Skipping Over to Kaua’i

We met on Kaua’i in February of 1973, and it’s always a pleasure to get back to the little island in the Pacific. We’ve changed, the island has changed, and the world has changed, but the waves continue to roll in and the sun continues to rise and set. We spent six days on Kaua’i, visiting with friends and breathing the air, and it was wonderful for us to be able to take some deep breaths before flying to New Zealand. We stayed mostly with our friends Jan and Danny in Lihue. One afternoon, some friends came over for a get-together, and we had a great few hours of talking, eating, and music. Monica, Jan, Louise, and Bonnie all lived together in Valley House in 1974 and ’75, mostly in tree houses and hand-made shelters, and it is like homecoming week when they (and we) have a chance to be together again.

Before the party, we went for a sun and surf filled hike along the Kealia Beach Trail, then we stopped into Pono Market to get some grinds for the afternoon.

Another one of our favorite places was Tiki Tacos.

While we were there, the sailboat The Golden Rule sailed in and moored for a while. The Golden Rule was launched in 1958 as a protest against and an attempt to stop nuclear weapons testing. The US government was conducting nuclear tests and bombing in the Marshall Islands. The Golden Rule set sail for ground zero to put itself in the way of the bombing and call attention to what was happening. Although the captain was arrested and the boat impounded in Honolulu, it became an international incident, and it led to the signing of the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty. It also was the inspiration for Greenpeace. Now the sailboat continues with its mission, sailing through the Pacific and spreading its message. On its sail is a giant peace sign. The peace sign was invented and first used by the original ship in 1958. It is a combination of letters from the semaphore system of communication. The letters are “N” and “D.” They stand for Nuclear Disarmament.

Kaua’i is The Garden Isle, and is full of papayas, bananas, coconuts, mango trees, and guava trees. My new favorite flower, though, is the hibiscus. It grows everywhere on the island, and it is in bloom every single day of the year. Red, yellow, orange, white, purple, pink. The thing about the hibiscus is that the flower blooms, and then it only stays on the plant one day, maybe two. It withers and falls off, and more are on the way. Like Kate Wolf sings, “We only have these times we’re living in . . . The days like flowers bloom and fade, and they do not come again.”

Tomorrow morning we are going to climb aboard a big jet plane and fly into the South Pacific, across the equator and the international date line, to Auckland, New Zealand. We’ll carry a bit of Kaua’i with us.