Savannah Blues by Mary Kay Andrews

A great beach read. Fun, and not too intricate.

Saturday in Paradise

Ray misses his garage sale days. Now that we live in Utah he doesn't go anymore - not enough great deals on great items. But, here in Hawaii, he usually heads out on Saturday morning to see what there is to see on the garage sale front. This morning he took Chris along, and they hit the sales. He did find a few pairs of shorts to buy, but the most interesting thing he saw was this bunker built into the mountain:

There was a garage sale inside of it. They didn't find anything worth buying there, but it was interesting to look at.

Chris out front

Chris checking out the goods

After the boys got home from garage sale hopping we headed to the beach. Mike was already there, kite surfing. Here he is taking off:

It is amazing to watch all the kites out there. Today wasn't as windy, so there weren't as many out there. Here's Mike, all done, bringing in the kite (not his only kite, by the way - he has several. After all, it is imperative to have just the right kite for the particular weather conditions of the day).

It's pretty fun to walk out on the grass and see all the kites waiting for their owners to either pack up and go home, or head out for another sail. A lovely woman I met said she calls them "beach butterflies."

So, there you have it, another day spent on the beach. It was perfect beach weather for me; cool and a little windy. The sun peeked in and out of the clouds all morning.

Day 4: goal met

Tweeter and Diane at the beach

North Shore

My sister and her husband lived on the North shore for about 10 years, so that was our first exposure to the island of Oahu, and it spoiled us. They lived right by Shark's Cove and Three Tables. We loved being able to walk right across the street to the beach.

They live in Kaneohe now, and we usually head over to Kailua Bay to go to the beach - it's wonderful. But when we come to visit we usually take a day and head up to the North shore for old times' sake. Today the kids were out of school, so we brought them along. We drove along the coast all the way up to Hale'iwa. We went right past Three Tables: (all photos taken on my phone, as I left the camera at home in my other bag.)

Then we stopped for burgers at Kua'Aina - arguably the best burgers on the island. If you order an avocado burger, they put an entire avocado on the burger. Let's just say we shared the avocado...

Diane and Ray at Kua'Aina

Diane, Jennifer, Christopher

Shave Ice for dessert. We only get shave ice at Matsumoto's. We're shave ice snobs.

Diane and Ray

We finished the afternoon at Waimea Bay, where Chris got in the water with his boogie board, and caught several waves.

Now, I ask you. Which vacation would you prefer, this:

Or this:

The Phillips' December 2009

I know which one I choose!

Day 3: goal met

A Return to Modesty Discovering the Lost Virtue by Wendy Shalit

A resounding Amen! to Shalit's thesis. This well-written call to counterrevolution of the sexual revolution is long overdue.

I sometimes marvel that I was able to grow up as innocent as I did in the general American culture I was surrounded by. Thanks to my parents, and their sound values; then later immersing myself into a religion and culture that honors virtue and modesty
I have been blessed to live in a wonderful, safe-feeling world.

My own children seem to have fared well. I pray hard for my grandchildren every day that they will survive this world they are growing up in. If Shalit's proposed return to modesty can succeed, I certainly hope to help it on its way.

Hawaii Day 2

Spent part of the afternoon on the (very windy) beach watching all the kite surfers, reveling in the salt air and sand stinging my skin from the wind.

Day 2: goal met

Aloha

There is nothing like walking off a plane in the Honolulu airport. The instantaneous feel and smell of ocean air is revitalizing to me.

We arrived yesterday afternoon. We stay Chez Phillips. The caretakers are wonderful, and happen to be related (my sister and family). They are the same guests we host every winter for skiing. (If you ask me, we get the far better end of the deal to be able to come here.) It's symbiosis in the best sense.

My goal for this week is to be at the beach every day. I don't have to swim--I just want to be near the ocean. If the weather cooperates and I can swim, so much the better. Meanwhile, I'll just bask in the warm air and ocean breezes.

It was windy today. We went for a walk along the beach. Mike warned us: it's cold, take a coat. Ha! 75 degrees and windy is not cold. Ray may beg to differ, but I stand firm.

Check out all the kite surfers in the background. I counted over 20 of them out there this afternoon. Some were doing flips, all were zipping along in the wind.

Diane and Ray

Day 1: goal met.

Hospital Sketches by Louisa May Alcott

I bought this book when I was at Orchard House last year. It's a series of sketches taken from the letters that Louisa May Alcott wrote home during her own experience of working in an Army hospital during the Civil War.

The book is only about 100 pages long and gives a good insight as to what life in that situation was like.

It's interesting for me to read a book meant for contemporaries at a much later date. Some of her references to people or literary characters are no longer familiar, but surely would have been familiar to the public during her lifetime. I find those references less prevalent in most of her more popular, more enduring classics.

I wonder what people will think in a hundred years about some current books that we feel are very well written. Will the references in them stand the test of time?

The book is available to read online. You can find it here.

Snuggle

Last night we came home from dinner and sat on the couch to visit with Audrey, Joseph and the boys. Matthew walked up to me with his blanket, crawled into my lap, pulled up his knees, and snuggled in. I wrapped the blanket around him, rubbed his back a few times, and he was out.

This is why we have grandchildren; to relive the glory days of motherhood.