Lanai

I'll never look at the Island of Lanai the same. Lanai is just a forty five minute ferry ride across the channel from Lahaina. It is remote and luxurious in it's simplicity.
Kauai has it's roosters and whale, Maui, it's sandpipers and turtles, Lanai has it's mynah birds (wild turkeys) and spinner dolphins. We are warned, "Do not swim with the spinner dolphins!"
At the Lanai Landing we board a bus. I am reminded of Lucerne Landing at Field's Point. For ten dollars the bus will climb to 1700 feet along a road lined with Captain Cook (Hook) Pines. At the highest point sits Koele Lodge, a rustic and opulent golf course, built in the 1920s. The grounds are magnificent: manicured croquet courts, koi ponds, an orchid greenhouse, bougainvillea and a pineapple fountain...

Did I mention the wild turkeys that stroll the forty acres?
By eleven we were famished and in need of a beer. We returned to the handsome bar and ordered a Coors light and bruschetta.The chef sends us a bowl of smoked Mac nuts and English walnuts. We are intent on making the noon bus to Lanai City.
It's not more than a mile downhill through the pines again. The road reminds me of the Appian Way outside of Rome.
In Lanai city three thousand people reside in simple homes with corrugated metal roofs. There are no street lights. These folks are mostly of Phillipino descent, and once worked for Dole Pineapple Company. James Dole Park is the town square. The businesses are all facing the park. Our first stop is Dis and Dat. I find a hand carved Koa switch plate for Dan,
with a sea turtle design. The shop keeper is from Eugene, Oregon. The day is overcast and we appreciate the cool mountain air. Walking about our next stop is an funky Art Gallery, where we are tempted... Then I see and mostly feel drawn to a sweet yellow shop. Outside is a basket of bikinis for $15.00! One might say three knit triangles. The trick is to find two in your size that match. These are 'euro' style and 'run small' I am not scared :) I choose one in cocoa brown that has spots within circles, like the head of a dandelion puff, and fall for the design in brown, lilac and red. Sold!
Next bus leaves the Lanai Hotel at one. We are interested in getting to the Manele Bay Resort for lunch and then to the beach for a few hours.

It is Grand! We are mature enough not to be as intimidated as we were at the Princeville Hotel years ago. We are seated just away from the pool and cabanas. Dan orders the hamburger for $21.00 and the Veggie Wrap looks good to me! It is in a large rice paper skin which My teeth are barely sharp enough to pierce .
We use the bath as A changing room and stroll out onto the white sand beach. I thought about sporting the new spotted suit from Lanai City. . . . It's been a fine day of exploring what looks like a lump of green brown and lavender island at sunrise. Someday we will return for a day, packing a lunch and spend all day Oceanside.the Four o'clock ferry takes us back to Lanai arriving at our condo just in time for sunset. The sixth game of the World Series is in the tenth inning. I slip into my euro bikini and we pour a drink. It's been a wonderful day and this is the clincher.
Then for the first time in five day I step into the kitchen and open the fridge! I make a chopped salad of lettuce, cucumber, onion, tomato, pineapple, celery and tomato. We've been eating out each day and this simple meal seems somehow just right after the Lanai adventure.

Mahalo!