Sunset

Sunsets take a lot less time when you witness the process first hand. It took less than a minute from the time the sun first "touches" the ocean to when it fully hides behind the horizon. If you're interested, 87 pictures taken in rapid succession capture it here.

Sunset from Our Balcony - Kona Hawaii

Helicopter and Mauna Kea Summit tours

Yesterday we took two tours. The first one was a helicopter tour of the entire island. Highlights included a two hour eagle-eye tour of the active volcano and humpback whales. The other tour was of the Mauna Kea Summit. We saw the sunset at 13,500 ft. The temperatures were 35 degrees Fahrenheit and the oxygen was 40% of sea level's content. It's amazing that one island can have such a diverse ecosystem. Snow, beaches, mountains, and two active volcanoes within 4,000 square miles.

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Kailua Kona -- The Big Island

A view of a wonderful setting sun! We arrived early afternoon to watch a beautiful setting sun. Our new hang out on the Big Island, Hale Kona Kai, over looking the western side of the island.

Kailua Kona

Kauai

This island is inhabited by as many chickens as people. Hurricane Iniki freed the chickens back in September of 1992. The property we're staying on, Inn Paradise, is located in the rural island's interior. The surroundings are very green and have a significant amount of chickens and other tropical birds. You can hear them during the day. The evening sky features a lot of stars.

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Thursday evening we arrived on Kauai. Friday we did a leisurely hike along the Makawehi Cliffs. We saw some whales playing off the shore. One of the pictures in the album shows the water spouts from their heads. Here's an interesting site with live video of Poipu Beach near Makawehi Cliffs. The same evening we went to a Luau. The Smith's Tropical Paradise has a very nice one. Several pictures were taken on the grounds. Today we spent the better part of the day in Polihale. The sun was out all day long. There were some surfers providing entertainment.

North Shore Ke iki Beach

The eclectic North Shore visitors’ sole purpose is to surf. As for us, the sand and palm trees make us smile. The Aussies are represented heavily. Jillian pointed out that there are several direct flights. There is nothing trivial when it comes to Jillian’s travel trivia. She should have been a travel channel correspondent. The Ke Iki Beach Bungalows overlooks a part of the North Shore that has slightly less menacing surf than the beaches located a mile down the road, Pipeline.

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Just the same, there are signs lining the beach that swimmers do so at their own risk. The concussions of the waves breaking on the beach felt while lying on a bed sleeping put you on notice that the surf demands a lot of respect. My surfing lessons were held at a very calm surf area, Haleiwa Beach Park. Waves were no more than 3 or 4 feet. Last Thursday a 20 year surfing veteran, originally from Puerto Rico, lost his life to waves with 20 foot faces. He was surfing Banzai Pipeline.