April 4th, Shangrila Moloaa, Kauai

Greetings!

Well, let's get the really great news out of the way first. This morning, Mark Cooper of Titus Kinimaka Hawaiian School of Surfing (Titus Kinimaka Hawaiin School of Surfing)helped an old guy who has memories of surfing as a teenager, but whose atrophied body and serious gut have prevented him from overcoming nightmares of personal failure in the waves. An couple of hours of a refresher course on the beach, and in the small waves just east of the Hanalei Pier, on a twelve-foot extra-wide rental board, gave me just the renewed confidence I needed to start off on a new determination to get in shape and return to my first love. Once the lesson was over, I paddled out to the outside break about a quarter mile away. Passing boats and kayakers, and a occasional large turtle headed for the beach, I set my goal as having the strength to make it out to where the larger waves broke, to an environment familiar to those old memories. While I'm still too weak to feel confident dropping into good positions in the sets, I was able to find a couple of shoulders out of the way of the regulars to prove to myself that I was up to the challenge. Paddling back into the beach was a bit harder, as the wind and exhaustion played a big part.

This time, there are no photos of this experience (Pat and friends were home having breakfast), but stay tuned in the next year and they will surely show up in this blog.

So what are all these photos? On Sunday afternoon, the Ka'ie'ie Foundation (Keepers of Ancestral Inspired Education) hosted a Lu'au and Cultural Celebration of Hawaiian and Cherokee Indian Traditions. A couple of years ago, the Foundation dancers (Halau Palaihiwi O Kaipuwai) were invited to attend a Pow Wow of the Eastern Band of the North Carolina Cherokee Nation. This year, their Ani Kituwah dancers were invited to the Taro Patch in Anahola. At the end of a long river valley, reached by a trail alongside the river, the taro patch has been transformed into a gorgeous venue for community gatherings and musical celebrations. The meal was great, and the friendship and spiritual sharing expressed by the singers and dancers was exceptional.

This afternoon, it was more searching for waterfalls, snorkeling beaches, and an occasional shirt-shopping and ie cream/shave ice consumption.  What a tough life.

Tomorrow morning, we're off in pursuit of a good snorkeling beach, probably Ke'e.

To see all of the photos taken in the past couple of days, click on: April 4th, Shangrila Moloaa, Kauai

Gregory