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I had to pull my sweatshirt back out on Thursday night at 5:30 PM when the weather did a 180. Back to WINDY and COLD with mauka rain in Waimea. Fortunately, the sun still sets every night!
photo by Becky Holman
photo by David Taran
February is so packed with cultural, sports and educational events that it’s lucky we have 29 days this year. The Weekly Update will keep you informed of everything you need to know, including how to sign up for Hawaiian language classes.
The RESIDENT Beach House is a busy locale at this time of year. It hosted the Member Reception, as well as providing for daily whale and wave watching and a venue for the talented fire eater.
 
photos by Becky Holman
photos by Bill McDowell
photos by Chantal Prunier
Hualalai, because of winter swells, has been treated to strong large waves for the last few weeks, a sight to behold. “Winter swells are more typically ground swells than wind swells. They are coming from much further away; therefore they bring with them more power and might.”
photos by Bill McDowell
Mu’umu’u Month Celebration!
In our family, we’ve loved the mu’umu’u since the 1950s! My little sister and me.
NERD TALK
DISCOVERY SERIES
AND WINTER SWELLS BROUGHT BIG WAVES: SURF AND SAND!
photo by Bill McDowell
photo by Bill McDowell
VIDEO
IMG_5535 click on this and you’ll see the video of the waves completely covering the lagoon in front of the Sea Shell pool.
January begins quietly at Hualalai. As festive guests depart that first week, homeowners take a deep breath and perhaps a nap or two. The whales frolic off shore and the first banana crop of the year ripens on the tree. It is peaceful. But it’s the quiet before the storm: the Mitsubishi Championship arrives, along this year with an actual storm.
 
Red Skies in the Morning… photos by Bill McDowell
 
Bring stormy weather and rainbows…
It was a busy morning on my lanai. First the sunrise!
Then Kelly’s Tree Service provided further viewing pleasure! These guys were up and down the palm trees, hacking off fronds the old fashioned way!
 Festive Season is already at the half way mark. Lots of good things happening, past, present and future. December 29: NERD TALK
Title: DRIFT
Speakder:Jeffrey Milisen
Time: 10:30 a.m.
Location: Kumu Kai at Kings Pond
 Join Jeffrey Milisen as he talks about his experiences and work as a Blackwater Specialist and Marine Biologist Jeff helped launch the first drifting fish pen that used oceanic eddies to circulate between 10 and 70 miles offshore of the Big Island. He is now working with Forever Oceans to further develop aquaculture technology. He previously participated in a number of NOAA cruises to both the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands and, more recently, the Pacific Remote Islands Sanctuary. And while remote reefs are fascinating to him, his real passion is in the pelagic habitat. He holds a Master’s and a Bachelor’s in biology from the University of Hawaii. Jeff Milisen’s photography strongly blends with his training as a marine biologist. In what little off-time he can find, Jeff moonlights as a dive master to guide blackwater dives from his home in Kona, Hawaii. He developed in situ methodology to study the diversity of pelagic life observed on blackwater. Jeff’s photography is best known from his work in blackwater which has won him over 14 awards in international competitions and has been featured in over 40 magazines. His book, “A Field Guide to Blackwater Diving in Hawaii,” was published in June of 2020!
 Golf Cart Parade on December 24: Club Camaraderie❣️❣️
    
Thank you Bill McDowell for the photos of the lush Hawaiian flowers. This is the time of the year that our orchid blooms.
Good morning on this mid-December day! Filled with Hanukah latkes, I’m now taking a rest and looking forward to all the Christmas cookies I’m going to eat. I hope I won’t be mistaken for a stuffed NeNe. It’s that time of year❣️❣️
Today we have a mixed bag of seasonal goodies. Bill McDowell has shared these December shots of sunrise and sunset! We also have an announcement about the annual Hoku Concert series, as well as information on the new wine store, Tuesdays, in Waikoloa Village.
sunrise
sunset
HOKU CONCERT SERIES: Broadway artist Cate Hayman
TUESDAYS OPENS IN Waikoloa Village.
Holiday Treat Bakers!
On Sunday, December 3, 2023, the Hualalai ‘Ohana Foundation organized a child literacy event for 150 children of Hualālai Resort’s workforce. The event was held in the parking lot outside of the Foundation offices with 14 Hualālai homeowners and others volunteering to promote the love of reading in our Ohana. Children and families received book bags filled with 15-20 grade level books, a backpack, a stuffed animal, a cookie and a booklight bookmark. The Hualālai Fire Brigade provided red fireman hats and offered children a chance to sit in the firetruck. Special guests included Clifford the Big Red Dog and Dahlia the Dalmation who added special cheer to the festivities.
   
When I was on the Mainland last week, the checker at the market asked about the weather in Hawaii. “Does it ever rain?” she asked.
“It’s the tropics so it could rain everyday,” I said. “But where we live at Hualalai, it’s mostly sunny with a few clouds.” Fast forward five days and I’m driving into Kona, trying to figure out how my windshield wipers work!
One thing about stormy weather, it brings brilliant sunsets and surreal rainbows. Thank you to members who shared their incredible shots!
 
Important Trash Info:
I think your wonderful editor, who has had no luck with technology since the remote control was invented, may have finally found out how to get the blog up and running. It required a bit of capital expense and two hours with two different Bluehost techs, who probably have quit the business after dealing with me. “I only write,” I told Kevin from India, “I don’t know how things work.” In any case, here we are! Just in time for November to slide into December.
Bill McDowell took a fabulous photo of the sunrise on Monday morning. Just for fun, I’ll show you my tepid shot. It just goes to show what I always say: Bill and I can be looking at the same thing and his photo is outstanding!
 
Meanwhile Becky Holman sent some shots of the new Holualoa Kitchen located where the Holualoa Cafe was!
 
A Hui Hou!!
Nerd Talk: Coral Restoration in West Hawai‘i: How do we do it?
Talk description: Coral restoration in West Hawai‘i is a relatively novel practice. The Nature Conservancy aims to explore and test various restoration growth methods across different species to better understand what are the most effective ways conduct coral restoration in West Hawai‘i. This talk will briefly describe the background for TNC’s West Hawai’i pilot placed-based restoration projects as well as the various methods we will be testing throughout the process. This talk will also include an activity to showcase one of the methods we will be using to outplant corals back onto the reef.
Speaker Background :Mikayla Barnwell
Mikayla originally grew up on the east coast in central Connecticut. She did her undergraduate studies in Rhode Island at Roger Williams University where she majored in marine biology and minored in mathematics. She moved to Hawai‘i Island in 2021 to pursue her master’s degree in tropical conservation biology and environmental science at the University of Hawai‘i at Hilo. During her masters program she began working with The Nature Conservancy as an intern on the development of their pilot coral restoration projects, and has become a full-time team member since August of 2022. Her work continues to focus on the development and implementation of TNC’s pilot coral restoration project.
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Long time Hualalai employee, Heidi Correia-Yamamoto, needs our help.
Here is the link to the gofund.me page. https://gofund.me/63c1cf24
 https://www.seattletimes.com/entertainment/books/seattle-horror-writer-john-saul-reflects-on-career-beginnings/?utm_source=email&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=article_inset_1.1
In these turbulent days around the globe, it is important to have time for quiet reflection, no matter where you are. Sunset is a good opportunity for this. Here is a photo taken by Julie Wrigley this summer in Alaska. Below, Bill McDowell comments on the quiet healing of Alaska.
“Our return to our normal routine has been daunting. Being removed from every day life for the past four and a half months in Alaska has been a game changer. I replaced all of the Television sets on the boat and much to my surprise we never turned them on! Being removed from news and everything we called normal was exciting. I was able to read three books which I had not done in twenty years. We were able to spend time with the local people in small groups and learn about their lives and experiences. I was able to take days to photograph whales and sea otters 🦦 without any difficulty because we had no guests for the whole time. Julie so enjoyed the experience that she stayed longer and didn’t want it to end.”
We are fortunate at Hualalai to have both sunsets and sunrises that give us the impetus to pause as we survey Nature’s beauty.
Becky Holman photographed the sunrise on Tuesday this week, then painted it. Breathtaking!
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