Kelsey and Tom Come to Kauai

Kelsey and Tom came with a plan - they knew what they wanted to do and got to do most of it. Snorkeling, surfing, mud-bugging, hiking, playing with Maddie, etc., etc. Their excitement about the trip was contagious and we had a great time with them. It's nice when people visit and have a gameplan other than "I don't care, what do you want to do?"

Despite Kelsey falling asleep every night at 7:30, they really did experience much of what Kauai has to offer. After arriving on Sunday and reacquainting with Maddie, everyone (except me - working) spent the day at the beach where Tom and Kelsey received their requisite sunburns for the trip.

Tuesday they went mudbugging which is a dunebuggy trip along the muddy roads on the southeast side of the island. Based on their report and the pictures, I think they enjoyed themselves.

The following day we awakened early to make a jaunt up to the north shore where Tom and I had scheduled a 2 hour surfing lesson. We spent a few minutes going over the basic maneuvers of paddling and the transition to standing and then we headed to Hanalei Bay. After waiting for a nice set of waves, we paddled, paddled, paddled, right knee, left foot, right foot and then we were surfing on our first attempt. I'm sure we didn't look like pros, but at least we were upright and riding a wave. It was infinitely more fun than I expected since I figured we scheduled ourselves for two hours of frustration. We rode quite a few waves, some rides were prettier than others, but at the end of the lesson we were surfing without cues from our instructor. At least now when people find out I live on Kauai and ask if I surf , I can say yes and don't have to spend the next 15 minutes trying to explain why I haven't.

From the surfing lesson, we proceeded to Pat's Taco Stand for some excellent burritos, tacos and quesadillas. Next, we attempted to get to Hideaways beach for some snorkeling, but were unable to find parking due to construction at the Princeville Hotel. Even though it was a fairly short day at the beach, there was a lot of napping on the way back home.

Everyone (except me - working again) spent the following day at Mahaulepu beach. That evening we took a scenic walk to Kukuiolono golf course to watch the sunset. Only a few hours later I was awakened at 4 AM by the hospital calling me in to the worst intra-abdominal abscess case of my career (N.B. the patient survived and is doing well against all odds!). That was followed by some more fun when another patient's heart stopped and required a temporary pacemaker and transfer to Honolulu. All this by noon. When quittin' time rolled around, I sprinted out of the hospital to Port Allen where we met for our NaPali sunset cruise.

As expected, the scenery was spectacular, the food average and the drinks strong and abundant. I partook of (too) many Mai Tais while everyone else had more sense, but we relished being on the water, the ocean breezes and the evening shadows playing on the cliffs.

Notwithstanding our less than optimal hiking condition from the previous evening's festivities, we took advantage of Tom and Kelsey's last day on Kauai by hiking a few miles on the east side. Unfortunately, the views of Waialeale mirrored our cloudy state, but it was still good to get out and let them forget the impending pain of that night's flight.

As always, the departure was sad, but everyone was encouraged by the idea that we'd see each other soon in Cincinnati. "Good work!" to Tom and Kelsey for taking full advantage of the opportunities that Kauai offers.