If you read yesterday's post you saw that I once again went to the beach. Now I know some of you are thinking, gosh she sure goes to the beach a lot. Well yes and no, you see my treks to the beach during the week are "work" related. I am a volunteer for NOAA and do weekly beach surveys to monitor the endangered Hawaiian Monk Seal. So those adventures do not include a beach umbrella, towel, beach chair or a cooler full of drinks and snacks. The gear is a bit different. My goal yesterday was to cover 3 beaches on foot. I gathered my gear and hit the trail.
As I was watching the beautiful waves on the north shore of Kauai, I glanced down and realized I'm a walking advertisement for several industries. Items include: #1 Binoculars from Cabela's a must for identifying a seal from an appropriate distance, #2 a camera (Nikon) with a good zoom. See #1 for justification :) #3 Water bottle, this one is from HydroFlask (best water bottle ever) no warm water for me. #4 the day pack (Outdoor Products) Inside that pack is: cell phone, personal identification, pen, seal id book, seal cards, sunscreen, extra camera battery, money, car keys, snack, lip balm and bandaids!! Yes, that's all in that blue bag!!
Being a volunteer doesn't pay well (not paid one cent) but the benefit package sure is priceless. I get to see parts of Kauai that many folks only dream about. Take a look at what I captured and experienced yesterday.
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| Surfer headed to the waves |
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| cool rock cairn |
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| another surfer |
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| a freshly molted Hawaiian Monk Seal hiding in the bushes |
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| a honu basking in the sun |
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| Laysan Albatross over head |
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| opihi shell collection |
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| nesting albatross incubating her precious egg |
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| the waves |
I'd say I had a pretty good "Pay Day"!!
Disclaimer: I am not being compensated for endorsing any of the above products, they just happen to work for me.
