March 30, 2012

Left “Haoliwood” (the Princeville area) and went south and west today for errands and last day treats. The recycle center takes the same items as in Anchorage. We checked in with Mahjong John about returning the bike rack, and then had a picnic at Salt Pond Beach. Locals were eating lunch there, five tent camps were set up, and the ever-present feral chickens were waiting for handouts. A group of older men sat in the shade “talking story.”
My cousin agreed to store our bikes until next year, so we unloaded those at the helicopter hanger. Next we had shave ice at Jo Jo’s in Waimea – coconut flavor shave ice, over macadamia nut ice cream with coconut shreds and coconut cream. Mmmm. We checked out a bed and breakfast at Kakaha, and then drove around that town. People hang their laundry in the carports, or set these areas up as a patio for food and conversation.
Tonight was Hanapepe’s art walk. An old house is a taro chip factory. Buildings are renovated and selling old maps, books, ceramics, and polished koa wood furniture. Tents in front of the shops sell everything from lime pie slices to papayas, jewelry, roasted chilckens (not those tough old beggars/buggers), and rough-cut native woods.
Finally we drove all the way back, past Princeville at sunset, to Hanalei and the Nui Tahiti bar for mai-tais and an ono roll. The ukulele music and falsetto singing of the three-man band pulls at my heart and calls us to come again. Kauai! Aloha!

March 29, 2012

When Edison was here, he saw the “Legend of the Green Flash” four times on one sunset while we all watched. We have not yet seen it, but last night there was a stag on the setting sun. We both saw this perfect Petronus stag cloud just poised on the orange sun.
During the sugar production days, long ditches for irrigation were dug from the mountains down to the sugar cane fields. We went high into the mountains with my cousins and saw a section of the Olokele Ditch that my grandmother once rode down part way in a little rowboat. Today we floated the Hanamaulu Ditch in big inner tubes. We passed through five tunnels dug through hills, turning on our miners’ headlamps in the dark. It was loads of fun, careening off the walls, rushing down ripples, lazily floating past forests. Inside the tunnels, glowing algae grew on the roof. For the last tunnel, we all turned off our lights. Soon we saw the light at the end.
These ditches were all aimed at bringing water down from the super-saturated Mt. Wai’ale’ale, one of the rainiest spots in the world. Today was a rare day, because we could see the mountain. Usually it is shrouded in clouds.
Pictured is Mt. Wai’ale’ale and a part of the Olokele Ditch.

Cousins time

The cousins took us to sights around Waimea that my grandmother saw 100 years ago. We went to the sugar mill that is no longer operating. In fact, there is only one sugar mill left in all of Hawai’i, and that is on Maui, so derelict buildings can be seen standing across the countryside in south and west Kauai. One spot where the transit of Venus was measured is in Waimea, and that is near the oldest building which is now the church manse. We actually attended the church where my grandmother worshipped and served as substitute organist. We were warmly welcomed with yarn leis, and there I found a lady who knew about my grandmother from stories. We visited the landing area where she went to go to Ni’ihau, and saw some of the plantation houses.

Bill and Vicki celebrated their anniversary with us by going to the Waimea Church of Christ, visiting the Allerton Gardens at the National Tropical Botanical Gardens, and a fine dinner out. Wealthy Mr. Allerton wished for others to share and enjoy the peace of his beautiful gardens and “water rooms” after his death.

Ni'ihau with the cousins

We flew to the fairytale island of Ni’ihau. Next to rainy Kauai, Ni’ihau is dry with no plentiful water source. The undisturbed beaches have endangered monk seals, shells, stretches of sand and turquoise waters. We traveled by helicopter around the island to see some of the places my grandmother stayed. We went eel hunting and watched curling waves and seals at play, ate a picnic lunch, and climbed a hill up dry lava and scrub brush to see the island view. There was a swarm of sharks we flew over, and bowhead whales in the distance, traveling back to Alaska. When you see a pristine island of such beauty, think of the North Slope of Alaska and the people fighting to save it unspoiled.

More Cousins and Research

We traveled up a mountain road on the north shore to a large, wild acreage with my cousins. Endangered native plants are being tended here. Between folded mountains, waterfalls plunge. My cousin Keith was adding gravel to the road that had been washed out somewhat by the heavy rains earlier this month. Most of the work he has done with culverts and water-stop swales held up. I was privileged to sit in the front of the pickup, but Les and cousin Bills were bounced around with gravel and shovels in the back. Pictured is one of the waterfalls here on the Na Pali Coastal mountains.

Cousins and Research

At the Kauai Museum for the third time, I was allowed to see old photos from my grandmother’s era. I will go back there again to continue this search.

Lucy, a high school classmate, fell in love with Kauai the moment she arrived after college. Full of energy and fun, she has established a beautiful family and a respected vacation accommodations business here. We enjoyed a sunset dinner with Lucy, remembering times together and sharing our life journeys. Later we were allowed to visit another plantation home that she is handling for rental. This is a huge home with multiple large rooms and the requisite big lanai.

A Week of Cousins and Research

Looking into the places my grandmother visited 100 years ago, we’ve been accompanied and helped by two of my second cousins. To get a glimpse of the kind of houses she occupied we visited Grove Farm, a renovated plantation home. The extensive library includes some of Captain Cook’s journals! Books are found in every other room, too. It’s apparent that the Wilcox family valued learning. The porches (as pictured) are wide and inviting for sitting, the kitchen is separated from the house by a breezeway, and the rooms all open out on two sides to allow the winds to pass through.