Hawaii '17: Our Brunch Friends

After our kayaking adventure, we hit up The Coffee Shack, as recommended by the girl who helped us with our kayak. It was quite tasty, after an early morning workout. We had some little friends next to us, little geckos. They put out guava jelly and they come up and like the jelly out of the containers. It's pretty cute to see their little tongues go to work on that jelly!

Hawaii '17: Spinner Dolphins

When we were talking to the kayak guy, he said the spinner dolphins usually showed up around 9 in the bay. We didn't take phones with us and didn't really know what time it was as we were paddling back. I was a little sad we hadn't seen any dolphins, when in the middle of the bay, the dolphins showed up! They swam right next to us, but of course I didn't get a picture of that. They did a few jumps and there was a tiny baby. The video isn't super great (my case started to get hot and had condensation), but you can see them a few times. So, as we were watching the dolphins, I could hear this noise. At first I thought maybe it was the dolphins, but then I listened closer, and it was goats from the cliff side! I asked the girl about it when we got back to shore. She said there were a ton of goats, but also cows. One time a cow fell right off the cliff and into the bay. The sharks had a hay day...Glad I heard that story AFTER the kayaking excursion. 

Hawaii '17: Snorkeling at Captain Cook

After getting set up with our kayak, which really did all work out great, even though I was very concerned at the time, we kayaked a mile across the bay. The water was smooth as glass, so it was pretty easy going. There was one group of guided kayakers and another couple by the monument, but that was it. Going early was key! I had multiple underwater cameras, as one would expect, so we both got to take pictures. 

So, at this point, you might be asking yourself, well that's all well and great, but how do you get back INTO the kayak when it's time to head back? Great question. I asked the kayak girl the same thing. She said if we needed to, there were so rocks somewhere along the shore that you could use to boost yourself back into the kayak, but to be careful of coral. Hmmm. Well, when it came time, we tried it the old fashioned way, of hoisting ourselves up and out. On the third try, we were successful in not tipping the kayak and dumping the other person. I'm pretty sure we were the morning entertainment for all the other snorkelers. 

Hawaii '17: Captain Cook Bay

Tuesday was deemed snorkeling day. We decided to try out Captain Cook bay, aka Kealakekua Bay. I can't say that word, so I just call it Capt Cook bay. It was recommended to us as the best place to snorkel, and it was closest to the house. So the thing with Capt Cook bay is, the best snorkeling is on the northern side of the bay. But it is a protected site, so the only way to get there is a 2 mile downhill hike, kayaking across the bay, swimming across the bay, or charter boat. We went down to the park on the south side of the bay to check it out. While there, a guy came up and started talking to us. Mind you, it was about 7:30 in the morning, way before anyone else was around. We got to talking and he asked us if we were planning to go snorkeling. He runs a kayak rental place, and for $60, we could rent a kayak, unlimited time, and head across the bay. So basically, we got solicited and I was pretty nervous, but it actually all worked out great! 

This is the view from above the bay. We started out from the left hand side, where you see the water breaking at the point, and went all the way across to the back corner, which you can't see from this angle. It was about 1 mile across the bay. We were really smart to go out so early, before it got hot and all the charter boats showed up.

The white pointy thing, is the monument. You can see all the charter boats and kayaks out. This was around 10 or 11 in the morning. 

Hawaii '17: A Sunset from the House

Hawaii '17: Some Plants from Volcano NP

Volcano NP has some unique foliage. One minute you are in arid desert, the next in a lava wasteland of nothing, and the next a tropical fern forest. It's just weird. But cool. 

The ferns were really cool. The new growth on this type is red and they unfurl. 

A fern tree

A ohia tree flower

The Thurston lava tube. The lights were out, so it was a very dark, short walk.