September 9, 2011

Today John and I had the buffet breakfast at the resort. Food was very good. The Zebra Doves and House Sparrows were trying to share it, but we kept chasing them away.

All of us flew from Kaua'i to Oahu, changed planes and flew to Kona on the Big Island. We are on the third floor. It is a condo so we have a fully equipped kitchen, washer/dryer and a Lanai that faces the ocean. So we were able to see a beautiful sunset tonight.

This evening most of us went to the Kona Brewing Company for dinner.

Sunrise on Kaua'i. Sunset on the Big Island at Kona.

September 8, 2011

Kayak trip on the Wailua River and Sacred Falls, top of Waimea Canyon Road.

September 9, 2011

Today we all drove to the Kayak rental place. When all the boat people were ready, Laura, Dawn, and I set off to see what we could see. We stopped at a falls and the ruins of a Hawaiian Temple.

Then we headed north. Drove to the Kilauea Lighthouse but the gate wasn't open yet, so we went looking for the road through the Hanalei National Wildlife Refuge. We finally found it and drove past the ponds finding several kinds of beautful birds. Back to the overlook and then the lighthouse.

Headed back toward the resort making a trip through a McD's drive through, only to be given the wrong order. Good thing we checked before leaving the parking lot. They realized their mistake and one of the girls came running out with the right bag.

Decided to drive to the end of the road we'd traveled earlier, looking for the fern grotto, but we never found it. John called to say they were back, so we turned around and went to pick him and Gary up.

The kayaks had a great trip, pictures of this later since they are on John's IPhone.

In the afternoon John and I drove back up to the Waimea Canyon. Clouds and rain began to move in so I only saw one new bird. Dark by the time we returned to the resort.

Pictures: Sunrise, Opackaa Falls, Kayakers on the Wailua River, Wall ruin of the Hawaiian Temple, Nene(Hawaiian Geese), Hawaiian Moorhen, Episcopal Church constructed of lava,

Sunset.

September 7, 2011

Today I was outside and down at the beach by 6:15 a.m. A Barn Owl flew in front of me only about 6 feet away. Shot several pictures of the sunrise, which was very short because of the low rain clouds moving in.

Headed for Waimea Canyon Road at 7:30 a.m. Hikers started down the trail about 8:45 a.m. I headed for the Clinic to get some meds for a bladder infection. Blaah! Drove up the canyon road afterward toward KoKee State Forest, but it was getting on toward afternoon, so turned around and drove back to the parking area. Most of the hikers were coming up from the trail at that time, except for Glen and John.

After Glen came up the other cars headed back to town. Karen and I waited for John, who had gone all the way down to the river.

At 4:30 p.m. Joe O'Leary and Jan Dugan were married on the beach. It was a lovely wedding. Afterwards we all had dinner together at the resort with wedding cake for dessert. John posted a couple of wedding pictures on Facebook earlier from his IPhone.

September 6, 2011

We met at 8:00 a.m. in the lobby, and headed north to the end of the road at Ha'ena State Park.

There were tons of people there. We were lucky to find parking places. We hiked about a quarter of a mile to the trailhead. I stayed back at the beach area and woods to birdwatch, but didn't see anything new.

The hikers returned at about 2:00 p.m. They about 5 and a half miles, a lot of it rocky and uphill.

Gary, John and I stopped in Hanalei for a shaved ice. Then we decided to eat some lunch. Didn't see Puff, the magic dragon though.

Drove on to the Hanalei Valley Lookout. The valley looked like a bunch of squares like rice paddies, but I heard some say some of the plants were mangoes. There were birds swimming on the ponds, but they were to far away to identify even with binoculars.

Our last stop was Kilauea Lighthouse Point. The wildlife refuge and lighthouse closed at 4:00 p.m. However there were lots of birds flying and in the bushes and trees on the hillside opposite the lighthouse: Laysan Albatross, Great Frigatebirds, Red-footed Boobies, Wedge-

tailed Shearwaters, and White-tailed Tropicbirds. 5 more life birds, making the total in Hawaii so far 24.

Pictures: hikers, wet cave, Red Junglefowl, Ha'ena State Park, Signs at the Trailhead, Narrow

one-car bridges, Church in Hanalei, Hanalei Valley Lookout, Kilauea Lighthouse Pt.

Kaua'i 9/5/2011

September 5, 2011

This morning we returned our rental car. We check my suitcase. John decided to do his carry-on.

As we were standing in line to go though inspection, John said he was probably going to lose his small knife because he forgot to put it in my suitcase.

First John set the machine off because of the knife. They took him aside after finding not one but two of the little knives. Meanwhile I set the machine off because of my metal hip and got patted down once again. They then took John and his suitcase around the corner. They gave him two choices: mail the knives home for $12.00 or Check his suitcase and keep the knives for $10.00. He uses the knife a lot, so he decided to check the bag. Gary and I were telling people that they had taken him to jail.

We then flew Hawaiian Airlines from Oahu to Kaua'i. Very small airport so everything went like clockwork at that end. Rented another car and drove to the Kaua'i Beach Resort. Our room wasn't ready so we drove to one of the nearby towns to have lunch and do a little grocery shopping to get things for breakfast and pack a lunch for the hike tomorrow.

We will be driving to the north side of the island. Patty is leading the hike. I will stay in the area where the cars are parked and birdwatch. So far on Kaua'i I have 3 life birds, putting my total for the trip at 19.

September 4, 2011

Pictures from John's IPhone. View from the revolving restaurant last night, Pacific, Dole Plantation, National Cemetery of the Pacific, Waikiki.