Calm before the storm

LIHUE – They prepared, played and prayed. 

That’s what the residents of and visitors to Kauai did Thursday in the wake of two hurricanes poised to hit the Hawaiian Islands.

Andy Fischamend from Austria had taken in the sights on Kauai for one week and was scheduled to depart on Thursday.

“All our flights were canceled. We’re hoping to get out Saturday afternoon now,” said Fischamend.

The logger by profession said he planned to stock up on food but his priority was his faith.

“The most important thing to do is pray,” Fischcamend said. 

Catie Burns from Princeville seconded that thought.

“I’ve been praying for my son who lives on Hilo,” Burns said. 

The retiree felt prepared logistically after Mother Nature’s call to action. 

“We cleaned out under the house,” Burns said. “It made us move a little faster.”

Emergency medical technician Cameron Ventura of Kalaheo also said he had been doing a lot of praying. But he had practical advice as well.

“Be prepared and follow your emergency preparedness list,” Ventura said. “Stay calm and think clearly. Be safe and don’t rush.”

Even though Heather Kilar of Waimea started preparing on Tuesday for the weather system by cleaning out their shed, she still planned to finish up Thursday afternoon by securing her lawn furniture. While her husband is somewhat of an expert at weather-related readiness after living through Hurricanes Iniki and Iwa, she wavered back and forth on what Iselle and Julio could do.

“Sometimes he says it’s just going to be a lot of wind and rain,” said Kilar. “He says we’ll be OK. But I keep wondering if we need to get a little more prepared.” 

Encouraging her two and three year olds to help with the yard cleanup wasn’t too much of a challenge. They weren’t aware of the weather front, but their priorities were in line with their needs. 

“They don’t want their toys to blow away,” Kilar said with a laugh.

Aaron Hoff also had fun on the brain on Thursday. 

“I plan on filling up my jet ski today so I can get some big surf action,” Hoff said. “I’ll go wherever the waves are big.” 

Tom Furfey was itching to hit Shipwreck Beach when he heard the waves were supposed to be three feet. But his job installing solar panels kept him working, not surfing on Thursday.

“I’m not worried,” Furfey said, “We got water bottles and steaks yesterday.”

Malima and Bill Varvaras from Melbourne, Australia were disappointed their expected two days on Kauai during their cruise were cut short. 

“We’re going back out to sea,” Malima said. “We’ll order champagne and see a show, I expect.”

Their travel itinerary requires them to dock Saturday morning in Honolulu to catch a flight back home.

“Woe for us,” said Varvaras. “We always wanted to come this way and never had a chance. It’s our first time in America. I love it, it’s absolutely gorgeous.”

As for the threat of the hurricanes?

“It is a bit scary. It does worry us,” said Malima, who said they were celebrating their 37th wedding anniversary. “We’ll have our camera ready.”

Ryan and Jocelyn Butler were thrilled to finally squeeze in their honeymoon on Kauai after a 12-year delay. 

“We’re getting in as much hiking and snorkeling as we can today,” Jocelyn said. 

“We were going to go camping all week, but instead we’ll eat our camping food in our hotel,” Ryan said. 

The couple is visiting from Kansas – an infamous spot for tornados in non-fiction and fiction, in “The Wizard of Oz.” Tornadoes, they’d experienced. Hurricanes, they had not. And while they really aren’t in Kansas any more as they could see from the Kauai weather reports, they weren’t fretting about the anticipated weather conditions.

“I’m not too worried. I wanna see what it looks like,” Ryan said.  

Jocelyn planned to do laundry if they were trapped indoors during the remainder of their vacation. Ryan had other ideas. 

“We’ll do some honeymoon stuff,” Ryan said with a big grin and a chuckle.