We have gone on a horseback ride each time we’ve gone to Hawaii.  I always love them, but my knees started hurting a lot earlier on this one, so we’ll just have to wait and see if there is another in our future.

Once again, the winds were whipping in to the island from the east, making ridge trails unwise and the seas quite choppy.  Our original plan had been to go to Po’ipu Beach Park to snorkel after the ride, but it was clear once we got there that even these calm waters were being affected by the winds.  However, we were in for a treat after all.  As we sat on the beach eating lunch, Steve noticed that an area out toward the water was cordoned off.  He guessed, and was correct, that there was another monk seal out there.  We walked out and took several pictures.  This one was tagged V20.

After taking our fill of seal photos, we headed back up the beach to leave the area.  As we were just about to leave the water and head to the parking area, I saw an enormous green sea turtle in the shallow water.  I pointed and stopped Steve and he got out the camera just as it became clear the turtle was coming up to sun itself.

At that point the lifeguard made an announcement that the sea turtle was coming ashore and people should be careful not to disturb it.  Now I don’t know if his intention was to let the tourists know the sea turtle was there for a photo-op, or to really tell people not to disturb it, or both.  But the only effect was to have everyone on the beach converge on the spot.  Steve and I were a respectful 20 feet from the turtle taking our initial photos, but as the bloated mass of humanity swarmed, the circle tightened around the turtle.  There was one slack-jawed git who looked amazed and bemused at the “stupid” turtle who I’m sure he thought he would be able to sit on.  I did tell this guy to back off, but I was becoming a bit tense at the mob scene that was developing with no authority figure on the beach to maintain a distance.

I felt an almost palpable sense of relief when the lifeguard made another announcement calling for volunteers to go get the rope and cones to cordon off the turtle.  Steve and I, who had been on opposite sides of the circle, both took off to the get the rope.

We hustled back to set up the barrier, shooing some of the closer people back as we went.  Of course, as we were setting up the perimeter, the turtle scooted its way another 3 feet up the shore.  As I told Steve, I didn’t think this turtle was going to respect our boundary.  So the rope circle ended up being a little closer to the turtle than perhaps it should have, but at least there was a clear demarcation alerting the less-alert among us not to go pet the turtle on the head.

Eventually, most of the tourists lost interest in the turtle that was now just lying there sunbathing and started to drift away.  Steve and I sat down and took several more pictures before deciding to go ourselves.

Now, the fact that we came upon 2 monk seals and an enormous green sea turtle when we had to veer from our plans for the day is probably some sort of lesson about going with the flow and not planning the death march vacations in quite so much detail.  Serendipity is good to keep in mind, but I don’t imagine that’s a lesson I’ll apply too strictly.  : )

Unfortunately, as the car climbed the 4,000 foot elevation, the clouds got lower and lower and the wind got gustier.  By the time we reached the trailhead, we were basically sitting in fog.  It was just over 50 degrees and the wind was whipping around us.  Now, I know that the weather in the Kalalau Valley is changeable and often if you give it 15 minutes, it can clear up.  So, Steve and I ate lunch in the car and hoped for the best.  The weather was just as crappy when we’d finished lunch as it had been before.  If I’d been able to see any blue sky when facing inland, I would have said let’s go for it, but there was nothing but fog and mist as far as the eye could see.  It wasn’t until we had descended back down several hundred feet in elevation that the blue sky returned.  Even then, the wind was coming in like crazy, blowing dust and dirt into our eyes as we tried to take pictures of the canyon.

I was pretty bummed that we were finally going to go on this particular hike only to have it called off due to the weather.  But it was quite clear that we would be cold and miserable and wouldn’t have a good time.  More to the point, this hike is supposed to have gorgeous views into the Kalalau Valley and off to the North Shore; with the fog obscuring the valley so much, there just didn’t seem to be much point in forging ahead.

Interestingly though, I did discover that Steve thinks I’m obsessive to the point of being crazy.  Apparently, he thought I was so focused on taking this hike that I would pursue it come hell or high water.  I was amazed at how amazed he was that I called it off.

Since we still had the whole afternoon ahead of us, we did go ahead and stop at the canyon overlooks on our way down the mountain.  Our last trips to Kauai were both in the October-November timeframe.  Even though the islands are having a bit of a drought right now, the canyon was visibly greener than on our previous trips.

Waipo’o Falls was also flowing heavier than I’d remembered it in the past.

This is just a random stream that runs-off down the mountain, but I’ve always loved taking pictures at this spot because the contrast of the blue sky and the red dirt, along with what little green there is, is just amazing.

After leaving Waimea Canyon, we turned right and headed west to the end of the road.  We had never driven west of the canyon before and wanted to see what there was to see.  The answer, it turns out, is not much.  Oh, there are lots of beaches if you turn off the main highway, and apparently the view of Ni’ihau from the Naval Missile Facility can be fantastic on a clear day (which this was not), but otherwise, there’s just not all that much reason to go out in that direction.

Coming back around, we decided to stop at the Glass Beach.  This is a small beach near the garbage dump on south Kauai.  I know that sounds charming, but over the years, glass has washed out into the ocean and small, smooth pieces come back to mingle with the sand, creating a multi-colored, sparkly surface.  The amount of glass on the beach can vary with the tide.  I think we were probably at about a mid-point in sparkliness.  Visible and pretty glass pieces in the sand, but not as nice as it could have been.

But we did find one very nice surprise on the beach: a Hawaiian Monk Seal had beached herself for a little snooze in the sun.  It was the first time we had seen a monk seal in Hawaii and we were quite pleased and excited by the opportunity. She was designated “K12″.

On Saturday, we Rode the Ducks.

These amphibious vehicles, designed during WWII, go on a driving tour around downtown Seattle, finishing the tour by driving right into Lake Union and boating around for 15 minutes.

It was a fun tour, but giving Steve a duck call was a ridiculous idea. Between the loud duck-themed music and the persistent blowing of the duck calls, I ended the tour with a massive headache.

We did get this cute photo, though.

(*If you don’t understand the title, see Nervous Norvus’ Ape Call.)

-Stephen

I also have a “professional” blog that deals with access to government information, government effect on access to information, copyright news, etc. If you are interested in such things, head on over. I’m also looking for suggestions on what to call that particular blog. Throwing the door open for suggestions back in 1998 worked very well when Jose came threw with my “Adventures” title, so I’m throwing it open again. If you have any suggestions for my gov info blog, let me know.

And, if you don’t know how to use an rss aggregator for more easily keeping up with our exploits, just let me know and I’ll introduce you to this handy tool.