Kama'aina

Kauai is one of those places where everything is expensive and you cannot see many things being produced. Maybe coffee, but with that exception everything seems to revolve around the beautiful setting and the tourists who visit to enjoy. Just how expensive is it? I think in terms of the cost of a cup of coffee. Maybe this is just me. The basic 12 ounce cup of coffee is $3. Adjust everything else accordingly and you have the basic idea. You get to the point making purchases is like using play money - just tap your credit card and don't think about it.

There seem similarities between Kauai and our lake place in northern Wisconsin. Here it is coffee and there it is lumber, but you wonder how everyone else gets by. Folks in general don't seem panicked and most just enjoy their environment. I am certain life is tough for some.

Hawaii has something they call Kamaʻāina. The word means "people of the land", but for practical purposes it translates as anyone with a Hawaiian drivers license. Kama'aina means an establishment offers a price break on goods and services for locals. I remember my first encounter with Kama'aina. It was on the Big Island and it happened in the Green Flash coffee shop. I visited so often that the Barista recognized me and one day announced I would receive Kama'aina. This has not happened here, but there too many people and with COVID you don't sit in the same shops day after day. 

The age of the tourists has changed visibly in the past week. More younger people and families. Spring break has arrived. Our own family members will be coming soon.