The get-together at Teri's Bookstore on Friday night was wonderful. We had our chanting group, larger than usual. After that, more people arrived and we shared a wonderful potluck supper together. Than those that weren't already outside, removed to the backyard, where the fire was lit. Prayers were said, some in Hawaiian and most in English. Songs were sung and the drumming began. We had no moon but it was still a beautiful night in the backyard of Kalele Bookstore in downtown Kanakakai. There were probably about thirty or forty people and children there. It was definitely a spiritual moment for me.

Teri is quite a wonderful woman. She was both celebrating her 52nd birthday, but also the 2nd year anniversary of the bookstore. She has lead quite a life. Although not a native Hawaiian, she is nevertheless a Hawaiian, born in Honolulu, then moved to Maui. She has been all over the world, in many cases helping with opening up hotels, and has absorbed all the goodness and spirituality of the places she has been. She has a 30 year old son who lives in San Francisco. She deeply cares about Molokai, like so many of the people I have met, do. She supports all the various fundraisers going on, she opens up her shop after hours for different groups to be able to meet. Her heart is bigger than the ocean, I think. And she just plain loves people and life. I love watching her interact with her customers.

I did buy a ticket for Moana's Hula Halau annual dinner show. How glad I did. First we queued up for a dinner of chicken and beef, rice, corn and beans, salad, fruit, and dessert. After everyone had gotten through the lines, the show began. It was very special. All the dancers were from Molokai, save one who was from the Hula Halau in Japan. Moana is an elderly Molokaian, who has been doing this for most of her life. I could not see her, but she announced every group, and told about them. There were kieki (children), young men and women, middle aged groups, and the kapuna (elders). All these folks take hula for free on Molokai. Their costumes are handmade by several seamstresses here who volunteer their time. And the costumes were beautiful. The hula groups compete with other groups in Hawaii, but in addition to that Moana also go takes the children and young adults all over the world to give performances of their culture. They pay nothing. All monies are donated or fund raised, like last night. It was said that 75 percent of the children in Hawaii never leave Hawaii, so this gives some of those children to learn about other cultures in other parts of the world. What a great thing. The hula danced in Hawaii is not what people think of when the word hula is mentioned. It is a beautiful movement with the entire body and hands, not just the rotating of the hips. That motion is more Polynesian, I have concluded. And the hands are telling a story.

For us in Kanakakai at the Hula Halau the rain held off. I visualized no rain, as the event is an outside one. However, up where Artie and John live, it rained cats and dogs, and no drum circle was held. The full moon was seen no where. However, when I awoke this morning, it was out.

Now for the peace d'resistance! I was up today at 6:30am, and out of the house and on the road to Matt and Emillia's house. Matt was waiting for me, and we hitched up his Boston whaler and went down to the wharf, where Matt put it in to the harbor. And off we went - to find whales. The sun was in the east, and the moon was in the west. I could see Lanai right in front of me to the south about 10 miles away, and Maui to the east of us, about 15-20 miles away. The three islands are like a triangle. The whales come in to this area to give birth and to mate before they all head back to Alaska in the spring to eat, and eat and eat.

We headed out towards the east end of the island, with gentle swells in the ocean. We did see whales in the distance blowing, and a few tails coming up, but whenever Matt headed towards these guys, they seemed to just disappear and not reappear. It was really uncanny. As the winds picked up, we turned and went west, riding the waves. It was so much smoother. We got near to the area where the wharf was, when all at once, like a dance, one after another, six or eight whales came up out of the water, way up, and then crashed. We could hear the boom as each one went down. What a sight! Then near us about 200-300 yards away, a mother and her baby, were swimming along in a straight line, baby right next to mom, going under then coming up, and blow holes sounding as clear as a bell. They are magnificent awesome creatures. It is illegal here to get really close to them, and all the whale watching boats, and small boats like Matt's, respect that law because they all love the whales. Who could not love them! I tried to take pictures of mom and baby, but I couldn't really see well, and besides I have incredible pictures of them and those that were breaching, in my head. My day was complete!

Emillia told Matt that when whales rise up (breach) like that, sometimes it is the moms, getting ready to birth, and getting the baby into the birth canal. It can also be that they may have been having some kind of a mating ritual going on, as there were so many of them going up one after another. How would you like to be courted by a whale?? Hmmm.....!

Matt and I went to breakfast and then he was off to some construction acts of kindness for the Humane Society. I came back here and picked up Jordan and Austin, who were volunteering with him. I came back and laid down, and slept until 4 PM!

Only seven more days left and I will be leaving this beautiful place.

Life is good!

Adieu, adios, a hui hou,
I love you all,
Sally