We ventured out!

Today was a landmark…we left the orchard! We actually got into the car, went and had our first hot shower since we’ve been here, and then drove into Hilo. We had a day full of big adventure. We ate lunch at the outside counter of Island Naturals, the local natural food store. Then we went next door to Borders, and got Momma’s first coffee in many days. For our next stop, we strolled across the parking lot to Wal-Mart, the only big store on the island, where we picked up a few “essentials”, including sunglasses and Valentine card materials. On our way out, we stopped at the market tents, and found Sondraina, who I met last time I was here. The girls did a little shopping, and also got to pet Bella, the new puppy. When we were done, we took our craft materials down the street to the beach, and made our Valentines while we sat on the lava rocks overlooking the waves in Hilo Bay. This was definitely a highlight! As soon as we got back to the cabin, we were invited to join our hosts at Awana, which is a youth group at their church. In fact, we’re here right now, and the girls are playing with three other 3-4 year olds…and I’m online, yahoo! This will be an incredibly late night for the girls; maybe they won’t be up at 5:30 tomorrow morning (hey, one can hope, right?)

So, here's our deal for communications: it looks like I'll get online maybe once or twice a week for emails and such. My cell phone works here, and I welcome calls! For long chats, I have free minutes from 9pm-7am and weekends, MY time. For all of you in Eastern Standard Time, this converts to 2am-noon your time. We're up early, so it's okay to call. If you have snail mail, our address is PO Box 180, Papaaloa, HI 96780. (If you can't use a PO box, the actual road address is 35-180 Papaaloa Rd.
Papaaloa, HI 96780.

Happy Valentine's Day, everyone, and much aloha from the Stanberry-Bealls in Papa'aloa.