What's Cookin'

Here's a great animation and use of American Sign Language from Luke's Spectrum class.  The boys did this completely on their own:

Cocktails and Chocolates in DC

I had the opportunity to present our spirits alongside some locally made artisan chocolates last night at one of DC's most intimate and esteemed cocktail bars, Wisdom.  The venue was amazing.  Wisdom is a smallish space, but sectioned off into small alcoves that afford its customers a measure of privacy and solitude.  The decor is old-world chic, overstuffed armchairs and settees, eclectic tables, and candelabra chandeliers.  I felt as though I had stepped into a club in early 1900's Paris.

The chocolates for the evening were creations by Merideth, owner of MC2 Confections, a local chocolatier who worked with me and Erik, the owner of the club, to create custom cocktails and chocolate pairings.  The customers were the beneficiaries of our experiments:

Lemon honey thyme chocolate paired with a hot gin toddy with green tea.

White chocolate raspberry paired with a forbidden fruit cocktail.

Peanut butter cayenne chocolate paired with Uncle Jessie's PB&J cocktail.

To name a few... You get the idea... delicious stuff!

Here are a few of my favorite photos from the night, capturing the mood and a few of the confections.  Makes me glad I live near Washington DC, where we have clubs like this.

On a technical footnote, I must mention that the venue was very challenging to photograph.  It was dark as a crypt in there!  To get some of these shots, I had to bring my fastest, best lens, an f1.4 50mm telephoto, and open the aperture wide up, and still use an ISO 1600 to capture the shots.  Autofocus was working poorly in the low light, so I had to manually focus most of the shots, and even still, I'd have to rest the camera on my knee to keep from blurring the photos.

Frank the Pug turns Nine!

Wow.  Nine years old.  That's sixty three in dog years.  Frank is an old man!

But honestly, he's never been healthier.  Gosh, I'd be amazed if we don't get at least another five years out of this dog. 

As we do every year, we give him a plate of tuna fish and sing "Happy Birthday".  (At which point, he starts salivating uncontrollably!)

What a happy pug!

Paddle Surfing, Blue Hole and Luau

Friday was a full day. In the morning, we had a private lesson for paddle surfing (think surfing crossed with snow-boarding, crossed with kayaking) on the Hanalei River. The water was really calm and nice, and Becky and the boys saw some herons and turtles during the one hour lesson. (I was too busy watching the bikini clad women to notice any wildlife.)

After the lesson, we headed out near Ke'e Beach on the far northwestern coast to explore a sacred Hawaiian water cave. To reach the cave, we had to wander up and down a rather treacherous rocky path, and our footwear was ridiculously inappropriate.  Nevertheless, after a few minutes shuffling on all fours, our palms and knees darkly browned by the soft Hawaiian dirt, we reached the cave.  From outside the cave, you cannot tell it is filled with water--it is so clear.  But once inside, the water gives off an eerie milky blue glow.  Our guide invited us to jump into the water and swim, but as the water was about 60 degrees, I was the only one of the family to try it. The water was damn cold, but it was exhilarating and mighty nice to get out afterwards.

Later in the evening, we headed over to the Luau Kalamaku near Lihue. This is a very large, slickly produced affair, but quite an enjoyable two hour show. They seat multiple parties at big tables together, drinks are free, so getting to know your neighbor is just about mandatory. The food was good (especially the roasted pig), but my only complaint was that since they called by table for lining up at the buffet, by the time I got to the buffet, it was pretty well picked over. Somehow, though, I managed not to starve.

Becky, the boys, and my folks all enjoyed the show. The hula dancing was excellent, though my mother remarked that she saw a lot more of those large Hawaiian men than she wanted to! We had a great time, and definitely recommend this Luau for any who come to Kauai.

Saturday is our last day, and we'll spend most of it packing up and going home. Sadly, our trip has come to an end. Kauai is an amazing island, and I do hope we'll be able to come back here again someday.

Golf and Mini-golf

Today, we started the day playing mini-golf.  The golf course was also a botanical garden, specializing in species native to Hawaii and Kauai in particular.  We had a nice time playing mini-golf, and then later, Luke, Grandpa and I shared another round of golf at Makai Woods.  Today, we did a lot better, walking away with a +3 over par.

This is a "rambutan" that we bought at a local farmer's market.  It peels like an orange, and tastes like a cross between a plum and a green grape, maybe similar to a lychee.