Living in Kauaʻi

Talking about living on Kauaʻi with people there one thing I heard time and again was that the island would "either suck you in or spit you out." I believe it: as much as I love Kauaʻi I recognize clearly that it is not at all for everybody. One friend refers to the process as Kauaʻi "setting its hooks" and in my case several times I have seen it happening. While it is heartening as confirmation that moving there is going to work out, it is a little intimidating as it also makes clear that forces are operating that are clearly outside of one's control. Of course while I am not established there and it is still too early to tell, all indications so far are positive.

My advice to anyone considering living in Kauaʻi would be to think carefully about your motivation and expectations. I have seen it as a bumper sticker for another island - "Don't change Molokai, Let Molokai change you" - but it is the best expression of an attitude that applies equally well to Kauaʻi. That is, to thrive on Kauaʻi I believe requires a humility to come there with an open mind, willing to be flexible, accepting things as they are, and endeavoring to learn and contribute. With this mindset I don't think you can go wrong.

Another way of putting it would be do not come with expectations that things should be different, that your ways of doing things are superior and should be adopted, or try to remake your mainland environment on the island. People with this attitude are the ones that I believe get spit out, probably as much for their own good as for that of the island. There are a few enclaves on the island that feel much like mainland culture transplanted here for the nice weather with the look and feel of Southern California (I refer to Poipu and Princeville and the Kukui Grove mall). These places, to me, don't feel like Kauaʻi and I would advise against trying to live here if these are the only places you feel comfortable.

The material advantages of life on Kauaʻi are so obvious I won't list them; if you are thinking about it you already know them, they are relatively easy to experience just visiting. It takes time but finding friends and acquaintances on the island is perhaps the best the island has to offer.

While the Garden Isle may be as close to living in paradise as is possible these days, there are some definite downsides one should be fully aware of.

• tsunamis
• hurricanes
• floods
• chickens
• mosquitoes(*)
• rats
• roaches
• centipedes
• feral pigs
• local politics

Still undeterred? Everything is more expensive but most wages are not accordingly higher to match. It's a small community (well under 100,000 residents) so if you thrive on big city life you may be plagued by "rock fever" and need to escape regularly. Shopping is limited selection and pricey for what they have. Gasoline is nearly $1 more than mainland (national gas price heat map). Kauaʻi has the highest electricity rates in the U.S.

As they say with water safety, "if in doubt don't go out" the same would apply here: if you aren't absolutely sure about living in Kauaʻi you probably are not ready. It's not a question of how Kauaʻi might change to be more suitable, but how you might change perspective to fit in as it is. If so, next vacation the island will probably either nudge you one way or the other.

(*) For me, Kauaʻi mosquitoes aren't nearly as annoying here as my experience elsewhere: the bites are only noticeable for a short time and heal quickly with little itching. Of course everyone's reaction is different but many people tell me they don't mind the local mosquitoes much at all. When the trades die down or anywhere there is standing water of course they can come out in numbers (working in tropical gardens like the NTBG Allerton garden there are plenty of places they are a problem) but I haven't seen them swarm here yet. By the way, I recommend picking up an all-natural noni-based (see left) insect repellent as most effective.

Moving to Kauaʻi

We are moving to Kauaʻi in 2014 so I will write about that process here as the next stage of the "To Kauaʻi" journey. Follow all the articles to come as we navigate the process with the "relo" tag.

As I see it, there are two very distinct parts of the process:

1. deciding if you really want to move;
2. the mechanics of actually moving and setting up a new life;

of which I think the first is really the critical part, with the details being not that different from any move.

There are several books written about this, the classic being "So You Want to Live in Hawaii" which is actually quite dated, being published in 1999. I did not find this book very useful for a couple of reasons. First, it came out long enough ago that there are not many useful internet links (many outdated) and way more phone number and mailing address references that one would want today. Also the book is about half filled with stories of various folks relocating to the islands - for some it works out great, for others not so much. It's good that the book is realistic about the move being challenging and showing how it doesn't work out for a significant number of people, yet at the same time since nobody expects that they will be the ones not making it work it is unclear how these stories are more than just discouraging.

Another reason I have not made a point of reading more of these books is that much of the process is really not that different just because your destination is an island.

• finding a new job in Hawaii is essentially like finding any new job far from home
• transportation and moving are much the same even though an ocean leg is involved
• the move feels like a big step psychologically, but any long distance move whether it involves crossing an ocean or not is a big commitment and requires preparation and planning
• finding a new place to live is also much like it is anywhere

That being said, Kauaʻi is small and isolated so there are a limited number of moving companies and the market for real estate or rentals is quite limited. Similarly the job market is small, and for very specialized jobs (e.g. symphony orchestra conductor) quite possibly non-existent. In this end this means that a degree of luck is involved and you really can't go wrong planning too far ahead to give time to find the best fit available. Unless you like adventure and stress, I would not advise shipping your earthly possessions and then showing up at the airport expecting to figure it all out by the time your shipment arrives.

I plan to write about all this with the strongest personal bias possible: focus just on Kauaʻi, highlighting the path we are taking, with my clearest views on who should and shouldn't consider making the move. As always I welcome anyone interested to ask questions or comment.

Bill 2491 becomes law

Bill No. 2491, Draft 2 - A BILL FOR AN ORDINANCE TO AMEND THE KAUA’I COUNTY CODE 1987, AS AMENDED, BY ADDING A NEW ARTICLE 22 TO CHAPTER 22, RELATING TO PESTICIDES AND GENETICALLY MODIFIED ORGANISMS (Laid on Table 11/07/2013)

The Kauaʻi County Council today voted to override the mayor's veto of Bill 2491 - 5 to 2 - in another dramatic turn of events in the GMO struggle unfolding on the island.

Five votes were needed to override the veto, and up until yesterday the council stood at six members, but just yesterday Mason Chock was appointed to fill the vacancy and it turns out that he cast the deciding vote. After voting for the bill last month, Nadine Nakamura resigned from the council to become the mayor's managing director, removing one likely override vote from contention.

After having signaled that they would vote on the override one member short, the council on Thursday they voted to table the veto override vote; on Friday they appointed Mason Chock to the council; then on Saturday they overrode the veto.

Meanwhile, spurred by all the 2491 hubbub, earlier this week at the state level there was an announcement of a new "good neighbor" program (PDF) consisting of entirely voluntary notification, reporting, and the establishment of buffer zones.

The county has nine months to prepare to implement the new law and there are sure to be many twists and turns between now and then.

Links:

• Kauaʻi Bill No. 2491, Draft 2 (final version)
• Kauaʻi Council special meeting agenda

Na Aina Kai

This morning we visited the Na Aina Kai garden for the basic guided stroll.
 The 1.5 hour tour actually took a little over two hours (but the guide politely asked in advance if anyone had time constraints) and was a nice small group of eight. We saw an impressive variety of tropical plants plus other garden features, numerous bronze statues, water features, rock work, a maze, and so forth. The bronzes are all life-sized vignettes usually of nostalgic scenes featuring people rendered in a quite life-like style. The plants are almost all introduced with only a few native species. In addition to the gardens we saw a large planting of hardwood trees, including teak and mahogany.

The garden is now operated by a non-profit but was originally the estate of a wealthy couple who spent their retirement doing increasingly ambitious projects there. The wife who designed most features of the garden survives and sometimes gives tours (Tuesday mornings I believe).

The guide mentioned many other things to see that we would need to take other tours for. They offer a number of tours featuring different parts of the very extensive grounds, light walking to hiking or ride in a cart.

Directions: from Lihue/Kapaa, after mile post 21 take the first right on Wailapa and follow the road to the end, turning right into the parking lot. Call ahead to reserve a tour to ensure there is space or show up and take your chances. Tours start in the visitor center where there is a gift shop as well.

Changing clocks

Daylight savings time as a topic is only relevant to Kauaʻi in that we don't have it here: one more nice appeal of living here. So if you are in the islands, the upcoming end of daylight savings just means having to adjust the time zone difference to your friends on the mainland.

I never really understood the point and it clearly seemed more trouble and confusing than any possible benefit. Having lived in the Seattle area - far northern US - where sunrise/sunset varies considerably with the seasons, no matter what you do in winter days are very short and in summer almost ridiculously long. Why playing games with the clock is supposed to help I have no idea. If schools, for instance, wanted to shift their hours with the seasons, they could just announce the new schedule and I think people could handle it.

Aside: As a software professional I am quite aware that simply changing computer time for daylight savings continues to frustrate programmers and we still have yet to reliably get it right. Just as one of many examples, Apple's latest iOS 7 recently had a daylight savings time adjustment bug.

But my real motivation for writing about this non-event topic here is that I just read of a brilliant fix to the status quo.

Here's how it would work:

1. Mountain time and Central time places would stop changing their clocks ever again;
2. At the end of daylight savings time, Eastern time places would "fall back" once only;
3. At the start of the next daylight savings time, Pacific time places would "spring forward" once only;

Today in the various time zones from west to east we have times:

1. 1pm Pacific, 2pm Mountain, 3pm Central, 4pm Eastern.
2. 1pm Pacific, 2pm Mountain, 3pm Central, 3pm Eastern.
3. 2pm Pacific, 2pm Mountain, 3pm Central, 3pm Eastern.

And thatʻs it: the US mainland operates with just two time zones that are one hour apart.

Tahiti Nui

Three and a half years ago* on my first visit to this island I happened to walk into the Tahiti Nui on a Friday night. I had heard of it as an institution on the north shore as a Kauaʻi-style night spot. To my very pleasant surprise, that night Keli'i Kāneali'i played two great sets. I knew his music from the days when he was the Hawaiian half of the group Hapa (very big in the islands), now solo Keliʻi lives here and often plays local gigs. You can find his performance schedule here.

I have mentioned the Nui previously as recommended Local Grinds but it deserves more than just a mention. The staff are great - they are quite a diverse group and rotate frequently but always friendly. The Nui is a bar, renowned for their Mai Tai (which I have never had), but the food is quite good, too. The Caesar salad is excellent and generous proportioned so almost always this is my meal, with a beer (they have several Hawaiian brands on tap).

Also highly recommended (but I have not had yet) is their Wednesday night Luau. One of the staff described the full course menu to me and it was impressive, including an imu-roasted pig.

On the north shore for good food, good music, good times, check out the Tahiti Nui, it's on the right as you just before you get to the heart of Hanalei.

* April 2, 2010 to be exact
** imu is a traditional fire pit oven

Kauaʻi Bill 2491 vetoed

After taking the maximum time allowed the mayor vetoed Kauaʻi Bill 2491 (PDF link) yesterday in a move that surprised many, releasing a 76 page report detailing the decision (PDF link) containing the mayorʻs statement for release, the transmittal from the council to the mayor upon passage of the bill, and the until now secret legal opinion on the bill from the county attorneyʻs office.

“I have always said I agree with the intent of this bill to provide for pesticide use disclosure, create meaningful buffer zones and conduct a study on the health and environmental issues relating to pesticide use on Kaua‘i,” stated the Mayor. “However, I believe strongly that this bill is legally flawed. That being the case, I had no choice but to veto.”

I am hardly qualified to assess the legal opinion but regardless of those details what I would very much like to understand is how the process broke down here. Specifically, since the bill was introduced four months ago (June 26) and from the beginning was clearly a major public issue for the county, why didn't the county attorney, the mayor, and the council work together to draft something that met the technical legal requirements of the intended goals which the mayor says he supports?

The council worked with attorneys as well as the mayor throughout the process so the possibilities seem to be:

1. The council was never advised how they might fix the supposed legal flaws.
2. The council was advised but refused to accept suggested changes for legal purposes.
3. It is impossible to achieve the goals of Bill 2491 at the county level.

The county attorney opinion consists of four sections - an Introduction, Legal Issues, Specific Challenges, and a short Conclusion. Why is there no Suggested Amendments section? Just as one example, there is an issue related to the bill assigning enforcement responsibility to the Office of Economic Development: surely the opinion could have recommended to the council a more suitable department to handle implementation.

The legal opinion released is stamped as confidential: what are the consequences of publicizing the opinion?

1. Does this effectively subvert the council overriding the veto because now the county is in a much compromised position should it enact the bill, having disclosed all the potential flaws and anticipated legal attacks it fears?
2. Did the mayor unilaterally leak the confidential document to support his veto, or consult with if not get approval of the county attorney and/or county council (who had already decided against disclosure)?

The mayor concludes: “I would like to state that, despite this veto, I absolutely believe that the spirit of 2491 will be implemented on Kauai in accordance with applicable federal, state and county laws and regulations,” he wrote to the council. “It would be my preference to achieve the goal through cooperation and understanding, instead of through adversarial legal action.” Isn't a veto adversarial?

See Kauaʻi Eclectic blog coverage of the veto and the response for more details.

Given the mayor's statement of agreement with intent I have to conclude that either county government is either incompetent to write legislation, so encumbered by state and federal law as to be completely disempowered, or both. Kauaʻi seems to have a record for bungling popularly supported initiatives and getting into legal hot water, possibly causing more damage than good. Another example would be management of vacation rentals (Transient Vacation Rental) as documented in the Abuse Chronicles also at Kauaʻi Eclectic which I believe has been through three iterations becoming increasingly dysfunctional.

I believe we have some good people on the council so is the problem that the system itself is broken, too many layers, too risk averse, with too much complexity?

One Essential

Kauaʻi has been a continuing lesson that things do not always go as planned and that it's okay.

The Ten Essentials

Any hiker heading out into the wilderness should be familiar with and carry along the Ten Essentials. Years ago I read through a list of ten things to be vaguely recalled while stocking up for a hike but after yesterday's hike I refreshed my familiarity with these. I found out that there are numerous variations on the theme and that while they for the most part agree on the most basic essentials, they vary somewhat as well. Based on three prominent examples here is a compendium in no particular ordering:

1. Navigation (map, compass, GPS)
2. Sun protection
3. Insulation
4. Illumination
5. First Aid
6. Fire starter
7. Repair kit and tools
8. Hydration
9. Nutrition
10. Emergency shelter
11. Knife
12. Footwear ("appropriate" they say but I find it hard to predict what terrain will be like)
13. Whistle
14. Backpack
15. Rain gear
16. Sunglasses
17. Toilet paper
18. Duct tape
19. Bug repellent
20. Trash bag
21. Emergency info (contact info, medical details, insurance details)

The one essential

So yesterday I was up before dawn gathering a good dozen "essentials" for an early start hiking. To get on the road quickly I packed breakfast to go, loaded up the car and headed off. I had not yet decided exactly on the hike so threw in more than enough stuff, three types of footwear, the works: I would figure it out at the trailhead and pack there seeing actual conditions, after breakfast at the beach.

I decided on hiking up the Kalalau trail at least to Hanakapiʻai beach (just two miles). Arriving at Keʻe beach, where the trailhead is, good and early (around 7am) and the breakfast on the beach part was great. Nobody was out there, waves rolling in, sky looked fairly clear promising a fine day. Back to the car and immediately I noticed something missing: my backpack (Essential #14 above). I had plenty of gear but it was in a Longʻs shopping bag which I was not carrying on the trail for obvious reasons. All the way out there with all that stuff but ... I considered and rejected asking other hikers arriving in the parking lot, "Hi, do you have an extra backpack I could borrow?" Not cool, and unlikely to work.

With just two hands I considered the essentials from a minimalist perspective. Sun protection (#2) I could apply now before leaving, no problem there. Navigation (#1) I had in my phone. One essential (#8) I knew was really truly essential: water; I would carry my two liter (Platypus brand) bag of water. I see people walking this trail without water and consider that fairly reckless: unless you are just going a short way and turning around - and you see them as far as the beach empty handed and no pack - no matter how young and fit it isnʻt hard to get dehydrated out there. Drinking from the streams along the trail is risky without disinfecting (Hawaii department of health). Water is truly the one essential.

Reluctantly, I left my camera in the car - not an essential of course but a major purpose of my hikes usually. With water in one hand operating the camera would be rather awkward. Since it's a very well-traveled trail I was not worried about emergency supplies as I would definitely not be alone out there.

Hanakapiʻai Falls hike

Heading up the trail at first felt odd with nothing on my back, but it worked fine, the two kilos of weight wasn't a problem to carry, and of course it got lighter as I went. It was a warm day even before the sun was high enough to reach over the steep mountains the Kalalau trail winds through.

Hiking light and sans camera was surprisingly a different experience. For even the most dedicated nature photographer I recommend it every once in a while to put things in perspective. At first the old habit was strong: seeing something unusual, a gorgeous view, or perfect flower, the impulse to shoot it is strong. But this time instead I stopped to look at it carefully, knowing I would not have a photo to prod my memory later I tried to really absorb it and experience it right there. With photos, for me at least, there is a terrible habit to think that once the photo is properly shot I can move on and appreciate it later on a screen. This exercise showed me how wrong that thinking was.

For two miles the trail winds along the coast climbing from the just-above-sea-level parking lot high about the water, and also following back into a few small valleys where streams cut through the mountain, and then back out again over the ocean. At about the half mile point is the first long view down the Na Pali coast, well worth stopping for a good look. The second mile of this trail is crawling with ants weaving around like a very thin moving carpet at times; if you keep moving you can ignore the ants but if you stop to gawk at the view make sure they arenʻt crawling onto your shoes and legs.

After two miles you descend to the Hanakapiʻai stream with a nice beach just on the other side. This time the crossing was an easier boulder hop than I expected. (As always use caution around waterways here. Never attempt to cross a fast moving stream when the water level is above your knees. People have been trapped overnight out here, unable to cross back, and some who tried to cross anyway have been swept away and perished.)

It wasn't even mid-morning yet as I crossed and headed mauka along the trail on the far side of the stream. Within a short distance after passing an outhouse, the Kalalau trail splits off to the right heading further along the shoreline, with my trail to the falls continuing straight upriver.

There is some serious mud along the first half mile: sticky, gooey, unavoidable, but not very deep. More of a problem of slipping and sliding than sinking in but it makes footing treacherous and is messy. Recently I complained about the mud on the Pihea trail but this is worse. Take it slow, accept that you will have to wash your shoes up, and it isnʻt that bad. Incidentally, I ran into a couple that I met on that trail last week. They did a week on Maui, a week here, and next plan a week camping on the Big Island.

By the time you get to a second bamboo grove the worst of the mud is behind you, though of course you will return through it all again. Less than a mile upstream you have your first crossing to an island in the stream and then over to the side you started out this hike from. The trail can get a little vague in places, look for pink plastic tape showing you key waypoints. You will have a few options for where to cross the river: look for where the trail picks up on the far side as hint. This time I found reasonable boulder hop crossings all the way, never set foot in the water, but it took a little studying at a few points. As always, use good judgment: sometimes it's safest to just walk through the shallow water and get wet.

The trail is very pretty here (much less mud this side) and only a few tricky spots you will want to slow down and take it easy. Did I mention there were yellow guava dropped all over the trail (mostly overripe) most of the first half or more of the trail upstream? Somewhere past one mile upstream watch for your first view of the falls - the drop is high enough that in some ways you get your best view from well away as you can take it all in.

The last two stream crossings - over to the far side and back again - are fairly close to the falls and easier than the downstream crossings. At the first of these there is a good sized waterhole for swimming that looks deeper than the large pool at the base of the falls. A few minutes walk brings you at last to the falls. You are in a U-shaped end of the valley the stream runs through with high cliffs curving around, all covered in green. At the top center a river runs out over the edge, falls a ways onto jagged rocks, and then tumbles down, spreading out, over the rocky cliff face to the large pool below. Said to be 300 feet high, the falls from that close up are more than you can take in from top to bottom in one view. Spectacular, but sorry this time no photos.

After sitting there and taking it all in for a while, I headed back over the same trail. I must have been first one out that day (along with the couple mentioned) but returning ran into perhaps fifty or more people hiking out toward the falls. After spending a little time at the beach I headed back, water nearly gone by the time I made it back to the parking lot. (I donʻt recommend hiking without a backpack but for me, that day, it worked out fine. A few times on the trail I had to duck under a tree or something and thought it was nice not to have a pack to get in the way.)

Photography while hiking is a great activity - I do not mean to say otherwise - but it should never get in the way of the actual experience of the place. None less of an expert than Louis CK recently observed how taking photos can become ritualized to the point of getting in the way of real experience. (Also allow me to insert here a recommendation for an excellent Bill Moyers interview on how digital can easily get to be too much.)

"Every single person was blocking their vision of their actual child with their phone, and the kids ... there's people holding iPads in front of their faces. "

For details on how to get to this great 8 mile strenuous hike, see my previous article. Safety first: if there has been a lot of recent rain or significant rainfall is predicted, hike somewhere else.