The rest of the Big Island

Click here for more photos of the Island of Hawaii

Last time out I wrote of our experience staying on the edge of and visiting Waipio Valley. But the island of Hawaii, or the Big Island, is called that for a reason. And just like the other islands, the diversity of the geography is amazing. With two great volcanoes towering well over 10,000 ft, this island possesses an astounding 10 different climate zones! Volcanoes, beaches, ranch lands...this is quite a place.

Take a look:

Mauna Kea, tallest mountain on earth (measuring from the sea floor). The great observatories are at 13,000 ft. And yes, that is snow!

The Hawaiian towns are so old school.
Wooden roofs line all the sidewalks.

There are many caves and they travel below the surface a long way!

Ranch-land over the caves

Our freeloading housemate

Our backyard view

Our front yard

Down the road a piece

It's not just a beautiful flower. Look closely at the bottom. See the tiny bananas starting to grow. They were
probably an inch long. Those yellow flowers? Yep, more bananas.

The great, and very active Kilauea volcano

Aloha from Parker Ranch

Waipio Valley

Click here for more photos of Wiapio Valley

The island of Hawaii is by far the biggest island in the chain. It's also the youngest and it's still in the throes of its birth. The hot spot in the earth's crust which created the island chain lies under the far southern end of the island. In fact, the newest Hawaiian Island, Loihi, is now being created in the ocean south of Hawaii, but you won't see it anytime soon. It's still 3000 feet below sea level! 

As the Pacific plate moves to the north and west the islands float away from the hot spot and over time they erode and eventually shrink to tiny specks in the vast sea. So the older islands are covered in rich forests  with spectacular mountains and valleys created by the eroding effects of water. But the Big Island is so new that most of it is still covered in fresh lava and it has two, huge, dome shaped volcanoes. They're called shield volcanoes because they look like a warriors shield lying down on the ground. From a distance, the slopes are so gradual that they don't appear that tall even though both peaks exceed 10,000 feet! 

The oldest, and least volcanically active part of the island is at the northern tip and it is here that we begin to see the extraordinary valleys the other islands are so famous for. Waipio Valley is such a place. The valley is 6 miles long, surrounded by 2000 foot cliffs and the ocean. It's remote to the point of being almost inaccessible. There is one road down to the valley and it qualifies as one of the steepest road in America and possibly the world. It's .6 miles in length and averages a 25% grade. Only four wheel drive (and not AWD) vehicles are permitted to make the trip. We stayed in a small home about 500 feet from the valley road so I hiked it a couple of times. I thought I was in decent shape, but I found the trip back up to be extremely challenging and I was sore for days after! One does not go up and down the road even a couple of time per day. Once at the bottom, one stays there for a while. 

Notice the size of the beachcombers!

The Waipio Valley is a sacred place, even now, for the Hawaiian people. The "Valley of Kings" was first populated around 1200 AD and Kamehameha I was the first person to conquer, unite and rule all of the Hawaiian Islands from here in the early 1800's. We were told that 40,000 people once lived there though today's population is under 100. It's a challenging life. Most houses have no running water and the road in the valley is more horse trail than road. Nevertheless, there are proud Hawaiian people that farm the land in traditional ways and call this area home. The shape of the valley and its position relative to the sea make it a dangerous place during tsunamis as escape up the cliffs is very difficult at best. A tsunami in 1948 caused considerable damage and altered the whole landscape. It is a remarkably beautiful place with dramatic waterfalls, beautiful black sand beach and lush farmland. And a river runs through the valley and out to sea where whales are spotted offshore leaping clear out of the ocean. Amazing! 

Here's a pictorial: 

Our valley floor transportation

Wild horses live here

  

Where the river meets the sea

Yeah, that's the road. It keeps crossing the river

Haleakala

Click here for more photos of Haleakala

In the Hawaiian language there are oft repeated small words that make up parts of  many larger words. Wai is often used in place names because it means water and water is a vital part of Hawaiian culture. Hence Waikiki, Wailula, Waipio etc. Hale is another one of those words. It means home, and in the case of Maui's enormous volcano, Haleakala means "home of the sun".

Took this photo from the gate of our flight from Maui.
The vastness of Haleakala makes it difficult to photograph.

Like all the Hawaiian islands, Maui is built from volcanoes. In this case, two connected volcanoes rose from the sea floor and are connected by a low lying valley. If one looks at a map of Maui one can easily see that it appears to be two connected islands. The east "island" is, by far, the larger of the two thanks to the vastness of Haleakala.

We decided to take the long (3 hour) drive from Hana to the summit of Haleakala one beautiful day and it was worth the drive. It isn't really a steep mountain but the road switches back over and over as the car ascends. It's quite the experience to begin in a tropical rainforest, drive through dry alpine meadows, rise over the tree line and reach the alpine summit at over 10,000 ft in elevation.

Gaining elevation and looking west toward the smaller Maui volcano

Beneath the clouds

Above the clouds looking west again

The crater at last!

From the summit one gazes into a vast, dry crater. We were told that the crater can hold Manhattan Island inside.  I'm not sure about that, but it is amazing and it reminded me of the vastness of the Grand Canyon. Distances are not easy to understand. The scene looks exactly like the photos being sent from the Rover on Mars.

There are many more photos, including photos from the other end of the national park (by the Seven Sacred Pools) available from the link above.

Mountaintop Observatory

This is a view of Mauna Kea, the 13,000 ft volcano on the island of Hawaii
100 miles distant!  Yeah, that's snow at the summit

Our visit to the great volcano was a great treat. It is a place of unique beauty and I would place it high on a list of sights to see in Hawaii.

Happy on Haleakala!

So, Family Is Good

Cindy, Brooke, Caren, Diane, John

Not long after Diane lost her father in the mid 60's her older and chronologically closest brother, Howard, left Long Island for the University of Hawaii where he did his undergraduate work.  He literally never returned home.  He met and married a lovely and charming young lady, Caren, and together they  raised a beautiful family.  Howard and Caren had two children, Cindy and Troy and they both live nearby their mom on beautiful Oahu.  Sadly, we lost Howard a few years back but we are so aware of his presence and legacy when we get to see his family. They are remarkable people.

And now with Eric added

We had the great pleasure of spending a Sunday with the family.  There was a special celebration at their church as the bishop of Hawaii was visiting their parish for the day.  Cindy is now married to a wonderful guy, Eric, and together they have two children of their own.  Brooke is in seventh grade and Joe is in fourth.  They both play in the school band and we were honored to hear them both play that day.  In the best possible world Brooke and Joe together make up a swinging rhythm section with Brooke on bass (she doubles on guitar) and Joe playing - wait for it - drums!  Oh, yeah baby!

Joe working on his
paradiddles

Brooke dropping it in the groove

All great percussionists know how to count rests

Needless to say, the day was very special and we had a great time.  We finished things off with a hike with Caren on the Makapuu point trail (we spotted whales!) and a dinner in Waikiki's finest restaurant, Hy's where Troy is a waiter.  And good news, he's engaged!  All the best Troy and thanks DeMeo family for making us feel so welcome.

But that's not all!  Diane has another brother, Bill who also lives here.  Bill's wife, Bonita, was off to Indonesia on business so we missed her but met up with Bill for lunch one day before he left to meet Benita in Bali, which is still a 2 day flight from here!  In a moment of incredible dopiness, I neglect to take a photo with Bill on this trip.

We're In Hana Now

Click here for more Hana photos.

Hana Bay

Well, there's a reason this is a rainforest environment with spectacular waterfalls everywhere.  It rains here!  A lot!  So our first day was spent getting out when things cleared up - a trip in the morning and an afternoon adventure.  Our morning trip coincided with a nice clearing out of clouds.  We watched distant whales in the ocean from our deck then headed of to get our bearings, focusing on the rural and sleepy village of Hana and the beautiful bays and beaches that are nearby.

Our neighbor horse

We explored Hana Bay and nearby Red Sand Beach, which was a bit difficult to get to.

Hana Church

In the afternoon we went to explore more beaches, this time finding a nice, sandy bottom bay with great breaking waves.  Ted and I took the plunge and did some body surfing connecting with a 10 year old boy who was out there by himself riding the waves on a boogie board quite expertly.  He showed us the ropes and allowed us to make the Pacific transition with ease.  It is a bit intimidating in the surf here as there are many signs posted warning of the dangers in the ocean and reminding us of the loss of life that regularly occurs. 

Lava chute

Red Sand Beach

Red Sand Beach

Greetings!  Have fun swimming!

Good swimming here...

And here!

University of Hawaii Rainbow Warriors vs UC Riverside Highlanders

I don't get it.  Are the University of Hawaii teams on the front line of the gay rights issue?  It's a pretty political statement for a team name, don't ya think?  Anyway, I love it!

Okay, here's what I did on Saturday night in Hawaii.  We're not far from the university so I couldn't help but attend the only men's basketball home game thats happening while we are in town.  I took the bus to the Manoa neighborhood and had a better time than I expected.  Read on.

The Sam Sheriff Center is large.  It seats 10, 000+ and we had a good crowd in attendance - about 6,500.  The crowd was loyal and loud.  

I didn't see many students there, although I know they were in attendance.  They just didn't seem to be in a designated area.  As I approached the arena, I was surprised at the line of cars exiting the hi-way and cueing up to the parking area.  Very good support for the team!  What follows are my game notes.  (Jeff - does this mean I can expense my trip here?  Should I write to Karen with my mileage, hotel, meals etc?  How much per mile again?)

I arrived later than I would have liked, around 7:45, but I caught the tail end of the band lobby show.  They play outside at the arena entrance (naturally).  Here's what I caught: 

Hawaii five-0

Horns leave to go inside while the drumline stays and continues to play. 

4 BD, 2 CYM, 4 SD, 3 Toms

Drumline plays a few cadences including, I swear Mike, K-O!  I was getting my ticket at the time so I couldn't record it, but they played our cadence!  How can that be explained!

Inside, I arrive at 7:03.  I must have missed the anthem because teams are being introduced.  Band plays with trap set, no drumline

Intros. Chord for each player. Weak. Then Hey Song prior to tip.  Familiar.

16:21. Call TO

See the band?  Me neither, but this is a photo of all but the sousa

12-1 UHawaii

Band Plays SBU

Band sits when not playing!

One sousaphone

15:11 media

Pa's

Band plays Hawaii five-0 again with dance and cheer on court for sideline routines

Wacky people "paddling" (don't ask) shown on video board

Drum cheer until inbounds pass

11:40 media

22-11 UHawaii

Pa's

Band. Fight song (I assume)

Drum cheer until inbounds

Observations so far:

cheer at one basket, dance at the other. Male cheer with megaphones. 

Band is centered behind basket!

Drums on platform

They are in folding seats

NO MASCOT! ANYWHERE! 

7:41. Called TO

Band quick bluesy riff then drum cheer (30 sec)

7:15 media

25-16 UHawaii

Pa's

Who needs a haircut contest on video board.  Hilarity ensues

Dj music. "What I like about you"

3:30 Media

43-22 UHawaii

Dance in the stands contest on video board.  They do a video board contest at each media TO so far

Dj music

Dance sidelines routine under basket

I don't like the dance uniforms - dark green cheer style top and skirt.  Long dark green socks.

Halftime

56-30 UHawaii

Fight song. Band has some screaming trumpets!

Cheer sidelines

Pep band gets shout out from announcer.  Nice touch

Musical chairs contest

6 contestants. But there's no music. Students are seated in the chairs on the mid court line, ready, set, GO!  They run to any basket, shoot and return though there is now one less chair.  It was fun and ended with guy and girl finalists.  The crowd roundly booed the guy who was about to sit in the final chair so he gets all cavalier and lets her take the final seat (and win $100!).  Crowd goes crazy

They honor their softball championship team with rings. Wow! one player hit 72 home runs (career) and was NCAA woman of the year finalist!

Jack in the Box indoor blimp (what the...)  Hint: it drops coupons!

Team comes out with flag and cheer leading.  I have to say, I like cheer.  They have white uniforms trimmed with green.  There are more males than females on cheer!

Band plays Hawaii Five-0 a third time

Dj music

2nd half

Dj music to tip

Cheer switches to band side

Dance is gone

I count 8 male cheer, either 4 or 6 female

I move across the arena to see the band better

Band member shakes tambourine during free throw. How does she get away with that?

17:19 called TO

65-38 UHawaii

Cheer does rain-bow cheer

Band plays Can't Turn You Loose. Wait a second, tambourine girl is the conductor!

They show all replays and fans are killin' the refs. The refs made obvious mistakes but they're getting shown up on video board. 

15:36 media

67-38. Man, Riverside is getting killed!

Pa's

T shirt bazooka!  Pandemonium results.  Note cheer and dance

Band plays old 60s instrumental "The Horse"

Cheer: D-d-d defense!

13:42 called TO

Band plays SBU again

Wow!  Drummer did a fill during a free throw!  Right in the players face!

Now the UHawaii coach gets a tech! And his team leads by 35!  He's screaming about something! But the kid misses both shots cause the drummer plays during free throws. I can't believe this!  Crowd goes wild!

11:59 media

75-41 

Band plays hey song

Cheer and dance on floor. Dance is back. Guys hold cheerleaders high overhead and rotate

7:28 media

86-51

Shooting Contest 

Ball lands in the home team huddle because they're seated right next to the contest!

Band play that cool tune we played last year. Starts with a C I think

6:31 called TO

Band plays fight song

Drum cheer until inbounds

3:51 media

92-58

Video car race on video board

Band play another song we did. Minor to major. Can't remember title

:54

Third player fouls out

:35

UH scores 100th point and crowd goes wild!

Final

100- 69 UH

Band plays fight song with dance and cheer on court

Band had about 30 members.  Classes have been in session since Monday so this is their first game of the spring semester.

Alma mater is announced but trombones were on way out!  There is clearly no communication between the band and anyone in game-ops.

Trombones run back just in time to play

Team is on floor, but cheer and dance are gone.  Go figure!

Alma Mater is a predictable slow, hymn like tune.  Nice

Thoughts:

Stony Brook is not only on the right track, you do a damn good job.  I think the coordination and show presented in Pritchard is as good as anywhere.  It is superior to what I saw here.  I though I'd come away with interesting observations and new ideas but I really learned that SB is really doing a great job right now.  Frankly, the band plays very little as you'll notice if you read the notes closely.  I was disappointed with that.  Nevertheless, congratulations to you all for the great work you do.  Keep on keeping on, baby!