We were visiting the Kauai Coffee plantation yesterday and this older gentleman pulled up in a convertible with his wife (I assume). He saw me notice his car and evidently felt the need to explain that it was an upgrade from the model they had reserved because the intended rental was not available. It was his need to offer this explanation to me, a total stranger, I thought was interesting. As an older winter tourist, he may have made a similar conclusion to what I have made about these old guys who rent sports cars (Mustang convertibles, etc) when vacationing in Hawaii.
I understand that the lack of a car top has an advantage in warm and sunny climates. You do drive with more sunlight on your head and the breeze in your hair and folks do find this appealing. Or, some old guys (the guys do seem to be the drivers) driving the kind of car they couldn’t afford or weren’t allowed to own when young, may just make them feel young again when behind the wheel of this kind of vehicle. I tend to judge such behavior as pathetic, but this may just be sour grapes. I no longer have hair to blow in the breeze and I must wear some type of head covering to prevent a sun burn that seems impossible to avoid when my head is exposed to the sun. Cindy also does all of the driving because she can instantly understand the roads, connecting roads, and strange town names that allow us to get around.
On the other hand, the top highway speed on the Island is 50 and many of the roads require limiting your speed to 35-40. There just seems little reason to own or rent a fast car, so I will continue with my attitude problem.
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