We split a pot of "chocolate caramel macadamia" Kona coffee, and had some cereal before exploring "The Beach Boy @ Coconut Beach". After returning to our room, we got ready for church. I had looked up a Lutheran church online before our trip, and as it turned out, Lihu'e Lutheran Church is the oldest Lutheran church on all of the islands of Hawaii.
Parking for the church was virtually non-existent, but as we were parking along the side of the road, a woman in another vehicle was trying to figure out where she'd park too. She ended up parking in front of us, and we talked to her as we walked up to the beautiful little building. Maryann who was originally from Estonia, had moved to the United States in 1956 and lived with a host family in East Alton, Illinois before moving to Kauai!
The place was packed! And after having only the members of the church stand, we discovered that nearly 80% of the congregation were visitors. The pastor was lovingly hilarious and extremely passionate. The service was inspiring and unforgettable; there was even a baby's baptism. The kids of the parish were who were trying to raise money to go to New Orleans were selling homemade beignets (french pastries) and gumbo. Both were delicious!
My mom had called while we were in mass to let us know she had hopped on an earlier flight. We arrived at the airport just as she had, and we zipped off to find something to eat. She had suggested a restaurant, but when we pulled into the parking lot, we saw signs posted everywhere for "Sunday Buffet - $24.95". Um...no. We turned around and stopped at Macy's; I still had to find a swimsuit!
We decided to try out this little Taqueria in Kapa'a. The good news: It was all very yummy. The bad news: They only served us one basket of chips. Josh and I ordered a pina coloda for my mom, and she happily drank it!
After lunch we grabbed some snorkles and went to Lydegate, a public beach with a nice little manmade cove for swimming and snorkling. There were quite a few colorful fish out there, but the water was a bit murky due to the higher waves crashing over the rock seawall. The water was a bit cold and the wind was a tad chilly, but nonetheless we had a great time.
My dad was going to be arriving on the island sometime around 8:00, so we still had time to kill. Since we were already in swimsuits, we went back to our resort and hopped in the heated pool with beers in hand. That proved to be too chilly for me, so we squeezed our way into the hottub and claimed a corner for ourselves. The other tub-goers were drunk and talkative. One man with really bad tattoes owned a mechanical subcontracting business. Another man with leathery skin owned 6,600 acres of land in Wyoming and claims to have the third most complete triceritops in the world! His website: www.paleopark.com did not have any photos of said dynosaur, but to his credit, probably wouldn't until the unveling in 2010.
My mom wanted to hit up Safeway before picking up my dad, so Josh and I decided to stock up on soy sauce, since here in Kaua'i 1 gallon tanks are readily available.
Once my dad landed, we took my parents over to their condo and came back to ours. We snacked on chips and cookies for dinner and got to bed sometime before midnight.
Now it's Monday and we're heading back to my parent's condo so we can take them to pick up their rental car. And I had better quit typing since I promised my mom I'd be there at a quarter til 10.
