Up the Creek

Yesterday we saw so many different varieties of wild chickens roaming the island and thought they were really fun.

This morning at 3:00AM, not so much.  

Hey Siri, can you kill feral chickens on Kauaʻi?

Cock-a-doodle-booooo...

Six noisy hours later, R's cousin R came over to the house to take us out paddle boarding on the Wailua River.

After the boys had their turn, R and I went out to give it a try. But our time on the boards was short-lived because when R fell off, he quickly discovered that he had forgotten to tighten the sport strap on his eyeglasses, which didn't come back out of the water with him. The boys tried searching for R's glasses, but unfortunately the water was too murky to see anything. Not having brought a spare with us on vacation, this meant that R would be nearly blind until we could get him a new pair. Doh!

So while R and I called around the island looking for an optometrist who could make glasses on-site, Cousin R took M and J upriver on the paddle boards to show them their grandpa's and great-uncles' stomping grounds when they were young. At least some of us had a great morning!

Thanks, R!

After striking out with Costco (orders are shipped from the mainland) and the optometrist that R's cousins use, we found one in Lihue who just so happened to keep lenses in his office for emergencies. R called our ophthalmologist to have his prescription faxed over, and then we headed to Mark's Place for some plate lunch, which we ate in the parking lot of the doctor's office while we waited for R to be seen. Four thumbs up!

Chicken katsu/teriyaki beef combo, grilled ahi special with soy sake
cream sauce, loco moco, and spam musubi

After picking out frames and getting measured for the proper fit, the optometrist said that he would work on the glasses in between patients and hopefully get them finished this afternoon. So we decided to drive over to Poipu to pass the time. Following the Shaka Guide audio tour for Poipu and Koloa, we hopped out of the car for pics at Prince Kuhio Park and Lawai Beach...

...and continued on Lawai Road to see Spouting Horn.

While we were here, the optometrist called to let R know that his glasses were ready (yay!), so we didn't stick to the tour route. Instead we took a detour to the Kukuiʻula Village Shopping Center to shop at Crazy Shirts and treat ourselves to some Lappert's ice cream. 

Tree Tunnel

After picking up R's very expensive souvenir, we went to Walmart to look for another sport strap to prevent another mishap, but couldn't find one. Fortunately, the ABC Store in Kapaʻa carried them, so R's new glasses should remain securely on his head tomorrow when we go tubing through the irrigation ditches.

Last but not least, dinner with our roomie K at Kauai Beer Company in Lihue and dessert at Wailua Shave Ice in Kapaʻa.

Bavarian pretzel, mac & cheese, lamb gyro,
Philly cheesesteak with a Kokobopo porter, and a Reuben

Guava Goodness and Lilikoi Cream, both over ice cream