We decided to go to one of the most natural and beautiful beaches on the island yesterday — Makaha.  Thom and I both love it there and were looking forward to sharing it with Jientje.  Thom and Ella were the first to the car.  This is what Jientje and I found when we got there:

I took the cigarette from Ella and gave her a lecture on the evils of smoking. She said that she wants to be just like Thom. Yikes!

Jientje started taking photos the moment the car began rolling.  About the time we made it to Makaha Road, an hour and a half later (the time was because of distance, traffic and stopping to take photos), the batteries in Jientje’s camera died.  She hadn’t brought any others.

Jientje suggested stopping at, Paradise Isle Makaha; a visitor’s center, surf shop, sporting goods store, souvenir store and trendy boutique all-in-one.  Jientje wanted batteries & slippers (flip-flops to those if you who don’t speak “island”).  She’d worn low heeled sandals and didn’t want to try to negotiate the beach in them.

I said I didn’t think the shop sold batteries.  Thom said a souvenir shop would have to sell batteries.  When Amoeba and I lived lived in Makaha I liked visiting that little (it’s really rather large yet manages to feel intimate) shop and the people who work there are wonderfully friendly, so in we all went.

Jientje went straight to the beach appropriate footwear:

She tried on high heels and dresses and blouses and bras and danced around the store like a ballerina. She even emerged from the changing room wearing nothing but her new bra and her slacks. She was looking for the sales girl to help her with the fitting. We were a bit surprised. Thom recovered first and took a picture.

Jientje was surprised that we were surprised. “What”? She said. “I needed help.”

While Jientje shopped, Thom and I had our hands full.

Ella, excited about going to the beach and working on her tan, got into the tanning lotion. I think she “tested” every kind. Thom really had an argument with her when she wanted to eat the coconut smelling stuff. I told her to go ahead and let her taste it. He said he wasn’t about to drive around with a sick elephant in his car. Since I was sharing the backseat with her, I saw the wisdom in that and we redirected Ella’s attention.

Thom bought her earrings:

Ella liked the “island girl” look and tried on the coconut bangle bracelets. She dug through bins of sea shells, checked out all the post cards, tried on clothing, then, about the time Thom and I were exhausted, she declared she was tired. Whew!

Unfortunately, she decided to relax at the cashier’s desk:

Fortunately, Shanna and Tasha were wonderfully charmed by Ella and enjoyed her adventures:

I call them hostesses rather than cashiers because Shanna and Tasha helped Jientje and Ella shop and made Thom and I feel right at home while we waited. In the meantime they waited on other customers, kept the store running smoothly and kept their cool — that’s an amazing thing when you have a Belgian “Bombshell” dancing through one half of the store in her underwear and an elephant climbing all the displays in the other half.

Finally, 2.5 hours later, Thom declared the impromptu shopping expedition over.  Ella and Jientje were having a great time, but Thom and I were tired of just standing around and waiting.  Jientje gathered up all the things she wished to purchase, 3 pairs of high heels, a couple of dresses, assorted under garments and at least one blouse, took them to the cash register and discovered that she’d left her money card at my house.

She told Thom he needed to take her back to get it.  It’s an hour’s drive one way and we only had 2 hours until barbecue time.  Thom loaned Jientje the necessary monies, we piled into the car, and drove past the beach on the way home.  Thom was disappointed about not getting to visit the beach.  Jientje said that since she had no batteries for her camera or appropriate beach shoes, she didn’t really care about missing it.

~*~

Thom’s post about this outing.