Turtle Beach

The turtles were completely safe. I promise. On yesterday's Wordless Wednesday post, I shared one of the most amazing natural wonders in Hawaii. I didn't mean to worry anyone. It was refreshing to know so many of you cared about the basking Hawaiian turtles!

On our North Shore of Oahu, just past Haleiwa but before Waimea Bay, there is an unmarked dirt shoulder on the right side of Kamehameha Highway (locals call it "Kam" for short). Across the two lane highway is Laniakea Beach, but it is known to locals as "Turtle Beach." This is not the same as Turtle Bay, which is a resort farther north. The traffic runs in both directions on Kam. However, drivers show Aloha and stop, yes STOP, in the middle of the highway, where there is no crosswalk for pedestrians. When our family crossed the street, we crossed right in front of a police officer's front bumper. It's completely illegal, I am sure, but completely acceptable. There is no other way to get to the beach but to cross the two lane highway. There are no traffic signals anywhere.

On the other side of the road, we climbed down a gradual sandy and rocky bank to the beach. Turtles weren't hard to spot. They average about 200 pounds. The most common turtles in Hawaii are the green turtles. Locals call turtles by their Hawaiian name, "honu," pronounced "hoe-noo." In Native Hawaiian culture honus are good luck. I don't really believe in luck, but I have felt a sudden peace when scuba diving and spotting honus in the water, except that one night dive. The Hawaiian green sea turtles are graceful swimmers, to me, at least. We had honus etched into the windows of the glass of our front door, and laid into the futura stone hardscape in our front and back yard. They are a cultural decoration you will find throughout the Hawaiian islands. Green turtles are native to Hawaii. Only eight years ago green honus started climbing out on the sand and rocks at Turtle Beach to loll and relax in the sun. This is completely natural behavior for Hawaiian green sea turtles.

Once we got to the flat beach, we spotted the volunteers. They are there all of the time. I have been to this beach even when no turtles are found, and the volunteers are still there. Most everyone that comes to see the turtles are respectful. But it was crazy at one point, and some people tried to sit on the turtles, ride them, and other horrible things like drag them from the water. So the volunteer organization Malama na Honu (look but don't touch the honus in Hawaiian) volunteers to educate the public about the honus. Our honus are considered a Threatened Species, and are protected both by federal and state laws.They put up signs all over the beach and answer questions about the turtles. They also have honu coloring sheets available for the keiki. In the sand between Son1 and the honu you can see how she pulled herself up the beach and onto the sand. The rule of thumb is to be one bicycle length from the honu. I know it is a she because the volunteer told me. The honus are marked with GPS and also with white numbers on their shells so they can be studied and preserved. They travel 1000 miles round trip to have their babies.

The voluntees laid out a red rope around the honus. If you look carefully you can see the rope in the picture below. The turtles aren't aggressive at all, and aren't really frightened by humans. People snorkel at this beach and are surprised when a honu brushes up against them. There are beaches with better visibility than Turtle Beach, but it is fun to snorkel with the honu. The volunteers also ask snorkelers to respect the honus.

Honus come to Turtle Beach in large numbers for two reasons. The rocks are covered with algae and seaweed (called limu in Hawaiian, lee-moo).

The other reason is that this beach is a protected sanctuary. The entire right side of the beach is lined with these rocks. A channel from the ocean juts into this cove and protects the honus from predators like tiger sharks. I don't really understand all of the science behind it, but the geography of the beach also makes it a great surf beach because of the way the channel cuts the ocean breaks. This day the surf was only a few feet. But in the coming weeks this whole beach will mostly be covered by the water when the swells hit between 12 and 20 feet high.We walked to the rocks. I had high hopes of looking for crabs in rocks with the kids. but we had one little issue. Son2 didn't understand we weren't getting in the water. Try to keep a kid born in Hawaii from the beach. It is an uphill battle. Hubby and I took turns keeping him dry. He had no appreciation for our efforts. Well at least my efforts.And then Son1 wasn't in a crab hunting mood anymore, and it was "that time."

So we climbed the hill and crossed the highway to our car, just like these strangers. I know these two guys, though.

The parking lot looks into this field. This is the "mauka" side of the road (mountain) and the beach was on the "makai" side (ocean). People don't use cardinal directions very much in Hawaii. Everything is either mauka side or makai side.
On the drive home we spotted a rainbow near the Dole Plantation. Son1 said, "I wonder if it will follow me home?"


We drove another fifteen minutes to our exit. Now instead of seeing a fragmented rainbow, we saw two full double rainbows. The second isn't visible in this picture. We drove home, another mile from the exit. The rainbows were arched high in the sky, past our home. It was such an enchanted moment for our family, witnessing the rainbow follow us home.

Dinner at Pinky's

Hubby scheduled a doctor appointment on the windward side. He invited the kids and me along, so we could try Pinky's for dinner. The windward side of the island is the most green and lush. It is also the most windy and rainy. Some say it is the most beautiful.

Hubby picked us up at home, before driving to the windward side. We caught the H-3 from the center of the island out to the East shore. The H-3 is 15 miles long, with just 4 exits before the freeway ends. The speed limit on H-3, and just one other freeway stretch on the island, is 60mph. Every other freeway speed is 55mph or less. We are the slowest state in the nation!!

Ask anyone on the island and they will tell you the H-3 is one of the most beautiful drives on Oahu. The freeway extends through the center of the Ko'olau Mountain Range. It's actually not a traditional mountain range. The "mountains" are leftovers from a single side of Ko'olau Volcano. The absolutely amazing mountains are the western half of the original volcano. The eastern half slid into the Pacific Ocean during an eruption, and is scattered across 100 miles of ocean floor. Ko'olau is the Hawaiian word for windward. These "mountains" form the windward coast.
I did not take this picture!! In the foreground you can see the mountains, 2,000 feet high. The freeway hugs them. You stare straight up at them when driving H-3. Where you pop out through a short tunnel is the view that just grabs us every time. Son1 can identify even from this distance where we take pontoon boats out on the sandbar at Kane'ohe Bay, in the middle of that crystal blue water. Each time we come to the windward side he hopes we are going to get on a boat.

We exited in Kailua, and parked for Hubby's appointment. He found the medical building, and the kids and I peeked in a new victorian tea room and wandered through a thrift store before he called to say he was finished. We walked back in the light rain to the car, settled every one in, and made the short drive to Pinky's.

We had never been to Pinky's Pupu Bar and Grill. Many people rave about it's family friendliness. Pupu is pronounced Poo-Poo. The word means heavy appetizer, or finger food. (It does not mean going #2! That is called DOO DOO on the island!) Pinky's serves local Hawaiian food. It's decorated like a lively beach house with a splash of retro Hawaiian.

The kids were starving, so we ordered them each their own kids' plates. (Do little girls polish off entire kids plates like my boys, at 3 1/2 and 16 months?) Meantime Hubby and I split the Pinky's Aloha Plate. it included kalua pig, lau lau, mac nut crusted fish, lomi salmon, mac salad, and veggies. I have explained some of this food before, but here is a quick rundown in case you forgot. Kalua pig is any pork shoulder butt, salted, wrapped in ti leaves, and slow smoked. That's the shredded meat below. The green stuff is chicken lau lau. Lau lau is a method of cooking. This chicken was salted and then steamed, while wrapped in taro leaves. Our fish was crusted in macadamia nuts, or mac nut for short. Lomi is the Hawaiian word for massage, as in lomi lomi massage. Sound familiar? Well, lomi salmon is prepared by massage. No, I am not kidding. The salted salmon is diced by hand, and other ingredients are mixed in a massage like manner. These include tomatoes and Maui sweet onions.
I didn't have the mac salad, as in macaroni salad. I gave that to Hubby because that is a big no no on the South Beach. Now you must know that Hawaiian mac salad is strictly different than mainland mac salad. The noodles are overcooked, big, and soft, on purpose. Sometimes the mayonnaise is homemade, or liberal amounts of store bought mayonnaise are used. I mean by the shovel fulls!! Most people assume Hawaiian mac salad originated from the plantation workers several years back, as a potato salad adaptation. Since potatoes were costly, macaroni was substituted for potatoes. Supposedly this was the birth of mac salad. I can't bring myself to eat too much. But Hubby really enjoys it, like almost everyone on the island.
It was family night at Pinky's. This meant our favorite Adventure Balloons artists were making balloons for all of the keiki. We had an amazing experience with them at a beach baby luau. The little puppy dog was for Son2, who is my die hard animal lover. Son1 requested a Blue Angels fighter jet.We were sitting in the the third window from my left, behind. The windows faced a canal that leads to the ocean. Son1 tried to befriend the ducks that swam in the canal after dinner, like at my parent's house. They didn't really go for that.

This is the view at the canal, if you look up. Now I did take this picture!
We liked that Pinky's was loud. Our children behave well at loud establishments! An open treasure box was available to keiki. Some children took more than one treasure, and no one was monitoring the treasure box. This fit well with Pinky's relaxed atmosphere. The children's plates were large, included an ice cream dessert and were priced well. Balloon night was a major winner with the boys. Hmmm...we wouldn't make a special trip to Kailua just for Pinky's, but our night was pleasurable and amusing.

Haleakala Crater

* Read about our trip to Maui on the Hawaii Superferry.

The Superferry docked at Kahului Harbor, Maui. We were already sitting in our car when we docked, and disembarked quickly. Our hotel check in time was not until 4pm, and it wasn't quite 10am when we arrived. A few minutes in the car and the Sandman had his first victim. (You know the lullaby!)

Son1 looked at me with heavy eyes. "Mommy, the two crocodiles are very sleepy." And what do you know, he was next to go.


Well, this made our decision easy. The best way for these kids to nap without a hotel room was in our car on a long drive. There was only one place I wanted to see this weekend anyway, Haleakala Crater. Off we went!

A looong time ago the Haleakala volcano built itself up, and then went dormant for several hundred thousand years, just like the other Hawaiian volcanoes. Meantime, two huge valleys formed on either side by erosion, 5,000 feet into the core of the volcano. They met back to back at the summit. Haleakala then became active for a series of final volcanic eruptions, starting from the summit, and filling these two canyons with lava, and raising the summit floor. The volcano became extinct, and sank under it's weight back into the sea. Unlike the Big Island volcanic craters, this crater was formed by erosion.

The road to Haleakala has tons of switchbacks. The landscape changes between the foot of the crater to the summit drastically. Between 2,000 and 4,000 feet elevation we saw cattle and horses in the upcountry. The green rolling hills were a surprise in the tropics. The drive was beautiful, and reminded us of the California wine country. Our favorite trees were these purple Jacaranda trees. The purple flowers were so intense and bursting against the crisp blue sky. They only bloom this time of year.
I am not sure what this tree is called, but I call it the trumpet tree. These Lily trumpets were humongous, like bananas hanging from the tree.
The higher we climbed in elevation, the more the vegetation changed. Soon we saw plants with shorter green leaves and stubby pines. The clouds moved rapidly with the trade winds, which blow westward, toward the earth's equator. Our kids awoke about this time, and Son1 thought we were seeing lava steam, like we had on the Big Island. When he realized we were driving higher than the clouds like an airplane he was in complete awe and three year old wonderment.

We stopped at the Leleiwi Lookout. It was a five minute walk from the parking lot. We were over 8,000 feet high. The temperature dropped an average of 3 degrees for every thousand feet above sea level, so it must have been about 50 degrees. We sustained the change in altitude so quickly, and could hear our breath getting shallower as we walked. The rest of the trip we made sure everyone was hydrated, because dehydration is also common. The body has not had much time to adjust. The ascent was nearly two miles high in a matter of several minutes.

We stood at the guard rail, and were greeted by the brimming crater, with the clouds rolling in. The unique formation of the crater, the altitude, and the trade winds all contribute to why the cloud scenery can look different in five minutes. Since the atmosphere is so thin at this level and the sun is quite bright, it is also pretty easy to sunburn, in the cool 40 to 50 degree weather. (Of course, those are midday temperatures!)

Pitching rocks into the crater

High above the clouds

Leleiwi Lookout

The Silversword plant is now unique to Hawaii, however, a California bird brought over it's seeds over a million years ago. The silver hairs allow the plant to retain water and repel the bright and warm sun at this altitude. Silverswords live nearly 50 years, flower once, and then die.

People used to pluck them out of the ground for decorative purposes, and they became an endangered species. Today they are protected and the fine for picking them is more than a vacation on Maui!

We continued up to the summit for the majestic view inside of the crater. The colors were vibrant, and the cones in the middle were glorious.

Since I am not a professional photographer, here is a photo from someone who is.

We finally made it! The final point of the summit was over 10,000 feet high. The blustery wind bit through the kids, but it felt good to us. Son2's nose looked like a cherry.

This is my favorite picture. It captures the absolute wonder of the moment. Hubby is holding Son2, and talking with Son1 about all that is below. They are talking about the clouds that roll in, and the crater below. We all talked again about Who made all that we saw.

Intelligent. Unbelievable. Incredible. Boundless. Indescribable. Marvelous. HE truly is Amazing!

We climbed back in the car, ready for our descent. There was only one more sight to see, but not really see, Science City. It is closed to the public. One of the Farmer four has made it inside.

Experts from all over the world come to this astrophysical complex operated by the Department of Defense, University of Hawaii, Smithsonian Institution, Air Force, and Federal Aviation Administration. The air at the crater is clear, dry, and still, without lights, and located above one third of the atmosphere. Haleakala is one of the most superb locations in the world for ground-based telescopes. This area offers the fourth best viewing on the planet. Some of the telescopes operated by the Department of Defense are involved in researching man-made spacecrafts, monitoring satellites, rockets, and laser technology. Others research celestial objects.

Aloha, Heading to Maui on the Superferry!

Vehicles are stowed in the white area. The passenger deck is the light blue area pictured above.

This weekend we sailed on the Hawaii Superferry from our island of Oahu to the island of Maui. The three hour trip was far more relaxing than boarding a plane, even for a forty minute flight to Maui. We packed our car with luggage, stroller, beach gear, and Hubby's scuba equipment. My car was the Farmer family's fifth passenger. We left our home, drove onto the Superferry, and drove right off in Maui. What a relief to avoid the hassle of airport parking, security lines, x-ray machines, the elusive and limited $2 luggage cart, boarding the rental car shuttle, and installing the car seats all over again!!

We hit the vehicle entrance line at 4:40am. At the first stop, our car was inspected by using large mirrors and flashlights to make sure there wasn't anything illegal or dangerous underneath. You'll never guess what this lady is looking for under my hood. If you guess correctly post a comment and let me know. She is looking for seeds that may have fallen under my hood. Cross pollination of species between islands can compromise the environment. Certain species are specific to particular islands.

At the next inspection point, we rolled down our window and handed over our IDs and confirmation code. In return we received boarding passes. The last inspection point was a random vehicle and passenger check. We were not inspected, though! Finally, we were among the last cars to board just after 6am. So much for picking the right lane. It worked out in the end, since we were one of the first cars off the ferry.

Once aboard, we chose from three gargantuan passenger cabins. Hubby and Son2 settled into seats, and Son1 and I aimed toward the viewing decks. We caught the sun rising over Waikiki and Diamond Head. The sun was luminous over the water. It was breathtaking. The deck was very occupied yet hushed. Some people used tripods and multiple lenses with their cameras. Some couples stood linked arm in arm. Son1 stood with his shoulders between my fingers and whispered to me all that he observed.


Immediately it struck me how I yearned for him to remember this day, to remember the sun rising in the East over the ocean, and the beauty of the moment. I leaned down and asked him if he would remember today. In the quiet morning I recalled different Psalms praising the Creator, and offered my own silent praises. For a few instants we chatted about Who had made all that we were observing. After we passed the Oahu landmarks we went in to check on the rest of the fam. Hubby found us seats in front of one of the many flat screens mounted on the wall. But with so many kids on board, the boys wanted to follow the action at the Manta Cove, where all of the keiki were hanging out. This was a designated play area and movie area for kids.I had brought snacks, but we were sitting so close to one of the three dining areas, that we just couldn't resist. Hubby loves pork manapuas. A manapua is a meat filled cake, or steamed bun, that you might see on a Chinese dim sum cart. Manapua is the Hawaiian word for this Chinese bun. These buns were introduced by the Chinese when they were brought to Hawaii as plantation workers. In Hawaii they are filled with different fillings. (Around Thanksgiving they are even pumpkin filled!)
Son2 loves bananas. They sold fresh fruit, but not bananas. So the cashier insisted she had one in her lunch, stowed in the employee area. She offered it to Hubby and Son2 and refused to take any money for it. Hubby slipped some money in the tip jar anyway. But that's what you can expect from local folks, much aloha. It would have been rude not to take it.Now this was the absolute crown jewel of the menu, the kalua pork nachos. These were the most delicious nachos Hubby and I had ever eaten. Kalua pork is salted and slow smoked. The nachos were also topped with pineapple chunks but they are hard to see in the picture.

We chose seats near a door that led to the decks. We rotated children, and took turns on the outdoor lanais. The Maui coastline came into view. The coast rose out of the ocean and seemed to touch the sky.


We were here! Within a few minutes all passengers with vehicles were called to the lower decks, even though we were still sailing on the water. We grabbed our stuff and grabbed our kids. It was a little tough to get to our car. The cars on the Superferry are jammed closely together. There are no parking stalls, and the cars are parked so tight! I couldn't get in on my side of the car. I couldn't fit between the cars to get to my door. There is only about 6 inches between these cars, from my rear bumper, to his door. It looks wider in the picture, though, because we held the camera above our heads to take the picture. I climbed through the opposite side to my seat.

Being the last to load had it's advantages. We were one of the first cars off the ferry, and onto Maui!