Category Archives: Scenes

A rainy day in North Kohala

A rainy day at Upolu Airport, Hawaii
A crab spider web in the rain

This week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme is ‘Rainy Day.’ See more responses here.

I had just finished my walk around Upolu Airport when the weather closed in. Usually, clouds and rain are blown in by the northeast trade winds, but on this day a system was moving in from the west. I’d been watching its progress as I walked, but still got caught out as it moved faster than I expected. Still, I did make it back to the car, waiting for me in the wet parking lot, before the next deluge arrived (top photo).

The crab spiders didn’t seem to mind the weather, and the raindrops made a picture of their webs (middle photo). It also made them easier to see so that I could avoid my usual trick of blundering into them and having webs wrapped around my head.

On the drive home, after my walk, I carved an avenue of spray as I motored along the puddled road (bottom photo).

A rainy day in North Kohala, Hawaii

View of the coast at Hawaii Volcanoes National Park

A view along the coast at Hawaii Volcanoes National Park

Chain of Craters Road is the route down to the coast in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. As the name implies, it passes a variety of volcanic craters, which were the scenes of eruptions in years gone by. But as it gets close to Hilina Pali, a series of great views open up. This one looks to the west and southwest, the backcountry part of the park.

For more information about Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, go to nps.gov/havo/.

And now for something completely different

Black and white photo of Mauna Kea from Pu'u Wa'awa'a, Hawaii
Black and white photo of a wharf on the coast of Hawaii
Black and white photo of a tree on the coast of the Big Island, Hawaii

The current Friendly Friday challenge theme is ‘Something Different.’ See more responses here.

I think in my 6+ years of doing this blog, I’ve posted exactly one black and white photo. So a selection of black and white scenes seemed like a suitable response for this challenge.

The top photo is of morning clouds scudding over Mauna Kea as seen from the top of Pu’u Wa’awa’a. Second is a shot of surf crashing against an old wharf in North Kohala and, yes, I was secretly hoping the man on the wharf would get soaked! Third is a tenacious tree on the coast near Kawaihae. The bottom photo shows a small fishing boat in the ʻAlenuihāhā Channel, as seen from the North Kohala coast.

Black and white photo of a fishing boat off the coast of Hawaii

Waialea beach

A beach at Waialea County Park, Hawaii

Waialea is also known as Beach 69, which is the number of a utility pole at the entrance to this county park. The beach in this photo is one of several there. Unlike many other beaches in this area, Waialea is backed by lots of trees, so there are many shady places.

It used to be a favorite place of mine to snorkel, but the bleaching events of 2014 and 2015 wreaked major damage on the coral. The last couple of times I’ve been snorkeling there I’ve found it a bit depressing, though there are still a fair number of fish and often turtles to be seen. But if you like lounging on beaches interspersed with the occasional dip in the water then this might be the place for you.

Signs: Keep off

A sign on the breakwater at Kawaihae Harbor, Hawaii

This is the sign at the landward end of the breakwater that protects Kawaihae harbor. The breakwater is just over half a mile long and, as you’d expect, people rigorously respect the warning to stay off this dangerous structure. Just kidding. We’re talking people here. They fish from the structure on a regular basis and, as far as I can tell, nobody seems too bothered about that. This is an early morning view.