And then there was another storm.......with apologies to Anna

Dinner last night with Dani and her delightful family and friends was lovely. We got to enjoy some poke which is raw fish in a range of sauces. Very yummy and a great accompaniment to an evening of friendly sharing of experiences. We have felt so welcome and cared for staying here: an experience that no hotel could duplicate. Even the surrounding plants are pretty and aromatic.

Half way through the night the storm hit its peak with a quite loud and extremely close thunder storm. We were both woken by a particlarly loud crack and then the light came on as Dani had braved the weather to hustle us into her home for the night. Again her concern and care was heart warming. We felt much more than guests. Especially as she insisted we have her king sized comfy bed. 

The storm dissipated overnight and we slept off the rest of it before waking to a rainy day. 

We got going a bit late but headed out anyway to see what we could see on our last day. A bit of shopping for some sandals....closing the stable door methinks.....another attempt to go to the wildlife sanctuary, which was apparently closed for our safety.........you can see how dangerous it looks around the lighthouse........we were so grateful. Still managed to see a couple of interesting birds.

So we just drove around and dropped in where we thought it might be interesting. A picnic by the water...a visit to a couple of the interesting looking churches....a revisit to Hanalei where even more waterfalls were visible and the clouds made interesting patterns. A sort of no pressure wander really.

So really there is not a lot for the blog, so I might just finish the Kaua'i visit with some random impressions.

Tailgating has different connotation here: you drive the truck to the beach or a picturesque spot drop the tailgate and enjoy life. We see lots of families doing this of an evening at beaches. Last night a couple of middle aged blokes kept us amused by the Waimea River as they tried to complete coherent sentences after perhaps one too many. They were quite pleasant though and the spot was beautiful.

Speaking of pleasant, we have found the locals to be invariably friendly, helpful and interested. We also love that their driving is generally so relaxed and non-aggressive. After Melbourne drivers it is a joy to drive with such courteous drivers.

I think I may have mentioned elections before. Well as they get closer we have seen groups of people with election placards waving at people as they drive past. Apparently this is a local thing and a must. If you don't have people out there waving you cannot really be serious about wanting to be elected.

I have also mentioned the chickens. I now want to get a little more gender specific...the roosters here are crazy or do not know the thing about dawn. They crow at any time of day or night, they wander across the roads at will, they even try to steal your picnic. There are so many here that it is a truly unique feature of at least this island.

Finally safety. I always thought of the USA as a fairly litigious society, I am now thinking that this may be due to the opportunities. As an example, 

I have yet to see a motorcycle driver with a helmet. On bicycles I have seen two young girls with helmets and one older bloke with a work site hat, apart from that helmetless. When we went out on the open ocean in a zodiac there were no safety vests and the bloke who ran it suggested that when we stopped for a snorkle was not a good time to learn to swim. This is not a criticism, I always felt perfectly safe, just another one of those odd differences you see. Australia has truly become the nanny state on some of this stuff.

We are off to Hawaii, the island, tomorrow morning so we got an early dinner and checked out the sunset before settling in to pack (Marjan) and blog (Raf). Excuse the phone photo quality here.

See you on the big island!