She seems to enjoy the black sand beach just as much as I did…

Hawaiian Dolphins

Well, this does surely compensate for the disappointing dive trip yesterdays to do a “night dive with Mantas”, as the Mantas did not show up. We sure did find the Dolphins quickly enough this morning, and they really came close and were a pack of 200 or more. I’ll talk about this a little more in the main blog really soon, but now I am sooooo tired from all the snorkeling and swimming!

As this hidden beach is a bit of a scramble over rugged lava (nice pahoehoe formations, though!) from the signposted official state park beaches near the Kona Airport, you basically have it to yourself. Not sure about the “private property” signs and the goats on the way, though. Enjoy the crystal clear water and the fine sands!

Room with a view

The Waikoloa Resort villages are really villages in themselves where you can get lost. Some even have their own train service – this one here has a Las Vegas-style monorail train with about 7 or 8 stations that I wasn’t able to visit all just yet. However, I have met the Dolphins in the lagoon and got a room with a view. Hard work will start soon so why not pamper a bit?!

Stargazing in the Valley of Fire – thanks for the recommendation, guys, really worthwile! Also the stargazing underneath the Arch, although probably not fully by the rules…

3446 meters above sea level for those not used to the imperial units (including myself). This is just a short drive (yes, you can mostly drive up!) from Brian Head UT, the highest town in the state at 10’000+ feet.

This is really worth getting up early for!

There it is – the moon, in its apogee to the Earth and therefore at its smallest visual appearance – too small to fully cover the sun in this Eclipse, therefore rendering it to be an annular (from Latin annulus: A ring) eclipse.

2012 Annular Solar Eclipse in Bryce Canyon