Kauai - Day 4

On Wednesday we visited Ke'e beach, which is the last beach accessible by car on the north shore. We drove and drove 'til the highway ended.

Though the drive was long (a couple hours), the scenery was gorgeous! The last pic is the "tunnel of trees"....we drove this road to our hotel each time we came back from Poipu.

We wanted to go to this beach for the calmer waters and good snorkeling, and, even though it was pretty crowded, we had a great time! It was just gorgeous, of course, and there was a pretty good variety of fish there. Some of the best snorkeling was in really shallow water or water where the top of the reef nearly touched the surface, so I got a little banged up trying to swim in those areas. But it was worth it, because Dad and I saw a sea turtle! He was HUGE and pretty fast! I tried to chase him for a little bit, but, he was too fast for me. Kia tried snorkeling here but soon decided she'd rather boogie board with Jamal. I don't think either of them are going to be snorkeling fans like the rest of us...sad.

Some pics...the underwater pics aren't great quality because they were taken with one of those disposable underwater cameras.

This is how Kia snorkels, haha.the turtle!

That night one of the vendors took us out to dinner. Those are fun nights because we can order the most expensive thing on the menu and not even think twice about it. ;-)

Kia and her friend Josh playing Kia and Jamal's DS games

back at school

Blah. That's what I have to say about that. While I simply hate nursing school and miss my job back home more than ever, I am happy to see my lovely nurse friends. The bright spot in my nursing school journey has been the wonderful friends I've made along the way. There is no way I could get through this without them! That being said, I thought I'd share some of my favorite nursing school pictures (taking ridiculous pictures is our attempt to make nursing school fun).

Story for the first two pics...this is my friend Tara and me at the end of our OB clinical. We spent the day in the nursery and decided we looked really awesome taking care of the babies....so awesome that we needed pictures. However, we knew that taking pictures of the babies was against the rules and that the nurses would think we were crazy. So when we got a chance, we snuck some blankets and a crib into the locker room. Tara put together a fabulous fake newborn out of blankets, and we took pictures of ourselves "assessing" the "baby." This may be the single greatest moment of my nursing career thus far.

with Kari and Tara at a nursing student convention in Hot Springs

Lea Ann and I in our isolation gear...we were taking care of babies with the flu and had to suit up in this each time we went into their rooms.

Kari and I practice trach suctioning in the nursing lab.

P.S. I promise to finish the Hawaii posts by Christmas!

the King & the Gushmans

This is Dad during Elvis Week. Most Americans know today is the 30th anniversary of Elvis's death. However, in Memphis, Elvis is celebrated and remembered all week long...it is CRAZY here! He is everywhere. Mom and I went to Hancocks the other day and there were Elvis blankets and Elvis fabric everywhere. On Tuesday, my hospital cafeteria celebrated Elvis Week by serving peanut butter and banana sandwiches, peanut butter pie, something called "The King's Cake", and milkshakes! And of course the events at Graceland are all over the news. One lady died in the heat outside the Heartbreak Hotel yesterday. :-(

Disclaimer: We don't own that wig. We have it at our house because it's being used at HeartLight this Saturday night (because HL this year is taking place during Elvis Week...he has to be there somewhere!).

Along with all the Elvis fans, our good friends Dudley and Sophia Gushman came to town this week (though they did not come because it was Elvis Week)! Dudley was a missionary we supported in Jamaica for many years (I'm sure many of y'all remember him). We have many wonderful memories of our time spent on the island with him and Sophia. It was great to see them tonight for the first time in ten years! They're living in West Virginia now and it's hilarious to hear southern accents coming out of their little girls' mouths. Jamal and Kia had a great time with their girls, Zarie and Brianna. Brianna told us she'd see us next year. Hope so!

How cute are little Brianna and Tekia??

Jamal and Zarie (who was just 6 months old the last time we saw her!)

Kauai - Day 3

let's try this again...

On Tuesday morning, we left the hotel and headed for west side of the island. We drove to Waimea Canyon, the "Grand Canyon" of Hawaii. It seemed like a forever-long drive but the scenery was just beautiful! It was misty and cold on top of the mountain. We were all dressed for the beach, so we were freezing (except for Jamal, who was wearing a long-sleeved surf shirt)! We ran into some Edward Jones friends at the lookout point and took pictures. Then we got some Hawaiian snacks from a fruit stand before heading back down the mountain (I now love Hawaiian pretzels). We ate lunch at a little outdoor shrimp place and then spent some time wandering around the town of Waimea. After getting a few souvenirs, we stopped at Jo Jo's (supposedly the best shave ice on the island!) for some treats.

the drive up the mountain

the famous red dirt


On the way back to the South Shore, we stopped and spent the rest of the afternoon at Poipu Beach. Some have rated it the best beach in Hawaii, so of course it was a little more crowded than some of the other beaches. It's a good beach for snorkeling, because there's a tiny island (really more of a sandbar) that stops the big waves from making it to shore. Snorkeling is one of my favorite things in the world, so of course I was happy here! And, while walking along the beach, Kia and I stumbled upon...oh, no big deal...a SEAL! We had read that because of the calmer waters, Hawaiian monk seals sometimes like to rest on Poipu Beach. Hawaiian monk seals are endangered and it's estimated that there are less than 1400 of them left. The life guards had put up some rope around our seal friend so people wouldn't bother him (which no one did). The seal just slept as if he were all alone on the beach.

Did I mention that there are chickens all over this island?? Even on the beach!

That night Edward Jones had a luau for us. It was so fun! We were greeted with leis when we walked outside (that quickly became my favorite thing about Hawaii), and we had a great hula show at the end. The kids were invited onstage for a hula lesson, and of course all the little girls loved seeing real hula girls!

Jamal with Logan and Anna, two girls from our region