Here is our lot, a little piece of heaven here on Kauai. Soon a house will be built, and we will have our forever home.
So much has happened to get us to this point. It has been a long year and some change of working with our architect, contractor, county of Kauai, and bank to finally build our house. Honestly itʻs surreal, doesnʻt feel like itʻs really happening, itʻs been a dream for so long Iʻm waiting to wake up kina thing. Especially for Kauai where it is never easy to do anything, everything takes twice as long and there can be a surprise at every turn (and not the good kine surprise). But I wouldnʻt change a thing and every tear of fear and doubt that has been shed has been worth it.
I could have never imagined the pieces that would need to come together to make this happen, but they did and we are grateful.
It was nice to have a place to go this weekend to take our minds off of things. We joined uncle Miguel for some cacao harvesting at the farm. Once we were there Miguel gave is clippers and we all went into the orchard. We’d clip off the ripe cacao pods, toss them to the outside of the row of trees and then someone would drive around and pick them up in the golf cart. The goal was to harvest 5 buckets worth of seeds, that’s enough to make it worth the process to ferment and roast. Special points to whoever figured out that there’s chocolate inside these pods.
Beautiful day! And since we all love Uncle Miguel’s Chocolate it’s always fun to see how things work from start to finish.
Kaia is her happiest when she’s out in the fields, permanent smile. She’s sweet though because she never leaves my sight and seems to always know where I’m at.
If you want to know if they are ripe you have to slice a sliver of skin off , if it’s mango colored it’s good, if it’s green leave it!
Once you have a good pile you break them in half and scoop out the seeds. The seeds are mixed in a white tart sticky slime. I couldn’t do the clean-out part it would make me gag. Literally looks like alien brains.
Recently I’ve been thinking about the idea of the possibility of considering blogging again. Little moments during the day and I’ll think about it. I’ll be getting in the car or watering the plants and think about it. That’s as far as I got these past few months.
So today it’s definitely happening. I’m posting. So much to update and I’ll have to just do it over the next few weeks. For today meet Kaia (I will share more on her later!). She’s my sweet baby girl, the newest addition to our family. As you can see she has made herself at home. Yesterday we went to Kauai Chocolate Farm with Uncle Miguel. The boys drove the tractors around and then burned all the brush they cleared. I spend the afternoon potting plants from the property to bring back the house.
I was able to get a bunch of white ginger, 2 banana trees and a ton of Taro. For those that don’t know Taro is a plant used to make a variety of local favorite Hawaiian dishes. It was brought over by the Polynesians and planted by streams and rivers in the 7th century and is still a staple in the Hawaiian diet. If you are interested in the cultural background and significance of Taro check out Sending Aloha From Hawaii. It’s an amazing plant!
Overall a successful afternoon. We ended the evening with a stop at Tiki’s Tacos. They have amazing handmade tortillas and a tofu taco that is heaven on earth. Plus they have compostable packages!
Zeke lost his first tooth this morning. A right of passage for him as the 4th brother that he’s been waiting for what he felt was eternity. He’s so happy and proud!
Have you ever been all the way to the end of Loop Rd? This area ia also called Keahua Stream crossing and closely tucked in along side the Keahua Arboretum. There’s a few names used to describe this area but Loop Rd seems to be the most used among locals. You’ll also find a beautiful opening into Kauai’s inner forest, the rainbow eucalyptus trees and some cool hikes with stellar views. But our favorite part is the stream and rope swing!
You start by turning off the highway by Wailua river mouth and go up Kuamoo Rd, pass Opeaka’a falls, pass the General Store, and don’t stop till you hit the end of the road. You’ll think you’re driving for too long but you’re not. There’s no turns. Stay on hwy 580 till the end.
There’s a small parking lot and some covered picnic areas. It’s super muddy so bring a change of shoes. If you go over the bridge there’s additional parking. I don’t recommend driving up the road any further past the bridge since the road is not maintained. There are some hikes up there if you want to park below and then walk up the hill.
Once you’re there you can play in the stream or go on a few hikes that are around the area. If you walk along the path that follows the flow of stream it will come to the end where there’s a rope swing. We also float down the stream on tubes till we get to the rope swing hole. Endless hours of fun for everyone. Even our 6 year old does the rope.
I suggest for your first time you go with someone who’s been there before. Also the water should be clear, don’t swim in dirty water. Flash floods can happen quickly, so avoid this area during heavy rains. There are some easy hikes in the surrounding area but do not attempt any of advanced hikes in this area unless you have a local guide. Do your homework before you go. Even if you are a expert hiker somewhere else, hiking in Kauai is different and should be only be attempted with local knowledge and supervision.
Lei Day got its start in 1928 in Honolulu as a way of keeping alive the centuries-old practice of presenting people with floral wreaths to say “Aloha.” The custom is observed every May Day in all schools in Hawaii. Each class had worked hard to perform a dance. Some classes even wore traditional clothing. Beautiful day! So proud of the boys for learning the dances while also understanding the meaning behind each movement.
Zeke is vana (sea urchin) and his blue shirts are the ocean 🙂
Silas’s 4th grade teacher, Mr. Talcott, he made this first year of school for Silas the best it could possibly be!
