Hudson Goes Camping - Beach Addition

Hey everyone!

We are getting ready for another camping trip but before we leave I wanted to share a couple of things from last weekend. We camped at the Ho'okena Beach Park and had a fantastic time.

The campground itself is on a small beach, so even at low tide we had to walk no more then 100 steps from our tent into the water. For nights we would wake up and fall asleep to the sound of crashing waves (it's tree frogs here at the farm, which is a totally different but also pretty cool sound).

We spent our days playing in the sand, making new friends (lots of Alaskan families come to Hawai'i to weather the winter. Many of them work as wwoofers and home school their kids. On the weekends they tour the island(s). (Hmm.... maybe next trip?!?!). Families with young children are not the only woofers we have come across - there are also plenty of retirees stretching their dollars by working part of the week in exchange for room and board - and then backpacking around to fill their free time. The lifestyle here on the island is entirely different from the 9-5 corporate culture we are used to from home, and I would be lying if I said it does not appeal to us.

Our very fist morning on the beach we met a true local - a totally laid back, cool cat named Sa. Sa has a daughter (and four sons) close to Hudson's age so they spent lots of time playing in the sand together. We spend hours digging holes in the sand and watching them fill up as the surf came splashing in. While digging one of our holes, Sa pointed to something in the Ocean.

"Dolphins" he said casually. "Go have a look"

Sa offered us his longboard and Karl paddled out. You can see in the pictures below just how close we got.

They are totally wild Spinner Dolphins, and they come to the beach to rest some mornings (we stayed for 3 days and saw them there twice. The second time they stuck around for about 4-5 hours). The pod is about 40-50 dolphins large, and they are not shy to get really close. When you duck your ears under water, you can listen to their songs which are truly a beautiful sound. The whole experience was out of this world amazing.

Oh yes, and Hudson did have another run in with a turtle.

Pretty cool, no?

We are off for another camping trip - this time to see the volcano. Word of advise - if you are planning a trip to the Big Island - plan to spend more than 2 weeks.

Cheers,
M