Tsunami- the aftermath on Ali'i Drive

A little back story...

On our first visit to Hapuna Beach (just a few days into our two-week stay on the Big Island) we heard these LOUD sirens going off.  I started panicking....Was it a SHARK that had been spotted?  Was someone in trouble?  WHAT? What???? Then a family member who does an annual trip to the island calmly explained to me that they're just doing their weekly tsunami warning system test (as in "This is a test of the emergency broadcast system....").  Ah.  And then for a split second I wondered if tsunamis are really a problem here.  Well, duh!  I'm an Alaskan after all....I should know a little bit about tsunamis.

And little did I know that we'd actually learn first-hand what that actually all means.

After our sunset walk at the Energy Lab Beach on Thursday evening we read that a massive earthquake had just cause a massive tsunami that ravaged part of Japan .... and was headed our way.  

Eeep!

The predicted time of the arrival for the tsunami wave was around 3am.  Thankfully our rental house was up the mountain-side (at around 1000ft elevation) so we knew that we were completely safe.  We did offer a safe haven for other family members who were staying on Ali'i Drive (which is right next to the ocean).  Very early on Friday morning (3am?  not really sure....wasn't awake enough to register the time) we could hear the tsunami warning sirens going off- requesting that everyone in the area evacuate to higher grounds.  

We did not attempt to go near the beach on Friday (March 11) having heard that the surges following the initial tsunami wave might actually be stronger/more damaging.  I believe that this was in fact the case.  So no beaches for us!  (instead we visited a couple of waterfalls and stopped at What's Shakin' for another superb fruit smoothie) We never saw the surges of water first hand.  Safety First! 

On Saturday morning our curiosity got the better of us adults.  We had to see what had happened (if anything) to Ali'i Drive.  We'd heard from a family member that our favorite restaurant (Bubba Gump) had suffered some damage and we assumed that they'd be closed for repairs.  Nope!  They were open for business but the servers did tell interesting stories of having to come in the previous day to clear up the mess that was left behind.  Apparently the restaurant's signature red, white and blue plates were seen strewn up and down Ali'i Drive!

Before Tsunami (walking on wall on Ali'i Drive in Kona)

After Tsunami on March 12, 2011

pile-o-sand across the street...

We saw lots of boarded up shops (broken windows and doors).

 Sand that wasn't there before (also across the street)

 Damage done to sidewalk.  Also notice all the boats out.  Boat owners were asked to take their boats out of the harbor and sail on the open water to safely ride out the tsunami wave and surges.  I'm pretty sure if they hadn't done that there would have been lots of damage done to those boats.  (it is safe for boats to be out in open water when there's a tsunami- the place NOT to be is at the shore when the tsunami wave/surge hits).

The hotel in the background had water problems in their lobby and was having to move clients either elsewhere or to the higher floors (that's at least what I understood....I could be wrong).

Another view of the damaged sidewalk.  Never ever underestimate the power of the ocean!

Here's a YouTube video someone else took of one of the surges of water on Ali'i Drive in Kona:

My heartfelt sympathy and condolences go out to the people in Japan who have suffered as a result of the earthquake and tsunami.

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A beautiful sunset - Natural Energy Lab Beach

So after swimming with some of these:

I got to have some of this:

(sushi)

Perhaps I should clarify!
My brother-in-law (aka Uncle Ray), his step dad (Mark B.- who happens to be a scuba diver and very knowledgeable about the Big Island) and I got to go snorkeling in Kailua Bay (located near the heart of Kona) on Thursday morning.  On the drive to our drop off point we noticed a pod of spinner dolphins hanging out in the bay.  We quickly made our way snorkeling across the bay (but also stopping to notice an eel swimming, schools of interesting fish and many other wonderful things) before getting to the dolphins.  I've never gotten to be so close to them before!  You could hear their clicking sounds before you could see them (that's how we knew they were still there).  OMG!  I almost panicked when I saw the first one- so close to me.  They're such graceful ballerinas in and out of the water (spinning as their name implies).  We'd see a group of them swimming together...and then maybe two close together...and then I did see what must have been a mama dolphin swimming with her baby (since it was a much smaller dolphin).  I was nervous yet beyond thrilled to be in the water and watch them.  And all it took was a some snorkeling gear & courage (and our guide- that being Mark B.).   Pretty darn amazing and thrilling!  Only thing...I didn't have a camera to take photos of the lovely dolphins.  The above photo is actually one Daddy took while on his night manta ray snorkeling trip (and he paid Big Bucks for his trip and I didn't!  Okay, okay....what they got to experience was certainly worth those Big Bucks and I'm most definitely not complaining.  Just wanted to let you know that you don't have to lay out serious cash to experience these beautiful dancers of the ocean.)

Later....much later on the same day....

We went back to the Natural Energy Lab Beach to view the Sunset.

I just love the swirls that you can see in the lava.

The sea water evaporated and left behind the sea salt.....

 Waiting and watching the sun set.

 No green flash as there were clouds sitting right at the horizon.  But still!  What a sunset!

*On a side note....someone on Mark's night manta ray snorkeling trip asked if the water gets cold after dark.  The guide said no- it actually heats up when the sun goes down into it!  LOL!*

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A Bay or 'Anaeho'omalu (um, that's a mouthful if you can even figure out how to say it) Bay

After our second visit to Hapuna Beach (Wednesday, March 9) we stopped at A Bay for quick lunch (Japanese noodles, anyone?) and Marble Slab ice cream (oh- now we're living on the edge!  LOL!)  we did a brief tour of the famous fishponds and beach.  (the guidebook tells the history and purpose of these fishponds...used for raising fish for Hawaiian royalty to feast upon).

Gorgeous Bougainvillea (growing like a shrub)

 Wow!  Don't those shrubs look like they're on FIRE?

 The fishpond is on the right and the ocean is on your left.

 Sign tells about the fishpond- history & fish species you're likely to see.

 Here's how the fishpond worked in a nutshell....small fry (baby fish) swam through the grates from the ocean and into the algae-rich pond where they gorged themselves and thus became too large to swim back through the grates.  A large fish trap.

 On this beach we found lots of lava rocks that had tiny peridot crystals in them.  (peridot is Annika's birthstone and hence of great interest to her)

 That's one, crazy, mean looking spider!  (and there were lots of wild kitty cats close to the fishpond/beach).

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And a few more beaches...Mauna Kea and Hapuna (Take 2)

And now for Fabulouso Beach Number 3:

Mauna Kea!

 Oh yes, this was everything the guidebook said it'd be...a gorgeous sandy beach with awesome swimming.

 Digging pits and more pits....

There was some awesome snorkeling at this beach.  Amazing snorkeling!  Beautiful fish, coral and sea turtles...

 Mark, Aunt Beth and another family member (Uncle Ray's stepdad) all left the beach early to go on a night Manta Ray snorkeling trip.  Gives me goosebumps just thinking about them seeing those giant manta rays up close!

Meet Skye!  She's related to Uncle Ray.  She was visiting Hawaii with her Grandma and apparently really missing her little sister (I think that Ava reminded Skye of her sister).  Skye created a Mermaid Ava.  Skye was a fabulous story teller!  

Cool thing: Mark (aka Daddy) found a coconut still in its husk at the beach.  We figured it was okay since it had liquid in it (when he shook it).  So he went to town taking off its husk.

That was quite a job taking off the husk!

And guess what?  It really was a good coconut!  We drank the coconut milk and shredded the coconut over French toast with coconut syrup.  Oh my!  Tropical French Toast!

And back to Hapuna for another wonderful morning at the beach...

Annika lost a tooth at this beach (it was already loose)....

We learned that Annika is an awesome boogie boarder!  (thanks to Aunt Beth for these photos!)

Oh yeah!  Boogie boarding is a blast (especially if you can figure out how to actually ride the wave!)

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Sea turtles on Kuki'o Beach- doing the Sea Turtle Scoot

I hope this video clip works!  It shows a sea turtle scooting up the beach.

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Beaches....ah....the Beaches!

How about some more photos of  beaches?

First up...Kikaua Beach followed closely with Kuki'o Beach (they were adjacent to each other).  

Kikaua Beach offered a safe, protected cove for the kids to swim and snorkel in.

 Annika went snorkeling with her Daddy's help.

 We took a little walk to the adjacent beach- Kuki'o Beach....you'll see why we did....

 Is it a sea monster?  No!  It's a beached sea turtle!  No, it's not dead.  We did observe it for quite some time....it did move!  And no, you're not allowed to touch these creatures.  We heard/read that there's a stiff $1000 penalty for touching them.  So we observed them from a safe distance.

 The guidebook (which I'll talk about in another post) mentioned that sea turtles love to beach themselves here at Kuki'o.  The guidebook was definitely right-on target with that remark!  I'm not sure how many turtles we counted on our walk up and down the beach (as more turtles were beaching themselves as we were walking).

Makalawena Beach

This might be at the top of my list for favorite beaches on the Big Island.  The kids might disagree...and here's why:

 after driving down a bumpy "road" (if that's what you can call what we drove on!) you park the car and then walk on a trail ....on the a'a (or uh-oh) lava for about 30 minutes before you finally come to the beach.  Of course you have to carry everything with you- beach toys, towels, cooler full of lunch & snack goodies and gobs and gobs of sunscreen.  All the kids were employed in helping us get our stuff to the beach (& hence why they might have been grumpy about that beach!  LOL!).

 And here is Makalawena (say that ten times fast!):

 Isn't it perfect?

 So absolutely, divinely perfect...
and those are my freshly pedicured, turquoise-painted toes.

 and since it's a fair hike to the beach there aren't many others there.

Of course there was Frisbee playing in the water (Uncle Ray & Daddy's favorite beach past-time).

 Even Ava tried playing Frisbee.

 Aunt Beth, Henry and Uncle Ray in the water.  Can you believe the color of the water?  Oh man...my favorite colors.  Just absolutely incredible.  I can't believe the water was that color!

 Enjoying the gorgeous water!

and how about a beach rooster?  We also saw wild goats on the walk to the beach (the guidebooks warns about them).

 Of course....Annika digging in the sand.  Making a Mud Pit.  (in the sand?  really?)

 Some buried kids...Lily is fully buried under that hat (her head isn't buried- don't worry!).

 Sploosh!  Enjoy those waves!

 And of course what goes in has to come back...and here's the walk.  We had some tired kids dragging their feet on the walk back out. Some of them may have fallen and scraped up their knees on the uh-oh lava.

 And moments after we got back into the car....

 that isn't exactly a surprise, is it?

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