Kauai part 1

I finally made it to the island I've wanted to go to since I first started daydreaming about Hawaii — the island of Kauai. It's the farthest west and north of the main Hawaiian islands, and about 50 minutes flying time from Kona. A friend of ours Julie lives over there so we went for three days.



Immediately when we got off the plane in Lihue, we went on a kayaking tour on the Hule'ia river. We've kayaked a bunch on the Big Island, but that's in the ocean in blue, clear water. It was different kayaking on a flat, muddy, shallow river. Anyway, we paddled about two miles upstream, past dense mangroves along the shoreline and lush, jagged, small mountains in the background.



We pulled the kayaks onto the shore and hiked through the jungle for a mile to this swimming hole. The guide, like many of them here, had plenty of interesting info to share about the natural environment and Hawaiian history. We swung out over the water on the rope swing and dropped off, which was fun and refereshing in the cool water. This isn't one of us swinging, although Peggy shot some video of me taking a turn.



The tour guide had his spot where everyone was forced to have their picture taken. I was able to take my camera kayaking because of the red dry bag over my shoulder. The only problem with this photo is someone has their eyes closed. Open em!



So here is where day one ended, at our friend Julie's cool house in the Kilauea area. Kauai gets the most rain of the islands and is the oldest, so it's very lush, green and tropical — the quintessential Hawaii. And Kilauea is on the windward side of the island, where the most rain occurs. Just near Julie's house is where a dam burst during the winter and the raging water swept away eight people; you may have heard of that in the news. Anyway, this house was really cool, in a quiet, scenic rural area with fruit trees in the yard like banana and lime.

See you on day two...

To the Top

One of the most amazing things about the Big Island (there are so many it sounds almost silly to say "one of") is the two almost 14,000 foot mountains. This shot is of Mauna Kea, which means white mountain in Hawaiian. I've been the summit about a half dozen times, but it's quite a journey. This picture isn't the most impressive, but at 13,796 feet tall, Mauna Kea is the tallest mountain the Pacific Rim.



Here's a shot from the summit. Yes, that's snow. Thus the name white mountain. When storm systems pass over the island during the winter months, it's cold enough to snow from the summit down to about the 10,000 foot mark. It's quite a sight to see when you're at sea level, sitting on the beach surrounded by palm trees on an 80 degree day.

The summit is also the best place on the planet for astronomy because of no light pollution and low humidity. It's home to about 11 observatories including the legendary W.M. Keck Obseratory, the twin domes you see. Each houses a telescope, which work together. On the left is the Subaru telescope, the national observatory of Japan. I've been on tours of each for stories at my newspaper. We're talking about millions and millions of dollars on technology. Behind the Keck domes is the island of Maui.



Here's a close of the Canada-France-Hawaii telescope, shared jointly by, uh, Canada, France and the University of Hawaii. When they operate the telecope, the giant panel slides open.



Here's the cabin we stayed in at about 6,500 foot elevation in Mauna Kea State Recreation Area. It's about an hour from here to the summit of Mauna Kea. These cabins are located off Saddle Road, a road that transverses the island from Kona to Hilo. Nearby is Pohakuloa Training Area, an area where the military conducts live fire training exercises. No danger though.

To the Top

One of the most amazing things about the Big Island (there are so many it sounds almost silly to say "one of") is the two almost 14,000 foot mountains. This shot is of Mauna Kea, which means white mountain in Hawaiian. I've been the summit about a half dozen times, but it's quite a journey. This picture isn't the most impressive, but at 13,796 feet tall, Mauna Kea is the tallest mountain the Pacific Rim.



Here's a shot from the summit. Yes, that's snow. Thus the name white mountain. When storm systems pass over the island during the winter months, it's cold enough to snow from the summit down to about the 10,000 foot mark. It's quite a sight to see when you're at sea level, sitting on the beach surrounded by palm trees on an 80 degree day.

The summit is also the best place on the planet for astronomy because of no light pollution and low humidity. It's home to about 11 observatories including the legendary W.M. Keck Obseratory, the twin domes you see. Each houses a telescope, which work together. On the left is the Subaru telescope, the national observatory of Japan. I've been on tours of each for stories at my newspaper. We're talking about millions and millions of dollars on technology.



Here's a close of the Canada-France-Hawaii telescope, shared jointly by, uh, Canada, France and the University of Hawaii. When they operate the telecope, the giant panel slides open.



Here's the cabin we stayed in at about 6,500 foot elevation in Mauna Kea State Recreation Area. It's about an hour from here to the summit of Mauna Kea. These cabins are located off Saddle Road, a road that transverses the island from Kona to Hilo. Nearby is Pohakuloa Training Area, an area where the military conducts live fire training exercises. No danger though.

Stop...it's Hammock Time

Ahhhh....So here I am hanging out in my portable, comfortable hammock that Peggy got me for Christmas. We went camping last weekend and stayed at our favorite campsite in Volcano. That's the town by Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. Anyway, this hammock is cool because it folds up and goes in a bag. You don't need trees or poles to tie to. It's usually set up on our lanai (porch). But we took it on the camping trip and it was the perfect place to relax.

Whistler in Au Canada

Since I was turning 30, I wanted to take a trip someplace I'd always remember and that would be an adventure. The weather in Hawaii is fantastic, but I was missing the snow and in a strange way the cold that comes with it. So I decided on a ski trip to Whistler in British Columbia, Canada. There were also a few days in the city of Vancouver, but that will be another entry.



Me and Peggy actually flew into Seattle because it was much cheaper and faster due to it being a direct flight from Kona. We drove north to Vancouver (2.5 hours) and then onto Highway 99, called the Sea to Sky Highway because it leads from on-the-water Vancouver, along the sound and up into the mountains. Whistler was about an hour and a half drive from Vancouver.



Here's a shot riding up a chair lift. We stayed in a condo at the base of Whistler mountain. The gondola up the mountain was only a couple hundred yards from our building, just a quick walk. I bought a three day lift ticket and rental.



This is the peak of Whistler as seen from a chair lift.

Whistler is actually Whistler-Blackcomb because there are two mountains that make up the ski resort. Whistler is known as one of the best skiing/snowboarding resorts in North America and even the world. Vancouver is hosting the 2010 Olympics and the alpine events are being held at Whistler.

The altitude at the base of the mountains is about 2,100 feet and the peak elevation is about 7,200, so you can ski down one vertical mile, which is equal to the depth of the Grand Canyon. Whistler has 8,171 skiable acres, 39 lifts and receives 360 inches of snow each year. It was early in the season when we went in mid-December, but there was still plenty of snow.



Here's a look back as I was riding up the a chair lift. This is probably only a third of the way up the mountain. It probably takes about 40 minutes to ride to the top. This view astonished me the entire three days I skied. Classic Pacific Northwest kind of view — 8,000 foot mountains covered in snow and pine trees.



This is it. My absolute favorite view. This is from the top of Whistler, looking off the mountain's backside at the mountain range. I couldn't believe it when I got to the top, skied off the chairlift and saw this. The sunlight, crisp air, smell of pine and snow and so much more of the scene made it so amazing that is was surreal.



This is view from Whistler looking at Blackcomb. Those are trails you see. In the foreground, the mountain steepens and it's a bowl, an area without defined trails, where you just make your own path on snow that nobody else has skied on. Totally cool. Although I came upon a real steep section that I had to go around.



Sorry I couldn't deliver an action shot of me going down the mountain. One of the biggest challenges of this trip was having the clothes needed. You don't exactly have winter jackets and ski pants handy when you live in Hawaii. But I had some stuff and my dad shipped a box of gear.



But I got an action shot of Peggy. I was impressed with her skiing ability — she hadn't been since high school, but did ski a fair amount then in New York state. We would split up sometimes and I'd take a harder trail, and we'd meet at the bottom. As for her outfit, we won't go to much into it, but remember we had to patch together our clothes. Plus she was jokingly going for an 80's look. Functional though.

Introducing the new house

So again I have totally slacked on updating my blog after I promised regular postings. But anyway, here's the new house we are renting and moved into Sept. 1. Finding a place in Hawaii that is close to town, affordable and takes dogs is literally impossible. After two months of searching, it turns out one of the freelancers at the newspaper and her husband built this house in a subdivision called Kona Paradise, about 25 miles south of Kailua-Kona. The drive takes 35 to 40 minutes. The owners kind of plan to retire to this house one day, but maybe they'll sell it. Anyway, the gist is that it's a two bedroom, two bath brand new house. Nobody has lived in it except us and everything inside is very nice.



So here's the house from the road. The yellow is a perfect color for Hawaii. You can see my car parked in the carport. Past the house you can see the vast blue Pacific. Kona Paradise is built on a very steep hill. It's actually a strange place to put a neighborhood. The main highway at the entrance of the development is at 1,000 feet above sea level and we live on the third street down — Carissa Rd. — at about 800 feet above sea level. You can continue driving down the hill in a low gear and reach Kaohe Bay, or Pebble Beach. So water access is less than a 5 minute drive!



If you walk through the carport, this is the way into the house...a little side porch (or lanai as it's called in Hawaii.)



And here is Peggy's favorite room: the kitchen. It's so nice to have a real kitchen, with tons of counter space and real, normal size appliances, including her long awaited dishwasher. We have more cabinet space than we know what to do with. One of the best things about the house is everything but the bedrooms is tile floor. That means cooler temps, easier clean up and no dog hair permanently ingrained in the carpet.



Here's our living room, with a dining room table against the wall (minus the chairs). The photo doesn't really reflect how large and open the space is. As you can see we have all windows on that wall, plus along the wall to the right. You'll see what the view is in a couple more photos.



Small photo of the second/guest bathroom. Can't really capture a bathroom in a photo...let's move on.



And here's a look at the guest room/office. It was a tough room to photograph also, but I wanted to show it because there will be a bed in that corner soon and anyone looking at this is invited to come stay in Hawaii! I am actually sitting at that desk right now on the computer.



The master bedroom is so large I couldn't get a great angle to show it all. But this is looking in. The windows look out on a sweeping view of the ocean below. It's truly remarkable. There is a walk in closet to the left.



Here's the master bathroom. Moving on...



And here's the real living room! Our lanai (porch). This is shot from the double doors leading out of the bedroom. The living room is to the right. We pretty much hang out here a lot and eat at that table. The dogs Samson and Malley enjoy sitting out there smelling whatever is in the breeze. You can see here our neighbors our fairly close, but it's not a big deal. I'm hoping to put a hammock out here sometime soon.



Ahhh.... This is why I don't mind living so far from town. I mean, I can't believe I live in a nice new house in Hawaii with a drop dead gorgeous view of the ocean.



And this is a view of the house from the backyard, which is pretty much all lava rock and unusable, until we persuade the owners to put down a load of dirt. The huge silver tank under the house is our catchment tank. We don't have county water here. So like two thirds of the people on the island, our roof catches the rainfall, funnels it into the gutters, and then it filters through a couple layers of special plastic and is held in the tank. We get plenty of rain, so it's not a problem with supply, although we try to conserve. We drink bottled water too.



Welcome to Kaohe Bay, otherwise known as Pebble Beach. That's because instead of sand, this beach is made up of small stones that have been smoothed by the ocean. It's not as nice as a sandy beach, but it's not bad. Hardly anyone is ever here, especially on weekdays. Maybe a person or two. Maybe three or four on the weekend. It's three minutes down the hill from the house. So the dogs and I come here almost every day to go swimming. There is pretty cool snorkeling along the two sides.



Just wanted to show my Xterra parked in its usual spot under coconut trees at Kaohe Bay.



Just another day coming to a close in Kona Paradise. This is the evening view...wish you were here to share it.

Crawlin' In My Yard

So I was walking through my yard one day and suddenly stopped in my tracks as a strange neighbor cut me off. Geckos are a common sight in Hawaii — they often crawl across the walls inside your house. But this creature looked like a dinosaur crossed with a cucumber. It's called a Jackson Chameleon and people keep them as "pets" in cages. I assume that over the years they have escaped from people's houses and survived in the tropical environment here. I included a description from zoo.org below. When this guy realized I was watching him, he didn't run, but just spun his funky eyeballs around. That scared me away.



"Found in African forests, Jackson's Chameleons move slowly, relying on camouflage rather than speed to avoid predators. They have sharp claws and especially adapted feet to wrap around the twigs of trees. Their eyes, mounted on movable turrets can move independently in all directions to scan for danger or food to eat. Their long thin tongue can be extended rapidly to catch insects and spiders. Chameleons are famous for their ability to change colour according to the amount of light, the temperature, and their mood - whether they are angry or frightened for example. They prefer to live alone and use their horns in combat against other males to defend their territories."

Seeing Green

Ok, so big apologies to everyone because I haven't posted a new entry since March 15! That is truly pathetic. So I am recommiting myself to updating the blog regularly. I have a ton of photos and experiences to share, so start checking regularly.

Since I haven't posted since March 15, I figure a good place to pick up is where I left off. Here is March 17. Yes, St. Patrick's Day. Although I don't think there are too many Irish people in Hawaii, the locals use it as a good excuse to drink — much as they do all over America.



Here's a classic green beer. We found these at what I think is the only Irish bar in Kona, a place called Quinn's. It's a draft of Kona Golden Ale with green food coloring. Yum.



Here's another classic drink for St. Patrick's Day...an Irish Car Bomb. Ode to the IRA. You take a shot glass half filled with Jameson's Irish Whiskey and half filled with Bailey's Irish Cream. You drop the shotglass into a half glass of Guiness Irish Stout and chug. Yum. Then KABOOM.



And one more classic scene of St. Patrick's Day....drunk strangers. Just kidding, these are two friends of mine from the newspaper, Baron and Andrea. They're appropriately dressed in green and giving you a cheers.

The rest of the night was too blury to be photographed.

The Pu'u

This post is the third installment from a day I had a couple weeks ago. Sorry so slow — I've been really busy with work. Anyway, after spending some time laying around at Makalawena (see last blog entry), I took off to explore the coast north of the beach and hike up to a cinder cone, which is called a pu'u in Hawaiian. A pu'u is the spot of an old volcanic eruption, like a mini volcano.



This is the four-wheel drive road that leads to Makalwena beach. I am walking away from the beach toward the puu in this photo. The road eventually passes by the puu and connects to the main highway a few miles away.



A goat! Actually, there are wild goats in many locations around the Big Island of Hawaii. I am not sure how they got here, but they are well suited to the rocky, volcanic, steep terrain. The coastal area of Ke Kahakai State Park where I am hiking is a common place to see goats. I saw a half dozen or so on this hike. I tried to be stealthy and sneak up on one. Got pretty close until a truck came down the road. My brother Brett and I saw a herd of 12 to 15 on the mountain once and a couple male goats were slamming their horns together.



This is the view from on the puu looking towards Hualalai mountain. You can see the brown lava flows which are only 200 to 300 years old. The mountain is kind of obscured by clouds. I live on the side of Hualalai at 1,500 feet elevation, but more on the west (right) side.



From the top of the puu, this is looking south, toward the beach I hiked from, Makalawena, which is next to the trees you see on the shoreline. It was late in the afternoon, with the sun shining at the camera, so the colors don't look as vibrate. See the next photo for that.



Kua bay. Looking to the north off the puu, you can see Kua bay, a nice white sand beach to visit. The downside is they have built a paved road to Kua, so it will become more crowded. While four wheel drive roads make for a bumpy 10 to 15 minute ride, it adds to the isolation and keeps many people out. Right next to Kua bay is the Four Seasons resort and Kukio, a high end community with two golf courses. Lots for houses begin at $2 or $3 million. I have one.



When I was standing on top of the pu'u, these two guys showed up with radio controlled airplane gilders. No engines. They just throw the plane off into the wind and steer it with the radio control. They said everything costs about $500. The puu is a good place to fly the planes because of the winds coming off the ocean and warm thermal currents conducted off the hot lava rock fields.



Here's another shot of the two guys flying the radio controlled planes. Guy #1 is about to launch his plane. Guy #2 is flying his plane, which if you look closely, is directly in front of him. Makalawena is in left side of the frame. Time to hike back!

Corona Commerical

After leaving the scene of the last blog entry, we proceeded to what I call the Corona commerical beach, otherwise known as Makalawena. I refer to it as the Corona commerical beach beacause the sand is so white, so soft and deep. And the water there is such a beautiful shade of blue. It just looks like a beach straight out of a Corona commerical.



To reach Makalawena, you have to walk for about 10 to 15 minutes from Ke Kahakai across a lava field. This is a view towards Makalawena. Doesn't look too inviting, does it?



While walking along the trail, you can look to the mauka side (mountain side), across lava fields, toward Hualalai mountain. That's not haze from polution or humidity. On certain days in Kona it can be voggy. Yes, with a "v" because it's actually particles from the volcano on the other side of the island. When the tradewinds aren't quite blowing their usual direction, vog from the volcano wraps around the island into Kona. It's not any worse for you than polution in a major metro area, but that's not particularly heathly for you. The vog bothers some people with allergies.



Ahh.... Here is Makalawena. White sand and blue water. A photo that just has to speak for itself.



This is a shot down Makalawena toward where we hiked in. Because it is mid-afternoon, the sun is shining at the camera, thus the less impressive color of the sand and water.



If you walk north along the coast from the beach, there is an area with a large tidal pool, spots for camping and some picnic tables. Really secluded and scenic.



Roosters are prevalent at the higher elevations where I live, about 1,500 feet above sea level. But wandering around Makalawena I found several roosters and chickens, including this brightly colored male. I have become well-accustomed to their cock-a-doodle-doo! Except if they are too close to the house in the early morning, I have to chase them away with a squirt gun or rocks.