Saturday fun

My day got off to a bit of a late start, Makana picked me up around 8 and we went to her Mom's house. We picked up tents and the crafts that they were planning on selling at the swap meet. We went to a little vacant lot on the side of the highway with a neighboring fruit stand and we then set up tents for the swap meet. Although Makana and Scott had spent a fair amount of time setting up the swap meet, nobody else came to sell their wares. Makana and Scott also had their shave ice trailer in the lot, so people driving by on the freeway would pull over to stop at the fruit stand and then buy some shave ice or bubble tea. As they bought food they would browse the crafts that were available. Since Makana had her brothers running the shave ice trailer, I spent most of the day playing with her daughters Hiilani, Analani, and Ke'hilani. Her Mom also showed me how to make flowers out of feathers or Kapa (this Hawaiian bark, Hawaiians use for cloth). We even got to munch on some fresh coconut! It was really cool to learn some crafts and Makana's Mom demonstrated how to use rhythm sticks in a song and broke out into a very old hula song/chant. It was awesome and odd at the same time to be immersed in such Hawaiian heritage. It made me feel very proud to be friends with them and to be learning about their heritage. After a full day of hanging out, Makana drove me back to the hotel.

For dinner I decided to eat at Cafe Hanalei and had another amazing meal there. Jeremy, the assistant manager there, who used to live in the hotel too, hooked me up with I think the best seat in the restaurant. I sat outside and got a full view of Hanalei Bay and out to Bali Hai. My dinner started with a salad and then a dish of grilled Ono with a coconut cream sauce over a bed of mashed taro, baby carrots, and bok choy. Delicious!

My dinner table in Cafe Hanalei

Tomorrow I'll probably just hang around one of the Princeville beaches or possibly make it over to Hanalei.