Just over a year ago my husband and I came to this beautiful island of gardens and rainbows. Captivated right away as the island cradled us in warm tropical breezes; the local community charmed our hectic lifestyle. They were warm and leisurely when offering helpful options for adventure, and even a construction worker at the post office “talked story” with us for 45 minutes! The enormity of the beauty that surrounded us verged on sensory overload. We just couldn’t keep our eyes off the titanic splendor that surrounded us from mountain to ocean, both just a head turn away.
We spent all of a week on Kaua’i and went home to pack our bags, compelled to move to the island as soon as possible. We made a second trip to Maui just to make sure Kaua’i was the right place after deciding the Big Island was a remarkable place to retire and Oahu was for young folks who enjoy the city life. Kaua’i is small town and we like small town.
I am truly blessed by the colorful people with wide smiles and generous spirit. The colossal, emerald green craggy peaks shrouded in misty clouds and graced with double rainbows, briny turquoise waters lined with over 50 miles of pristine white sand beaches, trade winds playing with Coconut Palms, lush gardens and the ever present sunshine.
I am thrilled that Kaua’i is our home, after all it just got voted by Travel and Leisure Magazine second best island in the world, behind the Galapagos. In the late 1700‘s King Kamehameha tried without success to conquer her. Pride in being “The Unconquered Island” and isolation of this remote archipelago infuse the locals with a lot character. The rugged island has steadfastly remained undeveloped; mom and pop stores are the norm as is taking time to properly say hello. If you pass someone you know, instead of rushing by, you stop. After the appropriate hug and kiss you say, “Aloha, how are you?” and listen, not just with your mind but with your heart. That’s small town aloha!
