Rain predicted for a week…It’s still paradise…More new photos…A year ago mascot as time to leaving South Africa neared…

Before the week-long predicted rain, it was clearer than we’d seen since our arrival, with considerably less “vog.”

It’s been sunny in Kauai almost every day since we arrived over six weeks ago. One of our new friends has said we brought the sunshine with us. Many locals have mentioned it rains a lot in the winter months as shown in this chart, but until these past two days, we haven’t had much rain.

Nawiliwili, Kauai, HI Weather
Temperature (Fahrenheit)
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
High 78 78 78 79 81 83 84 85 85 83 81 79
Low 65 65 66 68 70 72 73 74 73 72 70 67
Temperature (Celsius)
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
High 26 26 26 26 27 28 29 29 29 28 27 26
Low 18 18 19 20 21 22 23 23 23 22 21 19
Precipitation
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Inches 5 4 4 3 3 2 2 2 2 5 5 6
Centimeters 13 10 10 8 8 5 5 5 5 13 13 15
Precipitation Days
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Days 15 13 17 17 16 16 19 18 16 18 18 17
Humidity
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Percent 82 82 81 81 81 80 80 81 82 83 82 81

Many times it rains only at night or for a few minutes during the day. On Tuesday, while the sun was shining we headed out for our walk only to find it raining when the sun is shining, not unusual in Hawaii. With the fear of getting the camera soaked, we went back inside. It’s been raining since.

Yesterday, when I headed to the club, I got soaked from the car to the fitness center and again when I stopped at the Foodland market for a few items. I never see a local using an umbrella, only the tourists. In an effort to fit in during our extended stay and the fact that we don’t have an umbrella, I was soaked along with everyone else.

Blue waters.

It was funny to see all the soaked hair and clothes while grocery shopping including my own. Oh well, I was dry shortly after returning home and my hair was resolved by a quick swipe or two of the flat iron.

Today’s photos are from our last walk on Tuesday when the sun was shining.

With our extended stay of four months, with less than three remaining, we find ourselves feeling more and more like locals than ever before. At the grocery store, I found myself buying the quaint local newspaper, The Garden Island, later reading it from cover to cover, savoring every word as if it all mattered to me. Somehow it did.

The vibrant greenery with the sea as a backdrop creates an appealing scene.

This happens to us when we stay in a locale for three months, more so than a stay of six weeks to two months.  Perhaps, that feeling of inclusion is self imposed by some innate desire to “belong” as we’ve observed in the wildlife kingdom where familiarity is the foundation of feeling safe and secure. We, humans, are like that too.

Traveling down the cliffs to get to this cozy beach is too treacherous for us old-timers.

I suppose that’s why those of you who are armchairs readers of our posts, for whom we are very grateful, find yourself only dreaming of traveling the world unable to conceive of letting go of that which you know and love.  We get that.

Tom and I are the “weird” exception to the instinct of nesting. We often wonder if it’s due to a few facts; one, we both had kids as teenagers and faced responsibility so early in life, and two, my years’ long illness prevented us from traveling. 

The craggy rocks and vegetation are common along the shoreline in the Hawaiian Islands.

Neither of us had ever dreamed of traveling, let alone unencumbered with “stuff.” Four years ago, before we ever conceived of this idea, I couldn’t have imagined giving up my comfy chair in the family room, the various artwork on the walls, or my four colored sets of Fiestaware.

The colors are of the sea are breathtaking.

We were like most people who feel proud of the various items we’d discovered throughout the years incorporating them into our lives as treasured possessions. 

As the tide rolls out…

Besides all the obvious challenges of leaving all the people we love, we left the neighborhood where we’d spent 26 years for me, 21 years for Tom; the familiar walks in the neighborhood, the sounds of the loons calling to one another a distance from the shore, the giant owls hooting in the trees at night and what Tom affectionately called Big Bird, the blue herons that often stood on the end of our dock while we oohed and aahed each time they came to call.

Spring flowers begin to bloom as spring comes early in tropical climates.

Do we miss all of that?  Surprisingly, only for a moment when we’re reminded of something special. Instead, we’ve found new treasures, not a comfy chair or a hand-carved lamp made from downed trees in the yard.  We’ve found other treasure, none of which we can take with us.

Cattle egrets are common in the islands.

This morning, another rainy day that isn’t predicted to clear, I sit here in a less comfy chair with the sounds of roosters crowing in the yard. My little “birdie” friends will soon arrive chirping at me for yet another morsel of the raw walnuts I put outside on the veranda railing every day.

Soon, I’ll head back to the grocery store when last night I realized I’d forgotten an important ingredient for the dishes I’m making to bring to a luncheon at the home of friends tomorrow. And, once again, I’ll get soaked in the rain and once again, I won’t mind.

                                            Photo from one year ago today, February 27, 2014:

The caption I wrote last February 27th, on the day before leaving South Africa holds true today in regard to the small things: Thank you, Mr. Tree Frog for serving as the mascot for all the “small things” that brought us so much pleasure during our time in Marloth Park. Even you will be remembered.” For photos of other visitors that came to say goodbye on our final days in Marloth Park, please click here.

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