It was the season opener for the Big Island, open water swim circuit and the first event of the island’s Triple Crown series-the Cinco De Mayo Splash! Most of our Mauna Lani Master’s swim group participated and Sue and Noe represented us very well. Noe was the first lady out of the water and Susan was close behind Noe and finished first in her age group. It was a perfect, windless morning with no swell present and pretty good water clarity for Anaehoomalu Bay in the Waikoloa Beach Resort. I’ve snorkeled at “A” Bay many times and know it’s pretty rocky close to shore so I was prepared for those conditions as well as exposed coral heads all over the swim course start. I was also mentally prepared for whatever creatures that might appear during the swim as I knew there had been several shark encounters by a kayaker and paddler in a OC-1 canoe as late as April 23 rd somewhere very close to our swim course. Check out these links for reference: April 23rd West Hawaii Today article: https://www.westhawaiitoday.c...

Filed under: Hawaii Life by Rick Oliver
Comments Off on Cinco De Mayo Splash-2019

It was windy and hot so it was not a great beach day on the coast last Sunday so Lissette and I decided to take a drive upcountry to the old Saddle Road and see what we could see! Wind on the coast usually signals clear, blue skies in the days to come and strangely the winds relent as you climb in elevation out of the resort areas. Once you reach the Mamalahoa Highway or “upper road” you can expect a change in weather, cooler, as well and typically with cloud cover. The clouds can bring rain or in our case this day, beautiful, perfect weather!! Saddle Road also known as Hawaii Route 200, traverses Hawaii Island for 52.7 miles from downtown Hilo to its junction with Highway 190 near Waimea. The “old” Saddle Road now breaks off the “new” Saddle Road or Daniel K. Inouye Highway just past the Pohakuloa Training Area and eventually intersects Highway 190 near Waimea town. It is also the direct route for access to Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa’s observatories at nearly 14,000’ of elevation. The windy and sometimes single...

Filed under: Hawaii Life by Rick Oliver
Comments Off on Saddle Road on Sunday Afternoon