Cruisin' Kawaihae

I've been lazy all week and I haven't updated the blog. Maybe I am still feeling relaxed after Tuesday's sunset sail aboard the Alala, the Ocean Sports catamaran. Jack's Diving Locker is celebrating its 25th anniversary so they took their employees (and guests) on the dinner cruise. They served a paniolo style menu with BBQ ribs, pinneapple, baked beans and corn on the cob. Drinks were even included! Did you know they make Corona in a can?

Jar full of frogs

It's raining tonight and I noticed tiny frogs all over the driveway and the street. They're fast and despite their small size they can jump a couple feet, which makes them really fun to catch! They look like coquis but I have never heard a coqui frog in the neighborhood which makes me suspect they are greenhouse frogs.

The coqui frog, of course, is a tiny invasive specie from Puerto Rico that has made a big stink on the island because of its loud 80 decibel chirp. Hawaii has tons of plants and animals that were transported here purposely or accidentally that pose a threat to our delicate ecosystem. I haven't come across anything too interesting yet, though I did uncover a blind snake once while planting pineapples. It is a felony to posses a snake in Hawaii because of the harm they could cause to the environment. But blind snakes only get a few inches long and they eat termites (not native birds) so I don't think anyone minds them.

Cowabunga, dude!

One of my childhood fantasies was to ride my skateboard in a half pipe. And when I was a kid in small town Indiana, skateparks and half pipes were few and far between. But I finally got my chance today. It turns out one of my co-workers has a half pipe in her backyard! I don't know any fancy tricks, and my board is probably 15 years old. But after about three turns I started wondering how much it would cost to build one in my own backyard. My dad does have a complete set of tools.

Dory goes exploring

Korben, Ken's son, hunted down his first geocache last week and he took this fish from the cache. Apparently, the toy was originally stashed in the Sierra Nevadas by an 8-year-old girl. Dory was hidden with a tag that said she wanted to live somewhere warm where she could swim with other fish and with people. She got her wish Saturday at Ho`okena when Dory, Jim and I went snorkeling together. Korben re-hid Dory somewhere on the island Sunday.

I am not a geocacher, though it seems like a cool hobby. I found a geocache in my neighborhood per Ken's instructions. In fact, I saw a family from Ohio seeking the treasure earlier today.

Venting

This is probably the closest I'll ever get to the source of Kilauea's lava flow. Jim and I hiked 4.2 miles each way through a lush fern forest in Glenwood. We gazed at the rainforest's canopy above, noticed wild orchids and vines growing up ohia trees, and tossed rocks into a seemingly endless volcanic crack in the earth. But the trek's greatest reward was the view of steam rising from Pu`u O`o vent only one mile away. Temption beckoned me to get closer, but common sense and threatening words on a warning sign prevailed: "Attention: please stay near the forest edge. New lavas can be unstable and dangerous and you are a long way from help. Access prohibited."

Lava has been flowing from the Pu`u O`o vent since 1983. Sometimes you can see lava streaming down the hillside from Chain of Craters Road, othertimes there is a good view of it dumping into the ocean, and occasionally you can walk right up to a surface flow and poke it with a stick. Right now, lava is flowing mostly through underground lava tubes, and you can't get close to the flow into the ocean because the new land being created is unstable and it is expected to collapse into the ocean. But that can change at any time. Hawaii Volcanoes National Park updates their lava hotline daily: (808) 985-6000.

Stop, grow, stop, grow



A bougainvillea bush is growing up the post and out the top of the a sign at Border's.

Fun with fish

The surf is still flat so today was Two Steps revisited. Jim and I snorkeled and Sarah and Justin did some spearfishing. Actually, they did a lot of spearfishing. The two of them were out there for over four hours. Sarah got a goat fish, a kala (onion fish) two uhu (parrotfish) and a Palani (knife fish) She had a whole fan club of tourists gawking at her dead fish and spearguns. I'm gonna have to try spearfishing someday, but for now I am sticking to picture taking. (you don't have to clean and gut pictures)

An Exciting Swim

I decided to go for a swim after work tonight in Kailua Bay. I got past the end of the pier and as I neared the milk carton buouy, a white triangle popped out of the water about 20 feet in front of me. Uh-oh. I scanned the water and after a minute I could see the shadow of a large creature rising to the surface. Two black fins emerged from the ocean and I was immediatly releaved to see it was only a manta ray. What looked like a shark fin must have been the white bottom of the manta's wing. So I watched the manta for a few minutes, and I continued my swim when I discovered another larger manta. His wingspan was probably about 8 feet, though I have read their wingspan can get up to 25 feet across! These alien-like but graceful creatures are filter feeders that use "arms" to push plankten into their huge mouths. Sorry I didn't have my camera with but you can see some manta pics here.

Bang

Fireworks light up Kailua Bay. They sure are beautiful over the ocean, but every 4th I can't help but miss the Midnight Parade in downtown Porter, Indiana, and the weekends spent at Toadstool's cottege in Michigan with my best pals, my old kayak, grilling, ice cold beer and the Metzger's industrial-sized margarita machine. We also had Shelton fireworks. The HUGE warehouse was 1/2 mile from my house and I always wanted to watch the place burn down. (it never did)

I thinkIndependance Day is the same all across America with friends and family, boats and water, parades, meat and beer and fire. We sure are lucky to be in America.

Where's the beef?

I left the house this morning just as my dad threw bacon into the frying pan. I had to get up to Waimea so I didn't have time to wait. On my way to Parker Ranch's rodeo in Waimea I thought of nothing but meat. And why shouldn't I? A rodeo at the nation's largest privately-owned cattle ranch, ya know there's gonna be some grilling going on. Imagine my surprise when I read the concession stand menu: sushi, bentos, pork adobo. Don't they know this is America? Don't they know it's the 4th of July? Where's the meat on a stick? Where's the steak? Where's the shish kabobs, the corn dogs, the sweet corn? I settled for chili served on rice. It DID have beef in it.


I happen to love America. Most folks are well aware of that. I was blessed to get a taste of some great patriotic music this afternoon by Mele O Kona, our local chapter of Sweet Adelines. Jerri and Barbara, fellow WHT comrades, sing in the barbershop chorus. They performed the national anthem under this great big American flag. I love big flags. I love America.

Butterflies of the Sea

Don't they call tuna the chicken of the sea? Above are some Raccoon Butterflyfish we saw in Honaunau this morning at the snorkel spot known as "two steps." We saw Tom Finney down there sitting on his okole, enjoying the first day of retirement. I don't normally see bums at Two Steps, I hope Tom's presence doesn't start a downward trend at the popular snorkel/dive spot.

Here is a puffer fish:


Here's a Yellow Trumpetfish:

A Day in the Sun

Jim and I spent the day at my favorite beach, Makalawena. The water was surprisingly cloudy for snorkeling, but we still checked out a couple of sea arches that lie off the north end of the beach. In the winter, the surf occasionally breaks in the sandy area of the beach. You can catch a right and take it all the way across the bay.

What I really like about Makalawena is its remoteness and natural beauty. (no parking lots, bathrooms or crowds here) Because the clearance on my Liberty just doesn't cut it on the Makalawena road we drove down to Mahai`ulas (Kekaha Kai State Park) and hiked the 15 minute lava trail to Maks. And all you non-4X4-ers will be pleased to know they recently fixed the road to the state park so even rental cars can get down there again. That makes sense to me, I always feel bad for the tourists walking across lava fields in the hot sun to get to a state park. All state parks should be accessible.

We finished off the day with some ice cold Coronas at Jim's house. He made me a Mexican meal of tacos, refried beans and his "world-famous gringo guacamole."

Here's a honu we saw:

Next stop, Antarctica

There's a great cliff jumping spot in Keauhou called End of the World, but I think that name is better suited for the cliffs at South Point. Jim has been excited about jumping from this spot for weeks. I had myself talked out of it until I stood at the top of the cliff today and I saw how fun it looked. I'll add jumping off the southernmost point of the United States to the "cool stuff I've done" list.

Jim didn't warn me about the rickety ladder you have to climb to get out. It's one looooong rickety ladder. It's rusty and the rungs are hard to grip because they're skinny and wet. And it dangles from the cliff so the ladder swings as the waves hit it.

We also 4-wheeled to Green Sands Beach and enjoyed the day. It was sunny and the wind was calm, which is unusual at South Point. The sand doesn't look so green in the photo, but when you run your hands through it, the sand sure looks green. It was another remarkable day.

Trees and clouds reflect from a small pool on the Hamakua Coast.

Another day, another river, another waterfall

Sarah and I went up to Laupahoehoe Monday to visit some friends and hike to a waterfall. We walked up a river for about an hour hopping from one boulder to the next and wading through the water. The walls of the gulch towered over us, carpeted in bright green grass, wild orchids and ginger. A chorus of birds accompanied the babbling brook that resonated through the canyon. The garden of Eden must have been something like this.

We had a fun swim in the pool at the base of the falls, jumping off rocks and floating on our backs, watching the sun lit water pour over moss-covered rocks. The sky was bright blue and I was amazed at how fast the clouds flew by- as if someone had pressed the fast forward button on the remote.

After the hike, Luke made us a vegan meal of broccoli, mushrooms and millet. Then we hung out with some folks who are developing a 13 acre farm. They live off the land and their kitchen is constructed of PVC pipe and some plastic tarps. We sat on the ground near the kitchen and drank coconuts together. I felt like a tourist in another country, their lives are so different from mine, but they were really welcoming and we had a good time together. Sarah felt guilty later when we pulled off at Tex's to order a double cheese burger and a chocolate milk shake. The vegetarian food was delicious and healthy, but it didn't fill our meat-loving tummies for long.

TGIKD
(Thank God it's Kamehameha Day!)

If you look through my blog you'll see there are some good reasons to live in Hawaii. Here's one more. King Kamehameha Day. It's that one day of the year I get off work when some other folks don't. It's like having a get-out-of-jail-free card. I have the whole day free...how shall I spend it?

King Kamehameha brought the Hawaiian islands under one rule for the first time in 1810, and his dynasty ruled the Kingdom of Hawaii for more than a century. I can't say I know much about this great king whose long ago efforts afford me a day of relaxation and fun each June.

Jim and I saw the original King Kamehameha statue in Kapa`au Saturday draped in lei. The bronze figure was made in Italy in the late 1800's and was on its way to the Judiciary buliding in Honolulu when its ship sank near the Falkland Islands. So they made a second statue and shipped that one to Honolulu. Later, the original was found, restored, and it now stands in Kapa`au near Kamehameha's birthplace.

Rompin' around in rivers

Jim and I went up to Hawi Saturday to see what we could see. (my new friend, Scuba diver Jim, not teacher Jim who is in Europe.)

I forgot the sky could be so blue, it was a gorgeous day! We walked up a river navigating thick vegetation, slippery rocks and mud. We were looking for a waterfall but I finally realized I had lead Jim up the wrong river. Then we walked to the bottom of Pololu Valley and played in the waves and rinsed off the yucky river water. (the above photo shows the view from the top of the valley) The surf was as calm as I have seen it at Pololu and there didn't seem to be much of a rip current. (the currents are usually pretty nasty in there so be careful!)

Feeling refreshed we took another stab at finding the waterfall. And it was well worth the effort, mosquito bites and all. Then we took a dip in the ocean at Mahukona and finished off the day with some icy cold Kona Brews and meaty, cheesy burritos at Tres Hombres in Kawaihae.

Half an Ironman radio for half an Ironman

I got lazy last week and never finished my posts. We were all proud of Tom, here are his times:
swim: 51:18
bike: 3:48:37
run: 2:22:4
overall: 7:15:15

He came in 700th place, out of more than 1,000 competitors.

I was so proud of him, in fact, I decided to give him a gift. Something nice. So my dad and I cut an Ironman radio in half using a power hack saw. We cut it package and all. But when we were about done the radio fell out of the package. In retrospect, it would have been easier to remove the radio from the molded plastic package first, cut it, then return it to the package. Cutting it in the package was trickier and slivers of radio made a mess inside the package. Next time, we'll know better.

Race Update

Tom Finney has finished the bike portion of the Honu! It took him 3:48:37 which puts him in 758th place. He averaged 14.7 mph. GO TOM!

Race Day

Today is the Honu Half-Ironman. More than 1,057 competitors from 19 countries and 37 U.S. states will swim 1.2 miles at Hapuna Beach, bike 56 miles to Hawi and back, and finish up with a 13 mile run at the Mauna Lani Resort. I watched the start of the race from the cliff overlooking Hapuna, and was lucky enough to catch a glimpse of Kona's own Tom Finney as he finished up his swim in 51:18. When his day is complete he'll be half an Ironman.




Here's Finney on his way to the bike transition. I must have gotten water on the camera because the image is blurry.



What a great sportsman! Tom takes a moment to give a fellow cyclist a drink she dropped.

Pride of Hawaii

Norwegian Cruise Line's new ship, Pride of Hawaii, arrived in Kona for the first time today. The largest U.S flagged ship ever, it weighs 93,500 tons, carries up to 2,400 passengers, and has a crew of 1,000 mostly American workers. Norwegian has two other American ships that tour the islands, the Pride of America and the Pride of Aloha.

The only cruise ship I have every toured was the Norwegian Star. That ship doesn't sail under the U.S. flag so by law they have to visit a foreign port during every cruise. So they sail to Fanning Island in the Republic of the Kiribati, which is 850 miles south of the Big Island. The ship's hotel manager once told me they spend $200,000 on fuel for their week-long Hawaiian cruise, and $150,000 of that is spent going to Fanning Island. I don't know how true that is, but it seems like a hefty price to pay just to escape American taxes and labor laws. But what do I know? My only gripe with cruise ships is their stinky transport boats that smell up the bay while I am swimming and the poo-poo they dump in the water.

On a positive note, I recently met a doctor who does mission work on Fanning Island. Norwegian lets him travel for next to nothing and they've been really cooperative about transporting medical supplies to the island. He has some fascinating photos and stories about his work. A picture of the store room at the "hospital" has a few rusty shelves with half a dozen old bottles of some kind of stuff. That's it.

Fun with boxes

Dianne is moving so John gave her some boxes to use, and they're stacked next to my desk. What's the big deal? Every WHT employee has walked by my desk in the last day and asked me about the boxes. And I am sick and tired of being interrupted from my work to explain why the boxes are there. Tom finds my irritation to be funny so he wanted to put up a sign that says, "Ask me about the boxes." He also put one of the boxes over Dianne's chair while she was at lunch. Then I get to explain to everyone that, "No, Dianne did not get a new chair. It is just a box over her existing chair." Then Dino put a sign on the boxes declaring that he is moving to Old A's to live in the boxes. So everyone in the office was motivated to leave house warming gifts: a shot glass, cheese and crackers, Mardi Gras beads. You'd think we were a bunch of three-year-olds playing with these stupid boxes. How can I work under such conditions?

Memorial Day Weekend

I haven't updated the blog in more than a week. Work has been really hectic and frustrating and the customers have been more out of control than usual. It's been wearing on me and at night I am too tired to do anything.

But the three day weekend and observance of Memorial Day refreshed me and left me thinking of the things that make this country great.

Washing our Jeeps and waxing up our surfboards, grilling burgers and listening to John Mellencamp. Jim Nabors singing Back Home Again in Indiana at the start of the Indy 500 followed by that famous exclamation, "Lady and gentlemen, start your engines!" There's no prouder moment to be an American and a Hoosier. You can bet my 9 1/2 foot flag was on display this weekend. God bless America!

There was a fun potluck at church, plenty of eating, basketball, volleyball and tom foolery. I am embarrassed to be from Indiana but not know how to play basketball. The rope swing proved to be more fun. We weren't supposed to play on it, but I didn't know that until later when I heard Pastor Bruce telling the kids not use the swing anymore. I didn't have the courage to tell him I was the one who climbed the tree and got the swing down in the first place. I think I am busted, though, because Kim Jensen took this photo and now I am posting to evidence online.

God's Gas

That's what Hank Hill calls it. No wonder he has dedicated his life to selling propane and propane accessories. We went out to NELHA Friday night to fire up the hibachi in celebration of my mom's 60th birthday. That little grill took FOREVER.

Today was the one-year anniversary sale at Leisure Island Grill. I counted myself blessed just to see their amazing grills in action. The chef from Jackie Rey's was there cooking up seared ahi, rotisserie chicken and beef, and it was delicious! They should have charged admission. The store sells high-end BBQs and designs and builds custom outdoor kitchens. You'd have to see these things to believe them. My dad's boss bought a $1,200 grill there last week for his vacation rental, and it's not one of the fancy ones. If you live in Kona you really need to go see their showroom. It's truly inspirational. These American-made stainless steel beauties use infrared technology that heats up to 1,100 degrees. And they come with a 20-year warranty.

Here's where the story is going. The store had a drawing to win a portable, stainless steel, infrared grill. And my mom won! My folks went straight from the grill store to Costco to buy meat. The grill is a beauty. She heats up immediately and she burns so hot if you shut the lid it will warp. This table-top miracle cooked a T-bone to perfection in just under 6 minutes.

I'm starting to feel like Colleen!

Remember how Colleen celebrated her birthday for a whole month? And she got 18 going away parties before she moved to the mainland? (or was it 19?)

Today my parents gave me a water bottle and cross bars for the roof of my Jeep. Mom made potato doughnuts for breakfast and baked me a yellow cake with chocolate frosting. Friends from work took me and another birthday girl, Cindy, to lunch, and tonight we went to Teshima's.

Folks really know how to make me feel special and I really appreciate it. Mahalo!

Whew! I am just about all birthdayed out for this year.

The birthday celebrations continue!

Sarah took me to the prime rib & seafood buffet at the King Kam hotel. They have everything there! But I really kept my focus and mainly went for the good stuff: Shrimp tempura, sashimi, and CRAB LEGS!

The Celebrations Begin

In honor of my birthday we held our weekly advertising team meeting at the Kona Brew Pub Friday. Bob wouldn't let us order a beer until our meeting was pau. (the bum!) And he made fun of me because of the look on my face when I tried to order a Steam Vent and was told no. The folks on my team really know how to make me feel special, they got me a brew pub towel and sun visor.

So Monday is my birthday. I am offering a prize to the first person who guesses how old I will be.

(Only one guess per person. Void where prohibited.)

Wet Okoles are installed!

I can see why these car seat covers cost so much. They are tailored to fit the seats like a glove, and they're made of thick, high-quality wet suit material. (And they're made in USA) The 60/40 bench seat was a bit tricky and I had to do part of it twice because I covered up the middle seat belt the first time, but for the most part they were extremely easy to put on.

Bikini Bottom, Kailua-Kona, Hawaii

It's mid-week and I'm a little desperate for blog topics. So here's another underwater photo for you. These are the fun Sponge Bob Squarepants ornaments I bought at Stockley's for my aquarium. The coconut is supposed to open and close as it fills with air but the plastic it's made of is too buoyant so it stays open all the time.

Coupon Tom's Wild Ride

The advertising staff at work is organized into teams. I am on the Five Star team along with Dianne, Dino and Jerri (who you have met in previous posts) Now meet Tom.

We took my dad's Jeep to the top of Hualalai today with the Soil and Water Conservation group and we were lucky enough to have Tom join us for the long, bumpy ride. It was pretty cloudy all day so we never caught a view of the coastline but we saw a lot strange volcanic features and Ohia trees and we learned some cool stuff from a volcanologist. I think my dad is a little uneasy to know the volcano our house sits on is overdue for an erruption.

Here's a photo of me at the Shotgun Crater:

Cinco de Mayo

This is what Dianne looks like through an empty beer glass. (incase anyone was wondering)

A bunch of us WHT folks enjoyed cold beers, good company, and a beautiful sunset at the Royal Kona Resort Friday.

I don't want to exclude Dino, so here's a photo of him doing what he does best. (You may be surprised to know that his best talent isn't selling sweet bread.)

PT Gal

Jerri got a new car yesterday. She's so happy she's glowing. I wonder how many miles she'll put on this weekend?

My Lips Itch!

I'm allergic to mango tree sap. About five years ago I went climbing around in mango trees, picking mangos, eating mangos, and rubbing my face with mango sap covered hands. Two days later they sent me home from work because my bumpy, splotchy face and swollen shut eyes were scaring the customers.

So I was pretty careful around the mango trees on Jennifer's farm in Holualoa Sunday. Not careful enough, apparently, because my lips still are swollen, bumpy and itchy three days later.

I did climb this mystery tree. No one knows what kind it is, but I am certain it's not mango. I'd rather confront poison ivy, oak or sumac than to take on another mango tree. Thankfully, poison ivy, oak and sumac are three things I don't have to worry about now that I live in Hawaii. Here's a fun poison ivy, oak and sumac website. Brings me back to my Midwestern roots.