Temperature Control

Hawaii is different from living in California, especially where I am staying now in a Condo on Kona side. Kona side is a desert side of the island which means it doesn't rain as much on other sides. Places like Hawi to the north and Hilo on the other side of the Island are much more rainy than here. Surrounding this area are large fields of lava flow with little grassy stuff growing and a few trees and not much else. Here and there are wild goats I notice. There are many species of birds which are now chirping happily since it is just past 8am here. They are in the coconut palms in the area where I am and in flower trees and in bushes surrounding a man made pond here at these condos where I'm staying.

I looked up this morning from my bedroom and realized I hadn't had to turn on the big ceiling fan yet which is very unusual compared to my stays on Maui. Almost always I have needed the ceiling fans going all day and all night to feel cool enough. Often stripped down to just underwear or underwear and a t-shirt for staying cool enough at night. Sometimes, just sheet or nothing at all for warmth.

Here it has been different. I got cold early in the morning about 5 am two nights and had to shut the screened windows. Here it is January and no heater is usually necessary, just closing the windows so the wind doesn't blow through too much when it got down to the low 60s. However, because of geckos and all sorts of other tropical creatures you always want screen doors closed at least even though windows and sliding doors might be open 24 hours a day in many cases.

This particular unit is cool which is nice because it is shaded from the sun which can be very helpful here.

The temperatures have ranged from the low 60s to 85 during the afternoons while I have been here. But, it reminds me more of southern California near the ocean where it isn't that humid. So, even though I'm less then a mile or so from the nearest beach, (We Drove there and watched the sunset there the other night), the humidity isn't overwhelming like it can be on Maui or on the Hilo side of this island. So, mostly it is a lot like being in Southern California at the beach from about Santa Barbara to San Diego from about April or May to about June or July when it really starts to heat up there then until October or November. So, January on Kona side is something like that for me.

So, I could see why Southern Californians especially would take the the climate of Kona side of the Big Island.

Normally when I go to Maui and stay in Lahaina or further north it takes me a few days to acclimatize because it is so different a climate before I feel comfortable there whereas Kona this time was not really that much different than when I drive to southern California any time of year from the Northern California coast where I now live. However, I grew up in San Diego and in Glendale in the Los Angeles Area.