March 15, 2026
Welcome to Adventure Blog #121
It has been a wild few days with this big Kona storm. There has been lots of rain and wind and things were pretty miserable here for three days. My friend and neighbor said it is a once in 50 year storm. I sure hope so and will be glad when it finally blows over. Friday night was scary with pouring rain, listening to the sound of water and rocks making their way down the mountain and just hoping the water would find itʻs way without any mud and we would see daylight here. This tropical storm is supposedly lasting until Sunday noon and I can hardly wait for calm and sun.
Last Sunday someone who has been near and dear to my heart since age 16 passed away and I have been fighting sadness all week….It has been a struggle.
On a positive note the last few weeks has seen some big progress here. After a year of patiently and so patiently My tentalo is finally erected and looks so great. The beautiful old growth cedar planks make attractive benches and railings. It is tucked in the perfect place and will house temporary workers, scientists, friends and hopefully some family. It has stayed perfectly dry and cozy during this past storm. This next week the flooring will go down and I will set up the beds. The bed frames came from Amazon with many parts and I was able to get it all together last weekend-so proud of myself.
The new driveway got poured Wednesday just ahead of the storm. Now, any car came make it up without all drive or four wheel drive. This makes getting here a lot more pleasant. Un until now a regular car had to park at the bottom and guests had to walk up. With our 4 wheel and all drive vehicles we have bounced up over the rocks and holes. Those were two big projects that are complete and great to have behind us. The pour took six men as they hand mixed all the concrete. A BIG job.
Last Saturday I had a lesson from Grant Senner on making a jade flower lei. There is no place to buy lei out here and I am hoping to learn some different methods that the locals pride themselves on making.
The Taro Festival is in April and Indrajit will be coming over to do a work shop and we will be finding new coconut varieties for the gene bank. Luckily all the coconut trees survived the storm. Many big trees were uprooted and the roads have been closed. For the last three days everyone in Hana is out of power and they say it will be 1-2 weeks before it is fixed. I am off grid and my solar is working just fine although the generator had to go on yesterday for a few hours.
The papayas have been cranking and they are the BEST. I take them to my friend Dimitri who sells them as fast as he gets them.
Well it is now Sunday evening and I better get this out. Thank you for tuning in and wishing everyone a sunny and dry week.
Aloha Nui,
Vicky
Wave Woman: The Life and Struggles of a Surfing Pioneer by Vicky Durand 