May 2013 Journal Photos

Parking was scarce at Kapiolani park due to the May Day events at the bandstand there. Beach Bunnies at Sans Souci Beach.

Students talked to incoming freshmen for the fall semester and their parents.

There was a good turnout, filling the cafeteria.

I explored the rooftop luau venue.

This is a view across the luau hula stage toward the famous Hilton Hawaiian Village Rainbow Tower. My Dad and Maggie
stayed there in 1970. I went up to their room and visited them there.

Attendees begin to arrive.

The wine table gets busy.

Hula dancers entertain during dinner.

Please pass the tequila. We had tacos and margaritas.

The next day, Monday, Andrea and I went to the beach in the afternoon. It was a sunny day.

Photo by Andrea.

There were several Malama Ka Aina (care for the land) signs along the way.

We saw a nice pool. Photo by Andrea.

Kim took pictures too. Photo by Andrea.

At the double gate in the protective fence.

Someone had painted a wahine on the fallen tower since we were there last.

We had lunch sitting in what shade was available.

Bento lunches from Foodland.

Andrea took this stitched panorama. Click on the image to see the full resolution version.

The fallen concrete tower.

Heading back.

We stopped at the restrooms in a park in Haleiwa.

We took the "scenic route" (Kamehameha Highway) home and stopped at Cackle Fresh to buy eggs.

In the evening we had mai tais with pupus and kalua pork for dinner.

Photo by Pete Beckley.

After lunch, Andrea and I went up to the Hao Street illegal develpoment to take pictures.

The bonsai on the bench in the front yard are coming along nicely. Click on the image to see the full resolution version.

Andrea took a lot of pictures as usual.

This sand bar is usually underwater. Photo by Andrea.

Ralph and Kini laid out the huki area.

Kimo gave a preliminary briefing to volunteers.

Volunteers arrive from Rotary Club, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, and Niu Valley Middle School.

The volunteer leaders, Maggie and Mary, brief the volunteers.

The groups of volunteers get started. Photo by Andrea.

I walked down the beach toward Diamond Head and took this photo back toward the two mountains (mauna lua), Koko Crater
and Kokohead.

The numerous volunteers worked hard and pulled many hundreds of pounds of invasive algae.

On Monday I went to the very uncrowded beach by myself while Andrea attended the Women's Campus Club board meeting in Manoa.

Waiting for the doors to open at 7:30 PM.

Volunteer Pam sorts various limu (algae) for the hands-on class.

Kamehameha school students begin to arrive after 9:00 AM.

About 100 students came that day. Here they begin with a pule (prayer).

Uncle Eddie teaches the first class about limu. The students were split into two shifts.

The limu volunteers did a great job.

The other shift is out in the water pulling the invasive leather mudweed.

In the afternoon, Andrea and I went to the beach for a swim.

We parked beyond Dillingham Fountain due to the good surf: lots of people came down with surf boards taking up most parking places.

Andrea registering arrivals.

Everyone arrived on time.

President Aurora opens business.

We had seven tables in the makai room.

Professor Patricia Fryer gave a talk on deep ocean trenches and volcanoes with 3D visuals.

On the way out we got a good view of the Pali Lookout.

Later on Andrea picked a papaya.

Madi photographs the fun.

Highlands Middle School (Pearl City) came with their VEX robot and their Botball robot.

Getting ready for the visitors.

Waiting for visitors to arrive.

This is the classroom building at the Zoo that we were assigned.

The first visitors arrive.

Demonstrating bristle-bots. Photo by Andrea.

Students drove the T-shirt cannon robot outside to attract attention.

Letting a visitor take the controls.

Engaging the public.

The students did a great job. Photo by Andrea.

FRC team 359 came from Wailua and set up a pyramid for demonstrating this year's robot.

The little ones were thrilled with the robots. Photo by Andrea.

We moved a table outside and put up a banner outside too.

The VEX field was also moved outside.

The big open space at the Zoo was used for more special event exhibits.

The event banner. Photo by Andrea.

We stopped at the Zoo fence to visit with Paul's wife, Lynn. Paul has a lot of new paintings. He's been busy!

Two coats of spar varnish on Monday, May 20^th.

We went to Home Depot to buy pavers and hollow tiles for the table base, stopping in Kakaako to buy mailing stickers at
Fisher Hawaii, where I took this picture of a new highrise building under construction on Tuesday, May 21^th.

Back at home I constructed a 2 x 2 frame for a sand base for the 12 inch cement pavers. The frame was shimmed level and
clamped to stakes.

Sand was added and screeded level, packed, and leveled again. Then the pavers were put on top of the sand.

When all eight pavers were in place, the form was removed.

Six six inch double hollow tiles were stacked three high for the two table support columns.

The hollow tiles were filled with wet sand.

The table top was placed on the support columns.

A bougainvillia bonsai completes the setup.

View toward the house.

Malia sent this picture with a dead crab to Andrea who posted it on Facebook. I couldn't resist downloading it.

People take their seats as the start time (4:30 PM) approaches.

We sat next Laura who is a Docent at the Manoa Heritage Center where Andrea is receiving Docent training.

The talk was quite interesting. We bought a book and Sam graciously signed it to us with an inscription afterward.
Mau, a Micronesian Master Navigator is onscreen.

I put two foot boards on the bottom.

I put two handle strips on the top sides.

We checked in just after 4:00 PM, got our wrist bands, and walked around a bit.

It's getting close to the time to go in.

Waiting. Fortunately there was a bit of cloud cover so it wasn't too hot.

We enter via the shark tank.

Hammerhead! It's an endemic Hawaiian shark.

Sea Life Park workers with green sea turtles, another endemic Hawaiian animal.

Tikis guard the entryway to the luau grounds.

We got flower leis.

We had our photo taken by the Luau photographer.

Parasailors and hang gliders were in the air above Sea Life Park and Makapuu Beach.

A parasail flies behind the stage.

The luau area with Rabbit (Manana) Island in the background.

The stage festivities started with a kava ceremony.

Honorary chiefs were inducted during the kava ceremony. This is the Chief's brother.

Backstage. Makapuu Lighthouse is in the background.

Andrea helps Lenore return from the restroom.

Torches on stage.

Tahitian dance.

Maori dance.

Hawaiian dance.

Blue Hawaiian hula.

Keiki (children) were invited up on stage to shake it.

Anniversary celebrants on stage.

I finished assembling the box that the croton would go into.

A coat of spar varnish inside and out will help the box last a long time.

Andrea did a lot of the digging too.

The croton has been there over 50 years. Digging it up is not trivial.

Meanwhile, I prepare for putting the croton into the growing box. I wash the fines out of a bucket of sand.

Wash the sand until the water runs clear. Then put enough sand in the box to cover the bottom.

Andrea has trenched all around the croton.

It's a fine looking box.

I remove the croton and position it by the box.

Having spread the sand in the bottom of the box and removed much of the dirt from the roots, I position the croton in the box.

Meanwhile, Andrea has planted a pink plumeria in the hole vacated by the croton.

I have added compost to the box and watered it in.

Washed sand is put on the surface of the compost. This adds some rigidity to make the croton more stable.

The plumeria is watered in and looks nice. It also has a top layer of wet sand for stability.

My new orchid bench.

Andrea weeded the front yard while the flag flew on Memorial Day.

Andrea and I went to the Robotics Lab to supervise from noon to 3:00 PM. The students are improving the T-shirt cannon.

Getting ready to photograph the calculations.

Calculation of the energy stored in the T-shirt cannon compressed air tank.

Driftwood board being applied to the masonry wall outside the office.

Andrea digs a hole to plant an Ilima bush she got at City Mill. Tuesday, May 28^th.

Digging some more.

Planting the Ilima (lots of yellow flowers).

The beach was crowded on Thursday, with these two cars illegally parked in the red-curbed turn-around place.

At Big City Diner on Friday. Photo by Andrea.

Andrea had the breakfast wrap plate.

After eating breakfast we walked Diamond Head a block and I took this photo of the iconic IBM building.

We stopped at Marukai and I bought a 99 cent ceramic temple, converting this bonsai into a pen jing.