William and Edward

When I first moved to Hatteras Island, I noticed how special the locals were. Some families had lived on the island for generations, their ancestors arriving here as victims of shipwrecks. They were isolated and not affected by the outside world very much. I admired their simple, resourceful lives.

William and Edward Hooper were born and raised in Salvo. William worked in Norfolk for a while, but other than that, they were here all their lives. They were brothers and best friends. You would hardly ever see one without the other, and mentioning one almost always required mentioning the other. They were inseparable and the kindest people you’d ever meet.

Edward was widely known as the Postmaster of one of the smallest post offices in the country.

They were always hospitable when I visited them and would sometimes invite me for dinner.

One of my last visits was November of 2010. Eating at the kitchen table I noticed a window pane had fallen out and I volunteered to fix it.

When I returned the following day to work on it, they came out and stood under an old fig tree to chat with me. I asked if I could take their picture, and they said yes.

Little did I know that 9 months later, Hurricane Irene would sweep through and drastically change their lives. The flooded family homestead was no longer habitable so they were displaced to an assisted living facility.

Edward passed away a year and a half later and William 8 months after that.

They were 91 and 83 respectively.

I miss them a lot, and am reminded how things never remain the same on this beautiful barrier island that we call home.

Beautiful Skimmer

south point

I’ve always loved visiting the South Point of Ocracoke. It’s not only a great beach for hanging out, surfing or fishing, but also my favorite place to photograph shorebirds. The flat expanse and tidal influences make it a perfect habitat. The variety of birds is diverse and at times, large in numbers.

Last month relaxing on that same beach, I set up a long lens as Sanderlings and Red Knots foraged nearby.

tag team

Two of the Sanderlings played a territorial tag team match.

An Osprey hovered overhead ready to dive into its next meal.

Then a Black-Bellied Plover skittered in the wash, hardly ever stopping to pose.

Minutes later a Black Skimmer cruised by downwind about 20 yards, then turned and flew back upwind in a remarkable way. The quick, short wingbeats don’t touch the water. The extended lower mandible is designed to scoop up small fish. It’s fascinating to see, and even more rewarding when a camera is ready.

That beautiful Black Skimmer was the icing on my cake.

End of the Road

Continued from previous entry dated May 4, 2015…

What seemed a scavenger hunt, we knew we were headed in the right direction. Journal entries confirmed a place at the end of the road, near Ke’e Beach. There were references to an area revered by Hawaiians. Known as a Heiau (hey ow), locals told us it was next to the trailhead for the Na Pali Coast, at end of the road.

Robin’s leather-bound journal from 2010 was the key.

The trail entrance to Na Pali is at the end of the road.

We found an overgrown path and walked through lush vegetation.

Approaching a rock wall, I felt elation, and knew this was the right place. The view was remarkable and whales spouted offshore. What an affirmation! Robin’s descriptions, photos and journal entries were a perfect match.

Stones were laid in an orderly fashion by ancient Hawaiians. The site was a temple and served as a school for the Hula. Students would come from surrounding islands. It is said that the goddess Pele came here from the big island after hearing the drum beats.

I tried to imagine what was here hundreds of years ago.

There could have been thatched structures and large carved Tikis.

A shelf in the rock wall looked like an altar where ceremonies could have taken place.

Someone left offerings wrapped in Ti leaves and a beautiful flowered lei.

After finding the location of the Heiau, we explored the beach at Ke’e.

Ha’ena State Park is next to Ke’e.

The waves at Tunnels were big and breaking on the distant reef.

We spent some time on the wide crescent beach at Hanalei.

Surfers love Hanalei.

The following day we began hiking the Kalalau Trail.

There were torrents everywhere.

The first overlook gave a spectacular view of Ke’e Beach.

At times the steep drop-offs were precariously close to the trail.

In a heavy downpour it got so muddy, we had to turn back after going in ¾ mile.

On the way back to our cottage, a man on the roadside sold us a lei made by his wife.

Early next morning we went to the Heiau with Robin’s ashes.

It was a spectacular day, and a few whales breached from the ocean.

We spent an hour contemplating the moment, and the sacredness of the site.

We placed the ashes up against a sheer rock wall, splashed an offering of Hawaiian rum and presented the lei.

lei

Our task was done.

The Journey

In the Fall of 2013, I did some blogging about Robin. He had a rich life but now is gone. We said our goodbyes and have had lots of time to reflect. Robin had directives in place to disperse his possessions. But there was also a last request. He wanted his ashes taken to the island of Kauai.

After he lost his wife Carey, to cancer, he returned to Kauai in 2010 to scatter her remains. Years prior, they made a number of trips to the island. Carey worked as a nurse at the hospital in Lihue and went again in 1993, after Hurricane Inniki ravaged the island. They were both very fond of the place and told captivating stories about it.

Robin wanted his final wish to be carried out by me and Denise. His directions where to go, were not crystal clear. As clues, there were vague vocal descriptions about “the end of the road”. There were also some photographs and a journal that we used, to narrow down the possibilities.

In March we embarked on a journey that ultimately took us to the North Shore of Kauai to carry out our calling. It was an introduction to a gorgeous part of the world. And for me personally, it was inspiration to remember a friend and revitalize my photography.

wing

Reality didn’t set in until I was cruising high over the Pacific Ocean bound for Kauai.

The next day I was standing on the edge of Waimea Canyon.

We spent some time exploring beaches around Kilauea.

nice

The water was amazing!

Kilauea Point is a National Wildlife Refuge with a lighthouse on it.

Originally built in 1912, it was recently restored.

There were sea birds like this Laysan Albatross nesting in the surrounding cliffs.

We hiked through a farm with 40,000 mahogany trees on it.

And we loved the local farmers market on Saturday.

We saw how taro plants growing in Hanalei Valley provide critical waterfowl habitat.

Perfect waves at Hanalei were visible from an overlook a mile away.

The single lane, double bridge going over the Wainiha River would eventually take us where we needed to go.

to be continued….

Wettest Place on Earth

At times I’ve thought I live in one of the wettest places on the planet. That’s when we have flooding from storm surges, and not so much from rainfall.

With over 450 inches of measured annual rainfall, a place I visited recently is arguably the wettest place on earth. There was a good reason to be there and that’s another story.

On this trip Denise and I flew in a helicopter around the stunningly scenic island of Kauai. Ben, our pilot took us into the huge three sided crater of Mount Wai’ale’ale’. Billed locally as the wettest spot on earth, there were clouds hovering all around, and we could feel the cool moisture inside the cockpit.

Entering the crater was dramatic.