Quentin turned 15 on October 18. He is a sophomore in high school and becoming a mature young man. (How would I define mature? Maybe that he is willing to have conversations with adults, ha) He has grown tall enough to look me in the eye! He used to hate to have his hair cut but 6 months ago when great-grandma and I took him for a hair cut, he requested a new short style. He moved to Hana last month with his mom Vajra and her fiancé Tane (pronounced Taa-nay).

Last Sunday, Neil and I drove over to Hana to celebrate Quentin’s birthday with him. He requested a beach day at Hamoa Beach but first we stopped to see their new home. They are living up a steep, steep driveway that needs a 4-wheel drive vehicle to get up to the house. We parked at the bottom and walked up! They also have to walk it themselves every day while Vajra is repairing her truck. They are all getting good exercise, especially on grocery day. They are cleaning up the house and doing repairs as part of their work/rent exchange. Quentin has his own room downstairs with his x-box and his keyboard. Only problem right now is no connectivity: no cell phone reception, no land line, no internet. They are working to get a wireless service which will provide a phone and internet but right now we leave messages on a cell phone that they can pick up when they go in to Hana town.

We were fortunate to have a gorgeous sunny day after they had 3 prior days of rain. We moved down the beach to a grassy area past groups of visitors and locals enjoying the sun and the surf. Tane headed to the waves with his surf board while Quentin went out on his boogie board. I got a couple of telephoto shots of him on the water waiting for a wave. We put candles in the chocolate cupcakes I made him and we sang him happy birthday. Quentin shared his birthday cupcakes with nearby people on the beach rather than have the ant population swarm them! Very thoughtful of him.

Once everyone had enough sun, we dropped them back at their driveway for their walk up the hill. Neil and I drove back the winding road known as “the road to Hana.” From our convertible we enjoyed the green hills and valleys and ocean views and eventually the sunset colors in the clouds as we made the 2 hour drive back home.