How does a codger like me end up at this party?

 

We recently had our monthly ohana trip and some 30 of us went to the other side of the Big Island to visit the white sand beaches of Kona, some three hours away. There is very little shade but the swimming was nice and totally different from the Puna side. The earth has 14 or 15 identifiable micro-climates and 11 of them are on the Big Island; you just never know what is around the next curve in the road.

 

Haleakala Volcano on the left in the distance, elevation 10,000 feet, some 50 miles across the Alenuihaha channel on the island of Maui. This 1801 lava flow added new real esate to about 15 miles of this Kona coastland, burying fishing villages and filling in a bay in the process. That is Hualalai, 8271 feet on the right. The beach in under those palm trees in the distance facing Maui.

Our destination: Manini 'owali Beach, on Kua Bay, with Mauna Kea in the background at 10,500 feet, resting in the clouds. 

 

A cinder cone in the background from the beach. The white sand comes from ancient coral reefs that develop as the volcanos sink into the ocean crust and are flooded.

 

 

which led to, well, this. In our ohana of ~135 volunteers, I would say that 100 are women and a large percentage of those are these yoga women in their early twenties and thirties. Why so many show up to pay to work and live in tents in the jungle of the Big Island is one of the big questions about Kalani that I have yet to resolve. But come they do. Of the 35 men, about half are gay. For some reason, there is a paucity of straight men here these women's age; although with the ones here and when a new one does show up, he is almost clawed to death and eaten. Ask me another time what the dolphin game is with these folks. Which leaves old fuckers like me, and about 5 others that are still game for a road trip. It is our good fortune that if they want any straight men around at all, it has to be us. Hence, we get invitations to do cool stuff and go on trips not unlike this one to Kona. That is how I ended up at this beach party...certainly wasn't a story telling geezer with man boobs that they were seeking, but kinda has to do. *grin*

 

 

Which means I serendipitously get to hang out with cool people like Manuela; actually Dr. Manuela. Originally from Brazil, she is taking a sabbatical from her oncological surgeon position at a hospital in Manhattan. A few months ago, I was sitting by the pool in my Tilley air-flow yachtsman hat and she asked me where I got such a cool thing. One week later via Amazon.com, she too was wearing one. Kinda looks better on her. Manuela gives her time freely to the ohana, taking care of scrapes, falls, staph infections and other jungle medical maladies. Multi-talented with unflagging energy, she also helps out feeding the horses and participates in many social events like Inspiration and open mike nights.

Check out Tilley hats here

 

As well as offers to check out what the future has in store for me with a tarot card reading with Jenn on the left and Tatiana, who brought the cards and facilitated the reading. Jenn is from Calgary and a former radioman in the Canadian Army and HR consultant. Tatiana in the middle is from Prescott, Arizona and is a rock climbing, surfing, bicycling, nature woman that leads adventure tours. She may have scored a paying position here at Kalani doing these things. Tatiana invited me to the tarot reading, as Jenn supervised, under the trees and here they seem slightly skeptical at my interpretation of the results.

 

Dubious at first, but they came around slowly to my way of reading the cards.

  and we were all eventually happy with the forecast.   

After a spectacular whale show at Kua Bay, eight of us went on to spend two days in Kona, ostensively camping. Here we are near Captain Cook at Kealakekua Bay Historical State Park. On the left is Melanie, basically the leader of this trip, from near Munster, Germany. An industrial engineer and small business owner in her old life. Karie in the middle hails from San Diego. She was one of my first friends in tentland and we got to the bottom of opening coconuts, which eventually meant a Home Depot run into Hilo, for the right machete.. Karie by her own admission was not unhappy managing a coffee shop but she has no plans to go back to her old life, now content in her shift leader position in horticulture. Brooklyn Jared,  as tattooed on his back, to distinguish him from other Jareds, worked in retail, is an amateur boxer and works in housekeeping.



Sarah from Ashville, North Carolina was one of the leaders for this trip. A herbalist back home, is a shift leader with me in the kitchen. Here she shows a picture she painted of the beach and the flow in the background. Sarah was also in tentland when I first arrived. After a month or so, when I had not transformed by tent into a hale, she surreptitiously placed a table and chair in my front yard. Voila a house became a home. Well actually, a tent became a friggin hale



Lindsey, from Columbus, Ohio works in horticulture with Karie and worked at Whole Foods in her old life. Here is a early morning shot with the view of the papaya tree at an isolated guesthouse we stayed in one of the nights thanks to Karie. We found out that when Lindsey drinks champagne she likes to do push ups...the real kind on her toes and all the way to the floor, by the dozen. Kinda made Brooklyn Jared look bad.

 

Although, not on the Kona trip, but an invitation for an old codger to hang out nonetheless. About 15 miles away from home back in Puna, here is a shot of Pohoiki Bay. We came to exercise this dog. I should say Lilly came to exercise Prince, which is way too much dog for me....getting his nasty leash tangled up in beach chairs and all. We other three came to chill, drink beer and watch some of the gnarliest surfing breaks in the area. Julie, from Richmond,Virginia and is a spiritual housekeeper here. And if you know that town, she was a habitué of Buddy's in her old life. Lauren from Westport, Connecticut, is taking a break after college and works in the kitchen with me. Alas gentle reader, a tough job but if not me, then who?

Thanks for stopping by