Finding Gems

There are days when we set out to spend a whole day at the beach, but more often than not, our beach outings are often on a whim.  Once we get there we each have our “thing” we like to do.  Jonas heads straight for the crashing shorebreak, Jewel follows with her goggles on, Jake waits until his bones are thoroughly heated enough and he finally gives in to the draw of the cool water. Me? I like to find a small pool to swim with the little fishes.

And Joey?  Joey can usually be found bent over, looking for treasures………

Along with jewelry and spare parts

Ko Olina Lagoons

We are firm believers in Nature Has The Greatest Playgrounds but we have to give it to the Ko Olina Resort for creating a fantastic playground of it’s own. The resort is the last big resort before the Waianae Coast officially begins, and is almost an entire city all it’s own. It has a harbor with yacht club, townhouses, golf courses and  highrise resort suites. It’s best feature though are the four lagoons they built along the coast by breaking away some of the volcanic rock walls. (stock photo)

We tried to go to the lagoons last month but were turned around at the gate because the parking lots were full, and then tried again the other day just to to make it past the gate but unable to find a parking spot. Luckily we did manage to sneak in sometime between those two.

Lagoon 4 is the farthest one south, and is one of the smaller ones, but has the biggest parking lot and a large grassy area to go with a largish beach. Jonas, Jewel and I really enjoyed the snorkeling here, even with the strong currents. I think I was most surprised because I don’t remember enjoying the snorkeling here before, but then again I was mostly busy keeping an eye on little miss Jewel.

She loves the lagoons now and always wants to go back to them, but back when she was three she could have cared less. What she did like was the grass so she didn’t even have to step foot on the sand.

 

While I liked the snorkeling at Lagoon 4 I didn’t really like the sand. It was course and full of broken shells, so we decided to check out another lagoon, and found parking at Lagoon 2. Ahhhhh! This was more like it, soft sand, thatched beach umbrellas and plenty of space to spread our schtuff.

The snorkeling here wasn’t as good since the currents were even stronger, but also there was less reef. The rocks were just screaming to be climbed though, and the kids were happy to oblige.

There may have been a Keep Off Rocks Sign, but I can’t swear to actually seeing it.

Ko Olina is definitely a great place to just relax and hang with the kids.

Including the one that’s too cool for lazy lagoons.

Ko Olina on Dwellable

Lake McConaughy

We couldn't have asked for a better place to go and hang while we wait for our next job to "come to us". We found Lake McConaughy by looking at the Road Atlas for the nearest big body of water, with little tents around it. Lake McConaughy fit the bill, and then Joey remembered the mechanic in Ogallala from last year, when the bus broke down while he was picking it up after just buying it, telling him about this exact lake. The guy couldn't say enough good things about it, and Joey had always wanted to check it out, so we were very excited to get there. We've seen plenty of midwestern lakes, but we never expected to find what we did. It was Hawaii in the middle of Nebraska! We couldn't believe the white sand beaches, and so much of it, it was beautiful..to say the least. We first see the lake while going over the dam.

Lake McConaughy is on the left, while Lake Ogallala is on the right. The later lake was formed when all the dirt was dug up to build the dam, and is now a quiet little fishing lake with camping and lots of shade trees. This being our first time we went for the grand daddy lake, Big Mac.

We pulled in on Sunday afternoon, and after checking out both campgrounds with electricity we found our perfect spot, overlooking the land and the lake.

Most visitors to the lake camp right on the beach

Or under trees between the road and the beach, but the bus was way too heavy to even attempt it, plus the fridge stopped working on propane so we have to have electricty to run it, and with the heat, the A/C sure was nice. Not that we were ever in the bus anyway, but the campground also had a playground so every night the kids enjoyed the rare opportunity of playing with the dozens of other kids, so the RV park was worth it.

At the beach we enjoyed watching the many windsurfers,

kitesurfers and even a parasailer being pulled by a Jeep.


The next day I had to go into Ogallala for groceries, and to do laundry. Joey called the recruiter for one of the companies he works for but she's out until after the Fourth and according to her assistant the nearest job for him is in Wisconsin. So since it is a holiday week, and he most likely won't get sent anywhere right away we go ahead and pay for the whole week. Nothing but sand, sun and itty bitty surf..oh yeah.

After four days of sun in Flaming Gorge and six days on Big Mac you'd think we'd all be fried to a crisp, but nope, not one sunburn. Some days we would hike our tent down to the beach so we would get a break from the sun, and one day, from the flies. The boys would also rotate wearing their "surf" shirts. We rarely used sunscreen (just noses, cheeks & shoulders) and often avoided the sun until after 3 pm.


Everyone else couldn't get enough of the sand, and while I loved the feel of it under my feet on the beach, with it's soft and warm crystals, stepping on even one granual while barefoot in the bus would drive me batty!


I dealt with it by laying around some more.

And taking pictures of flowers hugging themselves.


Once while taking pictures on the beach I saw a baby bird emerge from the sand. It's like it came out of an old sand castle. I yelled for Jewel and she chased that sucker around the beach until she finally caught it. I didn't want to miss a second of it so I didn't get any photos or video of the actual hunt, but I did capture the love afterwards.

I think it was a seagull chick, whichg was another cool thing seeing seagulls in Nebraska, by the way. Lake Ogallala also had pelicans!

Almost every night we were treated to private fireworks displays, so we were expecting big things on the Fourth. There were some fireworks, but not the show I was expecting. We were also so burned out by the fourth that it was the one day we didn't even make it to the water. We tried visiting the Visitors Center so I could find out where all this white sand came from, but it had burned down, so I still don't know. I was also surprised by how quiet the lake was. This is the perfect party place. Then we find out why. Alcohol was banned last year, because it was too much of a party place. Worked out perfect for us.

I asked Jake for one picture, that's it, so he gave it to me.


Jonas didn't, but I took it anyway.


Often my pictures are a one shot chance, and I got lucky to get two such great pics. It does help to have two such great looking kids. Some day they'll thank me...I just know it.

When the surf was down, they had to make their own waves.

And sometimes we just took in the beauty and serenity.


Friday morning before we left I drove to the nearby (seven miles) trailer park so I could borrow their wi-fi and by the time I got back Joey had talked to the recruiter, Judy, and she listed off a hand full of jobs to Joey and told him he could take his pick. We left after a lunch of sandy burgers, to take a Nebraska byway called "Sandhills Journey". I may just learn where this sand came from!

In case you didn't get enough pictures, you can check out my slideshow here.