Golden Plover Status

Today has been a kick ass day....decided to take in some sun and sand and relax to start with....of course after about an hour and a half in the sun it was pretty clear that it could not be an all day or all morning thing. Not having laid out in the sun at all in the past couple of years has not toughened this fair skin to tropical sun. Good news is that I recognized it before I fell asleep and woke up fried and red. Instead got just the right amount and signed up for an afternoon tour that did a loop around half of the island and stopped at some great places. What a great outing. And in this case being the "just me" was a perk. The wonderful driver George put me up front with him so I had a great view and was able to hear very well and got to ask lots of questions. Our first stop was at a Japanese Buddhist temple that was a replica of one in Japan. I took this as an affirmation that my connection with Buddhism is just part of who I am. It was very calming to sound the giant bell, view the statue and even take a walk in a Japanese bamboo garden. There were several species types of birds. A black swan, which I had seen the movie but never a real bird, some little reddish type that were only about 3 inches and every now and then you would see a golden plover. George shared that they were migratory birds from Alaska and they were very independent birds since they typically were alone. At last, something in Hawaii that I could relate to. Not sure of timing and order, but the bulk of the trip was to the North Shore part of Oahu where the triple crown surf contest was supposed to being held. Unfortunately there were no waves so nothing was going on. George shared that it was held at this time of year because this is typically when the largest waves are on the islands. We did get to see the beaches, the viewing stands, and even some non-professionals out on the smaller waves. I was a bit disappointed since I was told by a couple of people that I needed to see the big waves there...however the beauty of the ocean, the coves and the rocks, the china man's hat island and seeing the houses and properties of people that actually live on the island was a treat. Very different than the Waikiki area. One of the other special treats was to see a couple of Green Sea Turtles warming themselves on the beach. I have seen turtles on the roads, in ponds, in terrariums, etc. but they were tiny compared to these. Amazing they could just lay in the sand relaxed or sleeping as lots of people circled around them taking pictures. One of them was estimated to be about 27 years old and the other about 40. They definitely had more wrinkles than me....so I felt pretty good. Obviously I did not say that out loud as I would not want anyone to disagree ith me. We ended up the tour at the Dole Pineapple Plantation which changed my perspective on two things. The first is that some fresh fruit is tasty and maybe I should be more open to it. The second was that not all ice cream has to have chocolate in it. That may be a matter of timing a location.... The overall tour was great. I was proud of myself for just making sure I did something and it was not just heading to one of the local malls. I think that was why I voted it kickass.....I relaxed, got a bit of color, saw lots of the tourist attractions and areas and was back in time to pick up a bottle of wine, some pretzels and nuts and was able to put my feet up and rest as I get ready to take on the day tomorrow. After all, I am like a Golden Plover who is not afraid to fly for many miles and then once there seems to be happy being alone in an area that there is a diverse group of other birds. I may even look for a crown to wear.....:-)