The Hand of God

There is natural beauty everywhere but here it is abundant and dramatic.  God did quite a job, and in this Blog we would like to share.  Ryan was visiting last week and wanted to see another Island so off we went to Kauai (the "Garden Isle").  This is the oldest and furthest North of the Hawaiian Islands.  Only 20% is inhabited (mostly a few towns along the coastline) while the interior is agricultural, forested and lush green.

We paddle boarded up the Wailua River as our introduction and the winds made us work!

Next we hiked the breathtaking Waimea Canyon. For Kathy and I it was our second time...this is the "Grand Canyon of the Pacific" according to Mark Twain.  The colors and waterfalls are amazing.

Next, we "catamaraned" (45 footer) from Port Allen in the South to the Na Pali Coast in the North...and snorkeled along the way. We were about 10 ft from a 300lb monk seal in the water who was on the surface looking over the fish below like we would look over a menu in a Seafood Restaurant.  Dolphins (Spinners and Bottlenose) accompanied the Catamaran on several occasions, enjoying the free ride on our bow waves. Once we passed the west (leeward) coast we headed north into heavy winds and 8-9 foot seas...wow...the the beautiful coastline made up for the turbulent ride.


So we saw the Island from land and sea, what was left... Air of course.  On our final day we took a helicopter tour to see the inaccessible areas of  beautiful Kauai.  Several locations of movies, early settlement sites of fisherman and farmers etc.

All we could say at the end of our trip was... AMEN...enjoy the photos...see you soon

Roaring waterfalls and rainbows

This one shot through the Copter window...looks like it could be a Lewis and Clark scene from the Old West

Central region of the Island...more waterfalls and rainbows anyone?

Taken from our hiking trail...setting for Jurassic Park filming....I swear I sensed a Velociraptor stalking us !

All together now sing the first few lines...Puff the Magic Dragon lived by the sea.....keep going til...in a land called HANALEI..yup this is it the place PPM sang about...a beautiful, mellow town on the Northern Coast...green Taro fields growing in this shot.

Here is a shot of Hanalei Bay from the air...nice place to retire gang !

OK enough of that... time to go to sea...our cat on left

Spinner Dolphins...lots of them

Notice the water gets bluer as it gets deeper...see Mom with her baby on the right side of the screen

The Na Pali coast...doesn't look real

God's Handiwork

Have to end with flowers...they are not cultivated in a garden we visited somewhere...they just grow all over it seems...we will miss them

Why did the chicken to cross the road?  To show you even wild chickens have lots of color here.

Thar She ...Blew?

One of the many images that Hawaii conjures up are WHALES !  They migrate to the tropical waters from Alaska and give birth around the islands here.  Two weeks ago we had a smaller visitor to our Bay right here in Kailua.  A six-seven foot melon head whale was seen swimming up and down in about a 100 yard range about 30 yards off shore.  It appears that whale parts were found on the beach and the prevailing theory was that Mom was attacked and killed by sharks and the juvenile calf followed the remains close into the beach.  She was pitch black, stayed under for 2-3 minutes, then would surface to breath.  NOAA officials reported to the beach and kept watch over the calf.  Two sharks were observed coming into the Bay and heading toward the whale but turned away. Shark signs were posted on the beach to inform swimmers. (Sounds like Amity in JAWS?)  Kathy and I watched for days hoping the whale would make it...we did swim very close to shore...I swear I heard John Williams music when swimming!!! About day 6 the whale seemed to weaken and was hardly swimming...so NOAA officials pulled her to shore quickly and quietly and placed her under a tent where she was euthanized....they said she could not survive without mothers milk and we were happy that she was not left to the sharks who might then get the idea that "our swimming beach" was a great new dining spot.

On another adventure, Kathy and I rode our bikes around an old neglected rail trail that surrounds Pearl Harbor...it used to carry supplies and goods in and out from Honolulu and elsewhere during the War and was now largely overgrown and hosted a power plant and some small industry and lots of homeless people camped along the bay.  It was converted into a bike trail of sorts ...so off we went.  Every imaginable tent, broken down van, plywood sheets, and tarps of all types and colors were forged into shelters.  Philippinos, Hawaiians, young people, and others were in groups of two or threes living there.  Not far was a public park with running water and showers, and a big Goodwill Store.  Many of the homeless were fishing right next to the DON'T EAT CONTAMINATED FISH signs.  We saw plenty of fish in the murky Bay waters.  As they say when choosing your real estate it's all about Location-Location-Location.  Being homeless is horrible but here it seems less harsh here than in Boston or New York.     PS: Old Industrial trail all right...we both got flat tires from old nails !

Finally, we are planning our "Triumphant Return" home after a year here in Hawaii...looking forward to seeing New England and especially, family and friends... sometime before Thanksgiving...Aloha.

HMMMM seems like a good day to read on the beach

Pearl Harbor from the Bike Trail

Far from the Memorial...not the worst place to live in a tent

Hey any of you New England dudes know what this blossom is???

Neither did we...yup this is what they turn into...Pineapples...they grow on plants like squash then get bigger and bigger...until,  they end up at Stop and Shop !