Hawaii Trip 2-13-12

I have taken a vacation from the cold gray Northwest, and I'm in Hawaii for 12 days!  I'm here with Dave and his mom, and like I told them today- even if we were going home tomorrow it would have been worth it!  Not only the warm soothing weather, but the sights I have been lucky enough to see, have just been breathtaking. 

We flew into Honolulu, and I was really happy to see that the airport had a little garden you could get out in without having to leave and come back through security. 

Dave shared a little of his lunch and we ended up with company!

From Honolulu, we flew to the big island of Hawaii, to Kona.  I saw these palms with what I think are dates and coconuts.

The varieties and abundance of different plants and trees are staggering.  It seems everything grows here and with enthusiasm.  I saw some bananas down the street I need to get a picture of still and also a tulip tree, which are quite large and have showy red-orange blossoms.  Maybe one of my next posts. 

 

Oha'i tree

 

 

The house we are in has a view of the ocean, across the street.  Before breakfast I'd seen many whale spouts and one humpback breach out of the water!!  Behind the house is jungle, which makes exploration fun.  I discovered to my dismay though, that the orb weaver spiders which are more abundant than I'd like are very unattractive (hideously ugly) they are kind of wedge shaped and thorny.  They make me think of the spiders in Zelda: Ocarina of Time.  Skulltulas. This picture does the beast no justice to its truly repulsive form.  : )

Before I left I had read on the internet that there would be geckos everywhere.  Well I had been looking everywhere for them from the moment I stepped off the plane.  I had pictured seeing them all over the airport windows, in the shrubbery and waving "aloha" from each palm tree.  Nothing.  When this morning I still had not glimpsed one, I sadly said to Dave, "I still haven't seen a single geckOH MY GOD THERE IS A GECKO RIGHT THERE!!!"  And there he was, in his jeweled glory. 

Gold Dust Day Gecko

After breakfast we went for a drive and ended up at a lava-rocky beach.  This being an island created by vulcanism, there is lava everywhere.  I know what you're saying.  "Thank you Captain Obvious." But it is still surprising to see all this lava, in its varied forms. 

 

So when I saw some smooth shiny boulders that were not pocked with bubbles from being molten previously I got excited.  Very excited.  I think I was shouting, bouncing, giggling like a kid that has been eating all their Halloween candy at one sitting and asking Dave a billion questions about how close you can get to a sea turtle.  Yes, SEA TURTLE!!!  Look!!

The turtles actually got washed back off that rock by a large wave (I have that on video, but slightly blurry), so I could tear myself away to check out the rest of the tidepooly lava beach.

I was super thrilled to find all these different urchins!!  One had little funny flat non-spines.  Other super-spiny ones I didn't pick up, but admired from a distance.

Jumping to another topic, but check out this awesome lava!  The swirly stuff is called pahoehoe, and there is sharper lava formations called a'a. 

While we were out along the coast we saw this little anole in a yucca-looking plant.  He seemed as curious about us as we were of him.

And on the way home, we saw some snow egrets, which I couldn't get a clear shot of yet, and a really pretty and photogenic black crowned night heron. 

Aloha!  More to share over the next 11 days!  I wish my family and friends could be here with us to share in the amazing adventure that is Hawai'i.