Tuesday, July 30

Wordless Wednesday...Red Dirt!!


Ke`e Beach....

 
On Saturday we loaded up the adventure mobile, steered her northward and didn't stop until we could go no further (on pavement that is).  We found ourselves at Ke`e Beach.
 

What a beautiful place to enjoy the sun, swim and snorkel and that's what we did!!
This photo shows the beginning of the Na Pali Coast
 
I enjoyed the lagoon
 
Ron enjoyed the snorkeling and even found himself in the midst of 20 green sea turtles.
(hope to post a video soon)

 
The sun setting thru the ironwood trees

Pups on the beach...where are the GIRLZ??
Well, you're not suppose to bring pups to State Parks, guess this guy didn't read the sign.
Sweet pup though.
 
Unfortunately we saw a few peeps that didn't understand this sign.
Hey....don't ya know that the reef is ALIVE!!! 
 
As we were leaving Ke`e Beach Lagoon
 
We didn't stay for the sunset, but were blessed with this amazing rainbow.

 
 
Mahalo for thoughts and prayers during Flossie.
Fortunately she kinda fizzled, we just had rain here on Kauai.
But, we were prepared.


**all photos taken with my point and shoot camera**

Monday, July 29

Always read the fine print....

 
One should always pay close attention to the signs at the beach....especially the fine print!! 


Beautiful Beaches can hold hidden dangers...
 
Signs tell you of potential dangers at the beach...
 
Take notice...and make sure you read the fine print (red arrow pointing to fine print)
 
 this is what the fine print said!!

LOL




On a serious note:
We are prepared for tropical storm Flossie, she is set to hit the Kauai area late Monday afternoon. We are expecting heavy rains and lots of wind.  We live a safe distance from the ocean and nowhere near any streams so we
 should be fine. Praying for the safety of friends that live on neighboring islands.

 
 
 


Friday, July 26

The Pup has become a Weaner...

Today I took my new friend Pearl out to the monk seal pup site.
 If you missed that post you can CLICK HERE.
 
Momma Rocky weaned the pup last Thursday afternoon, just hours after I took those momma and son photos.  Momma was seen on Oahu last Saturday(two days after weaning her pup), Oahu is her "home" island  and is about 80 some miles away from Kauai. Can you imagine swimming 80 miles on an empty stomach??  But for a seal it's probably just a couple flipper flaps!! She will now get much needed rest and replenish her depleted
 body with some 'ono grinds" for seals.
 
Once the pup is weaned he is now called a WEANER, stop laughing, that's what they are called, I can't make this stuff up. Anyhow, the chubby weaner will now hang out in the tide pools and his birth beach learning to find food on his own and will be living on those fat stores that momma provided him.  He will probably hang here for a month or so and then begin venturing out to explore his big new world.  I am guessing in the next few days the tagging team from NOAA will come and give him some flipper bling---giving him his own ID.  More about that in a later post.  
my friend Pearl
 
Weaner in the shallows, can you spot him??
 
 Just snoozing, it's tough being a weaner.
 
 His big light colored belly

 Sweet dreams little buddy

 
Hope you are enjoying learning about the critically endangered Hawaiian Monk Seal.
 
 
Some of you asked what Ono Grinds are....
Ono Grinds is the Hawaiian way of saying YUMMY food!!!
 
 
 
Happy Aloha Friday!!

Wednesday, July 24

She can sleep anywhere....


Woman on Mission...

On Sunday R and I played tourists and  found Kumukuma Beach aka Donkey Beach. It's  only a short distance from our home and would deem perfect for my mission.

Suppose I should tell you a bit more about this mission...
When we lived on Molokai a few years ago, my hubby, seal pal Diane and I did a weekly monk seal monitoring trek to Laau Pt. This hike is approximately 8 miles round trip, with amazing vistas and  we would often see a dozen seals along the way.  Unfortunately, we also encountered vase amounts of rubbish and plastics. Not only is this trash ugly and dirty it's causing problems for  marine  life, birds and other wildlife. They are often  found entangled, feeding it to their young and the plastics are poisoning them.  One day we decided to take a trash bag with us every time we went out to collect as much trash as we could handle packing out. So every week we hauled out someone else's trash and debris that washed ashore. At first it appeared we weren't making a dent  but after numerous trips, believe or not we could see the difference. My mission is to continue that practice here on Kauai and Donkey Beach looks the perfect place to begin.
 Looking south on Donkey Beach

 Some of the beautiful driftwood on the beach
 
and  the not so beautiful plastic
 
 My goal is to take my 5 gallon bucket and pick up junk until it's full.
Took me about 1 hour to collect this bucket full.
 
I love the beach and if you ever come visit I want the beach to be beautiful.
 
So once or twice a week this will be me...
A woman on a Mission!
 
 
Note:  Here on Kauai there are at least  2  groups (that I know of)  called Surfriders and
Net Patrol that do weekly debris cleanup and I plan to join their efforts.
 
 

Tuesday, July 23

A long walk in the warm rain.

This morning mom took us on a new walking adventure. We walked in the warm rain for 3 miles, gotta tell ya we were pooped at the end. 
Notice our tongues......
Come on mom stop snapping photos.
Awwww......nothing like a dip in the pool and stretching out on the lounger.

Happy Tuesday!!!

Gracie

Sunday, July 21

Welcome Luau

Luau--is a grand celebration of food, entertainment and
Polynesian culture surrounded by the Aloha Spirit.
 
 
 
On Friday evening we were treated to a "Welcome Luau"
 at Dr. S's home on the north shore of Kauai.


 
The rain shower didn't dampen the mood
 
it gave us beautiful rainbows
 
R went to explore Dr. S's meditation cottage
 
we didn't get to meet Harley...
he doesn't take kindly to strangers :)
 
The meat is on the grill.
One thing about life in Hawaii, there is never a shortage of ono grinds



Sunset on the north edge of the Napali Coast.
 
 Entertainment by Tapu, a Tahitian drummer and singer
 and an all around cool guy.
 

and hula by Andrea!!

It was a  wonderful evening with new friends.
 
Mahalo to Monique and Dr. S for their kind hospitality.

Saturday, July 20

The Swing...

Yesterday I walked to town along the Kapa`a coastal bike/walk path. It is  5 miles in length and the path is heavily used by walkers, runners,bikers and peeps with their pups. I didn't have have my big girl camera with me, but snap this shot of the young girl enjoying time on one of the swings along the path with my iphone.  Looked like a great time to me.

Thursday, July 18

Beach time...

Mom decided she had enough of unpacking boxes and organizing our world, so she put on her adventure slippahs and headed to the beach.
 
 
Sign to the beach...
 
She met this chick at the beach parking lot!! 
 
this was the path to the beach...
 
getting closer...

 at the end of the beach....

mom found this....
Rocky, the Hawaiian Monk Seal.
 
and her chubby pup!!
 
Monk Seal Notes 
This chubby pup is probably within days of being weaned. At birth this little  guy weighed 25-30 lbs today this pup now weighs approximately 150-200 lbs. Poor momma has not eaten in the past 5+ weeks and has lost nearly 1/2 of her body weight since delivering this pup.
Once weaned, the pup will live on his body fat stores until he learns to hunt for food successfully.
Hope to share more on this pup in the future.
 
Hey, tomorrow's Aloha Friday
see you then.
 
Gracie
 
 



Wednesday, July 17

Happy,Happy,Happy...

We're getting settled and mom is learning the new computer, so with a little luck we'll
 be back on a regular basis in a day or two.
 
For now, I'll leave you with a shot of Kealia Beach which is just down the road from our house.
 
 
 and get a load of this....even the rubbish cans are happy here!!
 
 
Aloha,
 
Gracie