Wind is Welcome on Hawaii Vacation

October 8th, 2009

Usually these beautiful bamboo trees in the courtyard of the building where my philosophy classes meet are a distraction.  Watching them sway gracefully in the wind is mesmerizing.  Today, however, they are completely still.  There is no wind.  In Hawaii, trade winds are welcome for many reasons, including the way they make it feel so much cooler.  Weather forecasters mention when the “trades” will be returning as part of the weather outlook (along with the surf report).

When the trade winds are gone, like today, it feels slightly more humid.  Locals complain about it, but anyone who has visited the southern states in summer has a better story.  I moved my oldest daughter into a dorm in New Orleans one memorable August.  The expression “like a sauna” has a whole new personal significance to me now.  The slight mugginess in Hawaii is MUCH kinder and gentler than the mainland.

The wind is gentler, too.  When my sister visited from Kansas, she commented that it is not windy here.  We had trades during her visit, but they don’t compare with the kite-shredders in Kansas.  Wind there rearranges outdoor furniture, sometimes relocating it in the next county.  My sister was so happy to wear her pretty, big-brimmed hats while on vacation in Hawaii, where “you don’t have to nail them to your head to keep them on.”

The climate is so mellow here, with such slight variations, that it is easy to notice a few degrees warmer or cooler or an increase in humidity.  Fortunately, the trades are never gone for long – they’re due back this weekend!
 

Posted by Cindy Scheopner  Follow me on Twitter @Scheopner

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Entry Filed under: Customs, Practices and Pastimes, In General, Uncategorized