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View From Here - Hawaii Travel Blog

Total Number of Entries - 487

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Another Friday Afternoon at Kilauea Point

Kim Steutermann Rogers on Wed 8/24/2011

Destination: Kauai

It’s just another Friday afternoon at the refuge, and I am blogging from “Birdville,” a.k.a. Kilauea Point National Wildlife Refuge. The skies overhead are clearing, after a surprising squall provided a bit of cloud clover and respite from the hot sun. Not enough rain fell to clean the windshield, much less soak the soil outside the wedge-tailed shearwater burrows and leach its nourishing bird guano deep into the ground. Funny how Hawaii skies sneak up on you like that.
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TSA Took My Salty Donkey Balls

Kim Steutermann Rogers on Mon 8/22/2011

Destination: Hawaii Island

Another TSA agent inspecting some other bag leaned over, looked at the plastic bag in Clark’s hand and nodded. “Donkey balls,” she said with a knowing tone. I smiled, embarrassed—but only slightly. “Those are for my husband,” I said.
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Historic Hawaii Island

Kim Steutermann Rogers on Thu 8/18/2011

Destination: Hawaii Island

I am finishing up breakfast in the Kamaaina Terrace at Keauhou Beach Resort, sitting across from a chair recently vacated by a young man from Washington. He just headed out to Volcanoes National Park for the day. We talked about the lava show going on up there, the hiking trials, the visitor center’s many displays and educational opportunities. Well, I did. He was quiet.
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The New Hawaii Island is Big

Kim Steutermann Rogers on Fri 8/12/2011

Destination: Hawaii Island

Next week, I head to Big Island. Or “Hawaii Island,” as we are now asked to refer to the newest island, the one on the southeastern end of the Hawaiian Island chain, the one the farthest away from me, the one formerly referred to as “Big Island,” because of its size.
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Big Bertha the Manta Ray Gives Birth

Kim Steutermann Rogers on Thu 8/11/2011

Destination: Hawaii Island

Boy, that girl was hardly showing when I saw her last February. I couldn't even tell she was pregnant, and by then, she was a good 8 months along. The mother of all manta rays, Big Bertha, gave birth this summer to possibly two baby manta rays.
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Book Lovers Day. Hooray.

Kim Steutermann Rogers on Tue 8/9/2011

Destination: Hawaii Island, Kauai, Maui, Oahu

So, today is Book Lovers Day. Who knew? In honor, I am sharing my latest finds. They’ve got a theme, you’ll see. It’s Hawaii. I hunted around Google to find the origins of Book Lovers Day, with no success. Not that I need an excuse to read a book. But why August, I wondered? But, really, why not? August is a popular vacation month. Vacations are a great time to read.

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Summer Whalewatching in Hawaii: Part Four

Kim Steutermann Rogers on Mon 8/8/2011

Destination: Kauai

False killer whales. They look nothing like the black-and-white killer whales so well known in the Pacific Northwest and occasionally spotted in Hawaii. False killer whales are dark grey and grow to approximately 12 to 18 feet. Their skull and teeth, however, are similar to Orcinus orca and gave rise to the scientific name Pseudorca crasidens.
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Summer Whalewatching: Part Three

Kim Steutermann Rogers on Wed 8/3/2011

Destination: Kauai

"One animal. Twelve o'clock. Fifty meters," Renee called out. She had briefed me earlier on my duties and stressed the three things that Robin--captaining our Wild Whale research vessel--was adamant about. He wanted to hear 1) animal species or, at the very least, its behavior, such as splash, blow, breach; 2) location on the clock, using the boat's bow as 12:00 and the stern as 6:00; and 3) distance from the boat in meters.
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Summer Whalewatching in Hawaii: Part Two

Kim Steutermann Rogers on Sun 7/31/2011

Destination: Kauai

After a fuel pump or something went out that led to the cancellation of the inaugural day of research, I was invited back on Saturday. It was to be the 600th day on the water over 12 years in Hawaii for Cascadia Research. In the intervening 10 days, the team had spotted, gathered tissue samples and photo-identified numerous individuals from several groups of rough-toothed dolphins. They’d also encountered their largest group of bottlenose dolphins in Hawaii—200 individuals. The highlight of the trip thus far, though, had to be spending about an hour mingling with four killer whales.
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Sharks, Shrimp & Pie

Kim Steutermann Rogers on Thu 7/28/2011

Destination: Oahu

I convinced my co-worker Andrea to kick off a couple hours early and take me to one of her favorite snorkeling beaches—Shark’s Cove, a few miles past Waimea Bay on Oahu’s North Shore. She seemed gung ho, but when I upped the offer with dinner at a nationally-recognized shrimp truck, she was all in, as they say.
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