Lazy Beach Day

    Ah, sunshine.  It was wonderful to wake up to singing birds instead of strong wind and rain.  The governor of Hawaii has declared Kauai a disaster area due to the storms.  Schools are closed, roads impassable and bridges washed out.  Most of the worst problems are on the opposite end of the island where they got the most rain.  Down here on the south end we can see a lot of standing water, but most houses are built up off the ground.  We were pretty amazed at how few trees were down.  Obviously the tropical trees are flexible and able to bend well with the strong winds. I am glad to see the sun!
  We had a nice slow breakfast today with some of my favorite Kona coffee, and then went out to the beach along with most of the rest of the residents of the resort.  We spent the whole morning relaxing in the sunshine, watching surfers, whales, little kids, and big waves.  There is a "brown water alert" for most of the beaches on the east and north sides.  Huge mud flows and some sewage spills.  The water here still looks clear and the whales seem happy.  My knee is weary from walking the beach - the sand is deep and the beach is at quite an angle.  But worth every minute of feeling the warm sand between my toes and the waves breaking around my legs.

     The grounds keepers were very busy this morning picking up debris from the storm. Huge palm branches are littering the lawn.  Every building here is surrounded by flowering shrubs.  It is so pretty.   Every day the workers trim, rake and tidy up the landscape so it looks like we are living at Disney World.  There is an orchid garden on the resort grounds along with a series of koi ponds.  After a day of rain and now hot sun the area was wonderfully fragrant.  The birds seem to love it too and I am discovering a lot of new varieties of familiar Minnesota birds - for example a grey and white bird with a red head that is a cardinal.  I love my Ibird app on my phone that helps me identify the unusual birds.  And NO this is not because I am an old lady, I have been bird watching since I was a kid.

     After some souvenir shopping we had a lazy afternoon full of reading, beach, sunshine and naps.  My very best kind of day.  Dinner tonight was at a fancy Tapas bar.  We enjoyed dinners of tapas with Arik and Jennifer in Barcelona, Spain.  One of my best memories of our family cruise.   This Hawaiian version of tapas was fancier with Asian/French "Fusion" dishes.  A little pretentious, but still delicious.  After dinner we found a little space for some ice cream.  I am sooo full.