The Geography of Kauai

I am not sure about everyone else, but I always have to know where I am in the world. Where I am situated in a region, on a map, and on the globe. I can always certainly tell you which way the Pacific Ocean is from where I stand...when I travel to different places, I also have to know the area and region and basic geography of that place. Needless to say, I rarely ever get lost, I almost can always get myself around in an unfamiliar city, and it just makes me feel secure to know my place in the world.

So moving to Kauai proves interesting, because I have an entire other scheme of geography to learn, as well as topography. I am only just skimming the surface, but here are a few interesting facts: Kauai sits at approximately 22 degrees North latitude. I really have no idea what my latitude is currently, but the reason that this is of interest to me, is that the island is just south of the Tropic of Cancer, at 23.5 degrees North latitude. With each degree measuring approximately 69 miles, Kauai is less than 100 miles south of the Tropic of Cancer. Because it falls within the two latitude Tropic lines, it is considered to be in the tropics, which means that there are essentially no seasons because of the location of the sun at all times of the year. Note that a few of the countries that the Tropic of Cancer run through are Mexico, Egypt, India, Bahamas...

The Hawaiian Islands are the Earth's most isolated parcels of land lying in the middle of the North Pacific Ocean some 2400 miles from both the nearest continental land mass, North America, and other islands of Polynesia in the South Pacific Ocean. I suppose I understand the price of those United Airlines tickets now...

As for the island itself, only about 10% is accessible by car...note to self: I shall need a new pair of hiking boots. The island is home to the rainiest spot on earth, Mount Waialeale, with an average of 426 inches per year recorded since 1912.

And since I will be surrounded by the Pacific Ocean, I suppose that I will need to learn the terms windward and leeward and understand what that means, because at this point I simply do not. Just trying to still grasp where in the world I will be.

The Last Supper

We are about five weeks away from leaving the Bay Area, the place where I have essentially spent my whole life. And so a bit of panic sets in as to what should be done in the next five weeks if we were to never return....what activities, what restaurants, sporting events, what is it that makes this place special? And so all life experiences here need to be quantified and judged to determine whether they need to be repeated, whether we need to be reminded, or in the instance of a restaurant, whether it is worth the money, calories and time to go there to commemorate our exit from this place. A bit like a last supper, if you will, last meal, what to do for the next five weeks when given the opportunity?

Do we go to Fisherman's Wharf to Scoma's for seafood, followed by a walk to The Buena Vista for Irish coffees? Do we head out to the wine country for an afternoon of tasting followed by lunch in Yountville? Do I finally bicycle across the Golden Gate Bridge like I have been meaning to do for years? Do we head to Marin for an afternoon of sun, seafood and Sam's? Giant's game after drinks at Momo's? Ferry Building farmer's market? Betelnut on Union Street? House of Prime Rib? Sunset at Spanish Bay watching the bagpipers? It is hard to quantify what all these mean to me, and what I actually want to represent my last few days...

I will share as the decisions unfold, as well as the determination of whether the right choices were made. Any suggestions?

The Lexus has Left the Building.

Overwhelming...is there a stronger word than overwhelming for my emotions right now? Frank's car is gone..all but the couches in the living room are gone, other 'stuff' is gone.....my daughter, Arya, is gone...unless she decides to come live with us in Kauai, she will never live with me again. I am overwhelmed with emotion right now, and yet this is the path that I have decided to take. I suppose that there would have been a time that this separation would have been apparent, but most likely it would have been initiated by her and not me. And yet today, initiated by my life choices, my baby girl has left for college, and she knows, as do i, our life will not be the same. She has her life in front of her....as do I, but I suppose the clocks that tick, tick differently for us both. She holds the world of possibility in her hands, and I hold a clock that is ticking...more to follow, more in happiness, I promise.

Are We There Yet?!

And so the adventure was supposed to begin....I quit my corporate city job and we move to the Hawaiian islands. That sounds reasonable, that sounds easy. But between here and there are hurdles and hoops, time and work, patience and more patience.

Let's start the story from the beginning, here is Northern California, the suburbs of San Francisco where I have lived my entire life.
And there is Kauai, the Hawaiian Islands, paradise, and all that a life there will mean. We decided to make the move at the end of last year, and committed all our energy and resources this year to making it a reality. And although the intention of making such a drastic move is powerful in and of itself, it has not come without its own headaches, its own stress and without taking on a life of its own.

So the plan is that we leave Danville at the end of September....6 weeks from now. We are leaving the mainland with our clothes and our Honda Element (that we purchased a month or so ago after getting rid of my red Mercedes). The Element's name is Keanu, in case you are wondering what we named the car;) But at the end of September, to complicate things just a bit, we are going up to the Pacific Northwest to spend 2 months during football season to watch my son play his last year of college football. We have rented a cottage in an ocean town in Washington and will be driving to Salem, Oregon on weekends to watch him play.
There will begin our adventure, but between now and then, we have to sell, donate, or give away all our possessions. I underestimated how much 'stuff' we have....and we do not have a lot of 'stuff' in comparison to most people...still, for the past 25 years, I have collected the things that furnish, decorate, fill, maintain, entertain, nourish and allow us to have raised a family here in our home. We just don't believe we need all the 'stuff' anymore and are in the process of detaching from all of it. As my friend Sue said, it is the memories attached to the stuff that we want to hang on to....we hang on because we don't want to forget. I won't forget, I promise.

So time is ticking, and each and every day I need to be productive and accomplish something towards the end goal, the end goal of leaving here with just our suitcases on our initial trek up to the Pacific Northwest. I wake up in the morning and I think, what can I do today? What will be productive? How can I get rid of this, how can I sell that, how can I donate? I have had two weeks so far at home since I have quit my job. I have streamlined all our filing cabinets into one small file box of essential documents, I have streamlined my walk-in closet and gotten rid of more than half of my clothing items and shoes....next major project will be the organization of photographs....rest assured, it will all get done. Because it always gets done, because we are organized and prepared and conscientious, but really...are we there yet?