Turtle Tales: Day 26 - Moving on up to the West Side!

Today we explored the west side of Oahu in hopes of finding a place to snorkel,collect sea glass and shells. We could not find a smooth enough bay to snorkel, and there were no shells or sea glass to be found! What we did find was a very diverse type of terrain, flowers and shore line. We also saw the biggest "Tent City" on the shore that we have seen to date. Unfortunately it is very expensive to live in Hawaii, and there are many people who chose to live in tents rather than a house or apartment. The people that live in the tent cities are not necessarily destitute, in fact, most of them have jobs and automobiles to get them back and forth. The bus service also has several stops in the tent city area. This particular tent city stretched the shoreline for about two miles. There are trees that line the shore in this area, so they weren't actually on the beach exposed to the elements. We noted several church and public charity organizations checking up on the people in tent city, so they seem to be looked after on a regular basis.

We started todays' journey by travleing to Ewa and Ewa Beach - a fairly upscale area on the west side of the island. There were good roads, high dollar shopping centers and beautiful homes. The beach itself in this area, was very small in comparison to those around us on the North Shore. From Ewa Beach, we traveled to Electric Beach which ironically is named this due to the fact that the electrical power plant is right across the street! ( You figure....!) This beach was bigger than Ewa Beach, but here again, still smaller than the beaches here at North Shore, and just sand, no rocks, reefs or any sign of sea animals anywhere.

Our next stop was Nanakuli for refreshments at McDonalds (Hawaiian Iced Tea and blueberry pie!)

Then we passed through the town of Lualualei and Ma'ili ending at Wai'anae and its' beach. At this beach, there were two dogs just having a blast in the surf and sand! They were very friendly and we had a good time watching them play - of course now we really miss our girls! (Hugs to Lacy and Penny)

After Wai'ane, we went through Makaha and Makua (this is where the Tent City was located), and finally to roads end, which is about four miles to the lighthouse on Kaena Point on the other side from where we were the other day! So bascially, you can't get there from either side of the mountain without a long hike!

Remarkably, there is an Air Force Tracking Station atop the mountain at this point which is 1,350 feet above sea level. The mountain is part of the Waianae Mountain Range. The road we were on following the shoreline was about 20 feet above sea level.

History note: Parts of this mountain range go up to 4, 020 feet in altitude. There is a pass through the mountains called KoleKole Pass which is the pass the Japenese used to bomb Pearl Harbor. They were flying low and went undetected until it was too late......KoleKole is the legendary guardian Goddess of O'ahu.

The flowers on this side of the mountain are just as gorgeous as the flowers on the other side of the mountain! The bougainvillea and the plumeria (state flower) are abundant and come in various shades of color! They are just stunning!

The return trip back to our rental house was uneventful and we beat the rush hour traffic! When we got back to the house, our Red Crested Cardinals again paid us a visit, and this time I was able to get some pictures! In the meantime, our friend Susie Marshall had researched and downloaded a picture for us, and I will try to place it here for you to see. Thank you Susie! They are really regal looking birds. The males are the prettier cardinal and the females are darker. By the way, my friend Susie Marshall and her husband Stan are cruising via their 36 foot Monk boat (did I get that right Susie?) exploring and blogging at the same time. You can follow them at : sscruisingadventure.blogspot.com They do a wonderful job of recording the sights and sounds along the waterways they are traveling! Check them out! I am sure they would love to get some feedback from our blog followers as well!

Also, just because I think it is an interesting thing to know, I forgot to mention after our trip to the Dole Plantation that it takes twenty months for a pineapple to mature! So of course the crops are rotated so that there are always pineapples available to pick! That just blew me away! That is almost two years!

Aloha!

Red Crested Cardinal - Thanks Susie!