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Kindness of Strangers
Jun. 21st, 2006 01:06 pmYesterday we returned the rental car. It was nice to have a car and we did much exploring -- however, it was nicer to return it and not have the hassle or worry. While we had the car we did some serious driving. We circumnavigated the island, with a lingering exploration of the leeward side. There we saw Kaneana Cave (spooky) and swam at the lovely Makaha beach park. ( The waves on the leeward side were quite a bit calmer than on either the north shore or the windward side. )
The cave looked much like caves do in photos -- rocky and dark. ( if you weren't looking for it you wouldn't see it ) There wasn't much breeze on the leeward side, so the 10 degree temperature change inside the cave provided some welcome relief from the heat. More about beaches in an upcoming post.
We have had several encounters with other people here in Hawaii. First, we met a woman on our beach who offered us steaks, rum, and marshmallows that she and her family weren't going to be able to eat before they left. When she turned up she gave us a huge box. The box had many treasures in it, including some graham crackers and some TGIF peaches and cream drink mixer. It was very kind of her. She had been sick for 6 of the 10 days she was in Hawaii and was ok with going home. She even apologized for the lack of chocolate for smores because, she said, her kids ate it all when she was sick. It was very sweet.
The second encounter of great kindness was at Jackie's Kitchen. Here we met Mapuana who is a very sweet young woman who is moving to LA in August. She met Jackie a few years ago at the opening and postponed her move to LA because Jackie and Owen Wilson are coming to inaugurate the opening of a new Jackie's Kitchen menu. As a result of these menu changes, Jackie's Kitchen was out of all souvenirs, which made me quite sad. Mapuana "made it up" to me by giving us a very yummy desert and telling me about her encounter with Jackie. She said that he is as wonderful as he seems. So we chatted with Mapuana for a while and then asked her about her plans in LA. She's very excited to be moving and expanding her horizons. I gave her my email and phone number to help out once she arrives and I hope she calls. She was sweet and thoughtful and delightful to talk to. The restaurant has TV screens playing a Jackie movie at all times. While we were there Operation Condor II was playing. I had a great time even without a Jackie's Kitchen T-shirt.
Last night we went to Turtle Bay to have dinner. We took the bus at about 7:30 and went to the Bay Club happy hour. There we had many different drinks and some yummy food. After eating, we walked along the beach and shuffled along in the surf, slowly working our way to the bus stop. There we sat for about 45 minutes and finally a bus arrived. We had read on TheBus.org that the bus ran until midnight and it wasn't even 11 so we felt confident of our ability to get home via bus. That confidence was greatly misplaced. This bus driver told us the last bus going our way left at 10 and there were no more until tomorrow morning at 5:30. This was a bit distressing. I went to the security guard to confirm what the bus driver said and she suggested asking an employee for a ride. A taxi would have to come from Honolulu and would cost between $60 and $80, which didn't really fit into the budget. Still. Rwr was unwilling to consider sleeping on the beach, so up to the hotel we staggered, increasingly sober and distressed. Once there, I told our tale of woe to the concierge and his friend. The friend said "I"m going that way." I offered him some money for taking us, extremely grateful for his kindness. We went to his truck. There things were slightly awkward -- he seemed very uncomfortable with us in the cab with him, perhaps he was concerned we were going to try to convert him to Mormonism (though, remember, we were still a little drunk), so Rwr and I wound up riding in the back of the pickup. (This is something we haven't done since a similar transportation disaster in Chichen Itza. There we rode in a truck with a dozen well-armed Federales and a handful of indigenous workers on the dark highway back to our hotel. Return trips are clearly our planning weakness.) Our kind saviour took us to the PCC and we walked the few feet back to the house, extremely grateful for his kindness and generousity. In the end he didn't take any money, though we would gladly have paid for his time and trouble.
So, last night we were able to sleep peacefully in our bed rather than restlessly on the beach at Turtle Bay. The adventures continue. :-)
The cave looked much like caves do in photos -- rocky and dark. ( if you weren't looking for it you wouldn't see it ) There wasn't much breeze on the leeward side, so the 10 degree temperature change inside the cave provided some welcome relief from the heat. More about beaches in an upcoming post.
We have had several encounters with other people here in Hawaii. First, we met a woman on our beach who offered us steaks, rum, and marshmallows that she and her family weren't going to be able to eat before they left. When she turned up she gave us a huge box. The box had many treasures in it, including some graham crackers and some TGIF peaches and cream drink mixer. It was very kind of her. She had been sick for 6 of the 10 days she was in Hawaii and was ok with going home. She even apologized for the lack of chocolate for smores because, she said, her kids ate it all when she was sick. It was very sweet.
The second encounter of great kindness was at Jackie's Kitchen. Here we met Mapuana who is a very sweet young woman who is moving to LA in August. She met Jackie a few years ago at the opening and postponed her move to LA because Jackie and Owen Wilson are coming to inaugurate the opening of a new Jackie's Kitchen menu. As a result of these menu changes, Jackie's Kitchen was out of all souvenirs, which made me quite sad. Mapuana "made it up" to me by giving us a very yummy desert and telling me about her encounter with Jackie. She said that he is as wonderful as he seems. So we chatted with Mapuana for a while and then asked her about her plans in LA. She's very excited to be moving and expanding her horizons. I gave her my email and phone number to help out once she arrives and I hope she calls. She was sweet and thoughtful and delightful to talk to. The restaurant has TV screens playing a Jackie movie at all times. While we were there Operation Condor II was playing. I had a great time even without a Jackie's Kitchen T-shirt.
Last night we went to Turtle Bay to have dinner. We took the bus at about 7:30 and went to the Bay Club happy hour. There we had many different drinks and some yummy food. After eating, we walked along the beach and shuffled along in the surf, slowly working our way to the bus stop. There we sat for about 45 minutes and finally a bus arrived. We had read on TheBus.org that the bus ran until midnight and it wasn't even 11 so we felt confident of our ability to get home via bus. That confidence was greatly misplaced. This bus driver told us the last bus going our way left at 10 and there were no more until tomorrow morning at 5:30. This was a bit distressing. I went to the security guard to confirm what the bus driver said and she suggested asking an employee for a ride. A taxi would have to come from Honolulu and would cost between $60 and $80, which didn't really fit into the budget. Still. Rwr was unwilling to consider sleeping on the beach, so up to the hotel we staggered, increasingly sober and distressed. Once there, I told our tale of woe to the concierge and his friend. The friend said "I"m going that way." I offered him some money for taking us, extremely grateful for his kindness. We went to his truck. There things were slightly awkward -- he seemed very uncomfortable with us in the cab with him, perhaps he was concerned we were going to try to convert him to Mormonism (though, remember, we were still a little drunk), so Rwr and I wound up riding in the back of the pickup. (This is something we haven't done since a similar transportation disaster in Chichen Itza. There we rode in a truck with a dozen well-armed Federales and a handful of indigenous workers on the dark highway back to our hotel. Return trips are clearly our planning weakness.) Our kind saviour took us to the PCC and we walked the few feet back to the house, extremely grateful for his kindness and generousity. In the end he didn't take any money, though we would gladly have paid for his time and trouble.
So, last night we were able to sleep peacefully in our bed rather than restlessly on the beach at Turtle Bay. The adventures continue. :-)
