Read Online May (Calendar Girl #5) by Audrey Carlan - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Audrey Carlan
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is a panoramic view of the windward coast of Oahu. The trade winds are so fierce there, my hair was lashing against my face until Tai handed me his baseball cap.
“Amazing, isn’t it?” he said as we took in the magical view.
“It’s something I’ll never forget.”
While at the lookout, I found out that it was the location of one of the bloodiest battles in Hawaiian history. During the battle of Nu’uanu, almost four hundred soldiers defending Oahu from being overtaken by Kamehameha the First were trapped in the valley and later pus hed over the cliff to their deaths.
“So sad,” I said thinking about all those people who had died in the battle while we walked back to our car.
Tai stole his cap back allowing my hair to fall in tumbles down around my shoulders and back. “Better.” He grinned then plopped it back on his own head. “If that made you sad, we’ll be skipping Pearl Harbor.”
“Good idea.”
“You hungry?”
“Absolutely.”
“You like Hawaiian beer?”
“Doesn’t everybody?” I retorted, narrowing my brows for emphasis.
He took me to a place on the far south side of the island called the Kona Brewing Company. It sat located in what seemed to be a shopping complex so I didn’t have high hopes that it would be as fantabulous as he hinted. I was never happier to be dead wrong.
The waitress led us through the normal restaurant to a back area that felt as if it hovered over the bay. Boats were docked down below; patrons could park their boat, walk up, and have a meal. The view was just as amazing as Pali Lookout, only different. Each side of the restaurant was wedged between a mountain range on either side of the water. Bright bursts of green, yellow, brown, purple, blue and every other color in the rainbow filled the landscape as if an artist had rendered it. Now I knew why so many people painted these mountain ranges. They were incredibly beautiful and inspired peace in those that were lucky enough to gaze upon them.
We ordered plenty of beers as we sat, talking about everything from island life, to the Samoan culture, to my life back home, surfing, and the future. Tai drank a beer labeled The Big Wave , a golden ale, and I stuck with the fruiter option of the Castaway . Somehow, the names of both beers seemed to fit our lives. I felt like a castaway, just floating through this year of my life, bopping from place to place, while Tai was always in search of the Big Wave. The part of his life that would make him feel complete. Secretly, I figured that would happen when he chose a mate and settled down, but I was rather content to enjoy being his number one for the month.
“All right, we’ve seen the lookout, you’ve partaken of the local food and drink, how about something to feast your soul on?”
“My soul? You think you can provide something that will serve my soul?”
He grinned and took to the road. We drove for a little over a half hour, but it felt like mere minutes, my eyes so focused on the breathtaking views. With very mile, the view seemed to ebb and flow, and adjust to the lush landscapes, each beach we passed different than the last.
Eventually, we turned into a place called Valley of the Temples Memorial Park. Tai drove us through what seemed to be a cemetery, only it wasn’t like something you see back home, with concrete or bronze plates in the ground. No, this was unlike any memorial park I’d ever seen. In many of the areas, large black marble squares with etched gold writing stood up like sentinels guarding the resting place of the human below. It was evident in the views and markers, how Hawaiian’s revered their dead. For a place that should feel filled with death and sadness, I was consumed with compassion and love for the people allowing me to share their final resting spot.
Tai stopped in a parking area and we got out. He led me by the hand through a long path until we came to an outcropping cut into a mountain. There stood a red Japanese style
“Amazing, isn’t it?” he said as we took in the magical view.
“It’s something I’ll never forget.”
While at the lookout, I found out that it was the location of one of the bloodiest battles in Hawaiian history. During the battle of Nu’uanu, almost four hundred soldiers defending Oahu from being overtaken by Kamehameha the First were trapped in the valley and later pus hed over the cliff to their deaths.
“So sad,” I said thinking about all those people who had died in the battle while we walked back to our car.
Tai stole his cap back allowing my hair to fall in tumbles down around my shoulders and back. “Better.” He grinned then plopped it back on his own head. “If that made you sad, we’ll be skipping Pearl Harbor.”
“Good idea.”
“You hungry?”
“Absolutely.”
“You like Hawaiian beer?”
“Doesn’t everybody?” I retorted, narrowing my brows for emphasis.
He took me to a place on the far south side of the island called the Kona Brewing Company. It sat located in what seemed to be a shopping complex so I didn’t have high hopes that it would be as fantabulous as he hinted. I was never happier to be dead wrong.
The waitress led us through the normal restaurant to a back area that felt as if it hovered over the bay. Boats were docked down below; patrons could park their boat, walk up, and have a meal. The view was just as amazing as Pali Lookout, only different. Each side of the restaurant was wedged between a mountain range on either side of the water. Bright bursts of green, yellow, brown, purple, blue and every other color in the rainbow filled the landscape as if an artist had rendered it. Now I knew why so many people painted these mountain ranges. They were incredibly beautiful and inspired peace in those that were lucky enough to gaze upon them.
We ordered plenty of beers as we sat, talking about everything from island life, to the Samoan culture, to my life back home, surfing, and the future. Tai drank a beer labeled The Big Wave , a golden ale, and I stuck with the fruiter option of the Castaway . Somehow, the names of both beers seemed to fit our lives. I felt like a castaway, just floating through this year of my life, bopping from place to place, while Tai was always in search of the Big Wave. The part of his life that would make him feel complete. Secretly, I figured that would happen when he chose a mate and settled down, but I was rather content to enjoy being his number one for the month.
“All right, we’ve seen the lookout, you’ve partaken of the local food and drink, how about something to feast your soul on?”
“My soul? You think you can provide something that will serve my soul?”
He grinned and took to the road. We drove for a little over a half hour, but it felt like mere minutes, my eyes so focused on the breathtaking views. With very mile, the view seemed to ebb and flow, and adjust to the lush landscapes, each beach we passed different than the last.
Eventually, we turned into a place called Valley of the Temples Memorial Park. Tai drove us through what seemed to be a cemetery, only it wasn’t like something you see back home, with concrete or bronze plates in the ground. No, this was unlike any memorial park I’d ever seen. In many of the areas, large black marble squares with etched gold writing stood up like sentinels guarding the resting place of the human below. It was evident in the views and markers, how Hawaiian’s revered their dead. For a place that should feel filled with death and sadness, I was consumed with compassion and love for the people allowing me to share their final resting spot.
Tai stopped in a parking area and we got out. He led me by the hand through a long path until we came to an outcropping cut into a mountain. There stood a red Japanese style
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