Hula Returns to Sequim

Honored Elder & Dance Teacher, Mokihana Melendez on the right

OMG! So excited that like last year, a Hawaiian group graced Sequim with its presence. I get positively giddy with excitement hearing live Hawaiian music, and so close to home. I wonder if it's fair to say I'm homesick for Hawaii though I've never lived there, lol!

Honored Elder & Dance Teacher, Mokihana Melendez on the right

My head is spinning with all the interesting things we were told. Hula elder, Mokihana Melendez who hales from the Hawaiian island of Kauai. Her dance career began at the age of two. Her training in Hawaiian chanting began at the age of five. Now she is an honored elder, who teaches Hula. I wish she had a dance studio here in Sequim.

On to lively, non-traditional Hula

'I was today years old' when I found out that although the many Hawaiian islands share similar dances, songs, etc., each Hawaiian island has its own 'flavor' of culture and traditions. So today we heard one of the company give us an island chant, the meaning of which was explained to us. 

The young women performed one dance which the keiki - children - were taught refers to blushing cheeks. That is a double meaning because the alternate meaning of the song title,  refers to red cheeks, of the sort that can be sat upon!  The keiki may have been curious as to why their elders thought it was funny hear them perform the song, but the keiki would not ask why the laughter. That is because the  keiki were taught to do as they were told and not ask questions. Hum... sounds when I was a kid, I must have been a keiki too.

 

Just as last year, this year the show ended with anyone who wished to, could get up and have a Hula lesson. I LOVE dancing Hula. This was my 3rd ever chance to dance non-traditional Hula and I am chagrinned to say, unlike my previous lessons, this year I absolutely could not keep up with the dance! That rather surprised me, but oh well, there's always next year!

Pop-Up Family Reunion, San Diego

Downtown San Diego, California

This weekend the Carter Family held its umpteenth delightful Pop-up Reunion. This time we choose beautiful, sunny San Diego, California for our meet-up. By the end of the weekend we all agreed, if one uses number of participants as the measuring stick then this one was the best yet. Our Matriarch Arna with Dovin & Rosa, flew in from Phoenix.  Yvonne came from Michigan and her bro Eric flew in from Florida.  Our Colorado Cousin David, and California Cousins galore: the Carters, the Hughes and the Baldwins. 

The rental many of us stayed at was quite comfy

Cousin David generously did all the work to get many of the Pop-up participants a rental, a beautiful old Victorian house that was chock full of rooms for one and all. Yours truly netted a suite on the first floor that had its own bathroom - its good to be the Princess!

Enjoying a family meal together

Aunt Arna, our family Matriarch and Cousin Carol

Our first event of our weekend whirl was the Seal Tour. The Seal Tour started with the all 'us' Carters meeting up in Seaport Village, near downtown San Diego. 

The Family has arrived & awaiting our Seal Tour 

The Seal tour is a ride on a huge aquatic bus. Yes, I said it, 'aquatic bus', capable of running on dry land and o'ver the briney seas.

The 'Fam', posing at Seal Tour Bus, Seaport Village, San Diego

We boarded the Seal Tour Dryland/Aquatic Bus that whisked us away towards the San Diego Harbor.

Royalty at the Harbor - The Star of India

Before long the miracle happened and out land-tram turned into a sea faring passenger... sea-tram?:

Suddenly we were the Carter 'Salty Dogs'!

Our tour guide was a friendly young woman. The highlight of the bay portion of our tour was a dolphin in U.S. Navy pool, leaping high into the air ala Flipper, an event so rare and so unexpected that our tour guide was moved to joyful tears.

Flowing our fun trip on the Harbor, everyone was a bit hungry so we set off through Vacation Village in search of Sustenance. We settled on The Hyatt Regent's Sally's Fish house - an outdoor restaurant venue. For fun, some of us started out with uber cool 'refreshment'. 

My copper set, Ginger on the Bay

The Ultimate Bloody Mary

Cousin Carol rather stunned by the magnificence of her order

Full up and refreshed, we all returned to home, bed & breakfast or wherever else we were lodged at on this family adventure. But wait, that's not all! Late afternoon we all met up at a fabulous Juneteenth celebration, put on by the Cooper Family Freedom Festival. 

By late afternoon everyone was a bit festivaled out so I will leave us here with more to follow in Part II of our 20232 San Diego Pop-Up. 

Touched by an Omen

Bald Eagles overhead

As I posted once before, I'm getting into a new hobby - book binding. Thus far I've only binded blank books with intent to figure out something interesting to go into the books later on. Recently I came across 2 of my old field notebooks and illustrations from  the summer of July, 2000. That was when I took part in a fantastic Passports in Time (PIT) project, called 'Follow the Smoke.  I decided my notes from that delightful and fulfilling adventure deserved to be combined and bound into a small book.

Pages from my 'soon-to-be-properly-bound' Book

First page from my 'PIT' diary

I gathered up all of my notes from the project out of notebooks and organized them. Then by chance I found a good method for binding them, via YouTube, i.e., America's classroom. 

I decided I needed an introduction to what the book chronicled. After writing up my intro in pencil on one page, I went outside on my 2nd floor patio to spray the page with the stinky fixative (which prevents the pencil graphite from smearing). 

I paused, looking up, and saw a pair of magnificent Bald Eagles. As they passed over my head, I called out, asking them to take blessings to my Mother, and to all of my recently deceased Aunts, Uncles and cousin. I'm sure the eagles will grant me that favor. I thought the sudden presence of the eagles, was a good omen for my new binding project. Omens don't get any better than soaring Bald Eagles.

A little Baldie aerial ballet

[UPDATE:  The combined notes, illustrations and photos from Follow the Smoke is bound into a leather covered book. Sadly I have not mastered decorated, lettered covers so no cute front to my work. I guess that'll need another pair of Eagles overhead. 

 ]