Day 6 – The Rain Has Moved On

Hawaii: Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 | Day 5 | Day 6 | Day 7 | Day 8 | Day 9

I could not resist a bit of ophthalmological humor!

Mary told me about the whole-eye transplant today.  It is a scary operation, but it has had some success; it’s a new world in medicine every day!

We enjoy being together and just talking.

Indeed!

Mary went to class at 6:15 am, and I was given a shopping list for the ABC Store at the local shopping center.

Did You Know?  ABC Stores is a chain of convenience stores based in Honolulu.  The chain operates 73 stores, 58 of which are located in Hawaii, with the remaining locations in the Mariana Islands, Las Vegas, and Guam.

The trail was wet but not muddy, and I headed for the one-mile walk north of the Grand Wailea.  My “to-do” list had to be accomplished, or else!

Did You Know?  Wailea means “the water of Lea,” the goddess of canoe makers.  Before resort development, this beach was called Kahamanini, and the name Wailea referred only to the rocky point defining the south end of this beach.

On my way to go shopping.

The stairs lead up to the road where the shopping center is located.  It was not a challenging climb.

Watch out; the first step is a doozy!

The flowers required me to stop along the way and take their photograph.

Amazing colors

The ABC Store was right in the center of the shopping area and easy to find.  I got a little gift for Irene, plus some contact lens liquid for Dr. Marry.

I walked around for a while before locating a chair in front of Tommy Pajamas Restaurant, where I sat and played with my phone until they opened.  That way, I can stay away from the buffet and have a drinkie-poo.

The chairs were inviting, so I sat for 45 minutes, awaiting the restaurant’s opening.

Oh my!  A margarita jumped onto my table and begged me to drink it, and I did three times.  When in Mexico, oops!

Bread and a Margarita, life is good!

On the menu was “The All American Burger,” so after all the rich food I had been subjected to, this was a mandatory item to try.  It was perfectly done, and the fries were crispy; I was in “hog’s heaven!”

Hamburger, finally.

It was a good thing to eat at 11:00 am as Mary eats around noon, so our dinnertime needs are now synchronized.

Of course, this reminded me of a joke…

I could not resist.

While I dined, I had company.  Chrip-Chirp, the local Sparrow,  came to visit and helped himself to the butter.  We had a pleasant conversation.

Did You Know?  The house sparrow is one of the most easily seen birds in towns and around people.  It is native to Eurasia but was brought to Hawaii from New Zealand in the early 1870s.  They are about 6 inches long and brown and grey with black streaks on their wings.  Females are dull brown.

Don’t even think about it.

I did complain to the management that the glasses seemed to go empty awfully fast, so I was suspicious there was a hole in the bottom, but nothing seemed to be leaking out.

Who drank my drink??

I was presented with a decision: to dessert or not to dessert.  The cat was away, so the mouse played!  This was supposed to be one small piece, but the waitress liked me and made it a double on the house.

BEFORE

200 calories (per bite).  I fooled them; I made it two big bites, which were only 400 calories.

Gone, disappeared, extinct, vanished, expired, defunct and empty.  I came close to licking the plate, but that was another 100 calories.

AFTER

Need I say more?

Back to the hotel, there are more flowers to stop and visit on the way.

When it comes to flowers, Lilac basic self-control.

Then I wondered, What do you get if you cross a sheepdog with a daisy?  A collie-flower.

Simply beautiful.

Mary and I met at the hotel as she was done for the day except for the 4:30-5:30 pm class under the blue sky.  We rested, and I laid down for a two-hour nap.  When I woke up, Mary had covered me up and was out playing with the doctors, where the topic was “entire eye transplant!”

She texted me to come to the wedding chapel; I was getting worried.  Anyway, I went down the secret path and ran into the spider plant.  Mother Nature is pretty creative.

The Spider Lillies were everywhere.

There were spider plants everywhere.

Did You Know?  Cane Spiders in Hawaii are sometimes called “Large Brown Spiders.” Cane spiders are giant, somewhat hairy spiders that are usually tan, brown, reddish-brown, or grayish-brown.  Their main body is ¾ to 1 inch long.  However, these spiders can measure up to 4-6 inches wide, including their legs!

Within four minutes of Mary’s text, I walked up behind her and watched her interact with her fellow doctors.  She is pretty impressive with her knowledge of ophthalmology!  Knowing she disliked being embarrassed, she introduced me as her “man-servant,” Hinrich. I replied in my best German, “Was möchtest du, mein kleiner tropischer Liebesvogel?”  Her friends were duly impressed.

I picked up Mary near the church.

We decided to go to dinner right then and there, so we went to the poolside restaurant and sat up at the bar, which was a perfect view of the sunset, so pretty that I forgot to take a picture.  We popped a boggle of their finest Gallo, and Mary ordered Fried Squash Blossoms.

The red sunset was small as the storm clouds to the north were still in the area.

The sun was setting.

We met another couple like us; she was a doctor, and he was a financial guy.  We talked for a while and discovered she practices in Tusin, and they knew some of the same people.

Just us.

It was getting dark, and it was time to rest, so we went to our room via the lobby; the secret path had no lights.

Walking home.

The rain was gone, and the temperature was in the high 70s, perfect for our stroll back to the room.

he hotel is huge!

After almost a week, we are starting to learn the ins and outs of this facility.

I was scared by the giant frog in the elevator; it is called “The Hawaiian Barking Frog.”

She misheard the word “barking” and had to tell me about it.

Mary gets the award for exploring the grounds today!

 

About Paul

Just an old retired guy trying to finish out my last years on this planet. I lost my best friend and wife in early 2020. I was blessed again by reconnecting with Dr. Mary Côté, a long-time friend. Mary and I got married July 28th, 2021, and are enjoying life together and plan to spend the rest of our lives being a blessing to our friends and family.
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