Once again, I got to enjoy the glory of the morning time here in Hawaii.  I woke about 6:30 and snuck outside to catch glimpses of the light coming up from the east on Mauna Kea and Hualalai.  Again, not a cloud in the sky except for the usual ones to the north of us over parts of Kohala.  Paige texted a few minutes later and was already hankering for the pancakes I had told her about at Hawaiian Style Cafe up in Waimea.  We woke the kids and got everybody over to the Strawns to head up the mountain once again, but this time for one of the best breakfasts around.  Hawaiian Style Cafe is a hole in the wall, really.  It is small and usually filled with scores of people waiting along the tiny sidewalk that lines the front of this somewhat sad little strip mall.  But, once inside, you know it’s going to be good.  Locals sitting at the bar give it away.  Plus, the waitresses are all super friendly, at least they were to us.  We watched the kids order pancakes, biscuits and gravy, bacon and eggs, etc.  The pancakes are probably a foot in diameter, literally, and almost an inch thick each.  The kids sat at another table and from our adult table, we had a great view of Mack’s face throughout the whole meal.  He went from pure excitement over his no-limits order of pancakes and biscuits and gravy, to some sort of carb coma by the time he got through just half of one pancake. I mean, these things are HUGE!  Not to mention, each order of bacon is basically a meal in and of itself.  We all came out stuffed!

We debated about heading east toward Akaka Falls and Lapahoehoe State Park but the boys were really hoping to get in a surfing lesson before we left so we drove back down the mountain and checked into Hulakai about surf lessons. They ended up getting booked for tomorrow so we all meandered back home.

Mike I escaped for a bit and took a quick walk along the coast south towards the Hilton Waikaloa — absolutely breathtaking.  The surf was high and as we passed by sites that clearly were the remains of ancient Hawaiian dwellings, it made me appreciate all that has been done to a) maintain such beautiful grounds while b) still respecting the ‘aina’ (land) that all Hawaiians so greatly revere.

The kids changed their minds a couple times about what to do next but they finally settled on a quiet day at the pool.  Big Lou came barreling up the road with the Strawn 6 and by the time Luke had her parked, we heard a loud, non-stop siren coming from outside.  My first thought was TSUNAMI!!!  But, judging by every single person around us in the complex, it was just a test of their emergency broadcast tsunami system.  I am glad they test those things but for a brief moment I had flashbacks of the earlier nuclear threat that appeared on every Hawaiian’s phone almost one year ago.  Alas, all was fine for today so within about 5 minutes we were by the pool with drinks in our hands.  The kids had such a great time playing in the water.  They didn’t get out until we called them for lunch after 1 pm.

While we played and relaxed at the pool, Mike and Dan drove up to Pololu Valley for a hike.  Mike did not get to join us on the last trip up there and he wanted to get out and do some landscape photography before we departed this island.  I’d say that he got just a couple good ones…

We had had such a wonderful time the night before at Lava Lava that all the adults wanted to re-create the same night but with the littles, so once again, we called at 4:30 sharp to get a table, this time for 10.  Three hours later, we finally got to sit down at our table and while it truly is such an awesome place, the ambiance just wasn’t the same.  We aren’t quite sure why, but we think it might have something to do with Casey whining and then falling half asleep in my lap, Mack and Bodie alternatively playing, fighting and crying, and Shelby trying to pet the feral cat that kept walking by.  We have decided to keep Lava Lava an adults only dinner activity from now on.  Bodie didn’t feel too well throughout the night, aggravated more by an incident that included a bocce ball, Mack’s strong arm, and Bodie’s foot.  (Mack is convinced that none of that would have happened had Bodie just moved his foot out of the way. Bodie tends to disagree.) Paige hurried her meal and spent some time in Big Lou with a sad, nauseous little guy while we finished up our meal.  He made it home and went straight to bed.  We have pushed these kids hard here in Hawaii.  It’s about time to get them home.