Sherry's Journal

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A rainy-day drive, up North Shore | Three rainy days


Three rainy days

One

Today it really poured all day.
For the most part, we decided that the wind and rain
could best be enjoyed from this great house.
After a while, we popped into Hanalei to rent a video
and gasped at the half dozen spectacular waterfalls
pouring down from Waialeale's mountain range.
By the time we could pull over and park to take photos,
a thick mist had rolled in concealing them.
But they peeked back at us from time to time,
as the mist rolled on.

Two

The sunrise was much more subtle, this morning, only occasionally showing us a little color or light, as it peeked through the clouds. In the stillness of the early hours, the birds put on quite a show. But it was the intermittent rain that was the highlight. Even though it was pouring, it was never big, hard drops. Instead, it was always that soft mist, gradually increasing in thickness until the trees down the bluff were obscured and the horizon over the ocean blended into the clouds. You could hear it much better than see it, and you had to look for the rain against a closer, darker tree. Sometimes we could only hear the rain - We couldn't see it at all. Mom and I sat on the edge of the covered patio, reaching to the edge of the rain to pick up our Kona coffee on the railing. The trees wrapping around three sides of the patio provided a stereo affect for the symphony.

Three

So much for my forecast that it rains a few minutes of every hour,
but only a strong mist.
Today it has rained all day (mist to pouring, on and off)
and the forecast is 85 degrees and rainy through Saturday,then partly cloudy.
Previously, it was mid-to-high 80's and partly cloudy.
These rainy days are much cooler.
I sat much of this morning on the deck with my chocolate macadamia nut coffee,
in a light sweatshirt and jeans.
I notice a few people around town wear slickers,
but we keep avoiding the really big downpours, and the mist dries so quickly.
Mostly, we're grateful for the cooler weather.
(It's really more like 78 degrees with a cooler wind.)
It restricts options, as everything there is to do on north shore is outside.
But it's not dreary.
The way the wind and rain plays in the trees,
the clouds roll in and out over the mountains and oceans,
and the waterfalls multiply
is worth giving up a bit of sight-seeing.
And our house seems to be the best place to watch the show.