Built It…Then Built It Better
We landed here at ‘Āina Iki Ranch on January 8th…and by the 20th, we had everything out of our storage POD and onto the land. We built a carport tent around it—our temporary storage until we have something more solid than our home on wheels to hold it all.
We were so proud of ourselves, too.
And then, two weekends ago, a major storm came through.
I’ve since learned the kind of storm we experienced is called a Kona Low. It’s a system that forms near Hawaiʻi and flips our usual weather patterns. Instead of our steady northeast trade winds, the winds shift and come from the south and southwest—what we call Kona winds. And when that shift happens, things can get intense.
Honestly, it could have been so much worse than what we experienced…and we’re deeply grateful Mama Gaia was kind to us.
I don’t remember exactly which night it was, but I do remember hearing a distinct cracking sound. I popped out of bed, threw on a headlamp, and looked outside to see if a tree had lost a branch or was about to.
Nothing.
So I went back to bed.
Then around 2am, I heard it again—louder this time. And what confused me most was the direction it came from…we don’t even have trees there.
That’s when it clicked.
Our storage tent roof had snapped.
I said something along those lines to Joshua, and out we went into the storm to try and save what we could—our worldly goods sitting right there beneath it all.
Joshua managed to rig a temporary roof system, and we set alarms to go off every hour through the night so we could check on the tent and push off any pooling rainwater.
By his second shift, he woke up to a pool that wasn’t going anywhere.
So he did what he had to do.
He moved everything around inside to create space, grabbed his knife, and sliced a hole straight through the roof to let the water pour out.
It was the only choice.
Thankfully, we had enough taller items inside to help redirect the water, and somehow…that improvised system held through the rest of the storm.
The next morning, Joshua was up early and headed into Hilo—first stop: Islandwide Canopy Tents. He came back with a new frame and a much sturdier tarp system.
Turns out our original setup—with its plastic connectors and mismatched poles—was basically one Kona storm away from failure. Lesson learned. 🤣
It wasn’t an expense we planned for, but we were beyond grateful to be able to make the upgrade—and to have a local spot that could get us what we needed, fast.
As soon as he got back, we got to work.
We lucked out with just light mist during parts of the build, and the heavier rain held off until right after we got the new frame and canopy up—layered right over the old one.
We were able to build on top of what was there, pull off the old walls, and attach them to the new structure.
Stronger. Better. Ready.
It’s interesting… I’ve always handled these kinds of moments—the ones that could easily feel catastrophic—without much stress.
Maybe it’s because I know, deep down, there’s only so much control we ever really have…especially when it comes to Mama Gaia—Mother Nature, whatever name you give her.
She’s a force I deeply respect. One I listen to. One I ask for kindness from.
And maybe those quiet conversations have something to do with how we’ve made it through so far.
Because I’ll take a broken tent frame any day…over what could have been.
