Countdown to Colorado! Less than a month to go for Sam, Sea-Sea, Steve and me.
We have had friends visiting the past 3 weeks. Updates on all of our adventures will be coming soon.
Friday, April 27, 2012
Friday, March 9, 2012
March Madness
Ahhh! The tropics! If you haven't seen or heard the news, we are in the middle of a series of severe storms. Those of you in Colorado, imagine this - 36 inches of rain in 5 days. That was what was reported on TV two days ago. I think we got another 36 in the last 24 hours. (I imagine it was more like 8-10 inches).
I have never seen this much rain even during an entire year in the Midwest. Last night, it was raining so hard that I could not see out any of the windows in our house. There was just a constant wall of water. I was truly afraid that a house or people might get washed away. But it sounds like people and homes are safe. We lost power for the second time in a week and we are not able to drive to Princeville (where there is a major grocery store usually 5 minutes away) because of mudslides on a bridge. Rain, hail, thunder, lightning, flash floods, mud, landslides, mudslides, brown water advisories (more than you care to know about in the water). It brings a whole new meaning to paradise and "monsoon season." I will now think of the Colorado monsoon season as the Colorado mists. If you see this blog within a day or two of the posting, go to the Hawaii News Now website (www.hawaiinewsnow.com/) and check out the storm slides and videos. They are amazing. When people that were born here or have been for 20+ years tell me they've never seen anything like this, I believe them.
For those of you who know Jan Lanting, she was stranded for 5 days in a little beach town (Haena). Her husband and friends spent their Kauai vacation in the middle of this stuff - with no power or phone or way to get beyond "the land called Hanalei." She probably could have used a few puffs from a magic dragon. Needless to say, I didn't see her while she was here. Now, she and company are treading water on Maui.
More to come...
(Know that we're safe, just bored and damp).
I have never seen this much rain even during an entire year in the Midwest. Last night, it was raining so hard that I could not see out any of the windows in our house. There was just a constant wall of water. I was truly afraid that a house or people might get washed away. But it sounds like people and homes are safe. We lost power for the second time in a week and we are not able to drive to Princeville (where there is a major grocery store usually 5 minutes away) because of mudslides on a bridge. Rain, hail, thunder, lightning, flash floods, mud, landslides, mudslides, brown water advisories (more than you care to know about in the water). It brings a whole new meaning to paradise and "monsoon season." I will now think of the Colorado monsoon season as the Colorado mists. If you see this blog within a day or two of the posting, go to the Hawaii News Now website (www.hawaiinewsnow.com/) and check out the storm slides and videos. They are amazing. When people that were born here or have been for 20+ years tell me they've never seen anything like this, I believe them.
For those of you who know Jan Lanting, she was stranded for 5 days in a little beach town (Haena). Her husband and friends spent their Kauai vacation in the middle of this stuff - with no power or phone or way to get beyond "the land called Hanalei." She probably could have used a few puffs from a magic dragon. Needless to say, I didn't see her while she was here. Now, she and company are treading water on Maui.
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| Sam in his rain poncho waiting for permission to go out again. |
More to come...
(Know that we're safe, just bored and damp).
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
February Celebrations
First reason to celebrate: Sam would like to inform you that Sea-Sea is doing well. She is no longer sick and is able to do her version of a canter/gallop for at least 30 feet at a time. In fact, Sea-Sea is more alert and active than she's been in a long time.
Second reason to celebrate: We were able to go to Maui last weekend and visit Lesley and Terry Thompson, along with their son, Matthew. Sam and Sea-Sea went to Whiskers Resort for the weekend where they were a hit. Sam definitely has the entire crew there wrapped around his paw. We heard once again about how he cared for Sea-Sea and played with even the wild dogs.
Getting back to Maui - Lesley, Terry, Steve, and I went to "A Night With the Experts" to hear from scientists about the latest humpback whale research. For those of you who taught The Voyage of the Mimi, one of the scientists was from Cape Cod and was the head research scientist on which the program was based. She said she still gets asked about Ben Affleck who was eight years old when the Mimi was filmed. The next afternoon we headed out of Lahaina with the experts to watch whales. The whales were hard for Steve and Terry to photograph. Steve has a few shots that he felt good about. The one below is of a whale's pectoral fin right before it slaps it on the water (one of many whale behaviors). You can see its eye to the right of the fin. Whale watching on Maui was something we always wanted to do. We're so grateful to Lesley and Terry for arranging all of the whale activities.
While on Maui, Steve and I took stand-up paddle board lessons from a talented instructor named Keani. (We feel we know good teachers when we see them). It took us awhile, but with Keani's support and instruction, we were cruising Makena Beach/Turtle Town. We did especially well during our second try later in the day when the water was calmer. We're hooked, but it did take days for our quads to calm down. Our thighs were burning from keeping the boards stable while going over swells/waves.
I was also able to spend some time with Lesley snorkeling. We saw quite a few fish and hard coral species off Makena Beach. She is definitely the Maui expert and knows her Kihei/Wailea/Makena beaches. In fact, she informed us that a shark was spotted and the Makena beaches were closed right after we were snorkeling at Turtletown. (More about Turtle Town below). Glad we missed it!
Steve and I were able to take an early morning (6:30 a.m.) snorkel trip on our last day. We traveled out to Molokini, a partially sunken volcanic crater. Visibility was awesome! 100+ feet with turquoise water and tons of fish. On the downside, there were box jellyfish. The fish were ripping them apart and having an obviously great breakfast. I did a lot of dodging since I have severe reactions to jellyfish stings. We did see an octopus and a stunning peacock grouper along with many butterfly fish, wrasse, snappers, Moorish Idols, and trigger fish. Add to the list whales that were surfacing and breaching around the crater. It was pretty exciting for an early morning snorkel.
Right before our boat got to Turtle Town, a baby humpback whale started a series of breaches. It was about the size of a dolphin, very young. A group of kayakers sat in awe as the baby played right in front of them. They stopped as they should and the baby just kept heading their way. Everyone watched in amazement as this little whale torpedoed out of the water at least a dozen times. At Turtle Town, we did see green sea turtles when they swam out of their caves in the rocks. These green sea turtles were incredibly tolerant of snorkelers, many of whom were inexperienced and flailed around.
I think I mentioned before that Wednesdays are our painting lesson days. We found out that Fred, our art instructor, used to be a torch lighter and also blew the conch-shell at the old Coco-Palms Resort when he was young. That was the hotel that Elvis stayed at in the movie Blue Hawaii. The hotel was destroyed in 1992 by Hurricane Iniki. The remains and grounds are still visited by tourists. So, enjoy Fred's demonstration of his conch shell talents.
Third reason to celebrate: Steve had a birthday last week. He's still in his 50's and proud of it. We went to Tahiti Nui to hear the band, Kanak Attack. The experience is somewhat similar to listening to a wedding band. They play old classics and get both the locals and tourists involved throughout the night. They're corny, yet entertaining.
You can watch Steve do his birthday hula in the video below. I guess I was special that night because I was informed that I sat on the stool where George Clooney sat during the filming of a segment of the movie, The Descendants, at Tahiti Nui. Steve had Beau Bridges' stool, but gave it up to another person. Was I inspired by or in awe of the stool? Nope. But, there were sure a lot of people waiting for me to leave so they could sit on the stool. I have never understood that type of fascination with movie stars.
Getting back to Maui - Lesley, Terry, Steve, and I went to "A Night With the Experts" to hear from scientists about the latest humpback whale research. For those of you who taught The Voyage of the Mimi, one of the scientists was from Cape Cod and was the head research scientist on which the program was based. She said she still gets asked about Ben Affleck who was eight years old when the Mimi was filmed. The next afternoon we headed out of Lahaina with the experts to watch whales. The whales were hard for Steve and Terry to photograph. Steve has a few shots that he felt good about. The one below is of a whale's pectoral fin right before it slaps it on the water (one of many whale behaviors). You can see its eye to the right of the fin. Whale watching on Maui was something we always wanted to do. We're so grateful to Lesley and Terry for arranging all of the whale activities.
 |
| Click to see larger. |
While on Maui, Steve and I took stand-up paddle board lessons from a talented instructor named Keani. (We feel we know good teachers when we see them). It took us awhile, but with Keani's support and instruction, we were cruising Makena Beach/Turtle Town. We did especially well during our second try later in the day when the water was calmer. We're hooked, but it did take days for our quads to calm down. Our thighs were burning from keeping the boards stable while going over swells/waves.
I was also able to spend some time with Lesley snorkeling. We saw quite a few fish and hard coral species off Makena Beach. She is definitely the Maui expert and knows her Kihei/Wailea/Makena beaches. In fact, she informed us that a shark was spotted and the Makena beaches were closed right after we were snorkeling at Turtletown. (More about Turtle Town below). Glad we missed it!
 |
| Steve gets us on my I-Phone heading out to sea... |
 |
| so,we ham it up for him! |
Steve and I were able to take an early morning (6:30 a.m.) snorkel trip on our last day. We traveled out to Molokini, a partially sunken volcanic crater. Visibility was awesome! 100+ feet with turquoise water and tons of fish. On the downside, there were box jellyfish. The fish were ripping them apart and having an obviously great breakfast. I did a lot of dodging since I have severe reactions to jellyfish stings. We did see an octopus and a stunning peacock grouper along with many butterfly fish, wrasse, snappers, Moorish Idols, and trigger fish. Add to the list whales that were surfacing and breaching around the crater. It was pretty exciting for an early morning snorkel.
Right before our boat got to Turtle Town, a baby humpback whale started a series of breaches. It was about the size of a dolphin, very young. A group of kayakers sat in awe as the baby played right in front of them. They stopped as they should and the baby just kept heading their way. Everyone watched in amazement as this little whale torpedoed out of the water at least a dozen times. At Turtle Town, we did see green sea turtles when they swam out of their caves in the rocks. These green sea turtles were incredibly tolerant of snorkelers, many of whom were inexperienced and flailed around.
I think I mentioned before that Wednesdays are our painting lesson days. We found out that Fred, our art instructor, used to be a torch lighter and also blew the conch-shell at the old Coco-Palms Resort when he was young. That was the hotel that Elvis stayed at in the movie Blue Hawaii. The hotel was destroyed in 1992 by Hurricane Iniki. The remains and grounds are still visited by tourists. So, enjoy Fred's demonstration of his conch shell talents.
Third reason to celebrate: Steve had a birthday last week. He's still in his 50's and proud of it. We went to Tahiti Nui to hear the band, Kanak Attack. The experience is somewhat similar to listening to a wedding band. They play old classics and get both the locals and tourists involved throughout the night. They're corny, yet entertaining.
You can watch Steve do his birthday hula in the video below. I guess I was special that night because I was informed that I sat on the stool where George Clooney sat during the filming of a segment of the movie, The Descendants, at Tahiti Nui. Steve had Beau Bridges' stool, but gave it up to another person. Was I inspired by or in awe of the stool? Nope. But, there were sure a lot of people waiting for me to leave so they could sit on the stool. I have never understood that type of fascination with movie stars.
Friday, January 27, 2012
Whale Entanglement
Today was a Linda Adventure.
My adventure was at the Kilauea Lighthouse where I try to stop by daily to watch the birds, but mostly the humpback whales offshore. This week has been amazing for spotting whales. It has been easy to spot and watch new groups of 4-6 swim by every 10-15 minutes. (One of the docents at the lighthouse and I think they're being rather sexy right now).
Today, I saw a large whale with what looked like orange plastic near its pectoral fin and tail. At first I thought it might be some sort of radio tag. But, two? Two men nearby told me they'd been watching and could clearly see the plastic was buoys. We had an entangled whale. It didn't seem to be too distressed, but the lighthouse called the NOAA Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary headquarters. We informed Ed Lyman, an entanglement expert, about the whale. While we waited, each of us kept our eye on the group of whales as it traveled to the east and south of us. The U.S. Fisheries Department came out and questioned us. We helped the official spot the group, and the U.S. Coastguard was sent out to tag the whale so the entanglement team can try and free it of the lines.
From the Fisheries person, we found out that another whale had washed up on shore on the west side of the island. There had been a sighting of a humpback whale that was entangled in rope with orange buoys a few days earlier and it was thought that the dead whale was one in the same. The entangled whale was still alive. I'll let you know what I find out about its outcome with the entanglement team. Visit http://hawaiihumpbackwhale.noaa.gov to find out more
Usually, we inform you of our dogs' happenings. Today was a quiet day at home for the dogs. Sea-Sea gave us a scare last night. She became ill quickly - 104.5ยบ fever, vomiting, lethargy, heavy panting, tremors. After an IV treatment, a heavy dose of antibiotics, and doggie aspirin, she's been resting all day with no fever. Keep your fingers crossed for our old girl.
My adventure was at the Kilauea Lighthouse where I try to stop by daily to watch the birds, but mostly the humpback whales offshore. This week has been amazing for spotting whales. It has been easy to spot and watch new groups of 4-6 swim by every 10-15 minutes. (One of the docents at the lighthouse and I think they're being rather sexy right now).
Today, I saw a large whale with what looked like orange plastic near its pectoral fin and tail. At first I thought it might be some sort of radio tag. But, two? Two men nearby told me they'd been watching and could clearly see the plastic was buoys. We had an entangled whale. It didn't seem to be too distressed, but the lighthouse called the NOAA Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary headquarters. We informed Ed Lyman, an entanglement expert, about the whale. While we waited, each of us kept our eye on the group of whales as it traveled to the east and south of us. The U.S. Fisheries Department came out and questioned us. We helped the official spot the group, and the U.S. Coastguard was sent out to tag the whale so the entanglement team can try and free it of the lines.
From the Fisheries person, we found out that another whale had washed up on shore on the west side of the island. There had been a sighting of a humpback whale that was entangled in rope with orange buoys a few days earlier and it was thought that the dead whale was one in the same. The entangled whale was still alive. I'll let you know what I find out about its outcome with the entanglement team. Visit http://hawaiihumpbackwhale.noaa.gov to find out more
Usually, we inform you of our dogs' happenings. Today was a quiet day at home for the dogs. Sea-Sea gave us a scare last night. She became ill quickly - 104.5ยบ fever, vomiting, lethargy, heavy panting, tremors. After an IV treatment, a heavy dose of antibiotics, and doggie aspirin, she's been resting all day with no fever. Keep your fingers crossed for our old girl.
Friday, January 20, 2012
Perfect Day at the Beach
January 20, 2012 - The dogs went to doggie day camp today. It was sunny and bright down on the south side of the island at Poipu Beach. The water was calm and the tourists were paddling about. We decided to join them and snorkel.
There were a lot of fish (large ones) in very shallow water and with dozens of snorkelers kicking about. That seemed so unusual. Usually snorkelers scare fish away. These fish didn't seem to mind all of the humans around. I giggled as people floated on their rafts oblivious to the many fish swimming beneath and around them. Highlight of the day? Two large green sea turtles munching on algae on the rocks.
Below are some pictures I "borrowed" from the Internet for those of you not familiar with some of the Hawaiian fishes and the green sea turtle. Turtles were four-five feet in length.
There were a lot of fish (large ones) in very shallow water and with dozens of snorkelers kicking about. That seemed so unusual. Usually snorkelers scare fish away. These fish didn't seem to mind all of the humans around. I giggled as people floated on their rafts oblivious to the many fish swimming beneath and around them. Highlight of the day? Two large green sea turtles munching on algae on the rocks.
Below are some pictures I "borrowed" from the Internet for those of you not familiar with some of the Hawaiian fishes and the green sea turtle. Turtles were four-five feet in length.
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| humu humu nuku nuku apua ‘a, reef trigger |
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| raccoon butterflyfish |
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| Christmas wrasse |
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| Green Sea Turtle |
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Just Had to Share...
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| Sam and Sea-Sea at Anini Beach, January 10, 2012 |
Sam continues to amaze us...
When I went to Oregon to adopt Sam, the breeder, Tonya, said, "So, Steve, we've been explaining this to Sam and he understands. He knows he belongs to you now." Sam was 4 years old and had been in several home environments. And he kind of did act like he understood. Okay... So, as a joke and for fun we have started talking to Sam and explaining things and guess what? He does seem to understand.
Fast forward to the other day and Sam and Sea-Sea's first big adventure to a doggie daycare camp called Whiskers Resort. It looked really well run and we hoped that our dogs would fit in well. Linda told Sam, "You are going to a fun camp with other dogs and you can play but you have to make sure Sea-Sea is okay."
When we picked them up the lady could not wait to tell us that they had both had a great, fun day and...Sam, stayed with Sea-Sea for the first hour and a half. Then he went and played but came back off and on all day to check on his elderly aunt.
We're just going to keep talking to him! -Steve
Sunday, January 1, 2012
Happy New Year!
"Hau'oli (happy) Makahiki (year) Hou (new)"
(Pronounced: how-OH-lee mah-kah-hee-kee ho)
That one just won't stick in my brain. I'll keep practicing. Sam just says, "Woof." Sea-Sea sends her wags.
Our Christmas was merry and bright. We went to the west side of the island for the day. We enjoyed the 100 foot white sand dunes, clear skies, and beautiful waves on Polihale Beach. It's a wide and very long beach literally at the end of the road. It was a fun, jumping-around-in-the-waves day. We also went to Koke'e State Park. (More on the park at a later date. I want to keep this blog short.) It was a beach day for me, photography day for Steve, drive around in the truck day for the dogs. Pictures below are from my I-Phone.
New Year's Eve was spent at Poipu Beach. They had a music festival and fireworks show. A reggae band was the big hit of the night. Irie, Aloha - it's all the same, right?
The dogs stayed home. We had our first experience of fireworks on the island. On the Honolulu news, the reporters spoke about staying inside on New Year's Eve if you have asthma or respiratory conditions. I was thinking, "Yeah, right!" OMG! The island air was totally filled with smoke from what seemed to be just about everyone on the island shooting off fireworks. (They're legal here). I guess they're illegal on Oahu, but the reporters said that wouldn't stop anyone there. Steve coughed all the way home from Poipu Beach. The dogs were fine when we got home, sporting dogs that they are...plus, Sea-Sea can't hear much anymore.
We wish you a healthy, joyous and prosperous 2012. We value your friendships!
(Pronounced: how-OH-lee mah-kah-hee-kee ho)
That one just won't stick in my brain. I'll keep practicing. Sam just says, "Woof." Sea-Sea sends her wags.
Our Christmas was merry and bright. We went to the west side of the island for the day. We enjoyed the 100 foot white sand dunes, clear skies, and beautiful waves on Polihale Beach. It's a wide and very long beach literally at the end of the road. It was a fun, jumping-around-in-the-waves day. We also went to Koke'e State Park. (More on the park at a later date. I want to keep this blog short.) It was a beach day for me, photography day for Steve, drive around in the truck day for the dogs. Pictures below are from my I-Phone.
New Year's Eve was spent at Poipu Beach. They had a music festival and fireworks show. A reggae band was the big hit of the night. Irie, Aloha - it's all the same, right?
We wish you a healthy, joyous and prosperous 2012. We value your friendships!
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