Wednesday, April 5, 2006

Rain

Larry Leopardi is my brother's brother in law.
....

HONOLULU — The glum expression on Colleen Groat's face said it all.
The 48-year-old Canadian had spent six months planning her first
vacation in Hawaii, and not once during two weeks here did she set foot
in the water.
Her trips to the beach were met with signs that read: "WARNING. No
swimming. No fishing. Sewage contaminated water." The famously blue
waters of Oahu remained brown through most of Tuesday, tainted by 48
million gallons of untreated wastewater spilled during one of the
rainiest stretches in Hawaii's recent history. Many of the most popular
beaches on the island, including Waikiki, were closed to water
activities until late Tuesday afternoon. At that time, officials
announced some of the beaches would reopen, but tourists remained wary.
The seemingly constant downpour caused floods and mudslides, damaged
homes and businesses and burst one earthen dam on the island of Kauai,
killing seven residents March 14.
Early damage estimates range from $40 million to $50 million statewide,
though repair and recovery costs probably will end up much higher.
Officials say it's too early to tell how tourism — the state's biggest
industry — has been affected.
The sun shone all day Monday, but clouds and showers returned early
Tuesday, casting doubt on official proclamations that the storms had
passed. Meteorologists remained noncommittal: The worst part is probably
over, they say, but who knows?
"It would have been nice to go in the water," said Groat, from Kelowna,
British Columbia. It was her last day in Honolulu, and she and her aunt
lay on beach chairs on Waikiki, trying to catch a little sun before
going home.
"You hear so much [about Hawaii], and you come here thinking you'll be
spending all this time on the beach," Groat said, her voice trailing
off. "I have to go back to work tomorrow." What's it like coming to
Hawaii and not swimming at the beach? Frustrated visitors offered a few
analogies: It's like going to Disneyland and not riding a single ride;
like visiting the Grand Canyon and not peering down the hole; like
touring Kansas City, Mo., without trying the barbecue.
Dana and Chad White traveled here from Kansas City, to spend their first
stretch of time alone without their 5-month-old daughter, who was
staying with grandparents. "It poured every day," said Chad, 34. The
couple opened the balcony doors in their hotel room each night — at
least for a little while.

2 comments:

kungfu MSN said...

I have two friends who just returned from Hawaii and they never saw the sun, long way to go for that kind of holiday , felt so sorry for them and once your booked , you have to go ,  Jimmy

secondave MSN said...

Yes Jim, very unfortunate turn of the cards for the visitors to
Hawaii during February and March. The weather came out of left field;
totally unpredicted.
The Bacon family (cousin of Kevin btw) moved into the condo next door
for a month or so. Although their home was on blocks and wasn't
damaged by the torrent of water, the surrounding property was under a
foot of mud. Along with this problem, they were inundated with
centipedes, rats and mosquitos. So now we have a nice but distressed
mormon family next door with their U-Haul truck outside.
Second Avenue.