Was hard to sleep last night.
Phone kept “going off”, loudly and persistently, with emergency beeps, and messages telling me that dangerous and damaging winds were on the way.

It’s 5am as I write this.

The rain in Wailua Homesteads has been beating down since about midnight.

There doesn’t seem to be much wind.

We’ve closed tight all the windows, and it’s pitch black so all we have are the sounds.

Trying to let go of the apprehension.

We’re prepared as best we can be I think.

1) Cut down a beautiful “pony tail palm” that was too close to both our house and our neighbors. Made me sad.

2) Moved or secured various items in the yard that might otherwise become “missiles” when the wind kicks in.

3) Bought charcoal, bottled water, and various food items that don’t require refrigeration.

4) Double checked – we have a spare flashlight, portable radio, and batteries.

5) Keeping our phones and laptop fully charged.

6) Diverted one of our gutter “downspouts” so if the 14” of rain arrives over our house, the water will be diverted away from and not at risk of flooding our garage or filling our cesspool.

7) Checked-in with our immediate neighbors.

8) In contact with son and family who live on the other side of the island in Kōloa, AND with daughter now living on the continent with her young family. Both grew up in this same Wailua Homesteads home, and both have their own “post-Iniki” memories.

9) Called Mom and reassured her again that we would be ok. She assured me that she had her “prayer circles” working overtime asking the Lord to look out for us.

10) Considered installing plywood over windows and perhaps “retrofitting” hurricane straps in our open beam, mostly single wall construction, 70 year old home, that survived hurricane Iwa and Iniki – but did not. Some of our neighbors have put plywood over their windows, but we did not.

11) We have “to go bags” already prepared as we were actually hoping to take an off-island trip anyway, which we’ve now postponed.

12) Important papers, insurance documents, etc are in a secure container and area.

13) Developed a plan to move as much “stuff” as possible into “safer areas” that would not be directly impacted if the winds get crazy and it looks like the roof might go or windows blow out. Stuff like art and photographs hanging on the walls, small “memories and mementos” now sitting on counters and tables, etc.

14) At this moment Claudette is filling up a large “picnic water cooler” to store extra drinking water should the electricity go out and disrupt the County’s water transmission pumping ability.

15) We’re also are filling random 5 gallon buckets to “flush” the toilets if needed (TMI).

16) Claudette baked banana bread yesterday. Lots of it. Will share with the neighbors once the storm has passed.

There’s more…but mostly now it’s just constant checking the news, texting friends, following social media etc –

If you are reading this – I also posted on my blog thoughts and memories from the “thinking about Lowell” and “aftermath of hurricane Iniki” which ripped the roof off our home on September 11, 1992 – (located just 4 houses from where we are living today).

Love to all.

Be safe.

Will keep you posted as best I can.

We got this.

Gary
(look closely and you can see Kauaʻi “just on the edge of the purple”)

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