Ain't nobody here but us chickens

“Seek not that the things which happen should happen as you wish; but wish the things which happen to be as they are, and you will have a tranquil flow of life” 

Epictetus

Finally, 28 hours after departure, we made it to  Kapuuolai, our North Shore, Oahu, cottage.  I was trying to be Zen about the journey but in the darkness my arrival felt far too desolate. There was nobody around, excepting some darn noisy chickens.  I had a feeling that Mr. Rooster here was going to have something to say come daybreak.  If this truly was the Hill of Tranquility then our sandy garden path had to lead down to the Sea of Serenity, right?  Between the jet lag and "Mr. I'm Lucky to Still be Alive Rooster", we woke early enough to see the sunrise over the Pacific Ocean.

"At the beach, life is different. Time doesn't move hour to hour but mood to moment. We live by the currents, plan by the tides and follow the sun." Unknown.

Being on the windward side of the Island meant we were definitely off the beaten track, so much so the "unfrequented" theme seemed to have adorned the front porch and decorated itself on the inside of our dwelling.  An optimistic real estate agent would call it 'secluded and rustic', what did I care?  I was too busy looking for a spoon to stir the sachet of instant coffee we had recieved courtesy of Hawaiian Air.  Swigging down the black liquid, I raised my chipped mug and toasted the four travelers left stranded back in San Diego and silently thanked them for our plane seats.

"On the beach, you can live in bliss."

Dennis Wilson 

Breathing in the humid salt air, I relished the warm breeze rustling the lush green oasis surrounding us.  The sound of birdsong mixed with the churn of ocean coasters. We were deep in nature so I cast a suspicious eye into the undergrowth scrutinizing for evidence of any other unwelcome hillbilly inhabitants.  This was no time for suspicion and pessimism, we were in balmy paradise, it was time to get native and eat some shave ice.

"It was a miracle of rare device, A sunny pleasure-dome with caves of ice!"

Samuel Taylor Coleridge

We drove just a few miles along the road and we were able to suck up the shave ice tradition, which was brought over to the islands by the Japanese sugar plantation immigrants. Dating back to over a thousand years ago, the Japanese used swords to finely shave ice into this custom dessert. You can't call it a sno' cone because not only will you receive an ear full from the kids, but sno' cones are crushed ice. Very important differences, as the shavings absorb the syrup flavors and that list of flavors appear to be as long as the lines out of the famous Matsumoto Store in Haleiwa.

"Ice-cream is exquisite" 

Voltaire.

Our first day by the warm ocean waters and what do we do?  Head to a chlorine infested Water Park for a a day of fun in the sun with our friends the Bielmann family.  Greg and Brain's friendship goes way back to the seventies, although not quite as far back as the 1770's when Captain Cook made his first appearance.  The Hawaiians thought those first Europeans were Gods when they arrived in Hawaii.  Brian and Greg first went there for the huge winter surf and to capture legendary surfing gods on film. But today was a day for the guys to focus on family, not photos, and it was a perfect high adrenalin ride into our Hawaiian adventure.

"Life is like an ice-cream cone, you have to lick it one day at a time." 

Charles M. Schulz

Mixing the shave ice tastes all together is just like the Hawaii people, a big mix of every flavor of people from Hawaiian to Asian to European to Hispanic to African.  These volcanic islands erupted into being and then life arrived via the water the wind or the wildlife.  If you peel back that last layer of a century or two, a Polynesian place lies beneath.  Without all the mainland tourists and their seaside resort bubbles, Oahu has a unique residential mix.

“My father gave me the greatest gift anyone could give another person, he believed in me.” 

Jim Valvano

Jet lag and chickens are the world's most natural of alarm clocks. Our plan was to splash out on Father's Day at Keiki beach. Greg calls the area the seven mile miracle with at least ten world class surf spots along a few miles of coast.  Of course the HD video camera was dragged along like a third child.

"Beginners worry about gear, professionals worry about skill and masters worry about light" Unknown. 

"When you teach your son, you teach your son's son."

The Talmud

“The most important thing a father can do for his children is to love their mother.”

Theodore Hesburgh

With the warm waters caressing me and my hair fanning out around me, how could I know that I actually looked like the creature from the seaweed lagoon?

"Hold on to the center and make up your mind to rejoice in this paradise called life." 

Lao Tzu 

Paradise has a backdrop of Palms, Cassarina firs, Plumerias and Kukai trees fringing golden sands that roll down to the turquoise aqua of the ocean. To show children these places makes it utopia.

"I went into a French restaraunt and asked the waiter, 'Have you got frog's legs?' 

He said, 'Yes,' so I said, 'Well hop into the kitchen and get me a cheese sandwich."

Tommy Cooper

Time for a bite to eat, every intrepid explorer needs sustenance.  Captain Cook called the Hawaiian archipelago chain the Sandwich Islands after his sponsor Lord Sandwich.  The name didn't last long and neither did Cook, he was killed by the locals on his third trip here. I was grateful to just scarf down a fish taco and drive west from Haleiwa to the empty beaches of Mokuleia.  The road degraded down to a bumpy 4x4wd track as it neared the headland.

"Sometimes the road less traveled is less traveled for a reason" 

Jerry Seinfeld.

The infamous Aloha spirit is definitely floating around in the breezy gusts blowing in from the Pacific.  Unfortunately our new GPS (Ghastly Painful Sheila) doesn't seemed to have cottoned onto the fact.  Luckily the voice of technology hasn't completely abandoned us and told us to pull over and ask for directions, but its terrible pronunciation of the Hawaiian names has been sacrilegious to the Gods of this land. 

"The road to positivity is strewn with the abandoned vehicles of the faint-hearted" 

Peter McWilliams

The golden beaches and the emerald ridged mountains were proving as diverse as the five lane freeways and bumpy dirt tracks.  Oahu was not at all what the kids and I expected it was turning out to be so much more.