The Daily Adventures of Mercat

Sup folks! Living the surf life today, wonderful stuff. Slept in (though I got woken up by Laura and Savannah and my internal alarm around 6:30/7) and then we all got dressed and walked over to the local art show in the park (I guess it's a weekly thing?). There's some really nice stuff there. Laura and Sav got cow bone necklaces (decorated hook and octopus, respectively) from a Tongan guy, and mom got two stylized necklaces similar to Laura's (but not hooks) for Max and Kyle. I saw a tiki I liked but I held off because I wanted to show mom the shark pendant I saw in Haleiwa (provided it was still there). Laura and Sav got blockprint shirts (Sav got one with a Minoan octopus...? I find that just kind of strange that they're selling that design with all the Hawaiian ones) and dad was looking at some carvings of outriggers and stuff, and telling me about the brewing company he wants to start. *eyeroll* Last time we were here he wondered why there isn't any alcohol made from taro, and I did, too. But after learning that taro is considered the sibling (brother? I think) of all Hawaiians (even though the men ate it), I wonder if it might be sort of tabu? (Er, "taboo" in English) It just makes me a little uncomfortable. But he would be good at marketing it because he's already come up with a line of three labels and very punny (appropriately) names for them. So silly.

Afterward we ran off to the music store (mom and dad had originally expected me to get a nicer uke, so we were going to sell this one back and get a nicer one) and we got a BEAUTIFUL koa wood uke. Mmmm it's so gorgeous and I can't wait to play it! (It's staying in my dorm because I can't take it to Kauai.) Then we got in the car and headed up to Haleiwa for lunch at the shrimp shacks, which was delicious. (I got the Lemon & Butter shrimp from Giovanni's instead of the Scampi garlic one, and it was good too. Laura and Mom and Sav all got chili fries or vegetarian sloppy joe from Food for Thought which is an environmental place.) Then we went over to the little shopping area and mom and dad bought two Hawaiian CDs and I got the shark-hook necklace (and I think I'm going to go back tomorrow and buy the tiki with my own money). Then we went to Waimeia Bay which was GORGEOUS today. It kind of sprinkled all day, but the sun would peek through every once in a while, and the surf was SO GENTLE! It was ridiculous. So I jumped right in the water and just floated there... it was AMAZING. I could have floated there all day. Dad wanted to jump off the cliff so I ran back up to shore and we all did it, and later Lu and Sav and I did it again. The third time up I kind of slipped and cut my foot (a nice half-inch chunk) badly enough that I didn't want to aggravate it with a jump, so sadly I didn't. The salt water didn't bother it so I went out to float some more (guh... sooooo niiiiiiice... the sprinkling kept the beach and water mostly empty, and the not-deathly-waves meant you could just float and relax... and it was so clear!) but the tide was pulling at the skin flap and that rather hurt, so I hobbled in and mom determined the gray cloud (which had been hanging there the whole time) meant we should leave, so I veeeeeeery slowly walked my way over to the showers and changed, and of course by then the cloud had dissipated (as I knew it would) and it was sunny for the rest of the evening. But we drove east some more, all the way out to the PCC (just to burn some time... stopped at a Foodland for superglue [for my foot--ended up with Bandaid liquid bandages because they didn't have superglue] and Mountain Dew and cheese and crackers [Lu and Sav and I were craving cheese and crackers hard core]) and then turned around and came back to Haleiwa for Huli Huli chicken. We got the second to last chicken and pulled it apart between the four of us. Yum. Laura had been demanding Yamamoto shave-ice but they'd closed by 6:30 so we went next door to Aoki (which runs on Hawaiian time... "open by 'X' usually, closes up around 6:30, almost all the time"). Laura got her delicious (AUTHENTIC) Hawaiian shave-ice, Sav got... something... dad got authentic hard core Hawaiian shave ice (with ice cream and azuki beans--good with the coconut flavor he got), and mom got MacNut ice cream which I split and was delicious. I also got a holographic skull with flower sticker for something (my car I guess). Mom gave me the last bit of the cone and on the way out to the car I saw a cat and called over to it and it actually headed my way! So I petted it and gave it the ice cream, and it was ADORABLE and I miss my kitties. =( That's only the second cat that's let me pet it. (Oh, man, on the drive back to Haleiwa we got stuck in traffic on the North Shore [surprise], but it wasn't normal traffic--there was a seal on the beach! We couldn't tell if it was dead, it was just kind of lying there on its side roped off, and there wasn't anyone around it, which makes me think it was still alive, even though it was laying really awkwardly.)

So all in all a good day, and I shouldn't even have much pain from jumping this time. ;D (Feet/face broke the first one, hip/foot the second)

Plus I am excited to get the shark-hook and go back and buy the retro tiki myself. The art show also had these two geologist-teachers who now to jewelry with wire wrapping, and it's amazing. She took an ammonite and put a bluish opal on it, and then around it wrapped pearls and those rough shiny stones (I want to say begins with a "d" or "c") around them. Really beautiful contrast. She also had blue/dark opals backed by larger white pearls, which were GORGEOUS pieces. My other favorite was, surprisingly, my birthstone-- peridot wrapped backed by a lava rock. BEAUTIFUL. I think it helps I've been in a very purple+green mood lately (I guess trying to spread out from pink/turquoise? lol. That or there's just more market for those colors lately, which is likely).

Anyway, yay day! We have early mass and then going to Kauai tomorrow. I don't think we have internet access but I'll try to write a good journal and then just post it later (and also make up for the countdown days I'm missing, lol). orrr you know what I can post the countdowns from my phone...

60 days until Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull! Woo! Ok, this isn't really trivia, it's just kind of stupid/silly. We were just watching some "horror" film called "Kraken" on SciFi, and it was really bad. Stereotypically bad, but not bad acting, per se. At any point, besides ending the movie just like a James Bond film (a specific one I'm currently not remembering, but it invoves undersea stuff and I'm 90% sure it's Roger Moore), they're going after some lame treasure (and an "opal" that is clearly and ridiculously obviously made out of glass) and the "good" treasure hunter says to the "bad" treasure hunter (who is in some kind of Greek mafia family, wears black, smokes cigars, and is in threat of being killed): "That treasure belongs in a museum!" And that's the point I knew the budget limitations of this film. 3D kraken? Not that bad. Script? Terrible.

Kk y'all... hopefully back to post for the rest of the week! If not happy easter and I'll be back with jungly/beachy adventures. ;D

(Also to all Carroll Band kids... have fun in Disney this week! I will be calling to harass you)