15th day of our vacation - 12-30-15

Wednesday, December 30th, 2015

The first thing we did was to find a post office so that I could mail a birthday card off to a friend.

From the post office we drove north as far as the Kilauea Lighthouse.....

which was located at

There were a lot of Nene Geese here, but also other birds.  I took photos of all the markers that were placed near the lighthouse.

I shared some photos of the Red-footed Boobie we saw flying overhead before, but here is another shot.

As for the other birds there were an amazing amount on the cliffs but couldn't get a decent shot. 

The Laysan Albatross were all the way over on the other side, another cliff face.

There were whales in the distance but they were hard to see. We could only make out their spouts, which you could barely distinguish from the white caps.  It was enough to know that they were there. 



Did you know that the Humpback Whale's spout is actually a result of its breathing?  Because the whale spends long periods under water, the air in the resulting release when spouting is under massive pressure and can rise up to 13 feet in the air.   I also found it interesting to learn that the lungs of a Humpback Whale are the size of a small car and when the whale breaths it will exchange up to 90% of its lung capacity.   

Humbacks travel 16,000 miles a year at a leisurely five miles an hour.  They eat only in the summer months when they are in the polar regions.  In the winter they are in the Hawaiian islands breeding and giving birth.  They grow up to 40 tons.

There was also a marker identifying native plants.

The plant with the orange flowers is identified in the sign above.  It is the Ilima.  If you want to see more Native Hawaiian plants you can go to this website.

I am aware that the next photo is not everyone's cup of tea, but this intrigued me.  It is a Hawaiian garden spider.  Its bite is venomous but not deadly.  I didn't get that close.

We walked around the lighthouse. This is non-functioning and the light has been off for 30 years.

  

It stands 52 feet tall and is located at the northernmost point of the entire Hawaiian islands. 

Built in 1913, its beam could reach 90 miles out to sea and the lens was the largest of its type ever made.  It is one of Hawaii's National Historic Landmarks.

These are personalized bricks that make up a path near the lighthouse.  Names are inscribed with messages in loving memory of departed loved ones, and also of people who have donated funds to help restoration. 

There were Nene everywhere.  I have become familiar with them since my time on Kauai.  When we were in Maui years ago I looked for this goose as I had read about them and was eager to see one.  I was told I could do this at the top of the Haleakala Crater.  I did not see hide nor feather that whole trip.  I do remember coming across the Silversword plant but did not realize what I was looking at.  Fortunately I took photos so that I could research them later.    

So now here I am having had many sightings of the Nene Goose, and they were walking about all over the place, even in the parking lot.  People really have to take care when they are driving and...

pay attention to all the signs.

The cliffs were also covered with birds, such as the Red-footed Boobie and Albatross.....

as well as others that I've mentioned above. 

We watched a pair of Red-crested Cardinals, this one with a caterpillar in its beak.

There were other tourists walking about.  We went into the visitor center and bought more postcards and a couple of souvenirs.  

You can read more about the lighthouse here.   It says it is closed until April 16th (2016) for a trail stabilization project. 

On the way back and because it was dinnertime, Gregg wanted to stop at another little shack he had noticed a few days ago, again colorfully decorated.  

After sharing a plate we called it a day and went back to the condo, opened the sliding door, listened to the surf and watched the ocean til bedtime.  We noticed that the ladies have been in to clean the place up.  It looks really nice. 

If you missed any of my daily journals and would like to catch up, I am sharing their links below.

Oahu

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Kauai

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