OK, I’m officially jet-lagged. Yesterday morning’s swim at Kailua beach was, I suppose, my sign that it was time to leave: on my swim in to the beach, I felt a sharp burn brush the back of my left leg and then my right side, and wrap itself around my right arm. I looked over in my side-stroke, and saw that I was dragging a jellyfish by its nearly invisible tendrils. A gorgeous thing; small, slick and thick and clear, trimmed with fine edges of brilliant purple. And it hurt like hell, and wouldn’t let me go. I got to the beach and had to scrape my forearm in the sand to break the tendrils — like some strong and stretchy stinging cross between dental floss and spiderwebs — and still they stuck to my side, my arm, my shorts. I wiped them off with my shirt, so I wouldn’t have to dry myself with a jellyfish towel. A day later, there are still some red marks left, and the memory of that sharp and clingy electric buzz remains, but it’s mostly OK.
And, for the first time in my life, I’m not sunburned after visiting the beach: I was conscientious with the sunscreen. If you ever go to Hawaii and stay on Oahu, get away from Honolulu and Waikiki, and spend some time in Kailua. You’ll be glad you did. A quiet little town, inexpensive, with wonderful food and gorgeous beaches. Not that Waikiki is bad, mind you: the cosmopolitan bustle is like NYC transplanted to paradise, or — with all the torches and tropical decadence — maybe like ancient Rome transplanted to Vegas.
But if you want something quieter, prettier, less crowded, there’s Kailua, a half-hour away. Here are the last pictures I’ll post, and they’re big; two panoramic views of Kailua beach. One from the surf (1.55 MB), and one from the beach (1.11 MB). I was planning on being all slick with Photoshop and stitching them seamlessly together, but I’m feeling lazy tonight, and I think the seams give a nice sense of time. Enjoy.
They’re too big. I planned to steal one for my revolving photo. (You know, since I don’t have a pecker to fall off, and all.) Alas, don’t have the patience. It sounds like you really relaxed while there. Good for you and thank God for 45 SPF, eh? (Or whatever you used, God knows all mine need it.)
If you want, Chel, I can try to reduce them in size and email ’em to you. What’s the biggest filesize you’re willing to wait to download?
Yeah, I had a great time, with lots of super-sunblock — not so much, though, that I didn’t get a little color and a few freckles. Nothing resembling a tan, which I’ve never had and never will with me being so fair-skinned, but I definitely relaxed.
Lots of gorgeous people there, too: every day, no matter where I went, there were fit people to be seen doing some sort of exercise. I guess when you’re in a climate where you don’t need to wear many clothes, it’s a big incentive to work out.
ha ha, I’ll bet. Still struggling with wearing the two-piece this year, myself.
I can’t believe you’ve never had a tan! I’m brown by April. It’s inevitable.
I’m really ignorant about my photo capabilities. I could accept something via email probably faster than it would download over the net. (Ok, I’m lazy…) The size of photos I post in my Revolving Photo is under 200k. However, that’s not the original size of the file. It’s the ability to zoom and crop that seems important.
Anyway, I’d love to have some of those if you’re willing to share. There are days when I just want to see beautiful photos of the deep blue.
Would love to see these pictures. We are coming back to Hawaii and this time plan to spend more time on the beach. Kailua sounds like the answer to our relaxation needs. Although, the thought of the jellyfish doesn’t exactly raise excitement!
Barry, I took them down after a few months because they were taking up server space — but if you send me an email (my name at this domain dot org), I’ll be glad to send them to you, as well as the name of the terrific guest house where I stayed. From what I heard during my brief stay, it sounded like the jellyfish are largely tidal and weather-related, and therefore mostly avoidable, if you’re paying attention. And Kailua is small, sleepy, quiet, and wonderful.