PSAMMOPHILES IS US

SAND WORTHY

Partly because I am a collector, partly because I am cheap, and partly because I have had the great fortune to see a goodly amount of this planet, I collect sand. What better way to remember a place than to bring some of it home with you?

my sand...sigh

At first collecting sand was a curiosity, a random act, or an afterthought. There are places early in my travels that I failed to grab a sample and some places just a thimble-full. But now, after decades of traveling and collecting (and being cheap) that has completely changed.

Now there’s a whole personal science to collecting sand! Travel destinations are considered viable because I need a sample from there. Is it “sand worthy”?  Itineraries are planned not only for sights and museums, but for sand. After all these years I guess I could truly label myself an arenophile.

I have driven miles out of my way to grab sand from some unique place. Readers of this blog may remember how Team VFH hiked 2.5 miles across windswept, arid south point on the Big Island of Hawaii to collect green sand at Papakolea Beach, one of only four green sand beaches in the world.  And, the samples I collect have grown in size. Only filled water bottles or baggies will suffice. Sadly, extra amounts of sand, after the sample has been recanted and labeled for display, clutter my basement. Janet anxiously taps her foot with arenophilia as she anticipates the conjoining of our fortunes! I keep the labeled glass bottles in a little kiosk in my office. I could use more room… or get smaller bottles I guess. I’m sure Janet will put the kibosh on this.

extra sand!

I also receive sand as gifts. Friends who have the great luck to travel to places I have yet to visit sometimes return with a sample for me. A dear friend in Australia has sent me sand from Ayers Rock, or Uluru in the native tongue. My darling daughter, a charter member of Team VFH, brought back sand from Normandy Beach while there on a high school trip. I have never been to the Canary Islands, Cozumel or Belize, but I got sand from each country because of the generosity of friends.

Believe it or not at times I also part with some of my precious sand to give as gifts. It's better than a t-shirt, isn't it? 

DISCOVERING THE WORLD GRAIN BY GRAIN

Personally, I feel the array of countries in my burgeoning collection is remarkable. I had always considered my quirky hobby to be rather unique, but in researching for this blog entry I have learned sand collecting is a well-established activity. It turns out there are collectors with samples from every continent, including Antarctica, and there are groups of collectors that actively trade and even chat online about sand. I think this is a bit extreme, but it you’re interested:

SAND COLLECTORS CORNER

MORE SAND COLLECTORS

Evidently there is something to learn from a sand collection too, although I feel this certainly takes all the fun out of collecting. Here is a NY Times article on collecting:  

NY TIMES SAND COLLECTING ARTICLE

SANDS OF TIME

I have traveled to Hawaii several times over the years and have collected sand from such storied places like Waikiki, Hanauma Bay, Waimea Bay, Malaekahana Bay, Punalu'u, and the Banzai Pipeline, but there’s always another beach somewhere! Here is a listing of the beaches I collected from this last trip.

Oahu

Kaena Point

Oahu is the most populated Hawaiian island, but we stayed way out in the country, in Waialua town. It is pretty much the last town out in the northwest area of Oahu. From there it was a short ride to the end of the road and then the trail to Kaena Point, the jumping off place for spirits into the next world. The shore here is mostly small coves and treacherous waves. 

Maui

Maui was a brand new world of opportunity for me. In all my travels to Hawaii I have never visited the Valley Isle. It is the second largest of the Hawaiian Islands and has some of the nicest beaches in the state.

Ka’anapali Beach

We stayed on the resort stretch of the Ka’anapali Coast and got a sample near Black Rock, a lava formation that is a great place to snorkel.

 

Hana Bay Beach Park

Hana Bay Beach Park 

We traveled to Hana on that treacherous road, not only to say we survived the hundreds of turns and switchbacks, but to get sand at the Hana Beach Park, down the road from Wai’anapanapa State Park. This was the first black sand beach we would see on our travels to Hawaii, although they are everywhere on the Big Island. Visiting this silky smooth beach area was a glimpse of old Hawaii. Sadly it was raining when we finally arrived so did not really explore the area or the sleepy town of Hana.so it was somewhat anticlimactic, although while there I did eat my first Loco Moco!

WHAT THE HELL IS A LOCO MOCO? 

Little Beach

Makena Beack Park is on the south coast of Maui. It is a beautiful scenic beach, but can be a dicey place to swim. Often the waves are rolling and it’s a great place to swim and boogie board, but every once in a while a rogue wave breaks dangerously close to shore catching swimmers unawares and earning its dubious nickname. Makena Beach is sectioned into two parts. The first is Big Beach. It is very wide and over half a mile long and the locals call it “Breakneck” Beach. If you swim here, or at Little Beach, located on the other side of a lava rock formation, make sure you NEVER turn your back on the ocean.

To reach Little Beach you have to climb over a lava rock formation. Make sure you have two hands free in order to negotiate the steep climb. It is a somewhat clothing optional beach. Mind the sea turtles if you’re swimming nude!

We did a lot of exploring on Maui, but simply did not have enough time to explore the entire island.  This article is about the top ten beaches of the island and has me hankering for a return trip. 

TOP TEN MAUI BEACHES

Hawaii 

The Big Island is aptly named so it was not possible to see all of it in the time we had. Instead we concentrated our exploring in the southern districts of Hilo, Puna and Ka’u. Having been to the Kohala coast before, I was not concerned about collecting samples from these white sand beaches and had already collected sand from the beautiful black sand beach Punalu’u.

Papakolea Beach

All the beaches on the southern portion of the island are black except for the most southern point of the United States, Papakolea Beach, or Green Sand Beach. It’s a trek to get there, but worth the endeavor. Not only after a 2.5 mile hike the water is refreshing, but to see one of just four green sand beaches in the world is striking.

Papakolea, Green Sand Beach

Kalapana

Kilauea began its most recent eruption in the 1980’s and it eventually covered a number of towns in the Puna district. According to the National Park Service’s estimation this lava flow has added 500 acres to the island. I was last in Kalapana in 1988 to see the lava slowly creeping across the town and roads. On this recent trip we got to see the aftermath. The cooled black lava ends abruptly at the ocean’s edge where it is slowly being pounded by the incessant waves into “sand”. The lava cliffs here are about 10 feet high! The sand is the newest I have ever collected. 

Kilauea Iki Crater Trail

Kilauea Iki Crater Trail

If you travel to the Big Island, be sure to visit the Volcano National Park. This fascinating area has plenty of sights and activities during the day and the evening. There is hiking throughout the park, some trails are long and some, like the Thurston Lava Tube are fairly short. One quite unique hike is called the Kilauea Iki Crater Trail. A moderate, roughly 4 mile trek, it descends through a rain forest and onto the cooled floor of a once molten lave lake which last erupted in 1959. It takes roughly 2-3 hours and no, the soles of your shoes won’t melt, but you can feel the heat blowing through some of the cracks. This otherworldly experience merited a collection, albeit a thimble sized amount. I didn’t want to anger Pele…

VOLCANO NATIONAL PARK

view of crater floor

PELE'S WRATH?

I had heard that bad luck would come to anyone taking Pele's lava. She is the goddess of volcanoes and at best her demeanor can be capricious. At her worst she is quite volatile, and she doesn't like people taking what is hers. The threat of such ill fated fortune certainly danced through my head on my earlier visit to the Big Island in 1988. One morning I drove from my rented room in Hilo to Kalapana, which was slowly being consumed by lava. I took photos and watched locals do various things with the lava. Using a shovel they scooped up a glowing orange blog of molten rock and splat it against the pavement. They then forced a long metal pipe in one end and a mailbox on the other, and without melting either, fused them together. I managed to get a dollop that had quickly cooled to a shiny black with silvery highlights. I carried it back to the rental car with reverence. I intended to bring it home, but I absently left it behind. Secretly I was pleased, afraid of Pele's revenge. 

Kalapana 1988 lava flow (c) greg dunaj

In the past I've also heeded signs that say not to remove sand at various places in Hawaii and would be stealthy in my collecting, but truthfully unless and you pull up to the beach with a backhoe and dump truck no one will care. I foolishly sweated through the TSA checkpoint on the way home. I was afraid they would say I couldn't take the sand home, but they only checked to see if it was an explosive; black sand does look like gunpowder. I was relieved when the hulking Hawaiian native TSA agent did his chemical tests and said, "yep, that's sand," and cleared me to return to New Jersey with my collection intact. 

Kalapana 2014

Mahalo for reading! 

love Janet and greg

THE GATHERING PLACE

Kaena Point Surf

KAENA POINT

We spent the day near Waialua, rising with the cacophony of birds outside our window. The house we are renting is across from Aweoweo Beach Park. We could see waves breaking beyond the palms from the lanai. The summit of Mount Ka’ala at 4,025 feet was shrouded in clouds, but the ridge that juts out into the Pacific forming the westernmost edge of Oahu was brilliant in the morning sun. It is called Kaena Point and considered by ancient Hawaiians as the “jumping off” place to meet their ancestors. It is a remote area, accessible only by a rough unpaved road after Farrington Highway ends a few miles past Dillingham Airfield. For years I’ve marveled at the forbidden looking Kaena Point from places like Sunset Beach and Haliewa Town and never thought I would get there. It looked like the end of the world. In fact this entire trip to Oahu has been filled with new adventures for me for I have never traveled as far west on Oahu as Waialua and the beauty that lay beyond.

This whole area is called “country” by the people of Oahu and it certainly is very rural here. We’re staying in a little development with a cluster of homes near the shore, but soon there is nothing but the road, the ocean and the ominous ridge that ends with Kaena Point. It is just under seven miles from our place in Waialua to the end of the Farrington Road. In fact our hosts said some previous guests stayed with them just so they could be closer to the hiking trails of Kaena Point. It is possible to drive a four-wheel vehicle around, but it is very rough going. A lot walk the 2.5 miles to the tip, where during the winter waves have been known to swell upwards to 50 feet.

We left Au Street and turned onto Waialua Beach Road, which eventually narrowed down to Crozier Drive, and we passed some incredible homes on spectacular lots right on the water, before turning onto Farrington Highway and going to the end. We sighed at every homestead and dreamed, but knew we could never afford to live here; don’t worry we asked and were shocked at the prices.

Kaena Point road

Farrington Road is very isolated. There were a number of ranches, a polo field right on the ocean and a small grouping of homes, but after the Dillingham Airfield there was nothing but windswept views of the Pacific. Here the ridge of Kaena Point nears the road, glowering, huge, its surface gullied and raw. Appropriately, the paved road ends and the untamed track is menacing. We only walked about one mile on the pitched, furrowed road. A couple of four wheelers weaving around huge depressions passed us and we met a number of hikers with walking sticks hats and supplies. We were not as prepared as the hikers; it is highly recommended you bring water if you are going to seriously head out to the point. This is raw land. There are only a few coves with any sand. Mostly the angry waves here crash against volcanic rock. There is no place to swim, although a few people pitched tents and brought in campers to make it a day of near isolation.

near Dillingham Airfield

We drove back to a sandy area right off Farrington Road, right near the end of Dillingham Airfield for some sand gravity. There are no bathrooms at all here and just a few natives and toursits relaxing on this Friday afternoon. The water was clear and surprisingly cool and it got very deep a few feet from the surf line. Dillingham Airfield is a military facility, once integral during WW2, but now mostly used by gliders riding the ridge lift currents off Kaena Point and skydivers, although we also watched a military helicopter land. Gliders sometimes flew directly over us on their landing approach. It is a beautiful spot. The official name for the ridge behind us is Kuaokala Forest Reserve and if so inclined the Kealia Trail begins near Dillingham to get you up onto the ridge. 

a neccesity

KEALIA TRAIL

Popular with windsurfers is Mokuleia Beach Park and we stopped to watch these skilled riders flit along the waves, including a local eccentric named “Top Hat” who wears a top hat as he skirts the waves. Our hosts, Kristin and Billy thinks he’s a trust fund baby because surfing is all he does. What luck Mr. Top Hat walked by us and said hello!

Another place that we did not sadly visit was Makaleha Beach Park/Polo Beach Public Access Path. It wasn’t until later that we learned it was perhaps “clothing optional”. There are no official nude beaches on Oahu, so it’s a proceed-at-your-own-risk endeavor. I understand there is a clothing optional place on Maui called Little Beach.

TOP HAT

We spent our last night in Oahu with our hosts and a gathering of their friends for a communal BBQ in the little courtyard of their homes. With the sky afire with the vibrant sunset colors of another successful day in paradise we drank wine and mingled and petted dogs. One friend was a Hawaiian native, everyone else was white. Eric and I spoke for a long while. He actually lived on the 9th “unofficial Hawaiian Island”, Las Vegas, for 13 years. Evidently a lot of Hawaiian natives, lured by the lower cost of living and job prospects gravitate to Vegas, but the allure of Hawaii was too strong to ignore and he eventually had to return with his wife. I envy him.

Honey! I'm home....

I have visited Oahu more than the other islands and on this short three day trip I have had so many new experiences and this little party was the highlight. Appropriately Oahu is nicknamed the Gathering Place probably because of the endeavors of King Kamehameha in the 1800's to unify the islands, but I like to think the name comes from nights like this, where serenity and friendship are all that matters. I hope that I never lose this Aloha Spirit.

Mahalo 
Janet and greg

FIRST DAY JITTERS

Our first full day in Hawaii "brimmed" with activity. Still on east coast time we arose early and showered, sighing at the view out our bathroom window. It is of the tallest mountain on Oahu, Mount Ka'ala. There is rich farmland stretching before the mount and this fertile area provides with produce and meat; a macrobiotic heaven.

Speaking of meat, we headed to Kono's in nearby Haleiwa for Kalua pig breakfast bombers and some strong coffee. Janet got a refill. These bombers, or breakfast burritos, were apparently popular with the military as soldiers filled the joint. Good food. I happen to have a fondness for Kalua pig, which is slathered on everything in Hawaii. See Kono's website for a recipe. KONO'S HALEIWA

BREAKFAST BOMBERS KONO'S

Before we had even finished our Kono’s coffee we were driving along route 99 east and passing coffee fields of the Waialua Estate. I had purchased green beans from Waialua for Janet to roast years ago and the rich soil of Oahu provides a strong black cup. Then we stopped at the Green World Farms coffee house where we were introduced to cold drip coffee, which takes hours and hours to brew, but leaves behind a mighty kick with no bitterness.

WAILAUA ESTATE COFFEE

Green World Farms is a nice little place to stop on the drive to or from the North Shore. Here’s a great article about Green World Farms:

GREEN WORLD FARMS 

Now appropriately caffeinated we headed to our first destination of the day; the USS Arizona memorial at Pearl Harbor. We were cautioned by our hosts that we needed to arrive early. This somber, sacred American historical site has grown in popularity and tickets to board the launch that takes visitors out to the tomb of nearly 1,000 sailors and marines are quickly given out. It is free. Years ago when I first visited Pearl Harbor visits were less attended and there was rarely a wait. It is good to see this swelling of patriotism.

USS ARIZONA MEMORIAL

The Arizona was sunk during the sneak attack by the Japanese on December 7, 1941 when a bomb hit her forward magazines, trapping over 1,000 men. To this day a few drops of oil leaks out of the wreck; they are called the tears of the Arizona. This solemn stop in Oahu includes a stirring film relating the events of that infamous morning.

The next stop for us was … more coffee. A stop at the Lion Coffee facility at 1555 Kalani Street was a must. I often buy Christmas gifts of small bags of their coffee for friends and colleagues. We stopped at the airy warehouse, roasting facility, shop and coffee house for YET another cup of Joe. This time Janet had a cold drip hazelnut over ice and I had a “volcano” blend with an extra shot of espresso. By the time we finished our coffee Janet just wanted to run alongside the car for a while.
LION COFFEE

Because we were in the Honolulu area we had to visit Waikiki. Often tourists only see this part of Oahu, their airport shuttle deposits them on Kuhio Avenue and eventually picks them up for the return. It’s so different from the slow pace of the North Shore, but the colors of the Pacific, the soft sand, the high rise hotels, the surf boards on display for rent, the glitzy high priced shops and the cheap ABC stores alongside them, and Diamond Head looming majestically all made it worth braving the snarling traffic. It is beautiful, but I’m glad we’re not staying here.

We found a free parking spot near Kapiolani Park and walked in the surf line along Waikiki, dodging the hordes all the way to the pink Royal Hawaiian hotel. We walked through this beautiful hotel back to the street and weaved around tourists on Kalakaua Avenue. We stopped for a smoothie and a shaved ice at the Waikiki Beachside Bistro, near the Duke Kahanamoku statue to cool off. Duke is considered the father of modern surfing. By the time we were finished with our treats we were ready to leave Waikiki.ROYAL HAWAIIAN HOTEL WAIKIKI

Perhaps the coffee still sloshing through our veins inspired us to climb to the summit of the Diamond Head crater. It is $5 per car load to enter. Of all the trips to Oahu I had never visited Diamond Head and so Janet and I sprinted up the steeply inclined trail to marvel at Honolulu and Hawaii Kai and Koko Head and the blue blue blue Pacific ocean. Glistening with well-earned sweat and broad smiles we leaned into the wind and smiled at our successful day.

FROM THE SUMMIT OF
DIAMOND HEAD CRATER

THE STOLEN KINGDOM

Hawaii is paradise, no doubt. It is a top rated destination for many and for many traveling to this archipelago would be considered a trip of a lifetime. I am fortunate. Between work and play I have been to Hawaii six times. This is Janet’s first trip and although I have frequented Hawaii so often over the years I share her excitement. I actually pushed for this trip; it has been over a decade since my last visit.

Well, I can write here about the pervasive, infectious Aloha Spirit which usually transitions into at times frustrating Aloha time. I can talk about the swaying palms and incessant waves and surfing, Honolulu dive bars, Diamond Head vistas, Pearl Harbor, Waikiki, Kona coffee,  Hanaumu Bay, Waimea Bay, the road to Hana, Haleakala National Park, the Parker Ranch, Moana Loa, volcanos, white sand, black sand, green sand, macadamia nuts and sea turtles, but I won’t.

All are brilliant destinations on the tourist trail, but my two fondest memories of Hawaii from my past visits are slices of everyday life. Once I rented a house in Lanikai on the windward side of Oahu and went to a Chinese restaurant and tried to pay the tab with a travelers check. I offered my ID and was told that wasn’t necessary. They surmised that I must have just returned from a vacation on the mainland. The other came from kicking around a Honolulu neighborhood around Christmas time; I was in Honolulu to run the marathon there; and seeing kids lining up in a playground to sit on Santa’s knee. Santa wore flip flops and the beard was bit too warm so it had migrated to his neck.

Lives being lived, families being tended to, those are my fondest memories of this far flung American outpost. Since my first visit, courtesy of Sinatra in 1986, until this seventh excursion I have felt like I belonged here and each time I leave I yearn to return. Dare I call myself a “kama’aina” a child of the island?  That I guess is too high an opinion of myself and perhaps it may be over reaching. Island fever would probably grip me too; living here on these islands with no escape, despite the paradise, may eventually lose its allure.

north shore Oahu

Sadly, for many residents of Hawaii lives hover near the poverty level. Get away from the glitz and polish of Waikiki and you have simple folk living normal lives filled with the same expectations and disappointments found elsewhere. It may be “paradise”, but you still have to slog through the day. Hawaii too was “stolen” from the people by American entrepreneurs in a coup in the 1890’s. When the 100^th anniversary of the “annexation” Hawaii came up Senator Daniel Inouye suggested the state flag at the U.S. Capital be lowered to half-staff.

Yes, a quick read of Hawaiian history makes one wonder how anyone could smile at all. Native Hawaiians have endured war, invasion and conquering corporations and to this day the resentment remains. It is a thread that is just beneath the surface. I personally have experienced prejudice here. I’ve heard the derogatory term “haole” launched in my direction. I honestly have never had the desire to visit the Wainae coast of Oahu because of the native Hawaiian population. Car break-ins are common in some spots there. I’ve had my rental car keyed at the Waimea Bay parking lot. But, you know, there are bad people everywhere and in Hawaii it is the same.

So, why have I returned so often you may ask? I’ve painted a somewhat grimmer than expected picture of Hawaii I know. How could this remote volcanic ecosystem be so alluring? Those two fond memories are just the start. The beauty, the diversity of people and views and experiences keeps me wanting to return. You can never beat a sunset in Haleiwa Town; you just have to be aware that although this is “paradise” not everyone is swaying their hips at the waves and drinking Mai Tai’s all day.

the Chinaman's Hat

We are staying in Waialua on the North Shore, at Kristin and Billy’s house. We rented a room with them for three days through a website called Airbnb.com, one of several similar bed and breakfast access websites. In all the visits to Oahu I have never stayed this far west. Rather than driving the quick way across the island, up H2 directly to Waialua, we drove the long way up the windward side of Oahu. 

We stopped at the Chinaman's Hat, Laie Point and the Banzai Pipeline, although in July there aren't any monstrous waves; they come in the winter. We had dinner at one of the many shrimp vendors near the northern apex of Oahu, Kahuku Point, where there are a lot of shrimp farms. 

When we drove out of Haleiwa we passed a lush baseball field. Mountains were in the distance. The ocean was behind us. The colors were shockingly vibrant. There was a game going on, not an organized, little league game, just a pick-up game. Younger kids too, not teenagers, just some kids playing around and I remarked to Janet that this is the Hawaii I love.