Waihe'e Coastal Dunes & Wetlands Refuge

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This morning I had an appointment at 9am to return my rental car. My little Nissan versa I rented for a week. From driving a jeep to this little thing, my experience with this car was parking too far from the curb and making wide turns in fear of running into a median I couldn't see. But it got me from point A to point B while my jeep was sailing over the ocean blue to reunite with me. I got to the gas station to fill up the tank only to find out gas is about $1 cheaper than back home. However, the little nobs that hold the gas receiver open for filling are rusted out so you have to manually hold the receiver while filling up the tank. Luxury problems, I know.  I filled the car on $18 and headed to the airport for drop off. $18! I felt like I was in 1999, but I know it won't be $18 tomorrow when I fill up again, so i just enjoyed the short lived experience.

My friend Lauren picked me up from the airport and we headed to Waihe'e Coastal Dunes & Wetlands Refuge. The Refuge is a mile from my house. This refuge is 277 acres, which once populated two thriving ancient Hawaiian villages, Kapoho and Kapokea. In 2004, the Land Trust took over this site and began active restoration programs. As a result, five different endangered species have returned to take up residence in this area, native birds have returned and habitat-appropriate plants are now once more thriving. Along the shoreline, while I didn't see any today, its said to be a favorite retreat for monk seals and nesting green sea turtles.

There is extensive reef off this coast and apparently is one of the longest and widest off Maui, which was used for fishing in ancient times as well as today.

On our way back to the car we ran into Lauren's friend who talked to us about a 75 foot net that is stuck out there and next weekend we will head out there with him to remove the net and bring it in. There will be about 10-15 of us helping to remove this net and I am excited to volunteer.

It was a beautiful morning with wind breezes and the temperature was a lovely but warm 82°, nothing compared to the desert's 100°. Oh wait, that's not bad.. ya'll must be chilly back home 😉
Oh! One last thing...

So yesterday I had the privilege of hearing the hurricane alarm system. They test the alarm on the first of the month and while I was told it was loud and the system was infront of my house, I still was not sure what I was expecting. I was on the phone with a friend back home when it went off and boy did we both get startled. My friend Reema was like what the heck is that loud noise!? Even closing the doors and windows couldn't lessen the noise. We were laughing until it stopped. What an experience and a fun one for my first experience. 

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