Whip It Good!

Whip it! The most well-known Devo song. I remember Devo being popular when I was a little kid.

Devo

Still at Del Mar for the Devo concert. Short clip of Girl U Want.

Del Mar Races

At Del Mar for the races and for a Devo concert tonight. Ohhh! I think I just won a wager, wahoo!

Do Not Use

Really!? Hmm, I have no idea why not or what's the point!? Weird!

Summer's End

Teaching officially starts tomorrow. Michelle and I headed to our local favorite breakfasts at the Coffee Cup. That's my motorcycle in the foreground. Students come back to school next Tuesday, after labor day weekend. Enjoy the last days of summer, there'll be homework on the first day of school!

Morning Cachuma Fog

Really cool to experience the coastal influence on Lake Cachuma. This morning, the lake almost feels ocean like with the light wind, coastal fog, and choppy waters.

Lake Cachuma

Currently camping at Lake Cachuma, near Santa Barbara. We've been on the road, visiting friends and enjoying life. Michelle starts a new job next week and I'll be back to start another great year of teaching.

Venice Beach

Strolling around at Venice Beach today. Haven't been here for quite some time. Lots of the same crazy urban culture! The walk is teeming with artists, performers, and chaotic vendors.

Kilauea Summit Video

Here's a short video of the recent vent in Kilauea's summit caldera. We're about a mile a way from the vent at the Jaggar Museum. Hopefully, this gives a sense of the volume of flow from the vent. Ignore the audio, it was a bit windy from the lookout.

Kilauea Caldera Vent

What an awesome sight this is! We'll be coming back here when the sun goes down to see the colors emitted from the glowing lava 350 feet below the surface of the vent.

Kilauea First Looks

Just arrived at Kilauea!

Keaoua Stone

This was the favorite resting spot for the high chief of Kona. I have to admit, this doesn't suck! Turtles are basking steps away and the shoreline is peaceful and majestic. Check out the wall behind me, all of the walls are hand built without mortar.

Pu'uhonua o Honaunau

Visiting the area previously known as the Place of Refuge which is a fair descriptor of the sacred Hawaiian site. Here is where a commoner can seek forgiveness for breaking kapu.

Waikaloa Lanai

Here's the view from our condo in Waikaloa. In the distance, you can see Mauna Kea where we were yesterday. Today, our goal is to swim with turtles. We're first going to Pu'uhonau o Honaunau.

Mauna Kea Observatories

We ventured to the summit of Mauna Kea. The top is frigid with a wind chill likely below freezing. The landscape looks like Mars! This is one of the astronomical meccas of the world. We want to stay for the sunset and star gazing at the visitor center but there's a stubborn layer of stratospheric clouds.

Kealakekua Bay

Relaxing with a snack then we're gonna do a bit of snorkeling! See the tour boats!? There's about 8 of them right now. Some stop for snorkeling, others are just touring by boat.

Captain Cook Monument

We made it! Whew, what a hike! The bay is littered with tour boats but we certainly took the road less traveled by. Mongoose are scavenging along the shore and the water is very inviting! Here's the monument at the shoreline.

Bay Overlook

Here's the view heading down to Captain Cook. This is the south Kona Coast, a bit hazy partially from vog (volcano fog). Lava rock in the foreground.

Captain Hook Trail

Hiking down a crazy sugar cane trail to snorkel in the bay where the Captain Cook monument is. It is a 1300 foot elevation drop and we're not looking forward to the hike up. I can't believe I'm hiking and blogging simultaneously!

Kona Coffee at Mountain Thunder

Taking a brief tour of the Mountain Thunder coffee field. We'll be walking by a field on the way to a snorkeling spot later. Here you can see the beans on the plant. Red are ready to pick.

Mountain Thunder Kona Coffee

Having a cup of coffee at Mountain Thunder with Dave. About to get a short tour.

Green Sea Turtles

A few turtles are chewing up the algae on the south side. Can't tell if this picture came out, cell phone cams don't come with built-in polarizers! The turtles are so mellow and graceful!

Snorkeling!

You can see here that the beach park is very popular for famalies. They mostly stay close to shore. Lots of Hawaiian fish can be found anywhere in the cove but the farther out you swim, the greater the visibility. At the north end, a small group of paddle surfers surf the occassional wave. The south end is protected and very calm.

Kahaluu Park

Tonight, we're going out diving with the mantas. We're currently at Kahaluu for some snorkeling. This is a very popular snorkeling area but we wanted to stay close to the harbor for our dives this evening.

Waikaloa Beach

Just arrived in Hawaii last night. All of us are relaxing at the beach in Waikaloa.