It’s less than 30 miles from our house to Kaaawa, where we lived for 27 years. But in many ways, it’s a different world!

We had dinner with friends, spent the night, then got up early to walk down to the ocean at dawn.

Unusually big and stormy surf, plus a high tide, had spread water, sand, rocks and debris along the two-lane highway over a stretch of almost a mile. City crews were out to clear the roadway, which meant stopping traffic for periods and contra-flowing when they could. It was a mess.

Anyway, I late took a stroll through our friends’ yard and the many bunches of bananas, at least one ready to harvest.

We were caught in the traffic jam as we left to drive home around 9 a.m., and I said to Meda: “Welcome to the future!”

Yup, sea level rise is going to be cause more frequent disruptions along this coastal stretch of Kamehameha Highway.