Waimea

First stop -- Waimea, a centrally located big island town that has the most mixed up weather I've ever seen! Shoshanah, my sister, has friends who live up here (I say up because we're at about 5000 feet) and that's where we're beginning our Hawai'i trip.

It's sooooo beautiful here. Kami and Beth's house happens to be up and up and up from "downtown" Waimea and then, it sits on the top of a very steep driveway at the end of a dead end. What does this all mean? We we have an amazing view of Mauna Kea (if it peaks out) and/or the Hawai'i cloudscape from our bedroom window.

They also have four freakin' cute dogs, one of which is only 8 weeks old! His name is Goose and I'm in love...with Birdie too but as you can guess, the puppy stole the camera.

We tried to go snorkeling with turtles -- we saw several, but not by snorkeling. The visibility was poor and the turtles were feeding off the coral and rocks that we couldn't get to. It was a perfect day by our Portland standards though -- warm, but not too much direct sun. Oh, and we "snuck" onto a resort to experience it.

So below is a 5 star resort (virtually empty) which we just walked into and through to their private beach access. Of course, the beach itself is public so what are they going to do...kick us off out of their loungers when there are hundreds empty? It was great lounging time. Yes, we got froofroo drinks and they were great!

The resort raises the young turtles as part of the state's conservation efforts and they swim through the hotel's open inner courtyard under extravagant fountains and such. Then, when they are old enough, they release them into the ocean to have better survival chances.