I love Kua Bay!!!

Ryan and I have had a great week! He had a super special, rare treat of a series of play dates on Mon (the Mayer girls), Tue (X & Nina), and Wed (Tizzle B)!

And he BEEMED when his cousins came back home to Kona! This was the first time they've left (they leave twice annually for 6-8 weeks at a time) that he really noticed. He kept asking for them while they were gone, and once they returned, he took off running and excitedly yelling "KeniRiki! KeniRiki!"

See how thrilled he was to see them?

He couldn't stop smiling.

On Friday Ryan got to play with the Mayer girls again and go swimming in their beautiful pool.

Thanks to all this beach and pool time we've been logging this month, I'm really starting to think we need a small pool of our own! :-) (So once Ryan gets up from his nap, I think we're heading down to the Home Expo at the Sheraton to talk to a few solar heating companies and pool companies! One can dream, right?)

My my how times have changed...Ryan and KK playing with iTouches! ;-)

Ryan getting into a more comfortable position so he get his game on!

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We left the Mayer's right after dinner last night (made a veggie peanut soba dish!) so mama could get a decent night's sleep before her 5:30am wake up call this morning. And by 6:15, I was off and running and didn't stop (well except for those eighty two walk breaks and a refueling stop at Matsuyama's again) until I got to Kua Bay...SIXTEEN miles away! Whoo-hoo! Longest long run in awhile! But man! Did it seem to take forever!!! Toward the end I was plodding along sooooo slowly that the only thing keeping me going were the occasional bikers that kept passing me by. I didn't want them to see me walking out in the middle of nowhere and wonder if I was lost or crazy, so everytime I saw a group peddling by, I would straighten up my shoulders, force a smile on my face and increase my pace from 12:00 minute miles to 11:58 minute miles. You know, just to show off.

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I ended up downing 64 oz. of water, and four packets of fuel along the way. In effort to get rid of some old gels we've accumulated from other races, I ended up tossing down two new sets of gels that I've never had before with my usual blocks....proving once again that Ms. Piggly Wiggly IronStomach can eat just about anything and not get sick while running.

Sidenote: I saw the cutest, saddest roadkill ever this morning (why I'm sharing this I do not know)- a little wild piglet. :-( Right next to Kailua View Estates. Slow down, evil death monster cars!!!

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All in all- it was painful, steaming hot toward the end...but exhilarating once I was done!

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PS- My running lesson learned for the day? Do not be lazy and decide to skip wrapping your ibuprofen in saran wrap before sticking it in your Fuel Belt! When I finished my run and reached in to grab them- they were wet (from eeew...sweat) and half disentegrated!!! Who knew moisture would cause those things to break down?! ;-)

But my reward once I was there (aside from meeting up with my boys) was well worth it- the amazingly crystal clear, cool blue water and the powdery white sand of heavenly Kua Bay (or Maniniowali Beach). It evokes a feeling of being in the Caribbean! The paved road entrance to the beach is directly across the street from the West Hawaii Veteran's Cemetary, and is part of the County's Kekaha Kai Beach Park. There's a small parking lot that fills up fast, but since we were there a little afer 9, we got one of the last open stalls (no fear if you don't get one, you can just park along the roadside and walk a little farther to the beach).

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We've only been to Kua Bay once before when Ryan was much, much younger, but after today's visit we both vowed to return on a regular basis. Because this beach is just...pure awesomeness.

Ryan wasn't thrilled about the crashing waves, so we created a little cove for him (that kept getting annihilated by the waves) that he felt safe in! (Safe enough to start pounding a strawberry fruit bar and mochi anyway!)

The icing on the cake of this beautiful beach? The WARM WATER showers as you leave!!! What a treat! I will gladly increase my proprty taxes if every beach on the island would add this feature!

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The 15+ visits to the beach this month alone are slowly but surely making a beach lover out of me!!!

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Next up- dinner at Bubba Gump's with our sweet, dear realtor...and then an early birthday surprise for me tomorrow! ???