Kokua Festival

This past weekend I had my first visitor. Ford Gunter came to town to see what big city living is all about out here. He just recently moved to Kauai and apparently he saw more people at the Kokua festival than he has on his entire island since he moved there. I also must note that he said he has around 600 roosters living on his property and they wake him up just before the sun comes up. Apparently it is also legal to kill chickens to eat over there. I expect when I visit him I will be having chicken for breakfast, lunch and dinner, which will be a nice break from the spam here.

Anyway, he and his roommate and a couple of their friends got in on Friday. We didn’t do much that night and Saturday was pretty much a waste too until we started tailgating for the festival. The Kokua festival is something that Jack Johnson puts on every year to raise money for environmental awareness in the state. It started around 4 and was in the Waikiki Shell which is basically a smaller version of Miller Outdoor Theater. There were about 6 or so bands – a couple local bands and then ALO, Ben Harper, Willie Nelson (who very few people really knew about out here, so I had to give a crash course on just how excellent Willie concerts can be), and Jack Johnson. I must say that my new friends out here loved Willie. The weather was perfect, and the beers were cheaper than at Astros games, so all in all it was a great day.

Sunday was a little more productive. I had to get up early for paddling and then we went to the beach all day. I got to try out my new surfboard and Ford and I both got up a few times on it, which was really exciting because it was a shorter board than we had ever been on. Hopefully by the time I make it out to Kauai he will have his own. Other than Ford spotting what he thought to be a supermodel, the day was uneventful, but very relaxing. However, today I woke up with two infected cuts on my feet and the hypochondriac in me thinks I have typhoid, gangrene or something equally as bad due to the contaminated water. I know you all are glad that I am not there to complain . I am going to be doing some research on the potential diseases tonight, and I will have a diagnosis in the morning. Of course, I will never make it to a doctor since whatever I have will clear up on its own.

Ok, I’m off. I have left you with some pictures, so take a look – one is from the festival and one is from the beach. I hope everyone is doing well. I think I might be coming back in town for the UT/Rice game for a few days, so hopefully I can see most people then.
RR