Green Sand Beach & South Point, November 26, 2011

Where's Waldo? Where am I?

  We headed out sort of early this morning to go to Green Sand Beach at the southern-most part of the island. It's an 89 mile drive that takes 2.5 hours without any stops. Of course, we have to stop at Punalu`u Bakery in Na`alehu though, for perhaps the best malasadas on the island. As we were eating our malasadas, Valerie heard someone say something about 9-1-1 and somebody getting ran over by a tour bus. She went quickly outside to use her first responder skills. As I was walking out there, I could see that Valerie was trying to do what she could to help a man on the ground. An EMS person was just walking onto the scene as well. Valerie and I both wondered how EMS got there so soon. Come to find out, EMS was right across the street. Anyway, with EMS there, I went back in and got the malasadas. The man that got run over was a mechanic and he said that he was working on an air line when the bus rolled over his leg. The Roberts Hawaii bus had broken down yesterday right in front of the bakery. He was there to try to fix it. As we were driving home from our adventures we saw a tow truck hooked up to it and beginning to tow it away. I was proud of Valerie for using her first responder skills to help.
  Anyhow, the final 2.7 mile portion of the trip to Green Sand Beach either has to be walked, or traversed with a 4-wheel drive. The road is very bumpy and it takes a minimum of 25 minutes to go that 2.7 miles. Green Sand Beach has to be one of my favorite beaches. It's very small, but it's all sand. You don't have to worry about stubbing your toe on rocks in the surf zone. The green sand comes from olivine in the rock. Although it was hazy today and very windy, we still enjoyed the time we were able to spend there. And, nobody hurt themselves this time.
  After leaving Green Sand Beach, we went to an area just north of South Point. The water in the area is spectacular. It's magnificently clear and beautifully blue. I had wanted to get in the water here ever since we visited this place a little over a week ago. In most of this area, the only way to get down is to jump off the cliff--my guess is 50 to 60 ft. In one place you can get back up by climbing up a ladder. Another place to enter--which is where I got in--allows you to climb down boulders where a road fell away.
  The snorkeling was amazing. The fish were abundant. The water was super clear. It was just wonderful. Because the water was so clear, the only way I knew I was diving deep was because I had to clear my ears 4 or 5 times, and then upon looking up, the distance to the surface was a long way up.
  While I was doing my thing in the water, Ke`olani and Valerie were finding and pulling nice-sized nuggets of olivine out of the rock on top of the cliff. Kimo was doing his usual thing of playing, getting very filthy, and having fun doing it.
  The snorkeling at South Point has to rate as one of my favorite places to snorkel. The water is deep, super clear, calm (the cliffs protect it from the ever-constant winds blowing from the east), and abundant with fish.

Thanksgiving, November 24, 2011

I really like the panorama feature on the camera, it helps to capture a whole scene that you otherwise can't get in one shot. The picture is from last night around 9:30. This was last night's preparation for the two-ward Thanksgiving luncheon today. Brother Diego--pictured at the very far left of the photo--said he quit counting turkeys after 60. Not all the turkeys are for the luncheon. Brother Diego tells the members to bring their own stuff to cook if they want some for their own dinners. There was plenty of help to get everything done. We got all the food in the imu and covered around 11:00 P.M.

September 7, 2011

Once again, it has been a very busy summer for us. With all the lu`au we did, I'm glad it didn't get very hot this summer. The heat can make things quite miserable.

Megan has been attending BYU since April, and really enjoys it. She loves her singles ward. She also has plenty of time to go out with the boys.

Ke`olani and Kimo are both enrolled in a virtual on-line school in Hawai`i that started August 10. The school is a Hawaiian immersion public charter school. Once we get to Hawai`i, they will be required to go to school on Wednesdays where they will participate in and learn things stemming from Hawaiian culture. So far, I like what we've seen.

We're also back to that time of year when we head over to Hawai`i. Kimo and Ke`olani are super anxious to go back. Every day we have to hear them ask when we're leaving. In any case, it will be soon. We just have to finish up with a few more lu`au and then we can go.

February 4, 2011

     Yesterday, Valerie got a call from her dad, and he said that Granny Chris didn't have much time to live. Well, with our thoughts on Granny Chris, we took to the water with some great friends. All Valerie wanted to do was fish in honor of Granny. After spotting some dolphins and catching a glimpse of a few far off whales, Valerie set out her line--with direction from John as to where to keep the lure. About 1/3 of the way through the "trough," Valerie got a hit. John took over the controls of the boat while I video-taped the catch. Valerie lost control of her emotions as she thought about Granny Chris and how she used to love to be out on the ocean with her husband Ken. I thought it was wonderful.
     Valerie would get two more bites before we headed in. John saw the one fish get loose while Valerie was reeling it in. The other fish bit through the line. The lure wasn't cheap either.
     After getting home and letting the kids see the fish, I filleted it and we later ate it for dinner. The kids ate it cooked while I ate mine raw. So ono. The fish was a skipjack tuna, otherwise known as aku in Hawai`i.

Kimo in Hip-hop class

January 31, 2011

Well, this is a first for me, so I'm not sure how this will go. Just recently we signed Kimo and Ke`olani up for hip-hop classes and they thoroughly enjoy it. Our great friends, Maika & Angie Woods, teach the class. Kimo practices on Monday and Ke`olani on Wednesday. So, right after school today, we took him to his class. He's very entertaining. I created a 4-minute video to summarize his performance.