Punaluu Black Sand Beach Park, on the southern coast of the island, not only has a black sand beach, but also turtles like the one in the photo. OK, it looks like a rock, but it’s there!
This week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme is ‘State and local parks.’ See more responses here.
Sifting through a ton of park photos, it was the island’s beach parks that came out on top. It’s possible to get in the water at all of these, though some require more caution than others.
Hapuna Beach State Recreation Area offers a long and wide sandy beach.Kaloko-Honokohau Historical Park has long stretches of sand, often used by resting turtles. Spencer Beach Park at Kawaihae, is a tranquil place popular with families because the water is generally calm.Not all beach parks have beaches. Whittington Beach Park on the south end of the island is one of those though it’s still possible to get in the water.Lapakahi HIstorical Park has a rocky shoreline, though ocean entry is possible with care.This photo shows the reason Keokea Beach Park has a breakwater. Inside it is a little beach and calm water that kids enjoy year round.
I was wandering around behind Hapuna Beach when I stumbled upon these hives. The smaller one wasn’t active, but the other was abuzz with activity. I love watching the bees coming and going, but it makes skin crawl thinking about being inside a hive!
Royal Palms (Roystonea regia) are impressive trees. They grow up to 70 feet high, and are always upright. Their gray trunks are topped by a crown of leaves and, unlike Coconut Palms, they’re not going to drop bombs on your head while taking the top photo.
When I have time on my way to work, I like to stop in Kawaihae and go for an early morning walk. A favorite is to drive to Pelekane Beach and walk to Spencer Beach Park. Those days are gone! The flash floods from a few weeks back took care of that.
For starters, the road is still closed. I can see piles of dirt and debris through the locked access gates. But even if I could access the road, half of Pelekane Beach is gone too. The floods whooshed through the lagoon behind the beach and took a huge amount of sand with it. So now there’s no lagoon, half a beach, and a lot of trees in the bay.
It may be that the powers that be will bring in some sand to restore the former beach. That’s what’s happened at nearby Hapuna Beach, which also lost a section of its sand. In the meantime I will have to explore some new options.
The sign above the ABC Supply Company building in Kailua Kona. These letters always make me think of Elvis Costello’s song, Brilliant Mistake, which includes the lyrics: ‘She said that she was working for the ABC News. It was as much of the alphabet as she knew how to use.’
This week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme is ‘Red, White, & Blue.’ See more responses here.
Here’s my selection this week with captions on the photos.
A Ring-necked Pheasant.A Yellow-billed Cardinal ready to take a dip.Hawaii Life Flight helicopter training at Upolu Airport.It’s not too early, is it?St. Augustine’s Episcopal Church in KapaauCanoe paddlers out on the blue Pacific.
I’ve posted before about how gulls are a rarity in Hawaii. I’ve only seen a couple in my time here. But recently, two birds, which I believe are Franklin’s Gulls, have been hanging around the small reservoir near the place where I work.
Usually, the gulls seen in Hawaii are individual stragglers, so to see two together is unusual. The other interesting thing is that the markings of these two appear to be the gulls’ breeding plumage. I wondered if they were nesting up there, but when I went to look, saw no sign of them.
I saw this sign in Hawi. It’s on a side road leading to a local housing scheme. It won’t be seen by most people passing through the town, but reflects a degree of unease or unhappiness with how things are going in Hawaii, with housing issues being near the top of the list.