Goodbye to Nate and Nicole

There's been a flurry of activity the past few weeks with Nate and Nicole attempting to do all their favorite things before they leave. The highlight of the activities was their last full day before departure. Everyone (except Em, Maddie and me) went to Hanalei for a day at the beach to be joined by us near Kilauea at the One Love Gardens for a reggae concert. The bands that night included local favorite Sashamon as well as internationally known (but unknown to me at the time) Israel Vibration.

We met outside the venue, walked the rest of the way and were pleasantly surprised to find out we could take chairs, blankets, coolers, beer, etc., etc. into the concert. No metal detectors, no pat downs, no piles of half empty beer bottles at the door; everyone was just trusted to enjoy and behave themselves - a refreshing concept. You couldn't ask for a better place to listen to reggae. A grass hillside sloped down to the stage providing mostly unobstructed views while surrounded by fruit trees, forest and towering green mountains. We put our blankets down and stretched out to listen to Sashamon while enjoying our beverages of choice. Unfortunately, it rained for about 2o minutes, but cleared up for the rest of the evening. Everyone enjoyed hearing Sashamon (except maybe Mike) and Maddie even got to meet him.

More and more people arrived throughout the evening and the place was packed by the time Israel Vibration started performing. Israel Vibration played a very energetic first show on Kauai and will gladly be welcomed back. We enjoyed the music, the people, the surroundings and our last night with Nate and Nicole.

Naughty, Naughty...good thing he wasn't driving.

After the show we tiredly retreated back to our house for some pupus (look it up, it's Hawaiian). We hung out awhile and then it was time for goodbyes. We've known Nate and Nicole almost exactly a year, but when they're a 1/3 of your support system 5000 miles away from your family, those goodbyes can be pretty damn tough. A big "Thank You" to them for all the babysitting, good times and especially for being great friends.