paradise

when she was just a girl 
she expected the world
but it flew away from her reach
so she ran away in her sleep
she dreamed of para-para-paradise
every time she closed her eyes

That song is so apt to my life right now, you know? On lonely nights near the end of winter, there's nothing I long for more than summer. And not just a different time, but a different place, too. I found these pictures of Hawai'i from last year and had to bring them out of the archives. It's kind of hard for me to believe I was really there. It's like another world. Paradise. Whereas the one I'm living in now is more resembling Dante's Inferno...but we're done with that book, so I'm going to try to lay those allusions to rest. Hawai'i is the closest place to paradise I've ever been, though what I want now is not just some place beautiful. I want some place where I can get away from all the expectations people have of me, all the work and all the people who bicker and complain and bother me. That's the paradise I dream of. And that's the one that always slips away before I wake up.

And now back to your regularly scheduled posting.

flowers in jars & more.

Because I still haven't taken any pictures since I got home (my battery is low),
...because I am tired and lazy,
...and because these pictures just cheer me up,
we are taking a short trip back in time today, to a much cooler and lush place...

On our last morning in Hawaii, which was also Father's Day, we went to this place for brunch. It has a restaurant, as well as surrounding gardens where the food is grown. It was really neat & I couldn't resist taking pictures of everything. Unfortunately, I forgot my camera, but my mom had hers, luckily.

I love these decorations. They're so simple but they really brighten up the table. 

They also had some select produce for sale. You take what you want and then you put the right amount of money in a box. Pretty trusting!

This was someone's breakfast: eggs with toast and fruit. I got French toast. They gave me honey to pour on top instead of syrup, like I'm used to. It was interesting, but definitely tasty on an empty stomach. :)

After eating, we walked around a bit. We saw the gardens first--positively blooming with bright flowers and vegetables--and then I noticed the goats. When I first approached them, they all shied away, but then one came back. Soon enough, they were all back at the fence. And they were loud. (I was going to upload a video of the goats, buuut Blogger was being extremely slow and I have no patience. So, sorry! Maybe another time.)

---

Quote of the day:

kid: I eat ants.

me: That's kinda gross.

kid: No, it's not. They taste like lemons!

-Kendall

home (finally!)

I'm home. Okay, you probably could have deduced that from the title, but I thought I should make it clear. Home.

Sidenote: It's weird typing on a real keyboard. I've gotten used to the laptop one...but I like this one so much better.

Moving on.

Before our flight yesterday, we went to this really authentic Hawaiian place for dinner (by authentic I mean they didn't have forks for sad people like me who can't figure out chopsticks). Then the plane left at 10:30 and we arrived at LAX (which, despite being such a famous & busy airport, doesn't have WiFi!) around seven in the morning in that time zone. We didn't have time to get breakfast before boarding our next flight to Dallas, and then we had another plane to my hometown. Three flights is too many.

So, in conclusion, I got about four hours of sleep (while sitting up, mind you), all I've eaten since yesterday is a cinnamon scone (which was very delicious but that's besides the point), and my luggage took its own route home. I am just a ray of sunshine right now!

No, but seriously, I'll be fine once I have dinner.

On top of that, tomorrow I start a two-week session of being a CIT (counselor-in-training) at a local nature camp. This will be my third year doing this, so I speak from experience when I say that these days are long and tiring (8-5, baby). Fun, though. Working with four- and five-year-olds is never a dull experience!

So, that's where I am now.

I would be unpacking but my suitcase isn't here yet. Instead I'm just catching up with blogs...and I'm not complaining. ;) Just waiting for the pizza to get here...

Happy Monday!

-Kendall

blue skies & blue ice (hawaii part four).

Wednesday, after I blogged, we went to a lighthouse. This one, in fact. A cute little thing, built in 1913 (I think), but no longer in use. We couldn't actually go inside the lighthouse because of repairs (which was pretty funny considering they still charged us $10 but...) but we got to walk around it & the view was spectacular.

Fact: I have always thought it would be kinda fun to live in a lighthouse.

Another fact: I am fond of this picture. >>

That afternoon we drove to Kapa'a to look in some stores. On the way there: hundreds of palm trees! So many palm trees! An army of palm trees!

On the way back, my grandma got thirsty so we all got shave ice. It was humongous! (It took me like five tries to spell that word, nbd.) I got vanilla which turned out to be blue (?) but it still tasted exactly like vanilla. Ah, the power of modern day science! Anyway...I ate it all. :)

Yesterday was a pretty great day. We biked about ten miles around the beach and then went to this adorable little cafe. I got mango iced tea, mhm. Then in the afternoon we went to the beach. It was semi-raining but the waves were good yet not too powerful and I actually managed to boogie board (gawd. What an awkward word).

Today, I'm going to boogie-board more and watch my dad surf (interesting). Tomorrow we're going to kayak early in the morning, and Sunday is our last day here. We leave that afternoon/evening/I really have no idea and then spend the night on the plane and arrive home Monday midday. The last time I've flown overnight was to Germany, ten years ago, but I still remember it being dark and getting blankets and stuff.

Tangent (because I'm on the topic of my trip to Germany): If you count airports, then I've been to England & France. I mean, my body was physically within the borders of those countries, therefore, in a manner of speaking, I've visited them. What now? I want to really-actually visit them some day, too, of course. :P But until then...

Have a great weekend!

-Kendall

bits of miscellany (hawaii part three).

Since I don't appear to be able to stay on topic for very long today, I'm just going to divide this into several smaller ones. Just cause. 

Why did the chicken cross the road?

The world may never know.

The most miserable I have been in a long time.

On Monday (I think? I get all my days confused during vacation :P) we went to this so-called 'hidden' beach. It had a treacherous hike down--very, very steep with very few rocks to step on. Anyway, we get down and long story short, the waves are huge--much bigger than at the previous beaches, because here they don't have reefs to cushion them or something. I decide to go swimming, because I am brilliant, and this is what happens: La ti da, I am floating along, and then a wave comes and knocks me off my feet. And it twists and turns me around, I do flips and acrobatics underwater I would otherwise be quite incapable of doing. I feel my head hit the ground, I feel sand pounded into me from every direction. Saltwater fills my eyes but I have to get up before another wave comes. Eyes closed, running, running, hoping I'm going the right direction. 

That happened to me twice (I know, right? You'd think I'd learn...) and it was not pleasant either time. In fact, by the end of the second time, I was very upset. I was covered in sand, salt in my eyes, my head sore from being hit against the ground. All I wanted was to take a shower. And I still had to hike back up the path, uphill. Needless to say I don't think I'll being going back to that beach. I'll stick with the small docile ones, thankyouverymuch.

This was what my shoes looked like after this excursion:

They have gone through a vigorous cycle of the washing machine now and look brand new! But they're still kind of damp... That's the trouble with the humidity.

Sun, sun, sun, here it comes!

As I've mentioned, it's been raining a lot but the sun finally came out yesterday. We went to a gorgeous beach on the other side of the island for the day. 

Look how blue the sky was! It was brighter in real life, but I haven't seen it so devoid of clouds in a while. Makes for a nice change, if a rather *hot* one.

Evenings are my favorite.

I love coming back at the end of the day, after being outside for hours, and just hanging out. Playing a board game, having some ice cream, and watching the sunset. That's my favorite part. :)

Have a great day!

-Kendall

the sea and me (hawaii part two).

This is my one hundredth post! If I was at home, I'd try to do something extra-special to celebrate but as it is, I think this is okay. ;)

There's something about the sea. It can be so beautiful and peaceful and so powerful and strong. The lapping waves can meet the shore softly, or they can crash against the rocks fiercely. The water is so full of polar opposites but at the end of the day I can't help admiring it.

We've gone to the beach a few times since we got here. The first time was early Saturday, in the quiet fog of the morning. It was pretty vacant, not crowded at all. It wasn't like I'd imagined the beaches--full of rainbow umbrellas and frolicking children and surfers. But it was nice, in a simple way. Just the sand and the sea and the mountains peeking out from behind the clouds.

We found some shells, too.

Then, yesterday, we went to a different beach in the afternoon. The sun, which has played hide-and-seek the whole time we've been here, teased us with warm rays for a bit, but despite that, it was still cold. I read from my book while shivering under the weight of two towels. And then, I at least tried to boogie board. The waves weren't very big, though, so I mostly just drifted along by myself.

I love the beach and all the little things about it: the squishy sand on barefeet, the sound of the waves, seeing fish swim by, etc. etc. 

That's about all for now, folks! Have a great Monday. :)

-Kendall

aloha to the aloha state (hawaii part one).

Well, I finally made it to Kauai yesterday, after waking up before the sun and sitting on an airplane for an ungodly amount of hours.

And--can I just say--it is beautiful. Despite the fact that it has literally rained about six times since we got here, it feels terrific outside. A breeze keeps it from getting too hot, and it's all very mild and temperate and nice. I'm sitting with the windows open, listening to the wind rush through the palm trees.

This is the view from the front of the house that we're renting. ^^

Yep, it's rained a lot. Never for very long though; only a few minutes usually. It's how everything stays so lush and vibrant! Like this:

The back has a little patio and then looks out onto a golf course. It is perfect for playing frisbee at sunset.

Look, a UFO!

I'm suffering from awful jet lag, though. We're five hours behind our normal time, so it's taking some getting used to. I woke up initially at five-thirty this morning, to the sound of rain and roosters (there are chickens all over the place!). I managed to go sleep for another hour but I'm still so tired, and my eating habits are off too. Oh, well!

Pretty bird! I've seen them a lot but they're elusive, i.e.  they won't sit still.

We went to the beach this morning. It was remarkably bereft of people, although I guess the fact that it was only eight o'clock had something to do with it. That time change again... Anyway, it was nice, though I am not a fan of salt water at all. I'll show pictures of the beach soon; that deserves its own post, I think.

Then we walked around town and got burgers for lunch. Afterwards we drove around some more, looking at the scenery. We stopped at one place where there was a cave on one side of the road and a beach on the other. It was neat.

Even the grass is pretty... or I'm just weird.

And here I am, writing this from my mother's laptop (what great inventions!). I'm sleepy but we're going to make brownies so that should perk me up. ;)

I'll blog more later. Until then, have a great day!

-Kendall