June 2

I'm recalling now just how incredibly difficult it is to boil an entire vacation day down to a handful of meaningful photos. Phew. But I tried.

When I got up this morning, I checked in with folks at the main house before heading over to the Clubhouse to procure a cuppa joe. I've been dreaming about the coffee here since our last trip was back in 2019, and sadly, it seems that they've changed to a different kind because the taste just wasn't the same. But don't get me wrong: It was still good and I still enjoyed sitting on the porch watching the ocean in the distance and making snide remarks to the cute little red-headed cardinal that showed up to steal whatever food I brought to the table. (He failed.)

Then we headed to a church in Koloa that my mother in law enjoys for a Sunday service before taking a quick grocery run. (Well, my in-laws went in for groceries. The rest of us walked around Koloa while we waited.) Following lunch back at the house, we sunscreened ourselves and piled into the car to go on our adventure. We bumpity-bumped our way down a rutted road and parked near start of the Makauwahi Cave Trail, which we'd actually never taken before. We saw the cave (which required a quick scoot on the knees to enter) and heard about its history from the docent on-site and then continued on to Lida's Field of Dreams, which is a sanctuary for wild tortoises. While there we encountered and interacted with several giant tortoises. (Fun fact: despite the reputation of the average turtle, these suckers can move pretty quickly! It was cool to watch them scooting along.)

From there we walked over to Gillin's Beach (which is a section of the broader Mahaulepu Beach). Our plan was to just walk along the sand and perhaps let the waves graze our toes, but the second Isaac and Brady felt the ocean water it was game on. Brady, for some reason I don't understand, decided that he wanted to plank in the water, so he did that. Not to be outdone, Isaac too began planking. At some point they were both smacked with waves. They were soaked and had pockets filled with sand by the time we left. It was messy for sure, but the joy on their faces as they splashed and threw fistfuls of sand into the ocean and maniacally laughed as the water rose and fell made me laugh. That joyfulness is priceless.

And then it was to Mango's for shave ice (cherry and pineapple for me, if you're keeping track), and then back to the house to shower and settle in for the evening. We dined on nachos and enjoyed the sound of wind ruffling the trees in the yard and on the golf course. 

All in all, it was a beautiful day. And I am grateful for it.