Well aside from no open campfires on the beach, the was the most perfect vacation week ever! Yes we could have risked it but totally not worth the possibility of being banned from Bellows for life just to have a little pyromaniacal gratification…
Thanks to my maternal grandparents, I am quite the camping pro. Yes it was Grandma and Grandpa Habas that kindled my love for campfires (pun emphatically intended)and this celebration of the “great outdoors” in general. I can almost smell the fragrant pine as I type. We would take their huge camper out regularly and when I say huge, I mean this baby boasted not only a toilet and a kitchen but a double bed beside. It is quite safe to assume that due to this “pampered” camping experience, I’m not big on tents. I’ll do them for a few days but I grumble about having to walk a half mile to use the bathroom in the middle of the night. And no I don’t use a coffee can. End of story.
So the rustic cabins at Bellows are just about as good as my grandparent’s set-up. True they are old. I actually went home to get my swiffer while doubting the capabilities of the cleaning staff. To my surprise, I was not able to get much dirt off the floor but mysteriously it seems to stubbornly cling to the bottoms of our feet. Slightly distasteful but I’m over it. I think next time I would bring house shoes. Anyhow the bed is comfortable, the kitchen pretty well equipped and with hot water and our bathroom who can complain? Well, we did actually. We wanted to be a little closer to the turtle pond. We couldn’t get any further away. We’re managing quite well though.
So here we are roughing it. In a not so rough sort of way. We wake up at 8, watch Andy Griffith after breakfast. Go play at the beach–stand-up (or sit down) paddle board, kayaking, bodyboarding, turtle scouting. Today we built an minnow motel. Yes down at the aforementioned turtle pond. It was a multi-day project. We had to practice before we enjoyed success. Catching minnows is not quite as easy as it may sound. Those little shiny cuties are skittish and skeptical. More than once they were at the entrance to the “hotel” and they backed out. But patience persevered.
As it turns out, Chad is quite the fish trapper/ pond designer. Laura is a master fish scooper. Alex is the expert at locating seaweed and other aquatic plants. Once Chad funnels them into the channel they constructed, Laura gathers them up with our little dime-store beach strainer and plop! into the aquarium they go. Sometimes the minnows, out of desperation, would flop onto the sand. And flop back into the water. They are quite quick and quivery. If they hit a lull, we would scoop them up in our hands along with some sand and masterfully transport them into Motel 6 for fish. This is nothing to sniff at… this is a high-class, world-famous minnow resort. Rocks, leaves, seaweed buffet (all you can eat)–the works. And yes, I flatter myself, some of them were hesitant to leave when we set them free…such gracious hosts are we.
The other highlight of our day was the turtles. We had not seen one the whole time we’ve been here. In fact, we were starting in all earnestness to question whether the huge “Kokua” turtle sign that Bellows has erected at the end of the beach near the pier was just a farce. So Chad and I were out lounging on our paddle boards when I suggested that the only thing that could possible make this vacation any better was a turtle sighting. Resigned to the fact that there were no turtles within a 100 mile radius, we drifted on. About 10 minutes later: answered prayer. One lone turtle–about 10 feet from us, popped his little head out of the water as if to say, “You rang?” and swam off in a very turtley fashion. That was actually the beginning of Turtle Thursday=best.day.of. staycay.
O turtles, how do I adore thee~
Let me count the ways…
1. You are cute
2. You are adorable and appealing
3. You are the epitome of all things enchanting
4.You are dear, darling and delightful
5. Charismatic, charming, cuddly
Well, cuddly…. maybe not so much. But this girl is a turtle lover. This family is turtle crazy. This island has a thing with turtles… they symbolize long life. But that’s not why I love them. I just find them utterly irresistible. I become a kid again when I see one. Just so amazing. I think God talks to me through turtles. Sounds crazy but it’s true. They are just a reminder to me of how much he loves me and loves to see me excited over something He made. For my pleasure.
S0 that’s what I love about living here. To be sure …paradise it’s not. We are isolated and the traffic stinks (not to mention some people’s attitudes) and prices are high. But we have this exquisitely alluring azure ocean surrounded by lush emerald green magical mountains that remind you how big God is and how small you are. So even when life on this island, being far from family and all we know gets me down, I know I need to “increase my salt intake”… splashing in the ocean, hiking uphill 1.5 miles looking for Whales to spout, pushing myself out of my comfort zone and into this stunningly winsome world…all nature glorifying God and me along with them.
Did I mention the turtles are ridiculously cute??
Decidedly Different 