Malaekahana Beach Park Camp Out, Again

About three weeks ago Valerie and I jumped into old Nellie Belle and motored off to the North Shore for several days of camping at Malaekahana Beach Park with our friend Dan and quite a few of the locals of both the fuzzy and the feathered persuasion. We took plenty of food for each so we had plenty of freeloaders to entertain us.

We did have to check out the beach, of course, and on day two discovered that a big log had floated in during the night. As usual, clik on the pic if you want a bigger version.

 

It had been in the water for awhile, long enough for plenty of hitchhikers to latch on:

 

In a few places they were pretty sparse. Note the little brown crab just above center, trying to hide out:

 

Most places, though, they were thick as small government advocates when the politicians are handing out subsidies:

 

It was breezy, and a few sailors took advantage of it:

 

While Valerie and I were hanging around the beach one day a fellow with a grey plastic suitcase in hand came walking up the beach, peeled down to his POLICE wetsuit, put some gear in the case and tethered it to himself, then waded into the water.

 

He came back a few minutes later with an illegally set and unregistered lay net. He looked like anybody walking down the sidewalk in the financial district, briefcase in hand.

The gear he had tossed in his briefcase consisted mainly of his wallet, badge, gun and gun belt: Can't very well leave those lying on the beach, so the gasketted case goes with him whenever he has to go in the water. What a pain.

 

There were a couple dead fish in the net. One, which proved the net had been untended (illegal) had been dead for a while. Apparently legal nets have to be checked daily. The other was fresh:

 

Back at the ranch, Dan gave a little help to his friends. Nothing like welfare queens getting salmon dished up with a silver spoon. Might as well be Democats. Or Republicats, for that matter

 

 

 

Tough cat: Must be a Tareyton smoker:

 

One morning we drove over to Kahuku Golf Course and went for a beach walk, then stopped at the InterGalactically Famous Fumi's Shrimp Wagon for you guessed it, some shrimp. While there we saw our old friend Fumi, the Black Crowned Night Heron:

 

The water in the shrimp pond had been drawn way down, exposing mud flats, or nearly so, and for the first time there we saw a Hawaiian Stilt at Fumi's. They are the endemic sub-species of the Black-necked Stilt, which is common enough elsewhere, but there are only about 1400 of the Hawaiian race around.

 

Here's the same guy:

 

Here's one more. Yeah, yeah, I know: three is too many. Well, it's my blog, and I call the shots. If you want fewer pics of Hawaiian Stilts, go to HuffPo.

 

We did more than lie around the beach and feed the welfare queens, but I didn't take any pictures, so that's all, folks.