Another Great Trip

The end of april saw me headed back to continue with what work I could do in Hawaii. And of course, to go to the beach/ocean!

The major project I wanted to concentrate on was the outdoor kitchen area/Gazebo. On the last two trips, I have been raising the original 12 x 12 deck to make it the roof over a gazebo. I have built 16″ square columns at each corner 4 feet tall with a concrete cap. Bolted to these are metal brackets I had fabricated in Arizona to hold 4 x 4 posts.

Each post at one side is 30 ” tall while the two at the other end are 27″ tall. This will give a slight slope to drain the rainwater in one direction for easier collection.

At the end of the last trip, I had the columns built, and the posts cut. I had installed two of the fabricated metal brackets and one new beam to replace the original double 2 x 6 beam I had created for the deck. My first chore was to install the second beam, remove the original double 2 x 6 beams, install the other two metal brackets and the wood diagonal bracing.

I also installed a row of blocking between the joist in the center of the roof.

In order to lighten the deck to make it easier to control as I raised it, I had removed the 2 x 6 decking. Now I needed to reinstall it. Since I had painted the roof joist, I wanted to paint the decking. As it was going to be a different color, it would be easier to paint it before I installed it.

Painting the roof decking before installation

Because I want to use this as my outdoor kitchen (instead of under the tarp) I needed to make it waterproof – or at least make it so that the water didn’t come through the ceiling. To do this, I decided on tarpaper and rolled roofing.

The shaded area is where i have installed tarpaper so far.

Once I had the roof completed, I installed a gutter across the lower edge of the roof with a downspout. I placed a bucket under the downspout and one afternoon it rained for about an hour –

filling the bucket.

At this point, the floor under the gazebo is just gravel. Between the posts/columns I have poured concrete and stamped it with a pattern I created to simulate lava. I have poured three small slabs on each of the four sides with 13″ wide gaps between each slab. I’ll fill these in with colored concrete.

I also wanted to design a layout of the Hawaiian Islands in the main section of the floor.

First, I had to layout the shapes of the islands. Then I needed to create forms to hold the concrete. To do this, I cut flattened corrugated roofing into 4″ wide strips.

Then I used these as forms for the islands. I could bend them to create the shape of each island.

Each “island” shape was supported on the outside of the form with sand.

I do not claim to be an artist, but I think I created a close enough simulation to get the idea across. These, I filled with black colored concrete. Once they cured, I removed the sheetmetal forms and the sand.

I tried to make them out of black concrete by adding a black color into the mix.

Ingredients I used for the black concrete

The black concrete with the empty forms shaped somewhat like the Hawaiian Islands

There isn’t any sand on the property so I had to go get some. In fact, I had to make multiple trips as my transport for this kind of thing is rather limited.

But sand isn’t the only thing I haul. I picked up these pallets to use as miscellaneous building materials. I will tear them apart for the 1 x 4’s.

I also took a short trip past Naalehu down to the shore. The wind was blowing across the Pacific Ocean causing a bit more wave action than normal.

This created quite the show of water crashing against the rock shelf and casting geysers into the air.

The power of the waves here is amazing. I could watch it for hours.

I also own a lot on a different street. I went to check it out, but in accordance with the environmental sensitivities of the people and government of Hawaii, the road is blocked by about a dozen junk vehicles – all leaking untold amounts of oil and gasoline while they rust and deteriorate. (My sarcasm is intentional!)

But this is not unique to my subdivision. As you drive along the highway between South Point and Kona there are numerous vehicles left along the side of the road to simply rot.

Many of these have been there for years.

But vehicles are not the only thing that gets abandoned. There are many buildings that are simply left to their own devices as the jungle quietly takes back the land.

For instance, is this old abandoned school in South Kona.

Also, there is this abandoned visitor center at the Punaluu Black sand Beach. The last time I was here, the buildings were all hidden in a crush of overgrown weeds and fallen branches. But the signage at the beach is clearly visible.

Back at the property, I took a break from the Gazebo to do some clearing for the septic tank location.

I ran much if what I trimmed through the chipper.

And no trip to Hawaii is complete without some papaya –

Even if someone has beaten you to it.

Then of course, there is always coconut.

Sometimes there is the possibility of a good breakfast of eggs, spam, and mushrooms

One day, I picked up a plumeria tree that someone was selling. I hope to keep it growing and I transplanted it in to a larger container.

Next, it was time to pour the colored concrete in the 13″ gaps between the small slabs I had poured. Not only did I want to color the concrete, but I also wanted to embed some large flat stones into the surface.

In order to do this, I needed the stones. For these, I took a walk out to the crescent rocky beach of Kawa Bay on Highway 11 about half a mile past Whittington Beach. It is probably a quarter of a mile walk along a gravel road out to the bay. There is an iron gate keeping vehicle traffic out as it is a culturally sensitive area. Twice I have seen a 15 passenger van parked along this gravel road for a group of college age “researchers”. They must know the proper prayers and incantations to mutter to appease the Hawaiian Gods for trespassing on these sacred grounds with a vehicle – that or they have a key to the lock on the gate!

I have seen humpback whales just outside the bay on other trips here, but not this time. On the cliff to the left overlooking the bay,

there is a rather large ruin that consists of large rock walls surrounding a large flat open area. At the entrance is a sign asking people to stay out of this “Ancient Hawaiian Sacred Place”.

Next to the entrance is a pile of “offerings” that others have left.

Leaving the cultural site on top of the cliff, I went back to the beach and collected the flat rocks I needed. These I used to pour concrete in four of the gaps.