The Last Hurrah! Thursday, 2/18/16

We have enjoyed our week on The Big Island, but now it was time to go.  Our flight from Kona to Oakland didn't leave till mid-afternoon, which left us with a few hours for more exploring.  The ETA at Oakland was 9:30, and then we had the three-hour drive up to Nevada City, so we wouldn't get home till after midnight. Tom and Diane's flight didn't leave till late night and they wouldn't get to Sacramento till 9 the next morning.  Tom would return the minivan, thank you very much; it served us well for the week.

Tropical Giant White Spider Lily -- wowzers!

One final look at Bldg 21, third floor, overlooking the golf course.

Stylish, clean, and quiet, plus all the comforts of home.

Hawaii is known for its spectacular wildflowers,

and rightly so.  These Lantana pop!

This last morning before departure, we discovered yet another beach/snorkel spot not far from where we were staying --Anaeho'omalu Beach, a calm bay and a lovely place to relax on the sand after a swim or snorkel.  Maybe next time!

The wind, ohmygosh, that wind!  No hat or visor would stay put.  Hair blowin' every-which-way, but the warm sun felt so good.  Tom was getting in a few more doses of Vitamin D. The four of us climbed into the minivan for the short hop to the airport, where we said our good-byes, and see-you-tomorrows.  Our friends would join us in Nevada City for the next week, trading in Hawaii for California before returning to their home in Tallahassee, Florida.  Hey, this sounds like a travelogue!

I'll leave you with this very subtle rainbow, another quintessential Hawaiian symbol.

Aloha, till we meet again!

California, here we come!

Part Two -- a follow-up post -- Wednesday, 2/17/16

Here is another video we made while snorkeling at Mahukona State Park, Hawaii.  (See post below, or click here to view our other video.)  As I mentioned in my previous post, Mahukona is an old harbor abandoned by a sugar cane company.  The shoreline is rocky with no sandy beach, but it does have a pier, and even a hoist.  Underwater, there are pieces of abandoned equipment and a small shipwreck (not sure if we saw that).

The first sugar cane plantation in this area was started in 1863.  A pier was built to Mahukona Harbor and in 1882 a railroad would bring the sugar cane to the harbor, where it was loaded onto steamships.  The sugar mill was built on the north side of the bay and its remains still stand.  Those old ruins continue to crumble, with rusty and jagged support beams sticking out.  In 1941, the port was forced to close for WW II, and in 1945, the railroad shut down.  The old sugar facilities were closed in the 1950's.  The park is now operated by Hawaii County.

In the video below, Jimmy winds his way through some of the collapsed pier or wharf relics and past bollards (the round knob-looking things that ships tie up to).  He had to be careful because of the churning water, whipped up by gale-force winds, which probably affected water visibility, also.  The tic-tics you hear are probably rain, since he held the GoPro near the water surface!  

I know we can do better, and we will, but for now, please enjoy our little underwater video.  We had a wonderful time gliding through the water, seeing everything, watching brilliant fish flash by.  After an hour, we surfaced, looked at each other and both said "I'm getting cold."  It was time to get out ... and back in the rain!  After returning the snorkel stuff, we drove toward the condo and were soon out of the rain.

That afternoon, we hid in the lee of the activity center to play dominoes.
Always a good time.  Jimmy was a big winner today.

Tomorrow our outstanding Hawaiian week is over.  Time to fly home.

It's been grand!

A very exciting post! Wednesday, Feb 17th, 2016

The wind was still whipping when we awoke this morning, but the sun was shining and Jimmy and I wanted to snorkel today, regardless; it was our last chance.  The spot we picked was one we'd seen a few days ago: Mahukona Beach Park, roughly 20 miles north of Waikoloa Village.  This is an old harbor abandoned by a sugar cane company, with no beach.  I'll talk more about this in my next post.

Diane chose to stay at the condo for some quiet time.  Tom decided to accompany us, but not go in the water, mainly so he could stay with the rental car.  Key fobs don't do well underwater and we didn't want to leave the minivan unlocked.  We picked up rented snorkel equipment and headed for Mahukona.  As we sped north, 5,479' Kohala Mountain hidden in low, gray clouds on our right, and the Pacific on our left, wild with white-caps and wind streaks, those fierce side-winds nearly blew us off the road.  The sky darkened, and rain began to fall.

Rain was pouring when we got to the park; only a couple of hardy souls were Out and About.  Three other snorkelers slipped into the water.  Jimmy and I put on our gear, in the rain, and inched toward the ladder into the harbor.  The wind had whipped the ocean into a frenzy and waves were crashing into the harbor's abrupt end.  As soon as I entered the water, a wave pushed me toward the rocks (didn't like that).  When Jimmy hit the water, I grabbed hold of him.  I put my face in the water, and that's all it took for me to be hooked, so to speak!  The other snorkelers returned to their car, which left just the two of us in the water.  We were very careful to stick together and not go out far.  It continued to rain.  We didn't care.  Except for one thing -- we neglected to apply sunscreen first because it was raining!!  Paid a price for that bit of negligence, too ....

The good news is how delightful our snorkel was!  Warm water, colorful fish, and interesting formations below made our day. Indeed, our entire trip!  Schools of Yellow Tangs were so much fun to watch.  In charge of the GoPro, Jimmy kept a steady recording of our underwater adventure.

The above video is the exciting part.  It's our very first.  It may be amateurish, but it's a beginning, and we are proud of ourselves that we a) learned how to do it, and b) can finally show you a bit of how cool it is below the water's surface.

I haven't figured out how to put two videos on the same post, so I'll add another post after this with the other video.  Stay tuned!

Lava, Surf, Seahorses and More -- Tuesday, 2/16/16

Another wind-advisory day, gale-force winds blowing gangbusters,
and every bit as strong as yesterday's!

I thought we might be able to swing a visit today to Waipio Valley, the Valley of the Kings. Though one of the most remote regions on the Big Island, various possibilities are available once there, as in hiking or tours by ATV, horses or narrated wagon ride. I called one outfit early and the guy I spoke to said, "You know we're only giving tours on the rim, don't you?" Nope, I didn't know. "Yes, somebody in the valley has Dengue Fever." I thanked him and hung up. Never mind. Scratch that. We formulated Plan B.

We booked a tour at Ocean Rider Seahorse Farm!  The tour didn't begin till 1 pm, so we piled into the Town and Country Minivan to scope out more of the coastline.  Just north of the airport, we turned in at a sign for Kekaha Kai State Park.  The pavement ended 100 ft later.  The ocean didn't look too far away.  Wrong.  We curved around and around great piles of lava.  Let me tell you that driving on the pot-holed lava rock seemed endless before we reached a parking lot.  Kudos to Jimmy for braving it!

I took these pics while the vehicle was bouncing on the alleged road (but this is not the road).  They barely smoothed the rock out before opening the road to the public!  Yikes!

With the strong winds, the ocean is very turbulent,

but it makes for fabulous photos! 

We didn't hang around too long, since we needed lunch before our tour began.  In case we ever return (ya never know), we marked this park as a good one to explore.  There's a beautiful stretch of beach that's sandy, not rocky, with picnic tables and rest rooms.  If the water is calmer than today, there's snorkeling and swimming.  Maybe they'll fix the road in the meantime?

I've been meaning to comment on the minivan.  We'd reserved a full-sized car, a sedan, to rent, but they were fresh out of cars.  For no extra cost, we could have "the minivan out there," so we took it, despite the gray color (same as asphalt).  Boy howdy, we came to really appreciate that vehicle, mainly because we sat up higher than we would've in a car and that increased the all-around visibility for everyone, especially the back-seaters.  Very nice.

Tom and Diane posed for a pic before we left the park.

This was a cool venue, close by, just south of the airport.  A little overpriced, but the money went to a good cause.  The demand for seahorses by aquariums world-wide causes great concern for wild sea horses.  In fact, there was a 50% decline in the world seahorse population from 1990-1995.  Ocean Rider is an organic Hawaiian-based aqua-farm that practices good farming techniques in raising its seahorses.  By raising seahorses, Ocean Rider helps "save seahorses from extinction through continued research, education, conservation and propagation of the endangered seahorses and sea dragons."  Our tour lasted about an hour, culminating in holding one!

Trying to take a photo in high sunshine through water of swimming seahorses has to be a lot like taking a picture of wiggling redworms in a can.  Near about impossible to get a good shot.  Some of the tanks held 50 horsies, or more, all scooting around.  Ocean Rider had a lot of tanks.

First you make a "reef" with your hands, as seen above and below.  A tour guide places a seahorse on your "reef" and that's all it takes.  A seahorse naturally wraps its tail to anything.  Are the two below dancing?

Look at that tiny seahorse in Diane's hands!  None of us wanted to let the seahorse go; they are so cute.  Diane and I wanted to take "ours" home!  Kind of like we wanted to pack the chameleon in our suitcase on our last visit to Hawaii -- click here.

Jimmy had a nice clinger!

 These seahorses were in small tanks for viewing only.  Loved the seahorse farm!

Since we still had much of the afternoon free, we drove south to Kailua-Kona again to canvas more of the area. In the heart of Historic Kailua Village is Hulihe'e Palace, circa 1838, a Heritage site. Once the former vacation home of Hawaiian royalty, it's now a museum run by the Daughters of Hawai'i.  We didn't go in, because you simply can't do it all, but it certainly looks inviting.  More like paradise!

Gorgeous Giant spider lily (Crinum amabile) on the grounds.

Hawaii's oldest Christian Church is located almost across the street from the palace: Moku'aikaua Church, founded in 1820 by Asa and Lucy Thurston from the first ship of American Christian Missionaries, the brig Thaddeus. (I read Michener's book, Hawaii. Enough said.) The church continues to be in use and is open to the public for tours; Jimmy and Tom went in. I was busy watching a small flock of birds on the grass outside (below). It was time to head for the minivan. No, I'm not even going to try pronouncing the church's name!

Common Waxbill (Estrilda astrild)

Another stellar day ends for us on the Big Island, complete with a glowing sunset.

Waikoloa Walk-about -- Monday Afternoon, 2/15/16

By afternoon, a wind advisory had been posted for the Kona Coast, with sustained winds of 20-30 mph and gusts to 50 mph.  I decided these winds were more than just trade winds, but I could be wrong.  When I asked about snorkeling or driving to Waipio Valley at the information desk, the reply was, "better not, not in this wind."  Tom and Diane returned from their sales pitch and ate lunch, and we decided to simply walk around the village today and explore areas that we'd yet to see.

Jimmy at lunch with his friends.

Everyone was glad we were on the leeward side of Bldg 21.

This little guy was hiding from the wind in a protective nook of our balcony.

Check out the centipede the Pacific Golden-Plover yanked out of the grass!

It spent a long time working this thing loose!

Then, what to my wondering eyes should appear?

Not eight tiny reindeer, but a gaggle of wild goats cruising the golf course!

More serene pools with an ocean view.

Imagine swimming in this lagoon!  That would be so cool.

They actually swim on the other side of this beautiful structure.

Lots of fun being had here!

Woo-hoo!

They both look happy.

Eventually we found "Dolphin Quest" at Waikoloa.  For a fairly hefty fee, you could swim with the dolphins (below), or chose a different experience.  Longer times in the water with the dolphins involved spending buckets of money.  I was surprised to learn that they're using Atlantic Bottlenose Dolphins here in Hawaii; not sure why.  I would love to snorkel and interact with dolphins close by, but only in the wild.  We watched for quite a while, and the kids seemed to be having a grand time.  Man, dolphins are FAST!

Surf's up!

So much beauty to be seen, everywhere I look.  I stumble often because I'm always looking -- and I'm fortunate enough to be able to see -- from the small and humble to magnificent and grandiose, from stark black to vibrant colors ... and in Hawaii, it's easy to be awed.

We've seen a lot of grand sights this trip, and we still have a few more days to enjoy The Big Island.  To play!  Tomorrow's forecast calls for more wind, so we'll have to wait till then to decide what to do.  Like Scarlet O'Hara:  Tomorrow is another day.

Monday morning Walk-about -- 2/15/16

Today at 9 am Tom and Diane met with the vacation rental people, but we didn't have to go, yee-haw and thank goodness.  What Jimmy and I wanted to do was go for a walk.  But we knew as soon as we stuck our noses outside the balcony sliding glass door that something was different.  The wind was blowing.  Really blowing.  

One of us, who shall remain anonymous, took to feeding the House Sparrows cereal crumbs.  Once that activity began, the sparrows didn't go away.  Every morning they waited; they knew when we got up and sat like little vultures lined up for breakfast.  It was kinda fun, till we looked down on the flooring a few days later and saw all the little sparrow poopers.  Oops.  Mynah birds joined the party some mornings, and then it was not only messy, it got noisy, too!  "Uh, guys, you know?  I think we shouldn't be feeding the birds out here anymore."  

So, when our friends walked across the street to their appointment, Jimmy and I set off on our walk.  It was warm and windy. When we stopped at another clubhouse for an in-and-out break (water in-water out, if you get my drift), I spoke with one of the managers.  I mentioned the wind and she responded, "Oh yes, it's wonderful to have the trade winds back.  It's been calm here the last couple of few weeks."  On the question of VOG, she agreed that the winds would keep that at bay.

We had a tailwind going, and a headwind on our return, which was good, 'cause by the time we turned around, it was going on 11 am -- too warm to be out hiking in the sun.  The wind in our faces kept us cooler.

We love learning new things.  Didn't know this trail existed till this morning.  Even after reading the sign, we stepped off the sidewalk onto this semi-crushed lava rock path.  Tough going -- walking on lava is no fun. We went as far as the property line and then hopscotched across lava boulders to get off the durned path onto soft grass.  I would definitely NOT walk on this path at night!  Uh-uh, no way!

 Lots of small Saffron Finches hopped about on the grass.

It was easy to walk right up to them; they seemed unafraid.

You want color?  I'll show you color!  Look at this beautiful Bougainvillea!

We aren't sure what these trees with the HUGE leaves are,

some kind of coastal tree.  Very pretty.

We walked up to the entrance of the huge Hilton Waikoloa Village.  It's closer to the ocean, with lots of hotel rooms and fancy shops, fine eateries, more swimming pools, reefs, et cetera, but we didn't go any further.  This handsome horse of sorts was our turn-around point.

Lovely bunch of coconuts as long as the wind doesn't cause one to fall on our heads!

When we were camping at MacKerricher St Pk in NorCal last year, we looked all over for the Snowy Plover that was supposedly nesting nearby.  Saw nary a one.  Here at Waikoloa, Pacific Golden-Plovers were everywhere!  My Hawaiian bird guidebook gave this detail: "Unlike many migratory shorebirds, the Pacific Golden-Plover is not limited to lowland coastal areas.  It can even be seen along roads and other open areas."  We almost had to kick them out of the way.   

Once we saw this sign, we knew we were close to the condo.  We were ready to kick off the shoes and sit for a few minutes.  Maybe have a bite of lunch.  Tom and Diane were still at their meeting, so we settled down on the balcony to wait.  We discussed what was in the cards for the afternoon.  Our four-plus-mile walk suited us to a T. to be continued in the next post ....

Valentine pool-time! Feb 14th, 2016

Since we spent much of yesterday gallivanting Out and About and it turned into a fairly long day, the four of us wanted to chill out and hang out ... poolside.  This is not a mere swimming pool.  Set amidst waterfalls and lava rocks, this salt-water pool complex boasts sparkling plunge pools, whirlpools and loungers.  There's a sand-bottomed pool and a kiddie pool. A water slide and a "tunnel" slide. Volleyball in the sports pool.  A fitness center.  Even a cold plunge pool (shudder, no thanks!).  Take your pick. Towels are provided.  Just wear a bathing suit and bring your SPF.  Surrounding all is lush and colorful landscaping.  Enjoy!!

Nope, this isn't the pool, although this is the entrance to the pool complex, and activity center, bistro/lounge, deli/bar (woohoo, 60" TV's), vacation check-in, information, and -- last, but not least -- the shuttle stop.

Tom and Jimmy, ready to hit the pool.

Notice who is not in the photo because she is TAKING the photo.  Sorry, no bathing suit shots of me!  I spent most of my time in the water, and even got up the courage to send my old body down the slide and the tunnel chute, not just once, but several times. Loved it! We tried different pools with varying temperatures, but everyone's favorite was the hot tub, of course.  All day at the pool? Wonderful panacea for anything that ails ya!

Always monkeyin' around!

Saw these little fellas poolside, too.  Left is the Orange-spotted day Gecko and on the right is a Brown Anole.  It appears the Gecko is growing a new tail.  Jimmy sez it's either an Insurance Gecko or Art Decco!

This is my favorite picture.  Boy toes and girl toes!

Tom is having a blast in the waterfall.

Two grown men in line with the kids for a free shaved-ice cup.

What a relaxing day, and, after all, isn't that what life is about?  Going and doing AND relaxing?  I wish to heavens I'd remember that each part of my exposed body needs sunscreen protection!  I always seem to miss a spot (sigh...).  When we got hungry, we ordered lunch at the deli (behind where the shaved ice was served), and then the guys walked across to the condo and brought back our Mexican Train Domino set, and we played a few rounds sitting in the shade.  The picture above is looking out from the pool complex area toward Bldg 21 where we're staying.  Everything looks very green and tropical, tho without water, about all you'd see would be piles of lava, like the photo below.

This kitty seemed comfy on it's lava rock perch behind the condo,

and wouldn't turn around, period.

At dusk the tiki torches are lit.  After dinner we strolled around, inhaling the evening fragrances (no VOG today), and admiring the grounds.  One last picture and then we climbed into the elevator for the third floor and resumed our domino games.  

Oh my!