Mist, drizzle, sprinkle, shower, downpour, torrent, flood. We had all of these rain experiences last night. Including a few electric outages. When we woke up this morning the weather channel told us that roads were flooded on many areas of the island. It was especially bad on the north side which is usually wet anyway. So we changed our plans and drove west to the dry side of the island to Waimea Canyon. The drive goes from the shoreline up to a lookout at 4,000 feet in Koke'e State Park. The drive follows along the edge of the "Grand Canyon of the Pacific." The canyon is 3600' deep, two miles wide and 10 miles long. It has dramatic red clay formations. Today there were dozens of huge waterfalls. At the top of the drive one overlook gives you a view of the far west side of the island - the mysterious NaPali coast. This area has no roads and can be reached only by hiking trail or by water. It is dramatically beautiful. The last time we were here we took a catamaran sail out to this coast, but most sailing excursions are on hold until the high surf warnings are cancelled. We could see the huge waves breaking on the NaPali shore from our 4000' overlook.
The rain subsided for the afternoon, but it never got really warm today. I sat out on the lawn and watched the waves for a while when I suddenly spotted a dolphin leaping out of the water over and over. Was it Flipper? No, it was a "spinner" dolphin which jumps high out of the water and twists in the air. Over and over. What a show. In addition, the whales decided to come in near the shore and give us a show. Maybe they like the wind and rain.We stopped at the supermarket and I bought batteries, more food and a new flashlight (some little boy made off with the one I usually pack in my suitcase, didn't you Kellen?) Now if the power goes off tonight I can at least find my way to the bathroom. We are well buttoned up with all the shutters closed tight and a pile of good books to keep us company. We will see what tomorrow brings.
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