Nature is where it all begins . . . That must be why we ended up on Kauai since it’s called the “Garden Isle.” A name well deserved, since Kauai gets plenty of sun and lots of rain (at night of course) and everything grows here to make it lush. Just stick a cutting in the ground and it will take root before your very eyes. Major makes it a habit to bring in all his garden tools just so they don’t take root over night, that’s how fertile the ground can be. We have some spectacular gardens on the island that are open to the public, some free others for a fee. The biggie is the National Tropical Botanical Gardens in the south, but the one we like is the scenic Limahuli Garden in the north which is really reasonable, $10 for the self-guided tour. You get a nice booklet to help you find your way from feature to feature. The garden is truly a living classroom for all to learn about ancient Hawaiian plants and culture in the spectacular beauty of their natural setting. This being the year to get in shape, we have many favorite trails to hike and some new ones to try. Close by, and a favorite, is the Kuilau Ridge Trail which begins near Wailua's Keahua Arboretum and travels up to views of Mt.Waialeale (clouds permitting) and the ocean. Picnic at the lookout point or continue on to explore lush hillsides of fern and vegetation. The path connects to the Moalepe trail. Kauai County continues to work on the Walking/Bike Path. The multi-use path at Lydgate Beach Park is completed and it is a 2.5 mile segment of the first phase of a greater plan to extend a coastal trail from Nawiliwili to Anahola called Ke Ala Hele Makalae "the path that goes by the coast.” We just completed the 2nd phase of the project from the Kapa`a Boat Ramp to Kealia Beach and it is a great 4.85 mile walk. This spring we planted 5 Cara Cara Orange trees in the pasture. This is the start of our truck farm so when Connie retires she will have some income for travel. The Cara Cara Orange is also known as the red navel orange, it originated at the Hacienda de Cara Cara in Valencia, Venezuela. Cara Cara Oranges have a bright orange peel and pink - raspberry colored flesh. Its taste is sweet with undertones of sweet-cherry, and a low acid profile. Very juicy and best when eaten fresh out of hand, Cara Caras are also popular with chefs for use in cooked sauces. We will no doubt be sold out every week. After watching children become parents, and then grandparents, we decided to end our Annual Easter Party after 2007. We will have many found memories about the food, the wild hunts and the many friends that joined us. Our good friend Rosemary Smith has taken up the Easter Basket now to the chagrin of her husband Norb. Amongst the work we did find some time to go on a tour of the Hindu Temple which is just a stones throw from our place. For this absolutely stunning property, the guided tour is the only way to go because it is so informative. The Temple is nearing completion and, with is golden dome, is spectacular, a must see. In July the big event was the new Harry Potter Book release. We got dressed up as Harry Potter characters and made our way to the Midnight party being held at Borders Books in Lihue. We were able to get the new release and gave it immediately to our friend Dave Camp so he could read it. We had it back the next day, he is one fast reader. Dave didn’t give the ending away and we avoided any publicity that might have given the ending away. By summer’s end we had discovered the fate of those who were associated with Hogwarts. You’ll have to read it yourself we won’t tell. Connie having her fortune read by Hogwarts Professor of Divination, Sybil Trelawney and discovering that she would receive one of the new “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows” books that very night at Borders. Major sold his beloved ‘29 Roadster in July. Brother Bob started the ball rolling by putting a For Sale sign on it in January which prompted several calls, but Major didn’t follow-up on them. When our friend Bryan came in the summer he asked if he could take it and his kids for a drive to Safeway. We got a call from a Peter Makarewicz saying that he was interesting in buying it. Under Connie’s expert negotiations the car was sold for a fair price. It couldn’t have gone to a more excited person than Pete. Pete has stayed in touch with Major to let him know how much fun he is having with it. Many people have come up to Major to tell him they have seen his car out & about. Pete has probably already put more miles on the car than Major did in the past 20 years. Brother Bob made a second visit this year and got us out on the tennis court to get some exercise, which was hilarious. With the bike path now long enough to do a bike ride, Major talked brother Bob in to trying it out. Bob on the Bike Path still under construction, Connie standing on the finished path above Kealia Beach and a view from the path. For those of you who remember Donald Duck from 2004, well we had a visit from him, only Donald was a Daisy Duck and she brought her family of eight back to visit us. We had been in a drought and all the little water ways around had dried up, and I think she remembered that we had a pond and came back to check it out. Our pond was dry and she went on her way again. Major was quite excited when he saw all the little ducks, but he resisted trying to keep her here and let her go off to find water. Connie was happy since she is trying to keep the pets down so we can travel. We also had other animal visitors this year, wild pigs! We had an easy truce with them while they were in the back pasture area, but now that they have moved up to the front pasture and garden area they are no longer welcome. They have created havoc in our vegetable and flower gardens as well as those of the neighbors. We have hired a humane hog buster to relocate them or put them on the dinner table of hungry families. Speaking of dinner, Major bid on a dinner for 8 at the annual Hospice fund raiser and actually got it! So for his birthday in October, we went to a private estate located in Aliomonu for a sunset dinner full of lively conversation and delightful food. We also managed to get away to Oahu for a weekend to see the Lion King, what a theatrical production. This gave Connie the chance to get another pedicure and to do some shopping. On October 27 we participated in a mystery dinner that had twenty-eight characters and an open-ended ending depending on what happened. Major was Captain Luke Pickhart and Connie was his younger wife Emily Pickhart whom he married after the death of his first wife. The mystery was, what was causing the deaths of passengers on board the Lady Rose? The ship had sailed from England to Sydney Australia. Nobody was allowed to disembark until the health department could determine the cause of death. In the end Captain Luke was shot by his son from his first marriage, Emily never found the Russian Prince and “the cast” has been arguing ever since.
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See, Major & Connie aren’t so weird. In December Connie made it official that she would be retiring in June of 2008 and for Major to make room in the house for her. This coming year will be interesting with Connie being home and in Major’s way. One good thing that will come out of her retirement is that Connie will get to go to Tahiti. Major promised her that when he passed the CPA exam in 1973 he would take her, now 35 years later she is going. Major has booked a 31-day cruise from San Francisco to Sydney Australia. The first stop will be Hawaii, after that we will be hitting all the little islands in the South Pacific including Tahiti and New Zealand, which we missed on our 2005 trip to Australia. Me ke aloha,
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