Consider this most recent day on Molokai.
The morning began with every intention of heading up to the forest reserve. A box was packed with snack food and simple lunches so that we could enjoy a meal together way up in the mountain. Unfortunately, one person dillied around while another dallied.
And the next thing you know, my mom starts picking at the lunch box...
And the time needed for the forest reserve just ticked away. By that point, cousin Eddie wanted to go to eat at Hotel Molokai and suggested that we eat, then go to the lookout over Kalaupapa instead -- which requires far less time than the drive to the forest reserve. Kalaupapa is the leper colony that Blessed Father Damien watched over for many years -- so we thought that would be fun to learn about something called Hansen's Disease given that it is Cari's maiden name.
But first it was off to eat...
Hotel Molokai is the only real hotel on Molokai, so its restaurant is one of the main places to eat on the island.
As usual, the crowd was really large -- and entirely comprised of our relatives. Perhaps some 25 people all along a series of tables put together to make one very long table...
Of course, since uncles and aunties were around, that meant teenagers sniffed a free meal. So shortly thereafter we threw another two tables on the end of our row as we were joined by about 8 other young Bicoys...
Here is a great picture of our son Bret Jr. and Kekoa with the Island of Lanai in the background at the restaurant...
No, not our Kekoa! That's my cousin Joey's son Kekoa -- who just happens to look and is built a lot like Bretty, particularly from behind. If you don't believe me, just turn your monitor around and look at them from the back.
As some of us (namely me and a few others) kept eating, Cari and the baby girls decided to walk over to appreciate the oceanview alongside our tables...
After a few minutes, our youngest five were all lined up to look at the sand crabs below...
I say five because the sixth and oldest one of that bunch was already jumping in the back of another truck to take off with my cousin Danny's son Blue and many others...
We started off thinking we were going to the Kalaupapa lookout, but somehow we got diverted to the only real Starbucks-like coffee shop on the island...
Okay, maybe real Starbucks don't usually have a wagon pulled by mules out front, but hey, let's not nitpick here. This is Molokai and you have to take what you can get.
The little girls enjoyed a chocolate shake...
And my sister Dawn's son Shawn had a cup of frozen coffee while some haole girl visiting from Baltimore kept giving him googly eyes (no, she's not a Bicoy, just spending the summer hanging out with them)...
Next we decided that too much time had passed to go up to the Kalaupapa lookout so everyone thought we'd head off to the house cousin Joey was renting for the week to enjoy the little beach area outside.
Naturally, in this family, there is always something that is an adventure. The starter in Dawn's other truck had died, and in typical Molokai fashion, you have to wait until a new one can be flown in that will fit her old truck.
So to get that truck started, everyone (including our daughter Alyssa) needs to push the truck as fast as they can so it can be thrown hard into first and the ignition kick started...
Thank goodness there is always a truckload of people or you'd never be able to get that thing rolling!
For whatever reason, the going to the beach idea didn't work out and we found ourselves on Eddie's lawn (wearing bathing suits, of course). Thankfully, it's a really, really big lawn looking over the ocean so nobody really cared.
And if you're anywhere near Ed's house, you'll find yourself shooting something.
So our kids had the first experience with the wonderful world of weapons.
Typically, it was Kekoa who was first to volunteer under the watchful eye of his cousin Shawn...
David wasn't the first to shoot, but he was the first to hit the target...
Bretty tried to hold the weapon's stock against his shoulder as it should be, but that meant it didn't quite fit him...
Even Nalani tried with her cousin Zach's help...
Of course, Nalani being Nalani, guns aren't nearly glamorous enough for her...
Such is life on Molokai
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