Blog 21: Kauai Part II

Part I blog began as an underpainting of events that were unfolding on my very first trip to Hawaii. Following a brief stay in Oahu, my family and I continued our journey to Kauai for a friend's wedding.   We landed at the Lihue Airport on the east side of Kauai, and traveled a short distance to the Coco Palms Resort.

 We hadn’t anticipated such a beautiful resort, that ticked every box. With no internet access at our disposal in those days, we relied on brochures as a resource of what to expect when booking our reservation. Now, of course, things are quite different. You can practically travel to any destination without ever leaving your living room.  Kauai is named the Garden Isle, and that aspect of the island doesn’t escape anyone’s view. We had hoped that we might see more of Kauai, before heading back to Waikiki. Instead, we found ourselves throwing a few articles of clothing into a shopping bag, and exiting the door of our well appointed cabana at the resort.

Waimea Canyon Kauai

We headed toward the front of the hotel where school buses were waiting. The sun was playing peek-a-boo, but we felt like we were totally in the dark. We had no clue as to what the managers knew and what we didn’t. Just the same, we formed a line with other hotel guests, to board buses that would transport us to a new location. With a little more than “the shirt on our backs”, we were suddenly at the mercy of the management and mother nature.  Hopefully the breakfast we had earlier would quell the anxiety that was brewing. 

 Brochures aside, on November 23, 1982 mother nature had other plans for us. On the bus, we were informed that the tropical storm had been upgraded to a hurricane.  If I was to say the staff seemed ill prepared for such an event, it would be an understatement. The last hurricane to hit Hawaii was 25 years prior, Hurricane Dot.  Being on an island, you can’t exactly get in a car and drive a couple hundred miles to escape the path of a hurricane. Hurricanes can also  be a bit fickle when they reach land.     In any event, we knew we were being transported to higher ground.  We were told, that our destination was Kapaa, north of the Coco Palms Resort in Lihue. Liwhatee?

 

 

The ride was scenic, and on the bus we passed scattered plantations with varied Kauai produce. I made attempts to focus on any thing else besides my anxiety.  I tried to recall details I had read about Kauai in my mind, to distract myself. Cacao, grown in Kauai, is where chocolate comes from. Oh yes, macademia nuts grow here. We'll need to take some of those home too.  Sunshine and rain are a magical combination for growing white pineapples. It wasn't working. I was simultaneously distracted by bumpy and  narrow roads on the ascent to the top toward something.  I kept wondering where the heck we were going.  Awkward laughter could be heard on the bus, somewhat hidden by the roar of the engine that was seemingly struggling at times on the steep terrain, overrun by foliage. Remembering, I believe that the bus driver informed us he had to take an alternate route to the main road because the roads were becoming overcrowded with other traffic seeking higher ground.

We were headed toward the Kapaa High School Gymnasium. Wow, my dream vacation spot! No one could say how long we would be there. As far as we knew it could be a burial ground for us. As we exited the bus, we entered the empty and echoing shell of the gymnasium,  and visually surveyed the guests.   All of us were in the same pot of stew, a cauldron of time.  We now belonged to a  newly acquired IWA family.  Regardless of status or wealth, we truly were all equal as we shared one dormitory and the same accommodations. 

 

KAPAA High School Gymnasium

The large gymnasium had bleachers on either side as you would expect, but no chairs. I can’t remember if they brought blankets, but I have a clear visual memory of my mom sitting on her small overnight case, that I still have,  for the several hours we would be there. As we waited for the strike of the hurricane, now known as Hurricane IWA, everyone tried to keep in good spirits. That was cut short when a woman fell off the bleachers and injured her back. 

 

Mom's Overnight Case

The staff from the Coco Palms Hotel brought sandwiches and bar beverages for guests. Shortly after entering the building, the  staff reconsidered serving alcohol.   The Coco Palms couldn't accommodate everyone that would arrive as the night went on, but shared whatever they brought for us.   There were windows all around the gymnasium. Although we were certain to be out of danger from flooding,  we were as naive as first graders about what other dangers may lie ahead.  Daylight had not yet retired, and trees were flying horizontally in the sky. Curiosity caused people to move closer to the windows for a better look. In darkness we relied on the audio aspects because we couldn’t see anything outside. The aluminum corrugated roof, so common in these parts, rattled like a tin drum, and the howling wind reminded me of sounds that you might hear in a haunted house on Halloween. 

 

Hurricane IWA

 

 

As the evening progressed, people continued to arrive.  Guests from the Sheraton Poipu, at the southern tip of Kauai recalled 30 foot waves coming onto shore. They talked about being led up one story at a time as flooding began to overtake the hotel. People recounted cars and bathtubs being thrown everywhere. We could only wonder what might be simultaneously happening at our hotel, the Coco Palms.

 

Sheraton Poipu Hotel

 

 

 

Visibly shaken, lifetime residents and guests from numerous locations continued to arrive.  Fleeing businesses and homes, destroyed or threatened by the hurricane force winds and rain, their  stories were heartbreaking. For some escaping with their lives was all that mattered, for others they were preoccupied with what they would go home to.   Everyone though,  had a piece of the puzzle, every person added a letter to the story that would eventually unfold.  It was a one night stand between strangers, that we would likely never see again.

At one point, a section of the roof of the gymnasium blew off, and water saturated the floor in multiple areas of the gym. We just had to wait it all out. As the eye of the hurricane arrived, an eery silence tested our memories of what had just happened. With a stroke of luck the direction of the hurricane on the backside,   packed a lesser punch,  changing direction as it passed over us.   When we were able to go outside of the gymnasium, we were struck by the clarity of the black night creating a backdrop for an umbrella of bright stars.  Cautiously, were loaded back onto the bus, and taken back to the hotel.

Despite the visual changes we saw in the sky, remnants of the hurricane lingered in balminess of the air. We were only partially relieved, as it may have been safe to go back, but to what? Our arrival at the hotel revealed our postponed exhaustion. The path of havoc left by the hurricane on the grounds, couldn't clearly be evaluated at night.  There was no power. Perhaps the staff provided a flashlights, I don’t remember.  Inside the room, no-see-um biting knats took up refuge and residence.  The sticky humid air made for a long night with little sleep.   Beach sand brought ashore by mother nature seemed to be everywhere that we could see going back to our cabana.  Still, we were alive, and tomorrow was another day.

Hawaii State Archives;  Star Bulletin November 23, 1982

The Coco Palms Resort  waived charges for the last night we stayed there, and had done their best to look after all of us.  The next morning, we began to gather our belongings to get off the island. Everyone else had the same idea. No one really knew the extent of damage on the island, but on our ride to the airport we were about to see a bit of it. Aluminum roofs laid by the side of the road, like crumpled paper. Trees were strewn about like toothpicks. Hundreds of other guests, from multiple hotel locations, would join us on roads filled with debris as we all slowly made our way to the airport.  

Arriving at the airport in Lihue, there were very few flights. The airport had sustained damage to a number of smaller air craft. The worst hit location on the Kauai was Poipu, followed by the side of the island where Lihue and we were.  Much of the Hawaiian Islands managed to escape a direct hit, but not flooding or power outages.  That afternoon, following the day Hurricane Iwa hit, we were able to get a flight back to Waikiki. We thought we could finally get a breather in Waikiki. Not so fast.. 

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

 

 

 

 

"Being the pianist for the Sheraton Hotel in Poi Pu Beach, Kauai, was a dream come true. I couldn't ask for a better gig. But after two years, my dream would come to an end.

Mother nature had enough of my music, and she grabbed the six-foot black grand piano and sent it out to sea."  from The Hub

TO BE CONTINUED.....

 

 

 

Some of images were borrowed for the purpose of adding to my story.  This blog has not been created for commercial purposes.