Rodeo, Flumin Kohala, and...Rain Storm

A winter type rain storm has taken over Kailua-Kona these past 2 days. Gray, fog, and day-long rain. Reminds us of winter in California; only it is not too cold. Mid 60's during the day, mid 50's at night. And the clouds/fog stops the view of the water. The coolness has had the long-term locals complaining about the cold--"it never gets this cold"! That's, of course, because we have moved here.

Judy and Mike joined the Kona Camera Club. Saturday we went to our first photo outing with the group. The Pana'Ewa (w's are pronounced as a V) Rodeo in Hilo (on the other side of the island). It was great fun. Not only a wonderful family event, but lots of emphasis on children. From little ones competing in roping and calf riding, to adolescents competing in calf roping and bull riding, and of course, adults throwing their bodies all around in ways that surely hurt. The event began with a flag ceremony and the induction of a number of young people into the military.

Taking the oath to preserve and protect the constitution of the US

Because of the connections between the camera club and the event producers, we were granted photo passes and we could get closer to the events, as demonstrated by Judy's picture of Mike below.

The youngsters were great fun to watch. Clearly, many families that live in cattle ranching areas are interested in keeping the cowboy/cowgirl sports and activities alive. 

One recruit I guess did not get the email. Can you tell which one

This younf calf was not excited about the rodeo.

This young lady loved a visiting hen wearing a lei.

They even had little kids riding calfs--seems pretty scary to me.

Fortunately, the young person was not hurt--the calf missed his head and body. Phew!!!

On Sunday, we traveled to Hawi on the north shore of the big island. A very small little town. But, there is a concrete/rock ditch that was built in 1904 to bring water to the sugar cane fields and for the cattle. It comes from a place on the island, remote of course, that gets 300 inches of rain a year. Part of the ditch, called a flume, is now a special recreational tour. And, of course, since we were sitting in inflatable self-bailing kyaks, we got wet. So, unfortunately, we brought neither cell phones nor camera. And, yes, we got wet and cold. But it was great fun. In the next little town north of Hawi is a statue of King Kamahemahe, the only one in color so we had to take a picture.

And, just before we got into Hawi, there is a small wind farm. Getting there required off road driving, for which we were grateful for our 4 wd Tacoma. The windmills were moving very slowly--not very much wind. And, we were told that when the wind is above 35 mph, they shut them down. Don't know how much energy they generate, but with the wind in various places, sure seems like wind farms would be a great addition to the island infrastructure.

The house is moving along slowly. The 10 foot retaining wall has passed inspection.

Lots of steel.  This past 3 days, Mike has been working as a member of the construction crew. And, Sven, noER visits; minor scrape or no consequence. And coming home exhausted. Lots of work doing physical labor. He is also the gofer: instead of go for coffee or donuts, it's go for screws, nails, other materials to move the construction along. Cement pour Saturday afternoon. This one will be much smaller than the first, but in some ways more challenging. We expect about 14 yards of concrete.

We did enjoy a nice valentine's day afternoon. "On the Rocks", a local watering hole with great food and right down on the water in Kailua-Kona was where we spent the afternoon. Great fun.

Hope you are all well and enjoying winter weather.

Love

Judy & Mike