Kauai 2020 #1

We have fled the cold North and settled in Kauai. I will have to practice my Hawaiian spelling again - a limited number of letters used in strange and what most English teachers would say were illegal combinations. I guess that is because the words are not English. It is also Kaua'i, but diacritical marks are a bit much to expect from me.

We have returned to Kauai after spending our break in Hawaii (Big Island) last year. They wanted $70 more a night. While the stock market has been good, this is just gouging and Cindy would have none of it. For pure nature, you can't beat Kauai.

We arrived last night after a 9 hour flight to Honolulu from MN and then a short hop to Lahui. Nine hours may seem like a very long time to sit an airplane and I suppose it is. However, after the 25 hours we spent in a plane (not counting time between flights) getting home from South Africa it was fine. Cindy says it is all about mindset. I didn't even have not recharge any of my reading devices or watch a move. With the price of theater tickets and say 3 or so free movies on a plane, it almost seems like a bargain. Cindy is a movie buff and on a plane everyone their own screen so it does block access to ESPN like at home.

Here are a couple of pictures. I actually planned to take something like the first picture last year, but the airport in Hawaii disappointed me. One thing I remembered from previous visits to Kauai were the scary video presentations you saw while you were waiting for your bags. Instead of ads for jeep rides and helicopter rides and fancy golf outings, they played public service announcements about the dangers of swimming. Rip tides are a serious danger under appreciated by many tourists. I am so fearful, I have yet to enter the ocean. Every trip so far we have had someone perish by getting swept away while swimming or snorkeling. When you hear the helicopters patrolling the beaches, you can guess something bad has happened.

When in doubt, don't go out. Me? I am always in doubt.

We stopped for a few groceries when driving to the condo from the airport. We go to Costco for serious shopping, but some bread, peanut butter, and eggs were necessary to get us started. As I walked into the store, I saw this sign that took me back to my last visit here. Reminding of me of my battle with shingles when I was just getting in a good mood was not necessary. They have some weird ways of thinking about locating signs here. I suppose there was a small dispensary in the store, but the one big sign in front of the store warned of the need for a shingles shot. You actually need two spaced apart and I am ready this year. I suppose there are a lot of over 50s here so maybe the logic makes more some sense than what you might encounter in your stateside grocery.