Day 2
85 degrees F
2120
My sleep schedule is still a bit off... not that it's ever very healthy. I'm still on Chicago/Madison time, though. I'm up here at 0600 local, and it's still dark. HI is the most southern state, as far south as the Yucatan peninsula and Cancun, Mexico, so it gets darker later and brighter earlier. Getting up so early, I had ample time to watch the sunrise. This time it was from Charles' lanai... but we had an amazing view.
We had to stand on chairs to see it... but it was worth it. The dusky horizon, then a pinprick of light. It grew, a disk rising above the horizon. The distance and a bit of haze making it very easy to take in with a direct look. The sun rises faster then you might think... very soon it was up over the horizon, and the total glow overcoming the haze and soon you couldn't look right at it.
Very cool. With luck, I'll get down tomorrow morning to the beach, to see it there.
Charles and I dropped off the the Tornado Tia at preschool, and then headed to a place called Blue Hole. It's a view of the mountain that is characterized as the spiritual center of the islands, and also happens to be the wettest spot on earth, receiving more then 428 inches of rainfall a year. On the way in, you pass through an area where the gates leading into Jurassic Park used to stand; you can see two cement pillars where the gate was framed, still standing. Pretty cool.
We drove up to these gates, then hiked about a mile further up a very crappy road to a low stream with lots of exposed rocks. The stream was straight off the mountain,and clean enough to drink. That's something I've always loved about HI... most of streams you come across you can drink directly from.
After hiking down and 4-wheeling back, we went surfing at a place called Donkey Beach. It was the least-crowded and best place for riding waves we could find.... and it also happens to be the gay-est beach on the island. Just a bit of tan, speedo-ed man-ass draped about the beach for our viewing pleasure. We were not approached, but we were definitely eye-candy. Charles more then me, because he is tan and buff.... though maybe some of the local men have a taste for White Chunky Haole.
Because my skills are nowhere near Charles', and further because I had an equipment problem, my surfing time was over fairly quickly. But I did as the Romans were doing, so to speak, and made myself comfortable as I watched men surf. Strapping men.
The rest of the day was less titillating; we went wifi-hotspot hunting at a few of the local resorts ( with generally poor results; more tomorrow ), did a bit of recon at other ( less gay ) beaches, hit the outdoor mall for some food, and so on.
It is worth noting ( maybe only to me, though ) that 2 out of 3 places we ate at today screwed our order up. There's not anything approaching the level of attention to detail I'm used to, out here. Very laid back, for better sometimes, but also for worse. Especially at that damn drive-thru.
When coming to Kauai, always check your order before you leave the drive-thru.
We relaxed with the windows and doors open, the night breeze coming in as I typed this and Charles watched the season ender for Nip /Tuck. Tonight I'll try and get adjusted more. Most everyone here is wearing jeans and hoodies after the sun goes down, they're so cold. I still feel like my body is sort of reeling in some spirit matter that spooled out over the ocean during my long-ass flight.
The noises at night are different... always a bit of a breeze, some noise from the airport; but it doesn't bother me at all. There's a much different connotation with the noise, I guess. At home, I associate jet sounds with noise pollution. Here, it seems to be more about ... something positive. People arriving to experience joy.
Silly, maybe. But there it is.
More, soon.
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