Hilo to Kona Hawaii 2-18-13

The last day we spent in Hilo was a nice calm down day.  Mostly due to the torrential downpours that kept us from doing too much.  We needed some rest anyway though, and what a beautiful place to do that in. 
This lovely cardinal visited the front yard between the heavier rains.

 

We went for a drive around downtown Hilo and a park/garden area with pretty trees.  Here we saw a golden plover, some other sandpiper type doing a wierd dance, a whole street lined with banyans and then a flock/pack/sneakparty of mongooses.

 

 

 

We stopped at one of the many beach parks and found this cool turtle as were in so many of the parks.  They come ashore to rest.

 

After we got back to the house, Dave and I tried to dash out between downpours to check out Richardson Beach right across the street one last time.  What a great choice!  While hoping for a nice veiw of the sea and maybe whales, we ended up seeing maybe two dozen green sea turtles, honu to the Hawai'ians, which had come in for the evening to the quieter tidepools to rest.

 

I was glad I brought my underwater camera for this walk

 

This morning we said goodbye to Hilo and our pretty white kitty. Not sure if I mentioned her previously, but feral cats are a huge problem in Hawaii and we ended up falling in love with one who lived on our back porch.  She was white, super tame, but had tattered eartips, a crunched pretzel tail, angry yellow eyes, and a hideously harsh meow.  She won us over instantly.  I will probably start a separate blog regarding the cats, and intent to donate to The Hawaii Cat Foundation. 

But I digress.... Our first stop today once clearing the rainclouds was a lovely black sand beach.  Here we saw even more sea turtles, pulled in for a nice warm nap.

 

We drove along through what looked like a savannah with golden grasses and windswept trees.  A lot of farm land here on Highway 11.  We saw a cute baby horse and a cute little calf. 

 

Our next stop was the southern most point of any U.S State.  There was a blow hole, old canoe moorings and a lot of biting wind.

Ancient Canoe Mooring

Then it was off to the olivine beach.  This beach is mixed with olivine sand, which is a greenish gold and just lovely in the sunlight.  Normally it would be about 2.5 miles each way unless you have a four wheel drive.  Dave and I were prepared and looking forward to the hike, while his Mom relaxed and waited in the sunshine.  The reality though was this incredible punishing wind that had me swapping contacts for glasses and our skin stung with the shower of sand.  It turned out locals to make a bit of $ would ferry people out, wait and ferry them back in their own 4x4s.  We eagerly accepted and it was still a long and dirty trip! 

I went around taking pictures, wading into the the surf, taking a picture of that, sitting down, wondering what to do next, taking some more pictures, wondering what to do next... and suddenly it ocurred to me.  I didn't have to do ANYTHING.  So I just sat.  Sat and stared at that blue, blue sea, listened to the waves hitting that green-gold shore, felt the sand with my bare toes... ahhhhhh, utter relaxation.

And finally, just before sunset, we arrived at our condo in Kona.  It has a lovely view and there is nothing between us and the ocean.  We saw some whale spouts in the distance, and I look forward to the next set of adventures!

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.