Revisiting a favorite place on the Big Island of Hawaii

Randy and I finally replaced our "old" digital camera with a new one with much better resolution. To try it out, we went to one of our favorite stomping grounds, Black Sand Beach on the Big Island of Hawaii. It is just a short drive from the Leilani Bed and Breakfast. It was late in the afternoon and the sun and shadows were really great. So, what do you think?

The first two are of the fresh water pond, just behind the beach. And of course for the last picture, I had to shoot one of my wonderful friends, this amazing green sea turtle. I would say I see a turtle about 85% of the time I go to Black Sand Beach. Usually they are resting on the sand, but sometimes you see them nibbling on the algae on the rocks in the shallow water. For, me they are a symbol of wisdom. I often take a break from our B&B here on the south end of the Island of Hawaii and go and visit them. There are plenty of coconut palm trees along the beach for shade to hang out in comfort and watch. Of course you can also see them when you are swimming or snorkeling there.


By the way, when you do go there, be sure to take some beach shoes. The black sand can get really hot on a sunny day!

A New Hidden Gem on the Island

Randy and I made a day trip up to the north end of the island to see exceptionally large waves that had been reported. As it turned out, the waves seemed to have reached the island of Oahu and stopped, for the ones we saw were only a few feet. However, our adventure turned out great.

We found a small state park that we had not previously visited, Lapakahi State Park. It is the ruins of an ancient Hawaiian settlement of fishermen and farmers. It was originally settled in the 1300's. The location is exquisite, right on the waterfront with beautiful little coves. There is a two mile trail throug the grounds with a self-guiding brochure available. Most of the artifacts are original with a few restorations.

The other part of the adventure that was so great was that it was a wonderful whale watching day. All along the west coast, we could see whales. We must have spotted 40-50. We stopped at several good spots to watch and picnic.

This day trip made us realize just how easy it is for our guests at the Leilani Bed and Breakfast to experience wonderful day trips. The island is big, but not so big that you can't explore beautiful, remote places on the other end of the island in a leisurely day trip!

Keep in mind that the whale watching season in Hawaii is from Nov - March, with the best possibilities in the middle of those months.

Happy travels to all.
Lynn VanLeeuwen

Amateur Radio Operators and Coast Guards Worldwide Cooperate to Perform MAYDAY Rescue

At 03:00Z on the Saturday Pacific seafarers ham radio net, controller Randy KH6RC in his Ocean View, Hawaii radio shack, received a relay from Patricia ZL2RK aboard SV Chameleon, at Aur Atoll in the Marshall Islands. She had contacted RCC New Zealand at 02:45z to declare a MAYDAY for SV Windswept, a 62 foot trimaran. The trimaran had been dismasted [80ft mast] in the Marshal Islands. There were two people on board, husband and wife, both in there 70's. They had communicated with SV Chameleon by marine SSB, as they do not have a ham radio license. The New Zealand Coast Guard declared the boat out of their domain, and said they would forward the request to the US Coast Guard.

Randy KH6RC on the Big island of Hawaii was requested to contact RCC Honolulu to follow up with US Coast Guard. At 03:20Z Randy called 808-535-3333 and confirmed contact with Newzeland Coast Guard. They determined that the Australian patrol boat, LOMAX, was in the area and could be deployed out of Majuro to locate the distressed vessel, Windswept. At 21:20z Sunday, Randy received word from the US Coastguard in Honolulu that the Australian patrol boat Lomax had:

#1 located the distressed vessel Windswept
#2 Had performed engineering assistance
#3 Was in the process of escorting distressed vessel Windswept back to Majuro, Marshal Islands.

The crew on Windswept was able to set up an emergency HF antenna to maintain an hourly schedule on frequency 8173 SSB. This greatly assisted the coast guards and radio operators in locating them and providing assistance.

A special thanks goes out to the coastguards of Newzeland, Australia,
and United States of America for a job well done. Also to ham radio operators worldwide for keeping their ears open to those in need.


Aloooha,Randy KH6RC

Rare DX Station

Around 5:30 pm Thursday November 29^th, Randy was on the ham radio, finishing up with the nightly role call on the pacific seafarers net. This amateur radio net caters to boats cruising near the Big Island or underway in the Pacific Ocean. Wile making the final call for vessels to join the role call he received a radio contact from a call sign that was very unfamiliar.

The call sign, XU7ACQ, belongs to operator John transmitting from his station in Cambodia. Although the distance between his QTH (location) and our bed and breakfast in Hawaii (we’re located between Kona and Hilo) is not the furthest distance, the excitement was that John is only one of two permanent ham radio stations in Cambodia. The other station is only involved with Digital operations.

John visits his family in Cambodia annually and has a permanent ham radio station set up for his 5 week stays. He has been having these extended reunions with his family for the past 5 years. While there he is trying to get an award for working all US states from his Cambodia station.

In all those years he had not previously made a contact in the Hawaiian Islands. Randy was happy to be his first Hawaii station, from the Leilani Bed & Breakfast DMX radio lab (a feature we offer to our bed and breakfast guests).

John and Randy had an "armchair quality chat” for over an hour during which time Randy called a couple of other HAMS on the Big Island to make contact with John.

While they were on the air we were joined by other stations in Guam, Tasmania, and later South Africa.

DXing from PARADISE can be interesting and a good test of radio equipment and antennas.

Considering this is the lowest cycle of propagation for "bouncing radio signals around the world"
in many years, it just goes with the saying that at Leilani Bed and Breakfast…

****BIG ISLAND = BIG SIGNAL****

Aloha, Randy & Lynn

Thanksgiving in Paradise

We at the Leilani Bed & Breakfast are preparing to have a traditional gathering around the dinner table with our friends. So what is Thanksgiving in paradise like? Our menu is going to be pretty traditional, with a little contemporary touch of tropical fruits. But what we find different here is that so many open their homes to those who might otherwise be alone.

We have invited some world cruisers who have just sailed to the Big Island of Hawaii, finding safe anchorage for the storm season. Randy plays an important role as one of the net control operators for the Pacific Seafarers Net (as mentioned on our web site, we offer an amateur/DX radio [or “ham” radio as some people call it] lab on site at our Big Island Bed & Breakfast. This group helps to track boats on long journeys across the Pacific, making it possible for their loved ones to monitor their progress through the internet and other communications. Through that work, he met these new friends over the “air”.

We do not have any family here on the big island, but will also have the faces of many friends we have made while living here. Unfortunately, just a few minutes before writing this, we got word that we have lost a dear friend here, whom we had known for many years from our own sailing days. We are thankful for having known him, a man who lived his dreams with gusto, very accomplished, yet brought great joy and laughter to all our encounters. His wife expressed his journey so beautifully, that he is now sailing the endless skies above us.

So it is with this joy and sadness that we extend our appreciation for all the blessings in our life.

We feel so fortunate to be living in this beautiful place, so off the beaten path and to have such wonderful friends, new and old, to be living a life of passion, happiness, health, fulfillment, comfort and beauty. We are thankful for the great abundance in our lives: our love for each other, our skills and talents, the land we live on, the open spaces, the perfect temperatures, the serendipity we experience, the integrity we encounter, our visions, ideas, freedom, independence and peace we both experience and generate.

The bounty on our table is symbolic of all of this. For that, we, too, are grateful.

So on Thursday, we will be ( in addition to a Bed and Breakfast) a “Diner”, as our guests will join us at the table, not as customers, but as new acquaintances, sharing in the community aloha.

We are not alone in extending our table. The Ocean View Community Association will be serving over 200 dinners to anyone in the community who doesn’t want to eat alone, doesn’t feel like cooking, or is just looking to join bigger festivities, as well as those in need. Come one, come all.

We extend our blessing to our family of readers, wishing you a wonderful Thanksgiving with your families and friends, where ever you are.

 

Much aloha,

Lynn and Randy

Whale Watching Season Is Coming Soon! - See them off of South Point

Whale watching season is almost here. The Big Island of Hawaii gears up for the return of the humpback whales in November. These graceful mammals are always extremely entertaining to watch.

Guests at our B&B love to go just down the road to South Point and watch them swim around the peninsula. It is an even bigger thrill to be at the southern most tip of the United States and see this fantastic sight at the same time. Seeing a double breech is just magical!

This is just one of the local spots in the vicinity of the Leilani Bed & Breakfast where these sightings are possible from land.

Many tourists book themselves out on boat excursions from various spots on the island to get a closer look, but there is something to be said for viewing them undisturbed, reverently, and from such a magnificent natural perch.

We invite people to our “hidden paradise” and experience this wonder of nature. The Big Island of Hawaii and whale watching! It will take your breath away!

Much aloha,

Lynn & Randy

Aloha! From the Big Island of Hawaii!

Aloha!

Since this is our first blog entry it seems appropriate to start it off with talking about a word we use often, but many do not fully appreciate its depth – aloha.

Aloha has many meanings. The tourists to our islands quickly pick up on its use to mean hello or goodbye. From the Hawaiian dictionary we also get a complete academic review of its many meanings: love, affection, compassion, mercy, sympathy, pity, kindness, sentiment, grace, charity, greeting, salutation, regards; sweetheart, lover, loved one, to love, to be fond of, etc.

Before opening the Leilani Bed & Breakfast we held a traditional Hawaiian blessing for our place. We felt very blessed to be here and wanted to share the local culture. We invited Auntie Leilehua Yuen to do the honors. Realizing that many of the guests were new to the islands she was generous in explaining everything she did, starting with her greeting. She explained that the literal translation of aloha is “I give my essence to you”, and when you are in the intimate vicinity of the person being so honored, they take a deep inhalation and breath in that essence as you say the word. This is the true spirit of aloha. What could be more genuine, generous, and deeply connecting?

Many of our B&B guests have given us testimonials citing our generous hospitality. They are just experiencing us living aloha.

Aloha,

Lynn and Randy