Labor Day weekend I went in search of Tiger sharks that had been spotted at both "A" bay and Hapuna beach.
First I stopped at "A" bay and then went further north to Hapuna.
Still no sharks. I decided I might as well take advantage of the beautiful weather and shoot some video for everyone to see.
So I cruised all the way to the northern end of the island stopping at Pololu valley.
Today I've added 3 more videos of the big island as I travel north towards Pololu. In the near future I will continue to ad the rest of the video of this road trip that goes from Pololu to Waimea and then back to Kona.
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October 15, 2006 1:01 am - Ironman Page Added and Updated with Maps
Ironman is Saturday October 21st and the local roads are becoming more and more crowded each day as the big event nears.
Here is my slant about the big event. Ironman page with maps of the course
This weekend I'll be out getting some pre race footage of the athletes training and will post video by Sunday. So be sure to check back or sign up for email updates at the top of this page and you'll be the first to know what's happening in Kona!
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October 15, 2006 1:04 am -
Surfs Up
I drove down Alii Dr. this morning expecting a barrage of runners and bikers training for Ironman and it looked like everyone took the day off.
I guess they were all swimming. Not to worry though, the surf was decent and lots of people were out in it.
So I shot some video at Lymans Bay. There were a lot of surfers in the water, they practically needed a stop light.
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October 15, 2006 11:19 am -
6.5 Earth Quake in Kona
I was thrown out of bed this morning by the earth quake and hit the floor running for the door to get out of the house. It felt like the house was going to fall down.
Having lived in California in a previous life, I'm no stranger to earthquakes, but I'll tell you this scared the crap out of me.
I shot this video shortly after and there is one error towards the end, it shows people walking back to their hotel and I said something about the county announcing atsunami warning, when in fact I should have said the county had announced over the radio that the tsunami threat was over.
The power was out state wide and was just restored here 3.5 hours later. During this time we cleaned up all the broken glass and picked things up. We had a lot of things in cabinets thrown out, theTV in the bedroom flew out of the cabinet. I can just imagine what the grocery store looks like.
There is more I could write about this, but I'll save for later. More clean up to do.
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October 15, 2006 2:07 pm -
12 Hours Later
I've been out shooting video this afternoon of damage caused by the earth quake. The good thing is there are no fatalities. The hospital up in Waimeasays they've treated a lot of people with lacerations from broken glass.
Kona hospital had a lot of ceiling tiles fall and there were concerns of a gas leak so some patients were relocated to the Hilo hospital. When you drive around Kona you see a lot of mini rock slides along road ways. A power pole on Palani Rd. next to the King Kamehameha hotel fell down, but Helco got it repaired pretty quick. The road is clear.
The north end of the island is where the major damage was done from what I hear. The road was and may still be blocked between Waimea and Hilo. Lapahoehoe was the scene of a huge rock slide blocking the hi way. The road is closed between here and Hawi.
Walmart was closed today. Kmart opened after mopping up broken wine bottles. I have video of both. I'll be editing and posting soon. The earth quake knocked out the power across the state. Honolulu still doesn't have all the power restored as of now, 12 hours later.
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October 16, 2006 8:27 pm -
The Day After The Earth Quake
Good news, I've driven all over town and there just isn't any serious damage, as far has the local infrastructure is concerned. Sure there's little rock slides here and there and minor damage to rock walls here and there. But that's about the extent of it around Kona.
I own a business here in town and today I talked with customers and suppliers and basicly everyone pretty much has the same story, lots of broken glass and lots of TV's thrown on the floor. A couple of people had very minimal structural damage. Considering the magnitude of the quake I'm surprised that's all that happened here in Kona.
I'm pretty sure there might be some people with serious problems to their property but from what I've heard that's the exception and not the rule. All the resorts and open. All the stores are open. The airport is open. The electricity is on. Life is GOOD.
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October 17, 2006 9:22 pm -
Ironman Parade
Today was the annual Ironman parade here in Kona on Alii Dr. Every year before the Hawaii Ironman World Championship race there are a number of events that take place and one of them is the Ironman parade.
There were thousands of people both attending and participating in the annual ritual. There were athletes from all over the world marching in the parade with theircountry's flag.
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October 18, 2006 10:40 pm -
Surfing at Lymans Bay
It's that time of year when the winter swells start arriving on a regular basis. Eila went down to the old stone church on Alii dr. and shot this video.
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October 20, 2006 7:01 pm -
Check out this video on the eve of Ironman.
It shows what was happening Friday afternoon down on Alii Dr. at the start finish line of the race. It's a huge event and setting it up over night is quite an amazing feet.
I recognized a lot of people when I down town today checking out the pre race setup. Rocky from Trojan lumber and his crew were hard at it getting the finish line area squared away. If it wasn't for people like him that live here in Kona, this race wouldn't take place.
Noon Update
The temperture out on the hiway through the lava flow is 95 degrees and the road surface is 125. HOT!!! Norman Stadler is still leading the bike portion of the race coming back from Hawi.
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October 22, 2006 12:20 am -
Ironman 17 Hours Later
WOW! I've got to tell you, I'm no stranger to Ironman, I've been watching it for 10 years and I have to say this was one of the best ones I've ever seen.
Sister Madonna Buder age 76 finishes the race with about a minute left before the midnight deadline. Thousands of people rooting her on to the very end, it was electrifiying.
Watching wheel chair athletes was one of if not the highlight of my day. These people don't know the meaning of quit. The word obviously doesn't exist in their vocabulary.
I was down on Alii Dr. all afternoon until a huge rainstorm showed up and dowsed everyone. I'm sure the runners liked that. I on the other hand decided to go home and change into dry clothes and wait out the storm.
I wanted to stay home but Eila said I had to go down and see how the whole thing ends up. She was right, it was worth it. Over the next few days I'll be getting the photos sorted out and will post the best ones for everyone to see.
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October 22, 2006 12:39 pm -
Earthquake Update
The Hulihe'e Palace in Kailua Kona has been red tagged (means uninhabitable) due to the earthquake. It was severely damaged both inside and out. This photo shows the cracks on the outside of the building.
The Kona hospital has reported extensive damage to the interior. The pier in Kawaihae is damaged, but useable. The county announced on the radio that 2 reservoirs in Waimea are being drained because of leaks.
The oldest church in Hawaii is the Mokuaikaua church in Kailua Kona, was also red tagged.
A lot of people's homes suffered damage, about 30 of them have been red tagged so far and the county has yet to finish inspections.
As far as coming to Hawaii for vacation, I don't see the damage as being a concern or affecting a visitor's stay. Chances are you'll never even notice.
And to prove my point, Ironman was a smashing success! Thousands of people came to Kona and participated and it went smooth as silk.
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