Updated: 8-30-04............................................................117b.
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August 28, 2004
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On March 1st, I received this email from my daughter, Lorilyn:
"Hi Dad,
I know you like to travel inexpensively, so I thought you might find this interesting:
--> COUNTING ON A COUCH FOR A NIGHT
Have a couch? Would it be OK for someone that you really didn't know spend the night sleeping on it? One of the interesting activities on the Web is networking with people you don't know.
And a way to do that is by signing up at Couch Surfing. If you're traveling, say, to Bora Bora, you might be able to find a couch to flop on for a night or two. If that's your goal, it helps if you have a friend already signed up. That makes you verified, and more acceptable to other members.
Best of all, the whole thing is free. Check it out here: http://www.couchsurfing.com"
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I had a quick look at the site, bookmarked it with the intention of going through the whole website after I had finished current projects. It was almost two months! later before I finally remembered...I then studied Fenton's great website. I liked it a lot and became a member while scolding myself for taking so long.
CouchSurfing! I love the concept, even though in my past, I have preferred to sleep outside in a tent, or even the car, rather than inside a house offered by a friend. I tend to turn in early then wake up and start my day earlier than most people. (That's why I like it warm before dawn throughout the year as it is here on the west side of Kaua'i). I have learned to make myself comfortable in what would seem to others to be uncomfortable sleeping situations.
With my kids, as we traveled on the west coast while they were growing up, we usually stayed in tents set up in record times in National Forest camping areas or wherever...more out of doors than in doors.
In 1970, while traveling for ten months throughout western Europe in a VW squareback with my three children - 11, 10, and 8 years old - I used pensions...kind of like continental bed and breakfasts. They are an inexpensive kind of accommodation and suited us well.
During my 1972 and 1975 Europe trips, my partners and I traveled with Eurail Passes and usually stayed in pensions/bed & breakfasts.
During my 1978 Asia/Australia trip, I mostly traveled alone which eliminated "compromises" on accommodations and what to see.
I was "officially" a senior citizen during my 1999 and 2000 Circle Pacific trips. I stayed in budget and backpacker accommodations which I preferred over the occasional "nice" hotel I stayed in. My age did not present any problems even though most backpackers are much younger.
Kanaloa's Safari is coming up in January. I was planning on using the same kind of accommodations that I have used before during that trip. But, now, there is CouchSurfing.
I'm not sure that I will be looking for a couches per se during the safari, but it would be good to set up a meeting of some kind with a couchsurfer in a destination in order to gain information and talk story. I am calling Kekaha Ha'aheo 15B Boomerang Art's Kaua'i Couch Station #1. (In time, I'll have one in Rarotonga, etc...). It's a contact place for CouchSurfers visiting Kaua'i even it they do not intend to use the couch. Kaua'i is an expensive place to get to and accommodations are not cheap. Visitors should plan to stay at least one week...there is much to see and do. It's a paradise. Travelers who know how, can stay on Kaua'i inexpensively. CouchSurfing is a key.
Break time
I received a couple of emails with photos. The first was from "The Indians"...Terrill & Sue. They went back to the mainland for a while. They enjoyed the photos on this website while in Texas. They'll be coming "home" to Kaua'i this fall.
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Terrill and Sue.
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They like Salt Pond Park.
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The other email with photos was from Henk van Dongen who visited with me last month. He is a travel photographer who had won a trip with his photography 14 years ago when I met him and his son, Erik, at Polihale that year.
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Henk and Elise from The Netherlands.
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He an Elise live within three miles of five of the famous Dutch windmills.
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Beautiful.
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Having lived for more than 20 years on Kaua'i, I have shared my Aloha and information with many visitors. Usually, we first met on Kaua'i. Now, through CouchSurfing, the visitors and I may have already "met," via its network.
Kaua'i has much to see and a lot of driving is necessary, so, couchsurfers who surf my couch will rent a car during their week's stay. I will ride a bus to the airport to meet the couchsurfer(s) and will sign the application to be able to drive the rental car when necessary.
Mich, from Paris, for example, will arrive in Honolulu in the morning. After clearing immigration and customs, he will take the next possible inter-island flight to Lihu'e, Kaua'i where I should be waiting. He may be "plenty tired" because he has just flown all night from Tokyo.
He has a lot of options for his first day on Kaua'i. One might be to drive directly to Kekaha CouchStation at 15B and test the couch for a while then to Polihale for the sunset. The most ambitious would be to do a scenic drive to and along the Northshore then all the way back through Lihu'e and on to Kekaha...about 100 miles of driving. He may want to just kick back on a beach or in a park for a beer or two and talk story for a while.
Every other stop on his tour is urban...Kaua'i is rural...and beautiful beyond imagination.
Many visitors have a desire to do some shopping. I am not a shopper. I don't like to spend much time doing that. I can point out shopping places for Mich to go on his own, if he chooses. The main thing for him to accomplish on arrival day is to get familiar with 15B and his couch...his base of operations.
On the second day, the couchsurfer will have many options to choose from...weather helps in making choices. The above will be pretty much the same for other couchsurfers.
Creative travelers welcome the unexpected which could lead to entirely different plans during his stay. For instance, Mich might meet other French-speaking tourists and choose to do activities with them of which I do not choose to be a part...such as attending a luau. I have no problem passing on that. There are hundreds of possibilities for the couchsurfer, he can make his choices freely, but he does have a base of operations in 15B.
There are places on Kaua'i that I hope all the couchsurfers experience during their visit. Many will return in future years for those missed. One thing that will not be missed is the Aloha Spirit of Kaua'i...it's part of the island.
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That's as far as I got before Mich arrived on the 1st. I'll continue on Artmail 118.
Aloha, Art
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