Farmers' Market and Mangosteens

 We are reaching the end of this trip to Hawaii with the last group of visitors (Todd, Jess, Porter) just arriving. We have made multiple visits to farmers' markets throughout the island, but I thought I could offer something unique about this trip. 

The local farmers can't compete with COSTCO, but they have unique produce, and visitors appreciate the opportunity to buy local. You do have to watch out for resellers who offer pineapples and other products from COSTCO. 

The following fruit are Mangosteens. These are considered the "Queen of Fruit" and are very expensive (about $3). You eat them by popping off the cap and removing the small white sections found within that are arranged like the sections of an orange. The sections may or may not contain a pit. Like most unique fruits I have tried here, they must be an acquired taste. I like the apples bananas, tangerines, and oranges. The oranges often look ugly, but taste great if you can handle the high juice content, which makes them messy to eat. 

Back Roads

 We had quite an adventure getting Todd, Jess, and Porter home from the airport. We were driving back and found the road closed, so we had to take a detour. We found out today that there had been a fatality of a moped driver on the main road, and as a consequence, the road was closed for several hours. We guessed that an accident had occurred, as the detour seemed poorly planned and took us over a very narrow, partly gravel road unsuited to the volume of traffic it had to handle. A mile or so short of getting back to the highway, everything in both directions stopped. The road had become very rough, and a car had become stuck in a series of deep potholes. Hundreds of cars are in the middle of nowhere in the dark. Eventually, the car was extricated and one-way movement was initiated. This is not an easy process without direction, and everyone just sat for quite a time. We were only a couple of cars from the trouble spot and someone in the other lane finally stopped so that some cars from our lane could proceed.

There was a full moon so I tried to take some photos as we waited.

Wiamea Canyon

 The Waimea Canyon, sometimes called the Grand Canyon of the Pacific, offers several overlooks with spectacular views, a great small rest stop, a waterfall, and hiking trails for those who are so inclined. We visited a couple of weeks ago, and I remembered I intended to write a related post when I saw the photo of our license plate in my photo collection. You have to sign in ($10 per car and $5 per visitor) and get a little pass to place on your dashboard. The pass must include your license number, I suppose, so you cannot pass it on to someone else when you leave. You learn to take a photo of your rental car's license plate before you head to pay, so you don't have to walk back to your car when you are told you need the license plate number. 

Nakita, Preston, & Kaia

No Kings in Princeville

 We participated in today's No Kings protest. Lots of people. Lots of clever signs. "No Kings in Princeville" was mine, but I thought of it during the event and not in time to make a sign. It was an older crowd I suppose, because it draws not only from the small hamlet, but from those of us who spend some of the winter in the surrounding rental properties. 

Saenz Ohana Breakfast

 Saenz Ohana is a food truck with very unique breakfast food. Massive portions and unique deep-fried pancakes. Eggs Benedict with Kalua pork on the left. We brought the present group this morning. Preston and Nikita could handle the size, but the rest of us pooled our pancakes to the size of a portion and brought it home. 

Plumeria

 Plumeria are associated with with the leis given I welcome made by stringing many of these flowers together. I am certain I have written about plumeria before.

One of the characteristics of this flower I find interesting is that flowers appear before leaves. This has never made sense to me because I assumed the leaves were necessary for a plant to create the resources to produce the flowers. The bloom you see above is actually on the lower right-hand corner of the tree you see here. I walk by many plumeria trees to and from one of the coffee shops I visit. When the first blooms appear on low branches I speculate that they will not there the next day because women and those looking to impressive them pick these flowers to place behind their ear. Once the rate of blooms picks up this is not a problem. 

I recently, I observed what I saw several trees that looked like Plumeria with leaves, but no flowers. I speculated that there may be several species differing on this characteristic. A check with one of my AI tools suggests that this is the case. I know nothing about these plants so I am going with this possibility.

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Yes, there are different kinds of plumeria that exhibit different blooming behaviors. While most common varieties are deciduous and follow a specific seasonal cycle, the timing of their flowers relative to their leaves depends largely on the species and the specific cultivar.

Flowering Before Leaves (Deciduous Types)

Many common plumeria varieties, particularly those within the Plumeria rubraspecies, are known for flowering before they produce a full set of leaves.

• Dormancy Cycle: These plants drop their leaves in the winter to conserve water. As temperatures rise and days lengthen in the spring, the plant "wakes up."
• Early Blooms: It is very common for a plumeria to produce an inflorescence (flower stalk) at the tip of a bare branch before the leaf buds have fully opened. This results in a striking look where clusters of flowers appear on what looks like a "broomstick" or bare branch.
• Examples: Varieties like 'Calcutta Star' and many other P. rubra cultivars often show this behavior, blooming in late spring while the foliage is still just beginning to emerge Epic Gardening.

Leaves Before or With Flowers (Evergreen and Certain Deciduous Types)

Some plumeria types are more likely to have established foliage by the time they bloom, or they may not lose their leaves at all.

• Evergreen Species: Species such as Plumeria obtusa (often called the "Singapore" plumeria) and Plumeria pudica (Bridal Bouquet) are evergreen or semi-evergreen in warm climates. Because they retain their leaves year-round, they naturally have leaves present when they begin their blooming cycle Wisconsin Horticulture.
• Vegetative Growth First: Even among deciduous types, environmental factors like heavy spring rains or high-nitrogen fertilization can sometimes trigger "vegetative growth" (leaves) before the plant decides to put energy into an inflorescence.
• Species Differences: Plumeria pudica is famous for its spoon-shaped leaves that remain on the plant nearly all year, providing a lush green backdrop for its white flowers Wisconsin Horticulture.

Summary of Differences

• Plumeria rubra: Typically deciduous; often flowers on bare wood in early spring before leafing out.
• Plumeria obtusa: Evergreen; has shiny, blunt-tipped leaves present during flowering.
• Plumeria pudica: Evergreen; features unique spoon-shaped leaves that are almost always present when the plant blooms.

In general, if you see a plumeria blooming on a completely bare branch, it is likely a P. rubra variety that has just come out of dormancy. If the plant is lush and green while blooming, it is either an evergreen species or a deciduous one that has already progressed further into its growing season Florida Colors Plumeria.

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P.S. - a photo of a tree exhibiting leaves first

New Case New Stickers

 I first.became one of the sticker people - those folks who feel the need to put stickers on their water bottles and computers - during a previous visit to Kauai. I used to think that stickers defiled the purity of computational devices, but sending a message about yourself when people looked at the back of your laptop while you were engaged in a creative activity gradually overruled my original resistance. I have had people comment on my stickers - maybe because they were amazed that an old guy was just that cool.

Anyway, my original iPad case began to annoy me because it was thick and I sometimes had difficulty getting the buttons to response. So I purchased another case. Now, I am back in Kauai where it all began and I am trying to replicate the original collection of stickers.

So, I have replicated “Slow Yourself Down” (Wishing Well) and “Java Kai”. Smokey The Bear I can probably find later in the summer from a National Park, but the sticker from Alaska is a very long shot. I don’t know exactly where it was from and some of the stops from the ship would be impractical to duplicate. I think I will wait rather than have a Kauai only collection.

Allerton Garden

Allerton and McBride Gardens are adjacent to one another and now part of the National Botanical Garden Network. We have visited these gardens before, and although you see pretty much the same things each time you take the guided tour, your guide has their own interests, and what you learn can be quite different. You can search this site to see what I had to say in other years. This focuses on the unique insights I picked up this time.

The Allerton Gardens are best understood as interconnected outdoor rooms where the Allertons liked to entertain (their home was small). Many of these rooms contained water features and it was the sophistication of the design of these water features caught my attention.

For example, in the following two water features, you can see the effort to capture reflections of the structures that were also designed by the Allertons. In the second image, the progression of turbulence in the sequence of pools creates images in the tradition of different painters, from more to less realistic. 

In this garden, the water feature's design is intended to encourage relaxation. The sound of running water, meant to mimic the heart, was created to aid relaxation. I tried to capture this sound in the short video.

These areas were largely committed to the raising of sugar cane before the big agricultural companies moved on. The constant demand of this crop so depleted the soil that the open areas have yet to recover and now appear as what might seem might seem pasture land.

I just had to throw this one in. Wild pigs are a menace to agriculture and carefully landscaped areas in Kauai. They trap pigs much the same way as we have seen bears trapped in other areas we have visited.

Mandala

 I often write about the unusual foods and eateries we have encountered. We have spent several winters in Kauai, and it is a small island, so there has not been many opportunities to report on something new. Mandala is new to us. It is located in the strange community of Anahola, which, it seems, is made from metal shipping containers. We had thought Mandala was a coffee truck and intended to stop by someday. When we finally decided it was time, we found it was quite different from what we had anticipated.

Mandala was far from a coffee shop and I am not certain you could get a coffee there. Mandala Living Foods describes itself as a gourmet café, elixir bar, and kombucha brewery. I would say high-end hippie vegetarian.

The dish closest to the camera is pad thai, which is my "go to" when eating at places like this. However, the noodles are not grain-based and was something fashioned from a vegetable - sesame zucchini noodles. Drinks were a golden milk and a coffee fix (not coffee, but something described as healthy - Our coffee alternative blend of dandelion, chicory root, and burdock root that creates an earthy aroma that's delicious warm or over ice). 

Mowing

 I have long been fascinated by the sheer mass of vegetation here and by all the work and workers required to maintain control. Guinea Grass is an invasive plant that grows in such density that a person would find it difficult to walk through an area where it has taken over. You find this vegetation along most of the roads and the equipment deployed to keep it away from roadsides has always been something I wanted to capture in a photograph. I finally had the opportunity yesterday.

Equipment such as this mower cannot always do the job, and the common guard rails that are needed beside the roads are a significant challenge due to the terrain. We used to see laborers with weed whackers clearing the grass that grew close to these barriers. Last year and much more commonly this year, they seem to have resorted to herbicides of some type to deal with this problem. I am not certain if there were environmental or financial issues with this approach in the past, but what looks like RoundUp now seems to be common.

Protect the Turtles

Turtles are a predictable visitor to many of Kauai's beaches and sometimes they show up in large numbers. As I have mentioned in previous posts, Cindy has become very protective of the turtles and seals on the beaches and gets quite irritated when "tourists" ignore the signs in their excitement to get close to the animals for a picture. I heard a lifeguard once yell at tourists and suggested they should learn to use the telephoto lens on their phone and give the animals some space. I would hate to see major portions of some of these beaches closed. 

 The issue has gotten to the point it has prompted accounts in the local paper. I doubt the message will reach those who need to be more self-aware.

Rain Event

 It rains here often, sometimes heavily. The terrain of the island also has an impact with mountains and valleys. From time to time, the combination results in dangerous situations because of flooding and mudslides that can close roads and swamp vehicles left in the wrong places. Roads can become impassible, and it is possible you can get caught on the wrong side of a bridge and be caught for a few hours or overnight.

It rained most of yesterday and through the night. About five this morning, our phones and iPads began screaming, and we were awakened to receive a flood warning. We stay on a cliff over the ocean, safe from sunamies (a different problem) and floods, but it is nice they have this system. I suppose it would be similar to warning of a tornado in the Midwest.

Chinese New Year

 We have been in Kauai to experience the Chinese New Year celebration several times. There are many Asian people who live on the islands and many visitors who fall within that general category. The celebration differs depending on whether the celebration is in a larger or smaller community. All communities are small, but some smaller than others. We experienced the Lion Dance in Princeville earlier than the celebrations in larger communities. No fire crackers. Just one dance group probably moving on to a larger celebration but stopping for a bit in Princeville. For some reason, the limitations of the event reminded me of the 4th of July in a small midwestern town. For those of us not from this region, the experience typically includes the town's fire truck, a couple of big tractors, boys and girl scouts, the high school and junior band if one existed, and perhaps a couple of local politicians riding in a convertible.

The Lion Dance includes a percussion group and a couple of "lions" moving through the crowd, scaring the kids and collecting money from the adults. In previous experiences, red envelopes were first passed around and you put your donation in these envelopes. Here you simply stuffed money in the mouth of the lion.

Income Diversity

For a small island, Kauai has significant differences in residents' financial holdings. We have always known it was a very expensive place to live, with those in such occupations finding it difficult to meet basic housing requirements, but I decided to to investigate a little more. 

We often walk down to Hotel 1, which I know is very high-end. I did some online research and found that the cost for a room per night is over $1,000. 

We like walking there because it is close, and their coffee shop has a great ocean view. Coffee is $8 per cup, and for some strange reason, a cappuccino is only $7. 

You enter the Hotel 1 from the top as it stretches down the cliff to the beach below. I find it a strange experience hanging out there, wondering about the people sitting around me in the coffee shop. No, I will be paying with my card and not putting my $8 cup of coffee on my room.

At the opposite end of the continuum are all of the homeless people. I understand that being homeless in Kauai and Minneapolis would be a very different experience in February, but I do wonder how they cover the cost of their food. There is no panhandling or people standing at stop signs with signs asking for money. The following image is fairly common. I would guess you can't live on the beach, but you see lots of tents and car "camping" on the other side of roads across from beaches,

According to my AI query:

Kauaʻi’s homeless population increased to 523 individuals in the 2024 Point In Time (PIT) Count, a 7% rise from 2023, according to the Bridging the Gap report. The count, conducted on January 22, 2024, found 464 unsheltered individuals(89% of total) and 59 sheltered individuals (11%). Unsheltered homelessness among single individuals rose to 370, while unsheltered family households decreased slightly to 22.

Key trends include a growing number of individuals with serious mental illness and chronic substance use, with 123 and 105 people identified in these subpopulations, respectively. The increase is linked to the end of pandemic-era protections, rising housing costs, and limited affordable housing. Despite this, shelter capacity has improved, including upgrades to Kauaʻi’s primary emergency shelter in 2022.

Support services are provided by organizations such as the Mana`olana Emergency Shelter (19 beds), Transitional Shelter (8 units), and the Kauaʻi County Housing Agency, which coordinates a Continuum of Care (CoC) with nonprofit partners. Advocates emphasize that actual numbers may be higher than the official count, with estimates ranging from 800 to 2,000 homeless individuals.

Kauai Coffee

We always stop at Kauai Coffee to take a look at the massive plantation and buy some coffee.  Before we came this year we had been reading online that the plantation had been having difficulty renewing its lease and was in danger of being sold. The size of the coffee farm and the infrastructure costs for all those trees and the watering system made it seem unlikely you would invest that much money without owning the land. This was evidently not the case and I was anxious to actually be there and ask about the situation. It turned out to reveal nothing I did not already know, and the workers evidently knew little or were told not to discuss the situation. I did a little AI investigating and their reticence might have been due to concern for their jobs as it seemed a new owner might be taking over.

Kauai Coffee Lease

**Kauai Coffee Company** faces imminent closure as its land lease with **Brue Baukol Capital Partners (BBCP)** is set to expire on **March 28, 2026**. The lease, covering approximately 3,100–4,000 acres of coffee land in Kalaheo, has not been renewed, leading to the issuance of **WARN notices** to all 136 employees, with terminations scheduled to begin March 14 and conclude by March 28.

BBCP, a Colorado-based investment firm that acquired the land from Alexander & Baldwin in 2022, stated it intends to **retain all employees** and continue coffee operations under new management, but has not yet finalized a plan. Despite ongoing negotiations, the company has no path forward without a lease extension, and Kauai Coffee’s leadership remains hopeful but uncertain about a resolution.

The farm, the **largest coffee grower in the U.S.**, has been a cornerstone of Kauai’s agricultural heritage and tourism since the 1980s. Local officials, including Mayor Derek S.K. Kawakami and Kaua‘i County Council Chair Mel Rapozo, have expressed concern over the impact on employees and the community, emphasizing the need for stability and continued agricultural use of the land.

I did purchase some coffee. I like a peaberry when available and I knew they sold this type of bean. The cost was $37 for 10 ounces so I am saving it to drink with visitors yet to arrive.