Last week, I had the pleasure of visiting the Big Island with some friends.  And I had the extended pleasure of flying back home in the Tomahawk! This was the route we took.  It was an amazing day and we got incredible pictures. More to come...

Hokulea

Yesterday, Coconut Island had the honor of hosting the Hokulea; a traditional polynesian boat that was built to follow the footsteps of the original settlers to Hawaii.  They set out to prove that people could travel from as far away as New Zealand to Hawaii on a hand-built catamaran.  It was so exciting to see her.  The crew sang a wonderful chant too when then docked here. Very cool.  Soon they are setting off to do a trip around the world that will take three and a half years.  I want to go! They navigate by the stars and do research along the way.

Here I am trying out the oar that steers the boat.  It was very sunny.... 

This was an accidental candid picture that I ended up kinda liking. I was thrilled to be on the boat. Not may people get to do that.

Squids!

On Sunday, I went diving with a couple of friends at Shark's Cove and then Three Tables.  These are two spots on the north shore of Oahu that have amazing swim through caves and big rock formations where you can find a whole bunch of exciting critters!

We saw a little white tip reef shark that had been ensnared in a fishing line. We liberated it from the offending line and I definitely felt slightly better about myself as a human being.  We saw several turtles, maybe five or six?  They were chomping away on the limu (Hawaiian for seaweed).  Then, on our second dive, I found two octopuses mating! I was very proud of myself because, although I am the octopus lady in Hawaii, I am rarely the one to spot them when Bert and I are out fishing.  I tend to find them only when I don't have a bucket nearby :)

When we came back to Coconut, there were two adorable big fin reef squid hanging out by the boats.  People often mistake them for cuttlefish because they have such a large fin surrounding their mantle.  But, they are definitely squid.  You can tell because they keep their feeding tentacles dangling out of their mouths while cuttlefish keep their tentacles tucked up under their arms.

 I went flying with Dave a few times last week and meant to post some of the pictures. We went in the Tomahawk around the island and passed by Sacred Falls. Here's a pic of the falls from the plane. This weekend I think we are going to head out to Molokai again and I'll post some pics of the stunning rock cliffs.

Today, on my way to the aquarium, I saw this.

In case you can't read the license plate, it says "MO OIL." Gross. I was so disgusted, I thought I would take a picture for you all to enjoy.  Don't worry, it was stop and go traffic so I wasn't taking pictures while driving.  I kept wondering whether this particular human being who owned this monstrosity was aware that we are living in Hawaii where, a) there is no need for a vehicle this large (even a small car with four wheel drive will get you everywhere you need to go) and b) gas is not extremely accessible.  We are on a tiny series of islands in the middle of the Pacific. We are the most isolated group of islands in the world... This seems like the most ridiculous car to own here.  Again, gross. 

Anyway, I was on my way to the aquarium because they recently had a female day octopus who laid eggs. It was an interesting experience because I was suddenly the "expert."  I was being praised for my experience with octopus mothers and babies. I hadn't necessarily thought that I had done much of anything over the past four years except struggle to get my PhD proposal together, but apparently, I've accomplished something in the process. It felt pretty good to be able to talk about this species and realize, "Hey, I know what I'm talking about!" We looked at the eggs under the scope and I could tell what stage of development they were in. Hopefully, this will be the start of a collaboration involving the rearing of adorable baby octopuses!

Dave and I saw a nice little ray the other day over by the pier.  It was being followed by a whole bunch of fish.  He took a great pic of it.

Flying

Yesterday, I was in the belly of a bird. It was blissful.

You'd never know I used to hate roller-coasters...

I meant to elaborate, but I've lost my ability to use words. I've spent the last twelve hours deciphering letters and numbers strewn about spreadsheets that, supposedly, will form the basis for a chapter of my dissertation.

Caught six new octopuses last night--five of them males.  Where are you my ladies? Where are you?