I swim regularly at Hapuna Beach State Park. Its vast expanse of over .5 mile wide is easily accessible and a perfect 1-mile swim round trip. The bay is a virtual swimming pool and real-life surf break for open water swimmers, snorkelers, and bodyboarders. I've participated in the Hapuna Rough Water Swim race as well and viewed the start to the Honu, Half Ironman Triathlon there several times.  It’s the perfect location for both events even thought the Honu event is actually taking place this weekend entirely within the Mauna Lani Resort for the first time today.  The swim start was at The Fairmont with swimmers sent in a southerly direction toward our beach club.  More on that event in the next Blog Post. This week, Dr. Stephen P. Leatherman, aka “Dr. Beach,” named Hapuna Beach State Park “America’s Best Beach” for 2021. Dr. Leatherman is a coastal expert and a professor at Florida International University and has assembled a list of his favorite US beaches for 31 years. In the past, Dr. Beach has acknowledged n...

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Aloha Friends and Clients! The 2020 Holidays are upon us and Lissette and I are wishing everyone peace and prosperity no matter which ones you choose to celebrate!  It’s been a challenging year especially for Hawaii’s homeless kekei. If you are looking for a good cause to contribute to during these festive months, Project Hawaii is a 501(c)3 entity that purchases gifts for over 650 homeless children and distributes them directly to these needy youth on Hawaii island and Oahu.  Teens usually receive a gift certificate(s) and a backpack/sleeping bag.  Secret Santas provide younger kids a gift(s) that the children specifically request. If you would like to make a cash donation, Mary Spears will take care of the shopping for you!  You can make the donation to "Project Hawaii" and send your donation via USPS to Mary Spears, POB 847, Kamuela, HI 96743.  A big thanks to everyone that chooses to participate. Many Thanks For Giving! Happy Holidays!! Lissette and Rick Oliver

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The Waikoloa Foundation announced Tuesday that it is relaunching with renewed purpose, and will focus its work “on stewardship of the environmental, historical and cultural features at Waikoloa and the community the Foundation was founded to serve.” Cary Boeddeker, the board chair for the Waikoloa Foundation provided this media release: The Waikoloa Foundation, philanthropic sister organization to the Waikoloa Land Company, relaunched today with renewed purpose and fresh programmatic priorities. The Foundation will focus its work on stewardship of the environmental, historical and cultural features at Waikoloa and the community the Foundation was founded to serve. “I’m so grateful I have this chance to perpetuate the legacy my father began when he started the Foundation back in 1987, at the beginning of development for Waikoloa Beach Resort,” said Cary Boeddeker, board chair for the Waikoloa Foundation. “Waikoloa – the place and its people – represents a remarkably special kuleana that we are proud to carry fo...

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You never know what you may see on an ocean swim. That’s particularly true for those that spend a lot of time in the water. Susan and I took off on our swim route that has become the chosen path on our Tuesday/Thursday “trail runs”. We call it a “trail run” as we never know what we will see, water clarity, current or wind condition. We do know where we are heading but everything in between is always different. This Thursday morning the water was clear. Two days before it was cloudy and we came upon 2 Eagle Rays feeding on the surface that no matter how close we swam, they were not disturbed. That was a heck of an experience as they swam side-by-side for minutes scooping whatever they were eating off the surface. Whatever they were feeding on must have been good as they were not giving ground to us. On Thursday the water was very clear with great visibility. We saw all the typical reef fish darting around, a turtle and several bait balls of blue, iridescent colored, fish all the way to and from our turn ...

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Ige outlines reopening/recovery plan, extends 14-day quarantine for travelers By Special to West Hawaii Today | Monday, May 18, 2020, 4:05 p.m. | Link to article Gov. David Ige on Monday signed the 8th supplemental emergency proclamation, extending the 14-day quarantine for travelers arriving in the State of Hawaii, as well as for inter-island travelers through June 30. The governor also extended through June 30 the eviction moratorium that prevents evictions from residential dwellings for failure to pay rent. In addition, Ige unveiled the reopening and recovery plan for the State of Hawaii — a strategy that conveys the coordinated, statewide approach to jumpstarting the economy and recovery from the COVID-19 crisis. According to the plan – the state will start to gradually reopen medium-risk businesses and operations beginning in June – assuming the state’s COVID-19 activity remains manageable. The reopening of high-risk businesses and operations will eventually follow, as long as Hawaii’s disease activity cont...

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LightSUP Hawaii -- Check Out Their Very Unique, Eco Tours Featuring their Custom and Unique Stand Up Paddle Board My friends Kelly Nedved and Raymond Schmidt started LIGHTSUP stand up paddle tours several years ago to share their love of our the ocean and more particularly our beautiful reef off of the Kohala Coast. They guide Kaima Aina and visitors alike during daybreak and evening tours where their guests may see manta rays or many other sea creatures that feed in the evening or near day break. I remember the first prototype of the board they now have in production for others to purchase and share the same experience around the world. Their special boards feature a clear acrylic port in the front of the board and LED lights embedded in the bottom to highlight and illuminate the multi-color reef and all it’s inhabitants. Check out their website for more information at lightsuphawaii.com. From their website: Experience the evolution of Stand Up Paddling with Lightsup Hawaii! Our LightSUP Nightlight board, with its�...

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I got a text a few weeks back from my master's swim group coach and friend Dave Prutow asking if anyone wanted to join him on a dive at Honokohau Harbor. I knew it was an invitation to dive safely with a Dive Master and also to see large Tiger Sharks and possibly Spinner Dolphins. Rachel and I took Dave up on his offer, and we all met at 7:30 a.m. sharp at the ocean's edge with a great view of the sea at the harbor's channel entrance. "Dog Beach" was to our left with only a few campers making their way up the very rocky path to their cars. We were the first divers to assemble and carefully put on our gear as several other dive groups began to gather. Dave was right in gathering us there early as I could see, this was going to get crowded fast, which is never useful in observing sea life. Scuba gear is heavy and cumbersome, making it somewhat treacherous to walk the downhill and sharp lava path to the ocean. I took it easy knowing the rocks were slippery and unstable, and one wrong step would bring a face-first fall i...

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Weblink: https://northhawaiihospice.org/2020-laulima-fundraiser/ Brochure: 2020 North Hawaii Hospice Laulima Fund Raiser Hight Tea Lissette attends the North Hawaii Hospice fundraiser yearly and enjoys meeting others and sharing a “High Tea” event at Waiki’i Ranch for a great cause. This year’s event is titled “Laulima”, Many hands working together in coordination to advance the growing needs and future dreams of North Hawaii Hospice. The island style luncheon and tea will be held Saturday, February 29th, 2020. Those gathered will enjoy the singing of Honolulu’s Paumana Trio, a silent auction and a three course luncheon prepared by Chef Martha Brahm. The silent auction will be conducted by guest auctioneer Kathy Kingston. Call 808-885-7547 for more information. From their website: NHH was established in 1986 and staffed by over 20 trained and caring professionals who cover the areas of Waikoloa, Kohala and waimea to Laupahoehoe. With growing patient numbers, needs and expenses our wish list grows. For o...

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Located within the grounds of the Mauna Lani Resort, Kalāhuipua'a is a fascinating area with petroglyphs, lava tube dwellings, and extensive fishponds. The word, Kalāhuipua'a, could be translated as 'a gathering of the pigs.' Since the Hawaiian language often contains allegorical terms and phrases, this word likely meant an 'abundance of food' or 'a gathering of large 'Ama' ama (mullet) or fish in the ponds themselves. 'Ama 'ama (mullet) and awa (milkfish) were the most common raised fish, but others such as Papio (jack), Kaku (barracuda), and puhi (eels) as well as 'opae (shrimp) are found in the ponds also. Most visitors and owners within the resort are familiar with the iconic Eva Parker Woods Cottage, which is located on a small sliver of land between the ocean and main pond. A monthly Twighlight at Kalāhuipua'a event takes place featuring local artists, hula, and plenty of "talk story" with long time residents and kapuna sharing their present and past experiences with 100 or more guests. The main pond contains seve...

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The 15th annual 2020 Parker School Kahiau fund raising event is being held on Saturday, February 8th this year at the Fairmont Orchid. The attendees will first enjoy drinks, conversation and perusal of the silent action offerings at the Kilohana Room followed by an incredible dinner on the lawn of the Plantation Estates of the Fairmont Orchid. We attended in 2018 and were serenaded by the Parker School choir and also enjoyed hearing from one of the students that expressed his thanks for being granted a scholarship to Parker which as he explained it, “changed his life forever” for many reasons. His sharing was humorous and did illustrate the direct relationship between scholarship gifts from our community and lives changed in a positive manner. The scholarship fund raising, live auction raised $120k from event attendees including several $20,000.00 donations. 50% of Parker School’s students are scholarship recipients illustrating the need for community fund raising involvement. If you are interested in more informa...

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