Camping on the Big Island of Hawaii

After a few days in Oahu, we wanted to explore a new island - the BIG Island...

The best place to start is with the 'Hawaii ... Revealed" guidebooks. These are FANTASTIC - alot of detailed, locals only information and good stories and history too. It was fun reading about places on the island we had no intention of going to.

Valuable and highly recommended.

The other recommendation for seeing the best parts of Hawaii is to CAMP!

We flew to Kona, and after getting some food and lost in Kona (another great way to learn more about the area!) we headed North, through the great wasteland of lava.

It was like a moon-scape, but cool, too.





Our first two nights were spent in Spencer Bay Campground. Register online and early, because it sells out each week.

Very nice, clean, and great facilities. We easily found a nice spot all alone and setup our giant tent.

This part of the island was warm and sunny for us. Kona was hazy. We only had short, infrequent bouts of wind.


The beach was great. Alot of reef to snorkel. The visibility was not as good - alot of freshwater springs in the ocean really made it blurry.

Good reef for fish and animals, though. ALOT of sea turtles around, too.




There is a big, covered, lighted pavillion that has good access to more reef areas. Turtles were frequently here around the steps.

This was a great spot for reading, playing cards, and misc after dark.

One night, a huge group of Micronesians had a party and it was fun to watch and hear them sing. We really felt immersed in the local culture here.

A mile or so north of the campground is a small, working-port town. Not alot of facilities, but a great mexican resteraunt for dinner and a walk around the beach to watch the sunset.

Fantastic calamari, too.





Early mornings brought in the turtles.

With all the snorkelling, we were very fortunate not to get stunk, cut, or bitten. The reef is beautiful but you have to watch it!

After several days of enjoying the bay to myself, one of the locals mentioned that they don't use the water much because there are so many sharks... there used to be an ancient temple here for sharks because there are so many!

Well, we didn't see a single shark. Alittle disappointing, but not really.

We did see alot of turtles.

While beachcombing, we found a cool lava tube (alot of those around, too!) and almost stepped on this shell before we saw him!


Fun.

Looking back at our photographs, we took WAY too many photos of beach.

Seemed like a good idea at the time...




These NorthWest Island beaches also had alot of whales. And they were jumpers!

Any time of day, all one had to do was scan the horizon and a whale could be spotted.

Binoculars are on the list to take next time. Often, they were close enough to see easily from shore.


We didn't fish this trip. Bummer. There were enough of the locals fishing and friendly enough to visit with that we didn't miss out, though.

Here is a HUGE puffer fish (balloon fish) this dude caught.

Night fishing was especially popular. Spear fishing would have been MUCH easier, based on what I saw alone on the reef...

Hawaii doesn't require a license to fish saltwater, so next trip I'm taking a rod and BBQ grill...



The last night of camping we drove about an hour south of Kona to the Ho'okena beach.

This time we didn't even bother with the tent - just pads out on the sand.

Another great part of camping is that a bed sheet is all the cover required. Warm, breezy, and comfortable.


There were several graves in the caves on the cliffside above camp.

Here is one. Others we could see some bones.






This was a nice, small, cozy beach and bay. Much more local and 'rough' - a tent is recommended for more privacy.

It was pretty and easy. Amenities were not as nice - the bathrooms had no lights, were more dirty, and the only showers were outside.

But highly recommended. The locals living on the beach like to sing into the night... but they quit about 9pm, so no harm done.

Above the campsites were some lava tubes. The big one reportedly goes back at least 2 miles.

We went back about 200 yards. Not much to see in a lava tube...

But very fun, and great for watching the sunset over the bay.




Snorkelling in the bay was Awesome. Great water clarity, alot of reef, and many, many fish! Spinner dolphins were also common to see and watch.

You can see the weather is hazy - warm but hazy. Reportedly because of the mountain...

Camping is the best way to enjoy the islands - bar none. A private room and shower is also recommended every few days to clean up, though! The local scene and feel is the best.

Oahu Beaches and Snorkelling

On our trips to Hawaii, we are fortunate to have family living there on the north shore in Lai'e to stay with. The best part of visiting the island is staying with them in paradise.

The mountains of Oahu are beautiful, but not user friendly. There are some hikes, but most of our time is spent on the beach.

And there are lots of beaches! What a great place - we often just drive a while and pull off anywhere to snorkel and swim.

Alot of locals fish all these stretches, too.

Some of our days were actually cloudy, rainy, and stormy. But at 82*F, who carea about alittle cloudy weather?

The sun came out enough to give us a good sunburn...

We walked down to Temple Beach in Lai'e the first night for a little relaxation from the plane-ride.

What a beautiful place!

Our family is close to the LDS Temple in Lai'e. A beautiful highlight on every visit. This trip the temple was closed, so we had to be content with just walking around the beautiful grounds.

The flowers were out, to make up for it.

The next morning at first sun we hit the water.

Here is Hukilau Beach. In the distance you can see Goat Island - another favorite spot we hit later in the day at low tide.

This is a busy beach, but even with heavy traffic there is great snorkelling and wildlife to see.

On this first dive, while gathering a new shell, I found an old, spent 50 caliber casing presumably from WW2. Pretty cool!

This was in a sheltered, populated bay, and as far as I can find, there were no gun placements here.

Either a ship or airplane had fired this round. The reef would have kept any ship out - it is only a few feet deep outside of the beach.


Here is a comparison to a new 50 cal round. The old one has been there at least 50 years.

AFAIK, only the US used 50 cal weapons.

Maybe a plane chasing an enemy fighter? Too many people around for target practice...

Later in the day we took all the family out to wade over to Goat Island. At low tide it is only 2-3 feet deep at the middle.

Be sure to wear tough shoes, though - the coral and urchins are rough on the feet!

The beaches all around are beautiful - definitely the heaviest use of all the north-shore beaches but they are well kept and fun.

Lots of camping, too.

Goat Island has a great, protected bay for snorkelling, fishing, and kayaking. Around the island it gets rougher, and Tiger sharks are known to frequent the area.

This first day the surfing was ok, too, but waves were infrequent.

In the bay was a better place for 'private' surf lessons.


We took the opportunity with all the kids along to bury another treasure package. We'll see how it lasts in this tropical island paradise.

Another recommended snorkel site is Shark Cove on the North Shore. It is sheltered, warm, and easy.

Its only about 4-65 feet deep at the worst spots, but always FULL of fish!

We had it to ourselves for most of the weekday. Alot of BIG fish, too - including a 5' long coronet.

Alittle farther SW of Shark Cove, we went back for a pineapple-burger. The Ahi-Ahi was fantastic, too!

Yumm.

There are so many great beaches and things to do - NO reason or excuse to spend anytime in Honolulu when the best parts are on the north side.

Flying to the Sun - Aloha!

February is a great month in the Pacific NorthWest... and a perfect month to take a trip to Hawaii!

We decided to trade a week of 40* wet-n-cold for a week of 80* of snorkel-camping-fun.

Stay tuned...

Another Sunny Day at Seaside, OR

Another church assignment took us out to Seaside, OR again. We were out here back in December, and excited to go back to the coast.

It was beautiful! Very rainy all day inland, but out at the beach it was WARM and sunny!

The team was excited.

The waves were big, and the tide was in.

Very pretty light out, with bright blue sky mottled by haze, fog, and cloud.

We had to get alittle wet...

Next stop after the beach in Seaside was the Astoria Column.

There were alot of big ships parked off to the side of the Columbia...

Both of the kids had been to the top before, and this time only the girl made it up to the top. The boy knew how freaky it was and waited below...

Not too many people out again this day - it was nice and quiet.

Finally, on the way home we decided to stop at a hatchery. Usually it is the Gnat Creek hatchery, but this time we went up to the Big Creek Hatchery.

It was very nice out, and beautiful tucked up in the hills.

Alot of little fish, too!

No big fish to see at this hatchery - that was a bummer.

No other action at the barrier dam, either.

It was pretty and nice to see a new place, though.

There was a small herd of elk along Hwy-30. We'd seen them on the way out and they were still there later in the afternoon.

They seem pretty resident here near Bear Creek.

There were 2 spikes, and this branched bull. It is always a good day when we see elk!

The kids were worn out and much quieter for the drive home.

It is fun having the kids along for the ride, and making small adventures to see and do things in this beautiful part of the world.

A Polar Dip in the Pond

The only thing we can figure is that this boy overdosed on V-day candy. After cutting trees, stacking firewood, chopping another tree, and other chores, he was up for more action.

The rains have swollen this pond in the neighbor's ravine, and he wanted to take a dip!

It is cold!


But he did it - the video is great.

Swam across and touched the big, upright snag.

Mom wasn't too pleased, but she can't say much - she was the first to swim it last year!

At least the kids are foolish with an "adult" around - when we were kids we didn't have anyone 'responsible' around...

Work Makes the Day Feel Good

We like to save wood-cutting for this time of year. The cold and wet are perfect for getting out and sweating.

Good physical work is good for the spirit, too - really makes you feel like the day was productive and useful.

Much better than sitting indoors and watching movies...



We took out 4 more trees in the front of the house. These pines are tough - heavy wood, alot of branches, and big root-wads.

The kids were really grumbly about whomever planted all these trees...





With the trees down, limbed, and piled, we started pulling stumps.

The front is too muddy and nice for backhoe work - it makes too much of a mess!

A good chain and come-along with two willing axe-men was all we needed!



This guy couldn't get enough. He really put in a full day stacking limbs, taking in firewood for Mom, and pulling one nasty stump.

He was right back out there to take down his OWN tree with an axe.

He spent at least an hour on this one - we all were tired just watching.


...and he got it!

This is one stubborn kid - and sometimes it pays off.

Now he has some limbing to do. He is all lumber-jack!

A great day with alot of work done. Thanks to the crew!

Making a Rainy Day Fun

Sometimes the weather gets to be too much in the Pacific NorthWest. The rain isn't bad, but after some nice, sunny, BRIGHT days, the dark gloom is discouraging.

Those are the days to GET OUT!

We took the little ones to the waterfront in St Helens - they have a nice area and quaint old-town square. You can see some hopefuls out trolling the mouth of the Multnomah Channel for Spring Salmon...

The public docks were empty. This summer they will be packed with yachts.

It is a beautiful area - even in the drab.

Kids don't need no stinkin' umbrella!

Just an open stretch to run in. And an adult close-by!

The feed store downtown had some "feeder" goldfish so we picked up a bunch of them.

We had to get involved with fish somehow!

We let the goldfish aclimate to their new trough, and released them to grow BIG!

Years back we had a few get up to 3 inches long. The kids always have fun 'fishing' for them in the 'barrel'.

Rain wasn't enough to keep this die-hard indoors, either.

He had his own 'welcome' party for the new goldfish.

"welcome to MY world!"

When he couldn't get any wetter or colder, we ran inside for a hot tub and COCOA!

Hooray for Mom!

Rainy days can be fun days - if you don't mind getting wet.

Another Fix for the Fridge

Last May we patched the water dispenser's tubing in our old fridge.

Another leak revealed a new split in the tubing - time for another patch!





The fix went much faster and less expensive this time - popped out the solenoid, disconnected the tubing, and added $1.25 of new tubing in.

Done.

Not all of our NW lifestyle is outdoors...

Corrosion Protection for the Outboard Motor

In between lead batches, we popped out the old thermostats and put in new ones.

A few months ago you'll recall we tested these, and confirmed they pop open at about 143*, but with the motor still running too hot, it is time to make SURE the 'stats are good.

Besides, it is quick, easy, and not too expensive.


We also gave all the motor a touch-up with spray-on "Liquid Tape". It is basically thick, plastic, spray-paint and works great to give alittle more corrosion protection.

Looks nice, huh!

Oops - lead is hot, back to the lead molds...