We enjoyed warm and sunny weather in Kauai for the most part, but on the day we drove up the eastern side of the island (that is, the ‘windward’ side; I always forget which is which, but the ‘leeward’ side is the drier and sunnier bit), we got our fair share of rain and fog. We headed up towards Hanalei, stopping off a couple of times to look at a lush green valley or a mist-shrouded lighthouse. We had seen pictures of Hanalei Bay looking like a made-up postcard under turquoise skies, but there was no chance of that today. It was raining when we reached the small town of Hanalei, and we pottered about the shops and ate at the little food trucks. Chickens were everywhere as always, and some even joined us at our table while we were eating a lunch of chicken, which is only weird if you make it weird. I saw this great little shave ice place (above), though we were too full to eat any, as we had already eaten very fancy donuts from the nearby ‘Holey Grail’ place. I spent a good bit of time in a local ukulele shop called Hanalei Music, talking with the owner whose son was a musician in England. It’s on these trips to Hawaii that I always get that massive love for the ukulele back, it’s just the right place to play it, and I cannot stop. I don’t care that I’m not the most sophisticated player, I can get a decent sound of it for what I need. Anyway, we went out to Hanalei Bay, or what we could see of it anyway, and walked out along the pier close by to where there were people learning how to surf. It was a pretty dramatic sight anyway, and the waves coming in were perfect for beginners. There were a couple of teenagers out on their boards learning how to surf and I noticed a couple of people, their parents, sat on those low chairs on the pier close by yelling out instructions to them. “Get your feet out of the water!” “Stay on the board!” “Mind that shark!” Well not the last one, though there are sharks here. It was exactly like being at a youth soccer game, with the soccer moms and soccer dads yelling from the sidelines on their little beach chairs as though they are experts, “Offsides, ref!” “Kick it out!” “Watch that shark!” (Except for the sharks.) I felt bad for the surfers, but they were all having fun. I don’t know for sure but I think Hanalei is the same place that Puff the Magic Dragon lived by the sea. That’s the legend anyway. My niece likes it when I play that song on the ukulele, so now I can say I’ve been to the actual place, sounds legit.

We left the rainy Hanalei and headed back down the windward side of the island, stopping off at Lydgate Beach. The rain had stopped and it was sunny and cloudy, and there is a nice little man-made cover here so people can swim about without being pounded by back-breaking waves or eaten by sharks. We splashed about for a bit, enjoying the tropical paradise, and then sat for a while under a tree, where I sketched the scene above and strummed on my ukulele. An older man even commended me on my ukulele rhythms, asking how long I’d been playing, and telling me he has quite a big collection of ukuleles now. Yes, I’m hoping to eventually do the same, get different sizes and different woods. I need to learn a few different songs first. The colours of the world in front of me were exactly why we came to Hawaii. The tree we sat beneath is drawn below, another of those monkeypods I think, but very much with its feet in the sand.

And below, a sketch I made of the sunrise at Poipu, by our hotel, on our last morning in Kauai. Quite a nice view, really. Since coming back I’ve watched a lot of videos on YouTube about rip tides, having heard a lot of stories about the dangerous tides you get on the beaches of Kauai. The waves here were really strong. When I look at the ocean now I see “danger danger danger!” but I still love it. I love the sound of it, I love splashing about in it, I love looking at it. Of course I have tsunami nightmares too, but I look at the ocean and see this impossibly powerful entity right before me and just marvel at the sheer terror and beauty of it all.

Ok last couple of Kauai sketches, done at the hotel on our last morning there, some of those nice pink flowers, and a couple of palm tree trunks carved with tiki designs. It was time to go home, but Kauai was a lovely place for an anniversary vacation.