365, Day 16; Finding St. Raphael

Morning with a cup of coffee on the lanai, where meditation and gratitude for the day are easily offered up  with the beauty of nature embracing me.

I watch the mist and fog that cover the mountains that surround Nawiliwili Bay, just beginning to pull back to let the sun have a go at it.

We’ve rented a car again for the day; we’re heading south to Old Koloa Town to check out all the little shops of this once sugar plantation town, and then Poipu for lunch.

We have lunch at Brennecke’s Beach Broiler on Poipu, a great upstairs eatery with open windows all around for cool breezes and a great view of the beach park across the street. It’s fun looking across at the few people there in the park, and the abundance of roosters and chickens pecking about.

At lunch we’ve decided to find the Grand Hyatt since it’s in the general area, and we’ve heard it’s pretty nice.

We jump into the car after lunch and a short walk about the park, and activate the GPS on my phone. It’s a beautiful afternoon. We’re driving through some gorgeous neighborhoods and miss the street we should turn on to continue on to the Hyatt.  We decide that the GPS will re-route us as it usually does, but then we realize that the GPS seems to be repeating the same directions leading us in somewhat of a circle. We’re out on a country road, and all of a sudden we’re following a truck…

The truck turns off, and before we know it we’re at the end of a dead-end road entering church grounds

 

I am so happy with the beauty we’ve found; and then I freeze, and remember. It is Thursday, December 1st. My best friend’s mother passed away last week, the rosary is today back in Texas  right about this time. I had told my friend that I would find a church today to say a little prayer for her mother, as a way of being with my friend in spirit.

I’m not sure, but I think GPS is in cahoots with my friend’s mother; she wanted to be sure I kept my promise. There is no way we would have found this church otherwise.

As we drove out we saw the sign we hadn’t seen on the way in

This post is dedicated to, and in memory of,  “Mimi”.

Photos by Angeline M