Sweet Goodbye Hawaii... your forever in our hearts!

This morning I woke up to a cool breeze flowing through the bedroom windows. With my husband’s warm body next to me and the alarm clock playing a soft Hawaiian song, I thought to myself.... Do I have too? Can't I stay forever??




I know some of you know the feeling I am describing. You have been there, some in Hawaii and others somewhere that is equally as special.



None the less, I got up, made a pot of coffee, and finished packing. We boarded our plane and left the Islands as specks in the ocean, hoping, deep inside that we would make it back to them sooner than later.



Tomorrow we will fly into Bismarck around 4pm. Even though the trip was wonderful and the time spent irreplaceable.... There is no place like home!




See you all soon!

Jayme

Baby Bren

I received news last night that I have a new niece. My sister Teresa and her husband Tyson welcomed their first child this morning. Her name is Madeline Ann Bren. WELCOME baby Madeline (no longer baby Bren). She weighted 7lbs 8oz and 19 inches long.

Kaua'i Coffee

Mmmm.... COFFEE!!!

So as Dustin and I are driving along... in our white Ford mustang convertible (yes.. we did it again), top down, we come across a sign that says Kaua'i Coffee. Of course we have to stop.

The gravel parking lot is moderately filled with mini vans and other ford mustangs. The building is surrounded by coffee plants or rather coffee fields (Jack Pot) and it is clear that this is just what we needed... an afternoon pick-me up!

We entered the gift shop and were welcomed by the sales associate and the lovely air conditioning. We could smell the fresh coffee being produced and followed our sense of smell to the good stuff. Out on the patio there were many coffee machines on small tables with small coffee cups all around to taste test all the different varieties.

So... as my thrifty husband is in hog heaven (unlimited coffee samples for caffeine addicted tourists) we walked around and sipped a little here and then we would sip a little over there. We decided to take the coffee tour through the grounds and learn a little bit about how we get this wonderful pick me up drink.

We generally get the concept of making coffee (and we mean a little more in depth than putting the grounds into the coffee pot and pouring 12 cups of water into the tank and turning on the machine). If you would like to take a production tour of coffee just follow this link;

http://www.kauaicoffee.com/OurCoffee/default.aspx

I am thankful for coffee and everyone that is responsible for creating such a wonderful beverage.

Thank you coffee people of the world!

Kauai Living Conditions

Well... I have to say that we have gotten very lucky in our accommodations. The condo/villa that we are staying in while we visit Kauai is called the Outrigger at Lae Nani. To some this maybe a familiar name as it is the same place, different condo, which the Heick's stayed in while they were here 2 years ago.

The weather here has been rainy at the condo but all we have to do is take a short drive to the sunny side as there is always a sunny side if there is a rainy side.

This morning while making breakfast, I realized that we have very small guests that like to dine with us. There were ants all over one of the breakfast plates that had been used for pancakes and syrup. They were very happy but I was not.

The struggle... I just can't do it anymore

I am sad to report that as of now I can not post future pictures do to the Internet connection that we receive. It currently takes around 40 minutes to load a picture (if it doesn't time out) and I am loosing my mind... and ready to throw the computer into the ocean!

I will try to upload pictures on our next island. I don't think it will be better but I will try.

We have had a few busy days. On Thursday, Jan 29th the same day we did our first scuba dive, we went to a luau for supper. It was awesome. I have some great video and pictures to show. Friday Jan 31 we spent the morning/day on the beach and then in the evening we went to Lahaina for shopping, eating shave ice (Dustin's favorite), and we watched a beautiful sunset on the pier. Yesterday Sat, Jan 31st, we went diving again in the morning to the crater also referred to as Molokini. Our deepest depth was 65ft for about 35 minutes. On our way back to shore were were able to stop and watch whales that were hangin out in the channel. There were several males and one female. The captain's on our boat said that it looked like a competition pod. That is were the males fight for the female. After the dive we were quit tired so we went back to the room and took naps. We got up around mid afternoon and made lunch of some local fresh shrimp and scallops. That evening we went to Sansei's again (the awesome sushi restaurant). We then came home and watched tennis. Poor Roger Federer.

Today we got up relatively early and decided to drive the Road to Hana. What an adventure. I wish I could upload pictures and videos for everyone. We visited a black sand beach, drove a road that was balancing on the edge of a cliff along the coast line, hiked through a waterfall, and had a nice lunch of pastrami sandwiches. We got back to our room around 8:30pm. Just enough time to shower and throw a load of laundry in and to bed we go. I HOPE.

Tomorrow we fly to Kauai. We will be at the airport around 12 (noon) and our flight leaves at 1pm.

Life's an adventure.