Aloha from Ko Olina, Hawaii, located on the island of Oahu!
Now that our quarantine days are over, we are getting quite settled in to our new home; well, home for the next year. Ko Olina is situated just north of Pearl Harbor and the busy city of Honolulu. It's a 5 star resort that has a 550 room Marriot Beach Club, the Disney Aulani Resort and a Four Seasons Resort; all of which are empty at this time. There are handfuls of folks in the entire resort but its feels a bit like our own private getaway. There are 4 "lagoons" that are scalloped in to the coast line that hold my dream "swimming pools". Below is the one that is just a 2 minute walk from our dock. We go there nearly every morning for our swim workout or our "Turtle Camp Training Beach" aptly named as opposed to a US Navy Seal Camp Training Beach!
The weather here is about as perfect as it gets. We have 80-85 degrees every day, sunshine and only a misty, quick shower once in the 4 weeks we have been here. Low humidity rounds out the beautiful days. The trade winds blow most days from the east at 15-25 mph; there's always a breeze to cool things down.
There's a small general store just a mile from us that we are doing all of our grocery shopping at every few days.They have all the fresh items we need and a good selection of Ice Cream - an essential for Jeff! The picture below right is of the gorgeous Mimosa tree lined streets that we get to ride through. The grounds are stunning and I'm really struggling to know ANY of the plants!
Besides not knowing the plants, the birds here are pretty exotic. Black Swans grace the many ponds on the grounds (not native, I know!) and a Mynah bird has made a nest in our neighbors boom cover on his boat. Mynahs mimic other birds so it sounds as if we have a flock of tropical birds when they speak. Although considered a nuisance, they keep us laughing with their many calls and antics.
You may ask how Covid 19 is effecting our lives. We consider ourselves BEYOND LUCKY that we ended up in an area with a very low case number and very strict rules. Hawaii is still requiring anyone coming from out of state to quarantine for 14 days. This will go until at least June 30th, for now.
Our dock is filled with what we like to call the "Pacific Refugees". We have about 10 boats who have diverted to Hawaii from Mexico and French Polynesia. Some we know from Mexico and some are new sailors. As with most in the cruising community, we have all become fast friends. Days are spent wandering the dock and looking at everyone else boats, rigging or ongoing projects. Additional tools and or advice - whether wanted or not - is always close at hand. Its an eclectic mix ranging in ages from the early 30's to the 70's. Many are still deciding what to do and where to go with Alaska and Canada on their radars. Some will stay right here with us for the year.
Hawaii is very strict with their rules and mask compliance is nearly 100% in stores. We were lucky to have 2 N95's aboard but I had to cover up the air vent on mine and a piece of kitty cat duct tape did the trick. Although Jeff always goes with me, he doesn't enter the stores at all. Why take any additional risks, right?
The other day we went snorkeling at a stunning beach just north of us. Its has an outfall from an electric plant that pushes warm water out of the pipes about a 1/4 mile off shore. At the ends of the pipes were tons of colorful reef fish and my favorite - a large tutle!
Today the surf was really up from the north and west and our evening walk was filled with many "oh look at that wave" moments. These pictures were taken just outside of our calm lagoon tonight.
In the next few weeks we will take a few days and anchor in the beautiful bays just north of us. For now, we are enjoying exploring on our bikes and relaxing in this incredible place. We hope when things settle down, you'll consider coming out to visit us! We always have our front cabin on Salpare ready for you!
Hugs - from a distance and please stay healthy!
Fran and Jeff
Glad you guys are enjoying Hawaii. FYI, you guys almost hit us head on at the northern-most oil platform in the Santa Barbara Channel. You had no one on deck, no one on watch, your boat kept tracking towards Malolo for some reason. If I hadn't spun Malolo around, it would have been a collision that would likely have sunk both boats. Please always keep an active watch outside. Be safe. Thanks - Tim S/V Malolo
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