Back From Kauai, Orchids In Hand

[quiltergal]

Well it wasn't our most stellar vacation ever but we had fun anyway. It rained the entire week! We had a maximum aggregate of a grand total of about 6 hours of sunshine! The rest of the time it was pretty much a torrential downpour, heavy winds and flash flooding. That however did not dampen our spirits (no pun intended). We went out and got wet. Not a big deal when it's 80 degrees outside. Hope you survived OK Steve! I was thinking about you!

I found Kauai Orchids on the north shore and picked out an out of bloom Epc. Siam Jade, on my list, and #1 on my list of must finds a Hwr. Lava Burst 'Puanani'. Yea! They had kind of a piddly selection compared with other greenhouses I've been to but at least I didn't come home empty handed. The Hwr. Lava Burst is incredible. It has 5 blooming spikes on it. It's been in a box since Thursday. I opened it this evening and everything looks fine! I'll post some pictures of it this weekend probably in Orchids in Bloom.

We did get to see Waimea Canyon on a partly cloudy day. It actually added to the texture of the canyon. There were lots of waterfalls that weren't there many years ago when we visited in the summer. We saw Humpbacked whales spouting from our lanai the first morning, and Nene the endangered native Hawaiian goose, as well as the native Hawaiian owl (can't remember it's name).

The news reported it was the worst storm (excluding hurricanes) in 30 years and many people on the north shore of Oahu are now homeless because of the flooding. A small tornado touched down in Hanapepe, a small town about a 10 minute drive from where we were staying. Fortunately nobody was injured. My snorkel gear never left it's bag. The surf was so big and the water so murky (the color of tomato soup) from the run off it would have not only been dangerous but impossible to see anything.

Anyway, I missed you all, and I'm kind of glad to be home. It's a little weird going from 80 degrees to 15. And I'm certainly not looking forward to going to work in the morning! What's a girl to do? I know! Retire!