From the Archives: Agent C's Secret Hawaiian Mission Part 1

  In 2008 my husband and I were heading to Disneyland for our 10th anniversary/ 2nd honeymoon. By now we had both been to Disneyland with one of our children each and we wondered if it would still be fun for us without kids. My Mom had the brilliant idea for us to take one of my youngest son's stuffed animals with us and use it as a photo prop. We had more fun taking pictures of that silly kitty all over Disneyland, and by the second day we had cast members saying to us, "Oh you're the cat people!"

 After that we were sure to take a buddy with us on trips. Guinea went on an Alaskan cruise (my first). Sparkle Bear went to India. And Agent C went with us on our first trip to Hawaii for our 15th anniversary. At this season in our life, our kids loved Phineas and Ferb and were well acquainted with the vast organization of animal agents keeping us safe. Phineas and Ferb's pet platypus was otherwise known as Agent P, thus, the naming of our Hawaiian buddy. I thought you might enjoy seeing the world through Agent C's eyes and read along with his adventures, so I'll be sharing these "Mission Updates" for the rest of the week.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  Agent C's Hawaiian Mission  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

To:  Spy Team Leader 

CC:  Mission Commander 

From:  Agent C

RE:  Situation Update

 I am happy to report to you that all is going well on the fair island of Kauai.  I have averted all possible dangers and protected your parents – though it wasn’t easy.  They don’t seem to have much common sense!

Early this morning, we arrived at the airport  - only to find that their flight had been cancelled!  Your mother was very concerned, but instead of freaking out, I am glad to tell you that she prayed about her worries, and God answered her prayers!  They got on an even better flight that got us to Kauai early!

 They headed to Costco after renting a Jeep and leaving the airport.  After picking up some food, they drove around the eastern side of the island to the house they are renting for the week.  It was kind of a long drive for a chicken stuck in a bag, but as I peeked out of the window I was amazed to see many of my distant relatives strutting around on the side of the road!  I will do my best to send along a photo later this week.

  I will also take some reconnaissance photos of the house we are staying at when I can get away for a minute.  I have to watch them constantly though as it seem you parents find trouble around every turn!  This sign was clearly posted, but did your Dad avoid the coconut trees?  No!  He seemed fascinated by them.  I guess I can’t really blame him though, they were pretty cool looking!

 

Also, the waves were crashing all around, making a terrible racket.  It was clear that the ocean was no place to play, but did your Mom pay attention?  Of course she just had to wade out into the water!  True, it was cool to find that the ocean was as warm as the pool at the YMCA, but did she have to go into it?  I stood guard at my post with a rescue tube at the ready, just in case.  But despite the clear danger everything came out ok.

  

Last, but not least, your Dad is quite the dare devil.  While I knew it was clearly dangerous, I guess I was a little jealous of how much fun he was having climbing out on the rocks.  I want you to know though that I was ready and willing to run in after him, should he be hurt or compromised in any way.  I know you will be pleased to hear that he recognized that he should not climb on the wet rocks because they are so slippery so my cover was not blown and I remain able to perform my duties secretly. 

I’m signing off now to get a little shut-eye while your parents seem safe – for the moment.  But never fear, I am here to guard them from any and all evils, including their own foolishness!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

To:  Spy Team Leader 

CC: Mission Commander 

From:  Agent C

RE: Mission Update        

Things are going well here, but I am growing increasingly concerned at the lack of communication from headquarters.  Is everything alright at home?  I hope these communiques are reaching their intended destination and not being intercepted by an evil force.  Please return my emails so that I know you are safe and sound.

Yesterday was so very full and I was so very tired that I’m afraid I crashed before sending my update.  We woke with the sunrise yesterday and the insistent alarm of my many relatives here.  The roosters have no common sense though!  They don’t know that they are supposed to crow with the sunrise, and they just do it all the time.  Sometimes in the middle of the night right outside my window!  I had a talk with them yesterday, but unfortunately I was not able to make them see reason. It seems that twenty years ago there was a terrible hurricane, Hurricane Iniki, which demolished the structures in several Kauai chicken farms and all the chickens were set free to fend for themselves.  Fend they did, and now the native population of wild chickens seems to exceed that of humans!  Somewhere in the mix their brains were addled though and now there is little hope of reasoning with them.

First thing in the morning we headed out and did a little exploring along the eastern side of the island.  About halfway to Lihue, I whispered a reminder in Dad’s ear that he forgot to take their motion sickness medicine before they went on their helicopter flight. Good thing too, or it could have gotten messy up there!  So they headed back to the house, grabbed an early lunch (of chicken salad sandwiches if you can believe it! No respect here!) and then drove straight to Lihue for their flight.  Being a flightless bird, this was a great adventure for me! We were given a brief set of instructions and then driven to the helipad where the helicopter was waiting, powered up, with its’ rotors whirring.  The ground crew escorted us on board, and I’m glad to say, strapped everyone safely in and gave them headsets to communicate with since it was too loud to talk normally.  The sights on this trip were truly fantastic and I heard that Dad is going to upload many of them for you to see later, but I will include a few here now for you to get a taste J.

Mom got a little green around the gills, but she managed to not need to use the “Aloha” bag in flight.  I’m sure glad I reminded Dad about that medicine!  After the flight, they stopped by Wal-Mart to pick up some safety gear for walking in the water with all the coral and rocks (my idea again) and looked through a souvenir shop for a while as well. 

After dropping the things at the house, they looked through the guide book and chose a fancy pizza joint for dinner. What a fun place!  They had pizzas I had never heard of before.  They were very nice and when Mom and Dad couldn’t decide on a pizza, they let them put two different kinds on half and half.  The kitchen was very busy so while the pizza was cooking, they drove out and watched the sun go down near a lighthouse and bird sanctuary.  When they got back, the pizza was ready and the enjoyed their dinner while visiting with the shop owner and getting ideas of where to go next!  I saw them safely home and into bed before I signed off for the night. 

I’m doing my best here, Spy Team Leader, but these crazy people are hard to keep tabs on!  Hope all is well at home. 

I remain yours sincerely,

Agent C

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To: Spy Team Leader 

CC:  Mission Commander 

From:  Agent C

RE:  Mission Update

 Yesterday was an exciting day, but your parents both made it back to the house safely, so all of the adventures I will relay to you should not cause you any anxiety. At Mom’s insistence, they started the day slowly yesterday, laying around the house and reading until lunch time.  They ate a quick lunch (ugh!  Chicken salad again!) and headed out on an adventure.  They had decided to explore the Kilauea area and check out a couple of beaches. 

Our first stop was Larsen’s beach which had a dangerous, windy path down the side of the cliff.  I rode in Mom’s bag, so I was only able to warn her of the imminent danger, keeping her safe the whole way down, but Dad slipped a few times in his sandals – not made for hiking!  The climb was rugged, but the reward was worth it!

The next stop was the Kilauea Lighthouse and Wildlife Preserve.  The wildlife here was my favorite kind, birds!  You may remember some of these sights from the evening before, but today we went all the way inside the preserve and got to go down to the lighthouse.  I said my hellos, but the birds were preoccupied with their nesting and didn’t pay me much attention. We saw red-footed boobies and albatrosses along with the Hawaiian goose which looks a lot like the Canadian geese we have at home.  At the edge of the cliff, we looked out over the ocean, watched, and waited, and it paid off!  We got to see two or three humpback whales blowing water out of their airholes, waving their tales, and sticking their heads up out of the water.  Spy Team Leader, you would have been very handy to have around for this activity with your super spy skills because it was very difficult to spot the whales in the vast ocean.  Can you spot the flipper sticking out of the water in this picture?

Mom and Dad stopped for coffee and cookies at the bakery where they had eaten the night before, then we were off to the next beach!  On the way, we stopped at a local farmers’ market where area farmers had produce for sale.  Dad tried a raw macadamia nut and decided it was even better than the roasted kind we normally have.  There were lots of kekei (the local word for children) playing at the park – it looked like fun!

The next beach we visited was Anini beach.  The story goes that it was originally called Wanini beach but an angry resident who felt that it had been spelled wrong blew the letter W off the sign with a shotgun.  Everyone must have decided that he was right, because now all the maps and signs say Anini!  It was a beautiful beach with tons of beachcombing opportunities.  At my recommendation, your parents had purchased water shoes the day before and a good thing too since the beach and the ocean floor were covered in sharp rocks and coral.  It was beautiful though!  Your mother was so tempted to bring some pretty shell pieces she found home for you, but because it is illegal I cautioned her against it so she just took pictures for you instead.  The water here is so clear, like glass!  At this beach, we could see all kinds of plant and animal life just below the surface of the water. It was so beautiful.

After our beach adventure, we stopped for a fish wrap diner and then stopped by the healthy hut for Mom to pick up some groceries.  Back home, they watched a little tv and then turned in for the night to rest up for the next day’s excitement. 

To Be Continued...