Blogs from Lihu'e, Kaua'i, Hawaii, United States, North America - page 2

Today we had our final build day on the beautiful island we have called home for the last week. We began our day an hour earlier than previous days which was a great idea because it was much cooler to start the day. We accomplished roofing half a house, continued the porch building, and knocked out some window trim, house trim, and painting. What a fantastic work day! In the afternoon we headed to a new beach to us called Poipui Beach. It was simply beautiful. Some of our group headed out to snorkel and saw some fabulous tropical fish. We also swam out to a sandbar and saw a Hawaiian monk seal. As a perfect ending to our experience we attended a special Mahalo dinner at the Church just down the street. We shared a ... read more

Day 3 Build day #1 was finally here! The team was up, eager and preparing early in the morning! We were on the jobsite by 8:30 am where we were greeted by the team of Kauai Habitat staff, and AmeriCorps members. They were as excited to have us there, as we were excited to be there. They were helpful, and patient as we learned what our priorities for the day were going to be. We were quick to have a team on the roof, a team working on trim and a team priming soffits. We were lucky enough to share lunch with some of the staff and learned a lot about their purpose for being here as well. The day ended with a tired team of Thrivent Builds participants! Bring on day 2! Aloha!... read more

We have arrived in Hawaii!! Yayy! It’s absolutely beautiful – just as we expected. What we didn’t expect was that the people would be so unpleasant. First our Hertz rental shuttle driver, than the Hertz counter lady, then the hotel receptionist, then our dinner’s waitress… our first day’s sample size has proved Kauai’s people are grumpy. We asked for a recommendation for a place to grab a quick bite to eat, and we were actually told McDonald’s is a Hawaiian favorite. I can’t tell if they were being sarcastic or serious. Maybe we were just unlucky, because misfortune continued for the next 24 hours. We arrived and went to bed early last night, it was about 3am East Coast time. We woke up at the bright and early hour of 4am. Not for any other reason ... read more

Geo: 21.9733, -159.354Today we are leaving Maui and heading for a week on Kauai. Our flight to Kauai isn't until to 2:30 so we have a leisurely morning. Packing, eating up the few groceries we have left, saying goodbye to our cute little condo right on the beach.We stop to top off the tank before returning the rental car and arrive at the airport in good time. We check in and need to find a secluded spot as the only thing that we didn't eat finish yet is 2 cans of beer! Jeff asks me, "Where are my glasses?" Hmmmm.... He remembers having his prescription reading glasses when we got gas. He heads back outside the airport to get BACK on the Budget rental car shuttle to go back and see if his glasses are still ... read more

After a leisurely breakfast of bacon and eggs, we walked through the resort, enjoying the gorgeous scenery of palm trees, bogainvillia (yes, I had to look that up), hibiscus, orchids and bromeliads. I highly recommend the Aston Poipu Kea condos. Our unit is huge, the property is gorgeous and it's a 5 minute walk to the beach. Poipu Beach is rockin awesome. I know, you're thinking I'd like ANY beach and you're right, but still - this one is incredible. I wore my swimsuit under my clothes just in case I'd have the chance to jump in and, duh, I jumped in. I brought a waterproof bag for the camera and took some photos while I chased the fish. OK. The fish. It's like swimming in the Madonna aquarium times a million. I've never seen so ... read more