Hawaii Vacation During the COVID-19 Pandemic

My wife and I plan our vacations with long lead times. Sometimes we have plans for a vacation more than a year from now. This helps us get good travel deals and allows us to give our employers plenty of notice. We planned a trip to Hawaii before we had ever heard of COVID-19. We had also planned a July vacation in Iceland. And I had planned to cycle across Iowa in RAGBRAI 2020. We cancelled both of those trips. Or, more accurately, they were cancelled for us. Back to Hawaii... 

As the date of our trip approached, we considered cancelling. The COVID infection rates seemed to decrease over the summer, only to worsen as winter approached. Should we stay? Should we go? 

 The state of Hawaii imposed strict testing/quarantine requirements as the government allowed businesses to reopen. It was possible to make the trip, but should we? I study things that interest me. A lot. I don't want to get sick. I don't want my family to get sick. Whether staying home or travelling, I wanted to know what to do to improve my chances of staying healthy. How does one get sick with COVID? How can we protect ourselves? 

Bottom line: To get sick, one has to stay in close proximity to an infected person who is talking, singing, coughing, or breathing heavily (perhaps while exercising) for some number of minutes. Keep your distance, and you're safe. Can't keep your distance? Like passing someone in a store aisle or on a sidewalk or in a hallway? Make it very brief, and you're safe. How about masks? As far as I can tell, and this is based on a lot of reading and talking with health professionals, a mask won't protect you. Why wear one? A mask wearer's mask will trap a large fraction of the droplets that are expelled when coughing, talking etc. In short, a mask protects everyone EXCEPT the wearer. And while wearing a mask, you are less likely to touch your own face. If an infected person contaminates a surface, and you touch that surface, you are less likely to then touch your own face when you have a mask, so there is a small benefit to yourself when you wear a mask. 

In light of that analysis, what is the best course of action? We have to continue our lives and work. We have to go to the store, job site, doctor's office. We have to exercise and maintain the house. Life does not stop during a pandemic. The pandemic imposes a requirement to be careful, to be smart about what we do, but it does not mean we have to shut ourselves up inside. At least COVID-19 does not impose a requirement to cower at home. In my judgment, the most dangerous part of a trip to Hawaii is the time in the airport and on the airplane. We took our COVID tests, got our (negative) results, and flew to Hawaii. We wore masks in the airport and on the planes. We social-distanced as much as possible in transit. We got off the plane, showed our negative COVID test results, then promptly got tested again. Then to rent a car, we had to show our negative COVID tests. Then when we checked in to the hotel, we had to show our negative COVID tests. 

As I write this, I'm on the balcony watching the surf crashing. There are surfers playing in the waves. I saw a pod of dolphins swim by earlier. What's it like on the island during the pandemic? Lots of stores are closed. Traffic is lighter than I've seen in my four trips to this town. Everyone wears a mask in the stores. The tourist sites are still popular, but not crowded. We've travelled a lot around the island; we are NOT required to quarantine. We wear masks and keep our distance. And we're having a peaceful vacation. 

The last time we came, the Kilauea volcano had just gone through an increased phase of eruption that destroyed 700+ homes. But by the time we arrived, there was no eruption any more. That pause lasted two years. Hours after we arrived on this trip, a new eruption started. We were able to visit the Kilauea summit to see the beginning phase of the eruption as the summit caldera has a new lava lake forming. Along with several hundred other people, we went to the edge of the caldera as night fell and watched the cloud of gases rising as the glowing lava illuminated the crater walls and the cloud.

Kilauea/Halema'uma'u Eruption

The Kaloko-Honokōhau National Historical Park is near Kona. I went there several times last trip because it's a good spot for turtles and sunsets. On my first trip there this week, I was pleasantly surprised to see a lot of turtles AND an extremely rare monk seal. In fact, the monk seal was playing in the surf with a green sea turtle.

Monk Seal and Green Sea Turtle

I had so much fun watching the seal, I went back the next day. Unfortunately the seal wasn't there. But the sunset was wonderful and a surfer passed right in front of the sun at sunset.

Surfer at Sunset

Stay safe; stay healthy; Aloha!

Conowingo Dam

It's November; it's time to go to the dam. The Facebook groups have lots of really good shots lately so I decided to go to the dam today. The COVID-19 pandemic is rapidly getting worse so Exelon is not running shuttle service. Get a spot to park, or leave. I arrived at 5:30AM and there were only a few spots left. All of the spots on the concrete balcony were taken. All of the spots along the fence that were unobstructed by trees were taken. Even my preferred spot on the rocks by the water was lined with fishermen and photographers. At 5:30AM! I grabbed my gear and carefully scrambled on the rocks in the dark and found a spot. And I waited. And waited. And waited. Finally the sun started to rise. I had a beautiful look at a mid-air eagle fish fight. It was really close. But it was still dim and in the direction of the sun; there was no way to shoot it. Overall, it was a pretty slow day. There were lots of eagles in the trees behind the parking lot, and a few dozen on the rocks on the far side of the river. But most of the action was the constant black vulture flying. Even the cormorants were reduced in numbers. However, I did get some keepers. I was glad that the last sequence before I left for the day resulted in some usable shots where an adult eagle caught a fish and a juvenile was on his tail to steal it before the fish was even out of the water.

Bigelow Preserve Hike

My son and I hiked through the Bigelow Preserve in Maine. I've wanted to try this hike for years and we finally did it. 

Here's a view looking north at Flagstaff Lake with scattered cloud shadows:

Panorama Looking North from the Summit of Bigelow Mountain

Let me set the stage.

My in-laws have a vacation home in Maine. The Appalachian Trail passes nearby. Over the years, I've passed the Stratton trailhead dozens of times while driving highway 27 through the Carrabassett Valley. The north side of the valley is dominated by the Bigelow Preserve. The south side is dominated by Sugarloaf Mountain.

I prepared for this hike as follows:

1. Last year, my son and I hiked part of this trail by parking in Stratton and climbing on the trail to Cranberry Pond. This was about 4 miles in, then back out by the same trail. We had seen 4 miles of the trail.
2. I reviewed the topographic map of the trail. I knew that there would be several significant climbs.
3. I read trail reviews online. The trail length was reported as just over 16 miles.
4. My normal walking pace is about 3 mph. I planned for 2 mph on this trail for a duration of 8 hours.
5. My son and I scouted the trailhead at Long Falls Dam Road. This was to be our entry point.
6. My wife, son, and I went looking for moose near Stratton. On the way, I showed my wife where the Stratton trailhead was located so she could pick my son and me up at the end of the hike.
7. I packed a backpack with food and drinks that I expected to be enough for the trip.
8. There was a storm with torrential rain. I waited 2 days for the trail to dry out.

I don't hike often, but I've done a significant amount. I've hiked up/down mountains in the Alps. I've hiked up/down mountains in Shenandoah National Park. I hiked through Haleakala caldera with my son. Just 8 months ago, I hiked the Nā Pali Coast and the Sleeping Giant trails on Kauai. I ride my bike. A lot. My son is in Army ROTC. He works out. A lot. We're both active, in good health, and have hiking experience.

Here's what went wrong:

1. Before leaving on vacation, I looked all over the place for my Sawyer water filter. I couldn't find it. I hit the trail without it. And of course this means that, even though I packed a lot to drink, we ran out. Well, not really, but almost.
2. After my wife dropped us off at the Long Falls Dam Road trailhead, we encountered a sign that said the distance to the Stratton/Highway 27 trailhead was 17.8 miles, not the 16 I had expected.
3. Much of the trail was very rocky, not at all like the 4 miles that we had already seen. Our progress slowed.
4. I had a cell phone signal for about the first half of the hike, then nothing. I texted my wife that our pace had slowed and told her to wait an additional 2 hours before picking us up.

Here's what went right:

1. The views are stunning. Looking north, all of Flagstaff Lake is visible. Looking south, we were treated to a great view of Sugarloaf Mountain and the airport in the valley.
2. We had plenty of food.
3. The weather was wonderful.
4. The trail was mostly dry.
5. My new Garmin watch was very helpful in keeping situational awareness: how far we had gone/climbed, pace. After the hike, it was very interesting to see the stats and track.

We made the first climb. It was strenuous. We were rewarded by great views. We descended, then ascended to the highest peak. Once again, we had stunning views. I told my wife that we would take 10 hours from the start, not the 8 that I had projected. Then the trail got much harder, just as I lost the cell phone signal. We slowed way down because of the trail conditions, and we were about half way to our destination, and we had gone through more than half of our water.

We came upon a hiker who was filtering water at a spot on the trail. It was clear to me that we would run out of water, so I asked him for a favor: I explained the situation and asked if he would filter some water for me and my son. He agreed and gave me more water than I was hoping for. His trail name is Mud Crack. Thank you Mud Crack! My son and I actually reached the end of the trail with a few ounces of water left, thanks to you.

OK, long story short: my son and I pressed on, made the two remaining climbs and descents, and got really tired. There were two more events of note. The sun went down behind the peaks and suddenly we were in shadow. I began to worry about running out of daylight. We were much slower than expected and we were on the shaded side of the valley. I had not expected to still be on the trail and had not brought a light. The trail got better and we picked up the pace as best we could. When we finally reached the trailhead, we were four hours later than originally projected, and two hours later than our rescheduled arrival. My wife had gotten worried and went to check a nearby trailhead to see if maybe we had gotten lost. My son and I arrived at a deserted trailhead, with no cell phone signal, and could only wait. She showed up after about 10 minutes.

OK, lessons learned:

1. I'm not hiking again, at least not for a day trip this long, without a water filter.
2. I'm not hiking again, at least not for a day trip this long, without a flashlight or headlamp.
3. If I hike this section again, I will get to the trail head at sunrise (we got there about 60 minutes after sunrise and I'll plan on 12 hours, not 8).

Maine Moose

I'm fortunate to be able to take vacation in Maine almost every year. When it's uncomfortably hot and humid in Northern Virginia, it's great weather in Maine.

When we (my family) and I are in Maine, we always look for moose. They're unlike any animal that I see in Virginia. There's a highway between Stratton and Rangeley. Moose frequently graze along the side of the road as the sun is setting. This year we saw three moose during our trip on this road.

The first moose disappeared into the woods almost immediately after we saw her. The second moose was down in a ditch, partially obscured, hard to get good shots of. Here's the best of the sequence.

Cow Moose Looking at Me

Cow Moose

We drove away, leaving this moose behind. Farther down the road, we saw a bull that was standing in a shallow stream. By the time we saw him, we were already past, so I found a safe spot to turn around and went back. By this time the moose had moved closer to the road. We had several minutes to observe this animal as he came closer to the car. I even had the impression that he was going to come close to the car to check us out. As he crossed the road (we were stopped on the opposite side of the road), another car approached and spooked him. He ran into the woods.

Bull Moose Crossing the Road

Bull Moose

On another day, my son and I also had a rare middle of the day sighting while we were scouting the trailhead for a hike we were planning. We rounded a bend in the road and saw a bull on the road. I stopped the car and he went into the woods. As we passed the spot where he disappeared, we saw another moose in the woods with him.

On yet another day, as we were driving back to the vacation home, we had a brief glimpse of another moose next to the road.

So, the total for this trip is six. Most years we see no moose at all.

July 4 Fireworks

I've wanted to photograph fireworks for a while but never got around to it. Well this year I did it. I hauled my DSLR and tripod to the Potomac River bank in Virginia and set up opposite the capitol mall. As usual, there were enough boats to almost walk across the river. This year, the event is in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic. The crowds on shore were sparse, but the river was packed. Last time, we had a nice spot, settled in, and just as the show was about to start, a dinner cruise boat (Odyssey I'm still mad at you) sailed up and partially blocked the view while spewing stinky exhaust. At least this year the pandemic kept the big boats away.

Boats on the Potomac

I've actually seen this show twice before: once from the south lawn of the White House (very cool), and once from the Virginia shore. This was a return to the same general area on the Virginia shore. Previous experience lulled me into a sense that I knew what would happen. The show was different this time. Previously, the fireworks launched from alongside the Reflecting Pool. This year, the launch was from two distinct spots, one around the base of the Washington Monument and I think the other spot was on the Georgetown Waterfront Park. Well, I set up to shoot the area that was visually between the Lincoln Memorial and the Jefferson Memorial and figured out pretty fast that was a bad choice when fireworks started launching from the extreme left and right of my composition. I tried that for a while but switched to concentrating on the Washington Monument, which turned out to be a good choice.

Two Shows at Once

So I recomposed, which then undid my careful horizon leveling job that I did in the daylight. After the fact, I had to straighten almost all of my photos. Now and then good reflections on the water showed the silhouettes of the many boats, including the one boat with the American flag lights.

Fireworks Around the Washington Monument

The variety of fireworks made for a lot of unique shots.

Fireworks

I had my camera on a tripod, in bulb mode, focused on infinity, ISO 100 (yes 100, the lights are bright) and f11 (for depth of field, and again the lights are bright). I had a wired remote trigger that tripped the shutter and held it open for as long as I held the button. I experimented with short exposures and longer ones and watched the results on the rear screen. I quickly learned that the bright white fireworks will blow the highlights out, so when I saw those I went for shorter exposures. Otherwise, I just sat and waited for rising fireworks, triggered, held it open for the burst, then closed the shutter and waited for the next sequence.

Fireworks

I liked the sequences with colors and reflections, although I wish there were fewer boats in the foreground.

Colors and Reflections

After a while, the altitude of the bursts got higher and I had to recompose and zoom out. This meant some of the shots have a tree in the foreground: I wasn't expecting to be shooting in that direction. I was able to crop the tree out of most of the shots that I cared about.

Higher Bursts

Eventually we got to the big finish.

Big Finish

OK, lessons learned:

• That was waaay more fun than I expected.
• The launch site at Georgetown stopped launching about a third of the way into the other show; I made the right choice to concentrate on the Washington Monument. Actually I hope they keep launching from that site in the future because I think it looks better than when they launch from the Reflecting Pool area.
• Every now and then an airplane would pass in the background, or a helicopter would pass closer in the background. Their light trails appear in some of the photos. Annoying, but easy to remove if they're not among the fireworks bursts.
• Next time, choose a spot that will have less chance of obstructions in case I have to recompose in the dark. Also, bring and use a spirit level.

Edit:

I wrote the text above on July 5, 2020. Rereading this on July 3, 2021, I realize that I left some details out. I’m planning to go again to the fireworks show tomorrow. So I also reviewed my photos from last year. This leads me to the following plan for tomorrow:

• F11, ISO 100, 24mm, 1-3 second exposures on bulb mode, autofocus OFF, focus at infinity.
• Use a wired remote trigger.
• The launch site is either side of the reflecting pool, unlike last year. While there’s still daylight, get the tripod set up with the camera viewing a LEVEL horizon.
• Bring a flashlight so it’s possible to see what I’m doing if I have to fiddle with the tripod or camera in the dark.

Salute to America Flyover

I'm a pilot. I'm a plane watcher. I'm a photographer. When I have a chance to photograph airplanes, I shoot. When I have a chance to photograph rare airplanes, I really shoot.

On July 4, 2020, in the middle of the worsening COVID-19 pandemic, the president wanted a military flyover of the White House prior to the fireworks show. Lots of rare airplanes were scheduled to make an appearance. I won't get a chance like this again (I don't think he'll be reelected). My family assessed the risks, and we decided to go to our preferred spot on the Virginia side of the Potomac River directly across from the capitol mall. We got our masks, hand sanitizer, and cold drinks. I lugged my camera with lenses: 300mm for the aircraft, 24-70mm for the fireworks, 70-200mm because I wasn't sure whether the 24-70 was the right focal length range. We parked at the Pentagon north lot, crossed Boundary Channel, and picked a spot on the river bank with gaps in the trees and a nice view of the opposite shore. Our plan was to turn around and go home if it was too crowded for social distancing. It turned out that the crowd was pretty sparse. But there were more boats than I remember from our trip to this spot 2 years ago.

Boats on the Potomac on July 4, 2020

Thankfully the weather was only hot and humid, not brutally hot and humid. We got there early to be sure we could get a decent spot, then waited for the flyover to begin. The VC-25, tail number SAM-28000, which has the call sign Air Force One when the president is aboard, flew over about 15 minutes early.

VC-25A

I've wanted to see this airplane ever since I moved to Virginia 25+ years ago but I was never in the right place at the right time. This airplane was surprisingly quiet. As the light faded and the hazy twilight started, more aircraft came over. It was tough to get good shots. Here's a B-17 Flying Fortress accompanied by 4 P-51 Mustangs.

B-17 and P-51s

Several C-47 Skytrains also flew over.

C-47

Several other WWII bombers flew over, but my photos of them are unremarkable. Then the BUFF came over. I remember seeing them when I went to an air show at Barksdale AFB in the 80s. This one was nowhere near as loud but just as smoky.

B-52 Stratofortress

There was a series of helicopters representing the Vietnam war. Then more cold war aircraft, and finally the BONE flew by.

B-1 Lancer

I've never seen a B-1 in flight until this event. I saw several in storage at Davis-Monthan (boneyard) and one at the Museum of the US Air Force in Dayton. But this was the first flyer for me. Another first (for me) was the KC-46.

KC-46 Pegasus

This tanker has an incredible history of production problems. I saw one on the ramp at the Boeing factory in Everett years ago, but this was a first time in flight sighting for me. Yet another lifer for me was the B-2. Its shape is odd, making for a very strange look in my photos. In this shot, the wingtip at the top of the photo is closer to me than the wingtip at the bottom of the photo, but this perspective makes that seem unclear.

B-2 Spirit

Then came the F-22s and then yet another lifer for me, F-35s, but (sadly) again the photos are bad. Finally, the Thunderbirds and Blue Angels came over together, passing over Arlington Cemetery, then over the White House, then they turned around, flew back over the White House again, and the Thunderbirds did their famous break maneuver while the Blue Angels stayed on a straight course. I almost missed this shot because I wasn't expecting them to come back and had changed lenses (for the fireworks show) in the meantime.

Blue Angels and Thunderbirds

This was a very cool set of aircraft, some of them incredibly rare, and I'm glad I took the time to go sweat in the heat and wait for them to go by. Then we stayed for the fireworks show, which I'll describe in a different post.

Operation America Strong

We're in the middle of the COVID-19 crisis here in Northern Virginia. My employer has me on a week-on, week-off schedule, so I'm half as busy as usual. One of the few events that has happened over the past couple of months, aside from lock down, is the joint flyover of the Thunderbirds and the Blue Angels. Here are some shots from their DC area flyover.

Below, the Thunderbirds passed in a turn, smoke on. Seems there was a problem with the smoke generator on the far left.

Thunderbirds Delta Formation

There was a National Park Service police helicopter that hovered to observe the flight. Now THAT looks like an awesome seat for the show.

Hovering National Park Police Helicopter

 The Blue Angels looked tight and crisp as usual.

Blue Angels Delta Formation

I didn't notice this until I got home, but I got a few shots with the Thunderbirds and a bald eagle. I posted this one on Facebook, and one of the comments was that the eagle needs to tighten up in the formation.

Six Falcons, One Eagle

Here's a pass where both teams were in the delta formation. The perspective is strange because it looks like they're grouped oddly. Also, there were two Blue Angel #4 aircraft.

Joint Flight

 And here's the last shot of them departing the area.

Delta Formation Perspective

I've seen both of these teams perform several times, and once even separately at the same air show, with their performances separated by a few hours. It was really cool to see both teams in the air at the same time. The air shows this year have largely been cancelled, so I won't have an opportunity to see them perform any time soon. This was a nice unique sight in what is otherwise a pretty awful time period.

Kauai

I recently made a vacation trip to Kauai. I had visited this island once, more than 10 years ago and I was pleased to be able to make a return visit. As usual, I brought my camera. For this trip, I made a conscious effort to explore as much of the island as I could. This was no fun for the first part of my stay because it rained. A lot.

I made the drive along the rim of the Waimea Canyon to the Nā Pali Coast lookout. I made this trip long ago under better weather conditions. Here are a few shots. I wasn't able to get there at golden hour, so the shots are bland, but it's a cool place, so here they are.

This canyon, and the views of the Pacific beyond the upper end of the canyon, are world famous and my dash through it in an afternoon don't do it justice.

On another day, I visited Polihale State Park. Wow that was hard. First I had to drive well beyond Waimea to a part of the island that is nearly uninhabited. There's a naval base and a bunch of farms. At the end of the asphalt, I turned onto a dirt road that has the highest density of holes per mile that I've ever seen. It was five miles of bouncing through holes because it's impossible to avoid them all because they are too numerous. There's no stretch of that road that lacks holes. I think the last time a grader visited that road was when the road was built. Even in an SUV it was an ordeal that took an hour to get in and another hour to get out. And it was worth it. This was easily the best beach on the island and because it's so remote and hard to get to, there were very few people. Here's the view toward the Nā Pali Coast. The Air Force radomes are just visible on the cliffs.

Cliffs at Polihale State Park

 This beach also provides a good view of Lehua and Ni'ihau.

Lehua

Ni'ihau

Of course Hawaii always provides bird sighting opportunities. There were nenes everywhere. I mean nearly every golf course and fresh water lake or river has them. They seem nearly as numerous as the chickens.

Kauai Elepaio

One of the many Nenes at the hotel

Black Crowned Night Heron

Gallinule

One of the ubiquitous Cattle Egrets

White Rumped Shama

Red Footed Booby

White Tailed Tropicbird

Laysan Albatross

OK, not a bird, but there was a helicopter crash during my stay and this aircraft flew by, presumably on a search mission, while I was photographing birds at Kilauea Light.

SH-60 Seahawk

Great Frigatebird

Years ago, I hiked the Nā Pali Coast/Kalalau trail with my daughter as far as Honakapi'ai Stream. My son and I hiked it this time, going to the Honakapi'ai waterfall. We had better weather this trip.

Nā Pali Coast in February 2005

Nā Pali Coast in December 2019

As far as I'm concerned, any trip to Hawaii is a good trip. Even if there's rain. Even if the chickens are especially loud. Even if the trail is filthy muddy.