Rocky & Co.

Today I balanced getting a bunch of boring financial things done with having fun. I went to see the baby monk seal this afternoon! On 9 previous births mother seal Rocky went to a more secluded beach on Kaua'i where she was born; this year she had her baby at Kaimana Beach at the east end of Waikiki. The Hawaiian Monk Seal Recovery Program folks think she was on her way to Kaua'i but the baby came early. The baby was born on the evening of June 28th or early on the 29th. They say the pair will be on the beach for about 6 weeks while the pup nurses; Rocky won't eat during this time. After that Rocky will leave & start feeding again and the pup will be on its own; the pup should stay around Kaimana Beach for another month or so. Today they reported the pup is a female; they say seals go back to the beach they were born to have their own pups. Perhaps in 5 or 6 years there will be another pup on the beach!

Rocky with her new pup. They're usually on the west side of the breakwater in front of the New Otani Hotel or the Sans Souci. Today they were on the east side in front of the Waikiki Hotel.

This is Kaiwi, one of Rocky's previous pups; she was born about 6 years ago. She has been on the part of Kaimana Beach in front of the Waikiki Hotel, east of the breakwater. According to Karen, the volunteer with Hawai'i Marine Animal Response, she is here most days. She had a pup about a year ago.


So far people have been very good about staying away from Rocky & her pup. On the part of the beach they are usually on there is a barrier fence and signs. In the water there are buoys and ropes. There has also been a lot on TV & in the newspaper about not harassing the seals. They also warned people that a mother seal can move quite fast on the beach & even faster in the water; they showed a video on the news of Rocky attacking a plastic bag that came too close to them. There is a live camera feed at the Civil Beat website if you want to see more of Rocky & her pup.


As I was leaving the beach I noticed that Leahi was watching over Rocky and her pup.

Leahi #32: Watching over the 'ilio-holo-i-ka-uaua.

Earlier in the morning Dad got up on his own for breakfast. I had him go to the bank with me so that we could cash the 24 old bonds that he and Mom had; he was complaining of writer's cramp after signing all of them. The 9 oldest ones were from 1982; all total there was a little over $6000 worth of interest. While there we also added me to the tenants of the safe deposit box; now I can get in to the box without Dad being present. When Curtis gets back, he & Dad will see Rowen about Dad signing the trusteeship and executorship over to Curtis; then Dad won't have to leave the house to sign any papers, he can just stay at home and sleep!

I also went to Verizon today to get a new hot spot. Jimmy showed me how to open it up and remove the battery to reset it; it seems to be working now. Jimmy said as long as my phone has service the hot spot should have service; he gave me a number to call if it starts giving me trouble again. He said they can help me troubleshoot it. I also picked up a new charging cord; the old one was shot.

They're not supposed to look like this.

Like Chay (the tech I bought the hot spot from), Jimmy had a tattoo.

Happy Birthday to Pam & Ella!