Lava Shelves and Blow-holes
After securing the appropriate foot gear the day before (see post below), we headed out early Sunday morning to Halona Beach Cove. After parking at the small overlook, we climbed down about 150 feet along the rocks to the small beach below. The site is known for the famous love scene between Burt Lancaster and Deborah Kerr in the movie, "From Here to Eternity". We resisted the urge to re-enact the scene because of the hoards or tourists watching us from the overlook.
The waves at this location are huge and powerful, but the main sight to see is the blow-hole that is carved into the pahoehoe lava shelf on the northern side of the bay (click HERE to read more about the different types of lava). The lava shelf rims the cliffs above the surf line. When waves pound into the shelf, they spray high into the air. The blow-hole is a funnel-shaped hole that focuses the force of the wave into a tunnel and up into the air through a hole in the shelf. You can feel the power of the ocean when this close to the huge surf.
After spoiling some tourist's pictures for a while, we walked around the cove's other lava shelves and out near the open ocean before heading back to the car. We drove along Sandy beach (which is really quite rocky) over to Makapu'u Point. The park has a one and a half mile walk up an abandoned road that rises about 550 feet above the crashing waves of the Pacific with great views of the lighthouse. In Winter, this is a popular place for whale watching.
This is spectacular enough, but for a little extra effort, we descended rocky lava flows to the ocean below (knowing we'd have to re-ascend) to see the "Dragon's Nostrils" - a series of six or seven blow-holes that are truly astounding! If you clicked on the map link above, you can see the lighthouse at the top of the picture and the blow-hole shelf at the bottom.
We got right on top of the blow-holes and peered inside. As the air and water surged, it sounded like a jet engine and sprayed water 50 feet into the air!.
A series of tidal pools were inviting, but the occasional mega wave would leap onto the shelf and dump water into the pools that would wash you out to sea - or at least onto the sharp A'a lava below - neither were compelling enough to risk.
After climbing the 10,000 feet - er, 500 feet - back to the trail we went back to the car to rest. It was just after noon. To celebrate, we picked up a Quarter Pounder at the McDonald's in Waimanalo! During the heat of the day, we dropped off the film from our little waterproof camera and I worked on this BLOG. All told, we probably hiked 5 or 6 miles, but don't forget that we went up and down along steep rocky trails and climbed jagged, sharp rocks! What an amazing creation we are able to witness first hand! I am positively blessed!
Snorkeling Paradise
After a week of hard-driving work, I was ready for something new this weekend. DeAnna and I had discussed our "list" of activities earlier DeAnna rented a video on Pearl Harbor which we watched on Friday night. We plan to go soon, but it's an all-day event to see the Arizona Memorial, the "Mighty Mo" (USS Missouri) and the Bowfin (submarine). It's been over two weeks since I donned a snorkel, so I was itching to get in the water.
Saturday morning, we got up early and checked-in at Weight Watchers. We've both still well under our healthy weight limit. Then we drove over to Hanauma Bay. This place is an amazing, reef-protected bay where snorkeling is the main event. We'd been warned that the crowds get overwhelming, but when we got there, we easily parked and by the time we got down to the beach, it was very pleasant.
When we started off snorkeling, we floated above the coral and rocks looking at fish in the clear water. At times, it was uncomfortably close. Waves would lift you up, but also bring you inches away from the rocks. After a while, we walked down the beach to a different place.
It had many more fish and some nice, deep places. I swam right through a huge "ball" of colorful fish between two underwater cliffs at about 15 feet. In our other snorkeling adventures, we'd seen the occasional fish hovering near a rock, but there were fish everywhere at Hanauma Bay!
We even saw the state fish - the Humuhumunukunukuapuaa (pronounce that: "hoo-moo, hoo-moo, noo-koo, noo-koo, ah-poo, ah-ah") - otherwise known as a reef triggerfish. There were many other bright and colorful fish to see!
Following several hours snorkeling, I wanted to clamber down some shoreline trails to get close to the pounding surf along the lava shelves, but it was clear that our shoes and flip flops weren't right for the job, so we did a little online research and headed for out to find Keen hiking sandals. Keen Sandals are made to hike in the water. They have heavy-duty gripping soles with a webbed top shoe that lets water and sand drain out - perfect for hopping rocks in surf spray.
We drove to Wal-Mart (no luck) and then to downtown Honolulu to the Ala Moana mall. After visiting several stores, we found some at The Walking Store. With treasures in hand, we headed home and crashed. I was thankful for Banana Boat sunscreen - no sunburn despite hours of bare head above the water! Sunday (posted above) we were headed for the Halona Beach Cove, Lava shelves and Blowholes!
Sushi & Ox Tail
Well, I've now traversed new culinary ground - albeit in a small way...
Last week, I went to lunch with my boss. He loves sushi, so we went to a Japanese restaurant. I opted for Chicken and Butterfish (Butterfish was adventurous for me). When my boss ordered sushi rolls, he offered one and I ate it. It was so seasoned that I didn't taste any fishy taste. I'm not sure about a big slab of raw fish, but the sushi roll was fine.
On Friday, I took a co-worker to lunch (it was the only time she was available... really). As we chatted about the menu, I ordered a salad, she ordered Ox Tail soup - a childhood favorite, I think. When she asked if I'd had Ox Tail soup before, I confessed that I had not. She graciously offered a large bone with some meat on it in a cup of broth. I cheerfully ate some. It wasn't bad, but I'm not really a fan of dark meat...
So, my education in Asian cuisine continues and I have so far survived!
There's another exciting BLOG post below - don't miss the pictures!
Getting Caught Up!
Sorry for taking so long to update the BLOG. DeAnna has arrived and we have been enjoying some relaxing time together. She arrived Saturday night. We slept in on Sunday and then took a tour of the King Kamehameha highway that skirts the eastern side of the island. We drove through many small towns and waded along a few beaches. The Waiamea beach on the north shore is already showing increased wave activity. According to locals, the waves get absolutely huge in the winter months. I'm looking forward to seeing that.
After driving through Haleiwa, we drove to Wal-Mart. Can it be a full tour of paradise without stopping by Wal-Mart? I think it's kind of like eating at McDonald's when you're in an exotic location - there's a sense of constancy and comfort when you taste the same burger where ever you go or see the same prices, signs and checkout lines in Wal-Mart. Of course, they have a large Hawaiian souvenir section - all made in China...After that, we drove through Waikiki, where I used to stay when I first got here. We didn't find an easy parking spot, so we just drove through. Waikiki will probably be a purposeful visit for us since it's always busy. Passing around Diamond Head, we continued along the rocky southern shore through Hawaii Kai and back to Kailua.
We rented some snorkeling gear and walked to Kailua Beach in the afternoon. She enjoyed it enough that we bought her a snorkeling kit and went back on Monday. During Monday's dive, we actually got out far enough to see a lot more fish and even a teeny Moray eel that acted very menacing. Here are a couple more underwater pictures to try your patience or entice you to come see for yourself:
Joe Underwater
DeAnna's sexy new flippers
Moray eel (he's out of focus, but I wanted to make sure you knew I swam right up to him!)
Colourful fish
On Tuesday night, we attended the little friendship group from the church. It was the first time for DeAnna so there was a lot of questions and discussion. We're meeting a lady from the church Thursday night to see about installing a new sound / projection system. DeAnna is also searching out ways to get involved.
My work is getting quite busy, but you wouldn't know it by looking at my schedule. Each day starts with a mostly empty calendar and ends after countless meetings. I don't think I've put in this many full work days since I did shift work at television stations! It's fun, challenging, interesting and important.
DeAnna brought a head cold, so she's been dealing with the time change and health issues, but she's now unpacked and feeling better each day. Last night we confirmed that the grill on the rooftop lanai can successfully cook steaks. What a pleasant way to end the day: chat, grill, eat and relax at home! I'm glad DeAnna is here!
Less than 12 hours!
The day is finally here! DeAnna is on the plane heading towards Honolulu. I have spent a couple of hours doing some final prep on the apartment. Don't get me wrong, everything has been kept clean and uncluttered, but wiping countertops, vacuuming and cleaning windows is the icing on the cake!
DeAnna won't arrive until 8:30pm, so it will be dark. I'm sure she'll be tired, so we'll just head to the apartment for a brief tour of the facility. Tomorrow, I'll drive her around some of the really cool places I've found. After cleaning and arranging and taking so much by herself over the past few months, she deserves a break!
I'm not sure what DeAnna will do after a brief rest. She's talked about finding a job, but I hope she takes her time to decide. Life changes. It's not every day that you get to live in Hawaii. I'm suggesting that we take advantage of it and stay as mobile as possible.
Updates to come and hopefully pictures from Hawaii that include DeAnna! I am truly and positively blessed!
Manila Envelopes and More Work
It's official! I've received my first Manila Envelope from my dad since I've been in Hawaii and it's chocked-full of great observations and ideas! I feel much better now...
I also received some other good news today. I've been asked to start coaching all the remaining Black Belts and Green Belts under our contract in Hawaii (possibly Japan for a while). My boss has been trying to coach despite his increasing workload. We meet at Schofield Barracks tomorrow to transition the work over to me. Now my coaching load will be closer to 35 belts... up from 25 belts.
This may sound like a lot, but indeed, these people are doing all the work. The hard part is scheduling. For the most part, I've been meeting people in their offices. Now, most people will have to come to me so I'm not walking or driving so much. That's OK though... it gives me a chance to tidy up our place and arrange our 'coaching room' which will serve as a brainstorming and training room as well.
Here's a neat story from last weekend. While looking for a place to snorkel, Chad and I ran across a Chinese man named Khamtoun. Khamtoun was unsuccessfully trying to take a self portrait in front of the island called "The Chinese Hat", so I offered to take his picture for him. He was very cheery, so I had him do some silly poses.
We laughed and then Khamtoun asked if he could take our picture, so Chad and I did the same poses. Khamtoun said he'd e-mail me the pictures and I gave him my e-mail address. Since none of us had a pen or paper, I didn't expect to ever hear from Khamtoun again, but he rememberd and today, I got the pictures! Here's Chad and I posing in front of the Chinese Hat island in Kaneohe Bay:
Clearly, I need to update my beach wardrobe...
Pictures From the Bottom Of The Sea
OK - so it's not as exciting as a Jules Verne novel, but it's my first pictures of recent snorkeling trips. Two weekend ago, I rented snorkeling gear and bought a cheap film camera. After snorkeling early this morning, I finished up the roll and took it to Long's Drugs to get it developed. As you can see, the results aren't exactly compelling, but there's enough to show.
The beach where I've been snorkeling is Kailua beach. It's a beautiful swimming beach , but the waves constantly churn up the water, so there's a lot of sand in the water. This makes it seem foggy. I used the flash for most of these pictures, which made the "fog" even foggier. As a result, I'll only post a few of the better pictures.
Today, I took Chad with me to snorkel. Since I had a buddy, we swam out about 400 yards off shore and saw a few more things, but the sandy water was still present. I'll have to wait until DeAnna goes with me to a different beach in order to get better pictures. Until then, here are some samples:
Here's a coral head. You can see a few small black & white fish around the bottom.
Imagine swimming about 15 feet underwater with a camera that floats like a bobber, winding, setting the flash, pointing and snapping it at yourself... I had spots in my eyes even though the sun was out!
I was glad to get this large puffer fish on film. Every time I dove down to take a picture, he'd swim away... not back to a rock, but simply away! This picture was the only one I shot even tough I'd been trying to snap him 5 or 6 times!
It's a long way to air... about 20 feet up!
I've got 23 more - most are washed out, so I won't bore you with them. This Saturday, DeAnna arrives. I'm really looking forward to seeing her. Until then, I'll find something new to post in a day or so!
Remarkably Mine
I arrived in Hawaii on September 13th. In the days and weeks since I've been here, my wife DeAnna has been performing an amazing transformation of our house, our past and our life. I have the singularly simple job of working at a job. DeAnna has been sorting through 2,700 square feet of the "stuff" we've been accumulating for over a decade. Her job has been to reduce everything we own by selling, donating or throwing things away. She has orchestrated garage sales, taken loads and loads and loads of things to the local Goodwill, and filled an entire dumpster full of trash.
Disposing of things is easy when you haven't invested anything. But all of this stuff has been desired and bought and cherished. It has personal, emotional value as well as intrinsic useful value. She's not just lifting and loading and horsing things around, she's letting go of memories and history. To top that, she's making decisions for BOTH of us, dispensing with stuff that has been mine as well. For example, DeAnna has reduced about 18 containers full of Christmas decorations accumulated over her lifetime down to 3 or 4 - that includes the huge collection of original snow village houses and figurines given to us by my Aunt Jeanne Trkla.
To top this off, she's leaving her job and career to move out here to Hawaii next weekend so we can be together. Last weekend, she went to Virginia to look at real estate - where we'll move when my assignment is over in Hawaii. She toured several condos and discussed mortgages. This week and next, she's finishing out her last days at her job, packing to travel for 6 months and preparing our home to serve as a furnished rental unit. Did I mention that she's contracted painters, carpet cleaners and worked on several items such as stained woodwork and 'pet-stained' carpet.
There is so much more to this remarkable woman - intelligent, talented, beautiful, loving, gifted... I couldn't write enough about her. Today is her birthday. I'm so proud of her and I love her beyond words. She puts up with me and supports me and in spite of that loves me back. God Bless DeAnna! I thank Him every day for her. I am so positively blessed by my wife and so anxious to see her.
Happy Birthday DeAnna!
Dance Card
Ever since I've arrived, people at work have talked about "filling my dance card" - euphemistically referring to how busy is my calendar. Yesterday, I was struggling to contact people. Today, I'm having to schedule appointments next week! Being busy is good!
Sunday, I picked-up a student (Chad) from the University of Hawaii for church. He's a very nice guy from Colorado. We were chatting at lunch (Korean soup again) when I noticed that my nifty Timex watch was changing the date because it was noon. I expressed my frustration and Chad offered to look at the watch.
This has been a problem for me ever since I got the watch back in Minnesota about a month ago. Instead of changing the date at midnight, it has been changing the date at noon. Therefore, I've not been sure about the date shown on my watch. Every afternoon, I have to check and reset the date.
So Chad looked at it (obviously confused because it's an analog watch, not digital) and I was feeling pretty smug. I had been thinking about getting another watch anyway. Then Chad said, "Why don't you just move the hands forward 12 hours? Then it should change at midnight instead of noon."
What a "duh" moment.... He was brilliant and my watch has been working fine ever since! I'm sure that God didn't bring Chad and I together just so that I could get my watch fixed, but this was a humbling moment. I sometimes need to be reminded that the 'team' is often my best resource and I should be afraid to engage my team!
After securing the appropriate foot gear the day before (see post below), we headed out early Sunday morning to Halona Beach Cove. After parking at the small overlook, we climbed down about 150 feet along the rocks to the small beach below. The site is known for the famous love scene between Burt Lancaster and Deborah Kerr in the movie, "From Here to Eternity". We resisted the urge to re-enact the scene because of the hoards or tourists watching us from the overlook.
The waves at this location are huge and powerful, but the main sight to see is the blow-hole that is carved into the pahoehoe lava shelf on the northern side of the bay (click HERE to read more about the different types of lava). The lava shelf rims the cliffs above the surf line. When waves pound into the shelf, they spray high into the air. The blow-hole is a funnel-shaped hole that focuses the force of the wave into a tunnel and up into the air through a hole in the shelf. You can feel the power of the ocean when this close to the huge surf.
After spoiling some tourist's pictures for a while, we walked around the cove's other lava shelves and out near the open ocean before heading back to the car. We drove along Sandy beach (which is really quite rocky) over to Makapu'u Point. The park has a one and a half mile walk up an abandoned road that rises about 550 feet above the crashing waves of the Pacific with great views of the lighthouse. In Winter, this is a popular place for whale watching.
We got right on top of the blow-holes and peered inside. As the air and water surged, it sounded like a jet engine and sprayed water 50 feet into the air!.
A series of tidal pools were inviting, but the occasional mega wave would leap onto the shelf and dump water into the pools that would wash you out to sea - or at least onto the sharp A'a lava below - neither were compelling enough to risk.
After climbing the 10,000 feet - er, 500 feet - back to the trail we went back to the car to rest. It was just after noon. To celebrate, we picked up a Quarter Pounder at the McDonald's in Waimanalo! During the heat of the day, we dropped off the film from our little waterproof camera and I worked on this BLOG. All told, we probably hiked 5 or 6 miles, but don't forget that we went up and down along steep rocky trails and climbed jagged, sharp rocks! What an amazing creation we are able to witness first hand! I am positively blessed!
