Na Pali Coast

 

We usually take one boat trip per stay to look for whales or see the Na Pali Coast from the water. The rough terrain comes down to the ocean, and this is where the road that circles the island does not exist. The cruises are expensive and can be very rough but quite spectacular. We saw whales, but the boat was moving rapidly and did not slow or pause for photos as this was more of a sightseeing trip.

One of Cindy's college friends, Margaret, has been staying with us this week and wanted to do the boat tour.

Some sites from the boat.

While it was a calm day, this photo of a nearby boat that was similar to our own kind of disappears as it enters a trough. 

Ocean sunsets often generate some spectacular photo opportunities.

Just Showing Up

 Yesterday had to be an extremely difficult day for many. A second protester was shot and killed by Border Patrol agents in Minneapolis. After the initial explanations by President Trump and other government officials, multiple videos from bystanders began to surface, proving their careless, self-protecting explanations wrong. The victim was shot multiple times in the back while pinned to the ground by multiple federal agents. Those protesting ICE and the aggressive tactics resulting in physical violence, home invasions, and false arrests of citizens of color while searching for undocumented immigrants have enraged the Twin Cities residents, and the cycle of protests and government aggression will only accelerate.

We left for Kauai just as the protests had begun, but our kids are still there, dealing with school and business closures and the general chaos. They participate in the protests to the extent they can and share our feelings about what is going on. As working citizens and with kids they are more directly impacted. You cannot escape this reality. 

We were driving through Kapaa yesterday and came across a sight that we found quite encouraging. A small group of maybe 8-9 people were holding their own protest opposing the government invasion in the Twin Cities. This small group of people were expressing their displeasure with the behavior of their government, thousands of miles away from where things were happening. They were standing in shorts and colored shirts in 70-degree heat, while those in Minneapolis were doing the same in gloves, parkas, and heavy boots. Cindy shouted that we were from Minneapolis as we drove past, and someone shouted "we love you" back. Mahalo for that.

Such is just showing up and doing what you can. 

Kauai Albatross

 I have written with photos of the Kauai Albatross previously, but have a greater understanding after attending a meeting of the local organization dedicated to the preservation of this extremely unique bird. This group of volunteers closely monitors the Albatross nests invests large amount of money in protecting these birds. The session was extremely informative, but the website mostly offers their book which is one of their sources of income. Here is the Wikipedia entry for this bird. 

The bird exhibits multiple characteristics of interest. They mate for life, but spend little time together. They remain in the air for weeks, expending very little energy (unlike, say, hummingbirds, who must eat continuously) because they kind of surf the thermals, rarely beating their wings. They swoop to the surface of the ocean to grab mostly shrimp and they can drink salt water and then expel salt through a duct on their beaks. They live for decades and lay one egg after a two-month gestation most years. They have an extreme geolocation capability that not only allows them to return to their island, but to the patch of ground where they hatch.  

There are two places the variant we see here inhabits. Kauai is the smaller location and Midway Island is the other and larger population. Midway is gradually being swamped by the rising ocean, leaving less and less habitat for the birds there, which, in a few decades, is likely to leave Kauai the only habitat. 

I could deal with the talk about the dangers to Albatross, which exhibit no fear of pretty much anything. In the protected wildlife preserves (there are three), the major nesting areas are surrounded by fencing dug into the ground. The birds we see are unprotected nesting around the golf course that surrounds where we stay. The feral cats are a constant challenge because they are everywhere.  The protectors try to trap them, but the animal shelters are no-kill and neutering the cats is the best they can do. The presenter demonstrated the naivete of the albatross, showing a video of a bird walking around a cat in a trap, trying to investigate what this strange animal was. The cats go after the chicks 

Ironically, as I am seated outside this coffee shop, a cat decides to pay me a visit. 

Vegetative Debris

 Kauai is called the Garden Island. It has some spectacular gardens which we have visited and I have photographed in the past, but the entire island is covered with heavy vegetation. I wonder what proportion of the population is employed as landscapers and gardeners. There is an emphasis on attractive outdoor environments associated with the resorts and expensive condo communities, but also the need just to clear "debris" pretty much everywhere and along any roadway. You even have to remove coconuts to prevent them falling and injuring those who pass underneath.

I could not help thinking about this reality as I walked together. We had a wind event last night, and the debris this morning was everywhere. Branches, leaves, seeds, and flowers had to be picked off the fairways of the golf course I passed, and eventually, I assume, from the roads and sidewalks.

National Hat Day

You get a bonus post today. I could not use the following content tomorrow because today is National Hat Day and not tomorrow. Just to make sure a day actually carried this association, I used the Internet (twice in one day now) and verified that there is such a thing as National Hat Day. 

I get declaring a day as National Hat Day. A guy's hats are important to him, and great care must be devoted to selecting his hat.

I brought two hats to Kauai, and each was chosen with great care. I have my workout hat that turns a funny color from sweat and can be washed multiple times and I have my "go to meeting hat" (shown above, but also below so you can see its splendor).