Kauai - Day 1 (Monday): No coconuts
Today was our first full day on Kauai, and we started off a little slow. Part of it was that we'd gotten in at 12:00 a.m. Seattle time the night before, and part of it was that I'd slept on the hide-a-way couch with Cameron (he didn't want to sleep alone -- and his brother was sleeping in my bed).
Once we got up and dressed, I took my parents to breakfast at Egbert's while Brenda took the boys to the swimming pool. Breakfast was good, and even though our server forgot a lot of stuff, she made up for it with her humor and island charm. When she did bring me my salsa for my Portuguese sausage omelet, she said she said she didn't need to charge me for the small size. "But make sure you stir in some Tabasco, because it makes it a lot better."
The ants go marching in the condo
After breakfast, we returned to our room. We're staying at the Kauai Coast Resort at the Beachboy in Kapa'a, which is on the east side of the island. We have an oceanfront view room. Here's the view from the third floor balcony:
We also found out the condo had a few problems with pests, including some ants that liked to march across the countertop. I figure if you're living in the tropics for two weeks, a few pests are a small price to pay.
Snorkel Bob's and shopping
Later in the day, Brenda and I took the boys to Snorkel Bob's to get our snorkel gear. I realized that I still had jet lag, because 2:00 p.m. felt really late. The guy at Snorkel Bob's got us set up, and then it was on to Safeway in search of a coconut for the boys.
As we looked around in the store, I finally asked someone who worked there where we could find a coconut.
"We don't sell them in the store," he answered.
"Why?"
"What do you mean?" he said.
"Is there a reason you don't sell them in the store?" I asked.
"You can get them on some of the roadside stands," he said, still not answering my question.
I thought I'd violated some kind of island code by asking about this, so I gave up.
Testing out the snorkel gear
Later in the day, we went to the resort pool to swim and try out the snorkel gear. Cameron had actually learned to swim in this very pool four years ago, He didn't waste any time putting on his mask and fins and cruising around the pool like a human torpedo.
Before we left, Drew had told us he didn't want to swim -- so we didn't put on his swimming suit. But as soon as he saw the pool, he wanted to go in. So then I had to walk all the way back to the room with him to get his swimming suit.
This only took 20 minutes.
When we got back, my Mom had made friends with a couple who sported tattoos and chain smoked. I jumped in the water with Cameron and Drew and we had a great time.
Later, my Mom introduced me to Kimo, one of the staff at the Kauai Coast Resort who helped them carry all those Costco groceries up the three flights of stairs the day before. Kimo and I talked about music.
But I was dying to ask him why we couldn't buy a darn coconut at Safeway. He said it had to do with coconuts being so plentiful on the island that there was no reason to stock them in the stores.
So, no coconuts on this trip.
