Big Swell in Kona!

While the rest of the country was battling bitter cold last week, we had our own weather event here in Kona. Starting mid-week a large swell came up creating 10-15 foot waves on the west side of the Big Island. Most of the beaches were closed for a couple of days because of the dangerous waves, but that didn't stop plenty of surfers and boogie boarders from taking advantage of the opportunity to get out in the waves. Here are some pictures that were taken about 2 miles south of the Big Island Running Company.





The waves were so big there were even people surfing right in front of our store! And there was plenty of splashing onto Alii Drive.

The surf died down a little bit over the weekend, but we're back in a high surf advisory again today and tomorrow, expecting 10 foot waves. Of course I didn't realize that when I went out for my swim this morning, so it was a little more difficult than I expected. It also left me feeling just a little bit seasick. But the swim wasn't all bad - I saw a huge manta ray swimming right under me for a couple of minutes toward the end of my swim. I'll admit it scared me at first when I didn't know what it was, but it just swam along peacefully with me. It was a nice surprise to end the swim.