It seems like such a simple thing: spending a few hours at the beach. But there’s something about the beaches here that seem different, special. The waves have been unusually big for this time of year, with high surf warnings on all the islands for the past week. As I went out into the surf today, hoping to get past the breakers, I couldn’t help but notice that with each crashing wave was a rainbow in the spray. It was mesmerizing; I stood in the surf for quite some time, with some of the waves knocking me down, and watched for the rainbow that came after each wave. I’ve been to many beaches but I’ve never seen anything like it.

Sometime later I was sitting on the beach and just looking out and saw the telltale splash of whales. What a show! For about 20 minutes several whales breached and splashed and crashed in the sea. Stunning.

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Sitting in Tammie’s kitchen today and heard a chirping sound. I’d heard it before and thought it was a bird outside…then realized it was one of the geckos that occasionally sticks its head out or scurries along the wall.

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If you’re ever in Kauai, be sure to visit the Pho Vy Vietnamese restaurant in Kapa’a. We went there tonight and had wonderful pho (fuh), a delicious meat and noodle broth served in huge bowls; it’s all seasoned with ginger, cloves, star anise, and cinnamon. It’s served with bean sprouts, jalapenos, lime, and large sprigs of fresh basil. You add in what you want to your taste. You can also plum sauce (yes for me) and hoisin (no thanks). I also had a Thai iced tea that was wonderful!

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The picture below was taken out of Tammie’s back door the other morning. Nice view, eh?