10-29-2007, 12:14 PM
hi kapohokine --
I'm glad to see you post. Hearing your respectful position you sound "in person" very different from the callous tour operator type.
Personally, I think it's a shame that there can't be a few not so crowded spots for Puna folk to go.
Yes, I know that visitors have a right to go everywhere, and yet I can't help feeling that visitors (who are resort guests) already have control of so many of the best spots. Kauna`oa, with its paltry number of parking passes, comes to mind.
One of the nice things about having the pond gated wasn't that it protected the Beach Lots owners' pockets, but that only 4WD could access, and rental 4WD was prohibited by the rental agencies (sure, ignored, but still).
Which created a place my family could go for an outing, on the east side, that wasn't too crowded to enjoy. It was nice, you know? And now the cruise ship passengers go, my family doesn't go any more. They have nowhere to swim (with keiki). Wai Opae is getting over-run now that it's so discovered as well.
It's impossible to reconcile feeling like I don't want tours to come with my beliefs in access for all. The two feelings are in conflict.
But, I just can't feel as bad for visitors who are experiencing beaches and pools non-stop, if they have to let one spot go -- in comparison to all the local residents who can't afford to drive all the way to the west side for day trips. By afford, I mean both in time and gas money.
It would be interesting if the County cracked down on the vacation rentals. They are illegal why? because it's SFR zoning? What about Vacationland? What about HPP? Kehena? It would be unfair to enforce some and not all.
I will say that I dislike the elitism of Beach Lots.
Their gate was certainly not intended to make a better experience for locals -- the "illegal" 4WD access does that.
Anyhow, it's nice to know you tell your tour patrons not to pee in the pool. Although, that doesn't mean they don't. When you get in water, it increases the urge, no?
I'm glad to see you post. Hearing your respectful position you sound "in person" very different from the callous tour operator type.
Personally, I think it's a shame that there can't be a few not so crowded spots for Puna folk to go.
Yes, I know that visitors have a right to go everywhere, and yet I can't help feeling that visitors (who are resort guests) already have control of so many of the best spots. Kauna`oa, with its paltry number of parking passes, comes to mind.
One of the nice things about having the pond gated wasn't that it protected the Beach Lots owners' pockets, but that only 4WD could access, and rental 4WD was prohibited by the rental agencies (sure, ignored, but still).
Which created a place my family could go for an outing, on the east side, that wasn't too crowded to enjoy. It was nice, you know? And now the cruise ship passengers go, my family doesn't go any more. They have nowhere to swim (with keiki). Wai Opae is getting over-run now that it's so discovered as well.
It's impossible to reconcile feeling like I don't want tours to come with my beliefs in access for all. The two feelings are in conflict.
But, I just can't feel as bad for visitors who are experiencing beaches and pools non-stop, if they have to let one spot go -- in comparison to all the local residents who can't afford to drive all the way to the west side for day trips. By afford, I mean both in time and gas money.
It would be interesting if the County cracked down on the vacation rentals. They are illegal why? because it's SFR zoning? What about Vacationland? What about HPP? Kehena? It would be unfair to enforce some and not all.
I will say that I dislike the elitism of Beach Lots.
Their gate was certainly not intended to make a better experience for locals -- the "illegal" 4WD access does that.
Anyhow, it's nice to know you tell your tour patrons not to pee in the pool. Although, that doesn't mean they don't. When you get in water, it increases the urge, no?