Beautiful Day

It is Veterans Day and I have the day off from my mail center job. It is beautiful today: the temperature feels a little cooler, there is a nice breeze blowing, and the sun is out.

Yesterday we went on a two-hour hike up in the valley behind our campsite. We climbed up a few small rock inclines on the first part of the hike, which opened up to a small clearing that afforded us a 180-degree view of the ocean, surf spots and campsite below. There were several different species of trees up in that clearing, and since I'm no botanist, the best description I can give is that they looked like Dr. Seuss trees, only green.

After the clearing, we climbed back down very slowly; Neil was barefoot and I'm a spazz walking back down any trail, but we made it down to the valley floor. From there we walked along the mountainside, and along the river. We saw guava trees, a hardwood with bark that reminds me of a paint-by-numbers tree because of the multi-levels of color; we saw a neon yellow fungus--no, not growing from between Neil's toes; and we saw a giant frog the size of a small kitten in a pool of the river in addition to black shrimp.

I did not go swimming in the pools.

We did forget to bring the mosquito spray, which we remembered every time we stopped to rest or look at something. Our hands smacking our legs started to sound like we were firing semi-automatic handguns. Even so, we emerged from the jungle relatively free from bites.

The best thing about where we stay has to be the ocean, and how after a sweaty hike, I can walk about thirty seconds to the water and jump in. The water was especially blue yesterday, although it remains cloudy from the wave action on the sand. There were a few fun waves rolling in and I must say, I handled myself pretty well; however, I cannot say the same for a female tourist who managed to get in okay--and look beautiful at the same time--but didn't have the same luck on the way out. ONE very important rule you must learn and take to heart when you live on Kauai, NEVER TURN YOUR BACK ON THE OCEAN, EVER. She turned her back on the ocean, and as she was smiling what must have been an "I feel like a mysterious island-sea-nymph" to the crowd, she disobeyed the rule, and got knocked on her ass as a wave pounded the shore and the force undercut her at the knees, spinning her hair sideways over her face. Nevertheless, she was humbled, and smiled upon up righting herself.

Did I mention I picked up a pint-sized, elementary-school-hitch-hiker today? His name was Alika (ah-lee-kah) and he had been abandoned by his big sister who was driving to another beach and initially said she would give him a ride to the next beach. Apparently, she reneged. So I gave him a ride, and learned he is one tough little kid as he told me should he ever have a deep cut, he would sew himself up with fishing line. Why do I have the feeling that some day my own son will be saying the same exact words to me?

He also told me that the cops don't care if you hitch hike. I guess they don't care as long as you're old enough to walk. I'm starting to think I'm going to see a baby on the side of the rode with a bottle in his mouth and a motor-lacking-skill of a thumb, angling its way out to traffic.

It truly is a different way of life out here.