm - long after the tourists had come and gone. It took us 30 minutes to walk down and about 45 to trudge back up. Vivian did it all on her own which is amazing because the guide books talk about how strenuous the hike is and that you shouldn't attempt it unless you are in great shape. Even Evan hiked the last third of it back up. At the bottom there are wild horses and cattle and carcasses of cars that didn't make it down the steep road.

Then each of us ate a pizza at the Cafe Il Mondo in Honokaa. After which I got in back with the kids and we slept all the way while Jo and Jen chatted and drove through almost total darkness and desolation for a couple of hours.

See, Jen? I managed a whole blogpost without saying "...while Jen napped...".

Sand

Yesterday we went to Hapuna Beach - rated the best beach in America on some lists. That's after complaining about the sandless lava rock beaches of the Big Island. It was a great beach with one big drawback.

Sand.

Jen and Jo complained that the sand got in their hair and swim suits and gave them dermal abrasions. Vivian got sand in her blueberries. Evan wouldn't get in the water because we think the sand afforded a view of too much of the ocean.

So we went to the bar on the beach. The kids played around on the lawns. Jen took a nap. Evan took a dump in his swim shorts. I took a walk to the car park. And then we all took a drive back to Kealakekua Bay and home. Covered in sand from head to toe. Ugh.

A day in paradise

The day starts early. Breakfast is over by 8am. At the beach by nine. The beach is a one minute walk from the vacation home. I'm not exaggerating. But the lady who called it a great beach with lots of white sand was. There is almost no sand on the Big Island. The land is new by geological standards. So there hasn't been enough time to grind the lava rock and coral down to sand. But it is great for kids and there's good snorkeling right there. It's across from the bay where Captain Cook landed first and where he was later killed. In the third picture below you can see a couple of small white spots on the shore at the other end of the bay - that's the historical marker.

A few hours at the beach go by quickly enough. Lay out. Swim. Snorkel. Lay out. Then we are hungry. Today we drove five minutes up Lower Napoopoo Road to Kalama's for garlic encrusted grilled ahi. Then we drove another mile and walked the last few hundred yards to this other beach. Evan took off his trunks and Vivian soon followed. The beach was almost deserted - in the photo below you'll be hard pressed to find Jo and Vivian and Evan and Jen at the far end of the sand.

We grill fish or local Hawaiian beef for dinner. The kids watch a spot of TV or a DVD. We try to lighten a couple of bottles of wine. And plan the next day in paradise.

Deadbeat mom

Yesterday Vivian and Jo drove into town to pick up candles and stuff like that for Evan's birthday party. Evan and I walked to the beach and Jen was already there. It was almost 9am. The beach was empty. Soon an Asian woman showed up with her three year old daughter. They set up their towel not far from us and before you know it Evan was in heaven - playing and chatting and running around with a very pretty girl. Jen continued to nap and read her book. I hung out with an eye on Evan.

About an hour later the lady opened some snacks. Evan acted like he hadn't had any breakfast. He looked at me and I nodded that he could eat. So he settled down next to the girl and chowed down. Then the lady brought out drinks. I reached into our beach bag and brought him over a bottle of water. Jen kept reading and napping. And I didn't think twice about.

Till Jen mentioned in a low voice that the lady had been giving her dark looks all morning. Deadbeat mom. Just lays out there in the sun on her ass. Doesn't take care of her son. It's like the poor man is a single dad.

When Jo and Vivian finished shopping and arrived at the beach Jen announced in a loud voice that carried all over the beach "Hey Mom! Your son is waiting for you".

Falls at Reeds Island

Travel lodging takes as many shapes and forms as travel itself. Our week long stay at the Falls at Reeds Island was unique in my travel experience in that we had traveled to stay at a house. And she did not disappoint. Built by a now dead Californian architect and his partner on a sliver of lava rock surrounded by a river, water falls, hundred foot tall tress, and the lushest vegetation, it was amazing. The house itself was three bedrooms and a kitchen / dining room connected by a long screened-in lanai. The bedrooms on three sides and the kitchen on all four were open to the outside through screens or windows. The interior of the house was spartan - with no drywall or air-conditioning. But it was the exterior that stopped you in your tracks. Walking past any one of the numerous windows made you forget where you were headed and for what purpose. And you just stared and stared at the outside.

In the picture below, I'm looking out of the kitchen window towards the back of the house. About halfway between the window and the closer falls is a patch of grass on the left. Partly obscured by the leaves of a ti tree is a man on a lawn mower. I have zoomed into that portion of the photograph in the next photo in an attempt to add some scale.

The Merrie Monarch

Last weekend we were accidentally in town the same time as the Merrie Monarch Festival - which crowns the world's best hula dancers. It's a Big Deal over here. Fifty years ago hula was almost a dying art and this festival revived it. Tickets are sold out months ahead. But Vivian got to see some of it on TV and we went down to the parade in downtown Hilo. Evan got the hang of the parade quickly and waved with much enthusiasm at anything that moved.

Rainbow State

They say a picture is worth 1KW. It would take forever to find a suitable collection of a thousand words to describe so many pictures from the Rainbow state. Like the rainbow below on the road from Kona to Hilo via Waimea. It's Vivian's first sentient rainbow experience. Rainbows don't seem to photograph well probably because the camera sees it as an effect of optical aberration and tries to fix it. And the Shirley Temple that Vivian is drinking in the next photo. While standing on a bar stool stark naked.

And Vivian and Evan playing in the tidal pools of Onekahakaha beach. And Vivian trying on a hat at the first Target she's been to in 9 months. And Evan strolling through the yard of the vacation home in Kona.

Pele

Hula and volcanoes are two of Vivian's favorite things. They came together very nicely the other day at Kilaeua. We were standing in the fine misting rain overlooking the steaming maw of Halemaumau when a group who had presumably come into town for the Merrie Monarch Hula competition stopped by to pay their respects to Pele. 

Kona

Vacation Home Two is on the edge of Kealakekua Bay at the end of Napoopoo Street. Or on the Kona coast of the Big Island for short. The kids are having a great time.

A Hawaiian birthday

Two candles. A few very large shave ices. Happy birthday Evan.