Chickens, a pineapple, and a surfer memorial

Aloha everyone, 

Sunset from the lanai

We’re finally starting to settle in and feel at home here in Kahana.  During the week we pretty much work really hard, try to eat something delicious for dinner, watch the sunset from our lanai, and fall asleep early to get ready for the next day.  It’s more hectic than you would think, but we’re getting the swing of it. 

In the mornings we get amazing views of Moloka’i before the clouds settle in.  There are light showers nearly every morning and evening, so we are lucky enough to have green plants all around.  I heard that the upcountry is having the worst drought in 100 years and they are having to relocate some of the cattle off the island because there is nothing for them to eat.  It seems crazy that this is probably only about 30 miles, at most, from my rainy neighborhood. It’s totally worth the long commute to live in a more temperate, lush microclimate.

Moloka’i in the morning (also from our lanai...photo by Dave)

I stopped to get gas the other morning and there were two chickens eating a whole pineapple in the parking lot.  I guess it’s not that unlikely; there are pineapples and chickens all over this island.  But it was funny to see them sharing a giant piece of fruit.  I then hopped in Dave’s truck and head around the mountains, along the coast, and to my new school.  It sometimes still hits me all at once how drastically life has changed in the last few months:  new job, living with a guy and a dog (who is perpetually muddy and sheds like its his job), and oh yeah...living half way around the world.  I try not to get too anxious about it, but I did have a hive on my eyelid one day this week.  One hive, like the one chicken pock I had as a child.  It’s better than being covered in them.  

The best way to remain calm in the face of all this change is to get out and enjoy Maui, which we are trying to do as much as possible.  We set out to walk Porter and Kaya (brewer Scott’s dog, aka my first friend on this island) at this amazing spot overlooking Honolua Bay today and when we got there it was crazy crowded.  There is usually almost no one there, so we thought there might be a surfing contest or something.  As we traveled down the gravelly dirt road, we noticed a small tent overlooking the cliff and lots of people standing around looking out to sea.  We proceeded down the hill a little further and saw a huge circle of surfers in the water.  I gasped, “I think someone died!”  I read an article once about a memorial for a surfer where the guy’s friends all paddled out to the spot where he died and circled up to spread his ashes.  As it turns out, that is exactly what we saw.  

Three years ago this week, local surfing hero Ron Cassidy died while surfing Puerto Escondido, Oaxaca.  What we stumbled across today was the annual memorial of the first event where folks gathered to remember him and spread his ashes in Honolua Bay.  It was absolutely a beautiful sight, but I did not take a picture.  We rolled on down the hill in our truck full of dogs, parked at the top of the cliffs, and climbed down to a hidden, rocky beach.  The dogs were psyched to get out and run around and Porter almost sent me tumbling down the steep, red earth in my flip flops (aka sleepahs...almost RI-like in pronunciation).  From the beach, we unintentionally had a much better view of the surfers.  Toward the end of their time in the circle, folks started cheering and laughing and splashing water all around them.  It was a joyous, lively moment that I am happy I was able to witness from not so far away.  

After the circle disbanded, we climbed along the rocky path to some cliffs to sunbathe and watch the sea turtles poke their giant heads and flippers out of the water.  That was just one little part of today, which was about as lovely and relaxing as a Saturday could be.  Here are some beach pictures from last weekend:

Dave is real.

I’m a cartoon!

Come see us soon.  We miss you!  

Aloha, 

Jen (and Dave and Porter Brown)