Sunblock and Roosters

Our first full day in Kaua'i was awesome. Beach, sun, clear water, burgers, margaritas, and Wal-Mart!

Prices are quite expensive for everyday items here at the grocery stores (loaves of bread seem to start around $5), so we ventured back into Lihue to stock up on staples for the week, grab some sunblock, and then head to the beach for my first dip ever into the Pacific Ocean.

The sun here is pretty intense; after all, we are sitting on a tiny island in the middle of the Pacific. I'm pretty diligent with sunblock, since I still tend to get color even with 30 SPF. Most of the stores, though, here carry sunblock up to 85 SPF! I decided to stick with the 30, but might have to move up a bit if I find that I'm getting too red. So far, so good. We limited our beach sun exposure to a few hours, but driving a convertible and simply walking around a bit causes ample opportunities to tan (and/or burn).

I packed my brimmed hat on a whim, but am definitely loving it here and plan to wear it around a lot.

One this I immediately noticed on Thursday during the drive from Lihue to Princeville were stray roosters. Reading online, I discovered that the rooster population exceeds the human one, as there are no natural rooster predators on the island. I wouldn't say that I see them everywhere, but it's not uncommon to see them strutting along the beach or cock-a-doodle-doo'ing in the distance.

Between Sully the Southie Turkey and random stray roosters, I'm beginning to think that farm animals are planning a planetary takeover.