Day 4: Lei Day

May 1, 2011

We fed the boys breakfast at the condo and then headed into Hanalei to Wake Up Café for their Over the Falls French Toast. People either love it or hate it – let’s just say I prefer a crispier French toast, not a custardy one. 

The restaurant was cute and the servers friendly and efficient. We had to wait outside for about 10 minutes but Ryan was happy to explore and Jack was chilling in the Ergo. I think everyone else enjoyed their breakfast, and the bill, while higher than breakfast joints at home, was average for Kauai.

After breakfast we went over to the Wai’oli Hui’ia Church in Hanalei for their 10 a.m. service.
Everyone was very welcoming and they mentioned several times that children should “make themselves comfortable” during the service.

Unfortunately, Ryan makes himself comfortable by talking (loudly) about everything he sees, so ultimately I had to take him out to the front steps so as not to disturb the other congregants.The windows and doors were wide open, though, so I didn’t miss much of the service, which was lovely.

Because it was Lei Day, one of the church families had made leis to distribute to the ladies, which was such a kind gesture.

After the service we took the boys back to the condo to play in the pool for a while (both pools at BHV have nice shallow kids areas, but the new pool has a fountain feature that Ryan found irresistible). We figured between running around outside the church and splashing in the pool he would take a long nap, but we figured wrong. 

After an hour and a half of him banging around in his room (I went in every so often to find him unscrewing the finials on the lamp, stuffing the pillows into the drawers, or opening and closing the jalousie windows), I decided to load him in the stroller and walk down to the nearby St. Regis for a snack (and a beer for Mama). Jack was still sound asleep, so Sam stayed with him with the agreement that they would come find us if he woke up soon.

We followed the path along the golf course, picking up interesting pieces of botanical specimens
along the way, and Ryan eventually fell asleep in the stroller.

The valet and doormen didn’t bat an eye when I wheeled into the lobby of the St. Regis, even though I was sweaty and a little windblown from the walk. I looked for a Starbucks cart or snack kiosk, but not finding one, headed down to the pool.

My plan then was to just go to the beach (even though we didn’t have our suits on) but when Ryan heard the blender at the poolside bar, our plans changed quickly (this child is obsessed with kitchen appliances).

We climbed up on the barstools and ordered a smoothie (which was mostly sugar syrup) and a Longboard Lager.

$17 and a half hour later I decided it was time to make our way back to our condo and sort out dinner plans. When we arrived Sam was just trying to text me via the Internet (he didn’t bring his phone so work couldn’t bother him) – apparently he and Jack had also walked to the St. Regis, taking the stairs down to the beach. He said “It didn’t occur to me to look for you at the bar!” Really, and we’ve been married HOW long?

Just then Bill and Nancy arrived and we decided to go to Pau Hana Pizza at Kileaua Bakery for dinner.Ryan was getting crabby thanks to his less-than-stellar napping, so the long wait for the pizza was a little much for him, and the $26 price tag was a little much for Sam. It was a good enough pizza, but nothing to get too excited about, though it does have friendly staff and a nice covered outdoor seating area.