Aloha Divers,

WELCOME TO WAYNE’S WORLD! If you’ve spent any time diving in Kona you may be familiar with Wayne Burger. In fact if you’ve taken dive classes at Jack’s Diving Locker, he may have been your instructor. Wayne is “out of the water” now, but his love of Kona’s beautiful underwater world has not changed. In fact, I think you will enjoy the unique re-creations of the photos he has taken over the years. See the message from Wayne below…..

Hi all…

I’ve been working on a new business name and web site.  While the site is still a work in progress, it is to the point where I am not embarrassed to share it. Take a look if you have a few minutes…I’d appreciate any comments and/or corrections. For those of you in Kona…I’m pleased to announce that some of my work is showing at the Shelly Maudsley White Gallery for the next couple of months.  Shelly is a wonderful artist in Kona and has been very kind in offering me wall and floor space in her gallery.  Her address is 76-5933 Mamalahoa Hwy in Holualoa…322-5220…open 10-5 Tues-Sat. 

Thanks…

Wayne Burger    PacificFineArtPhoto.com

 PADI Advanced Diver

“In Real Estate and Diving, Experience Counts!”

Joyce Murphy R(B) Joyce@KonaBigIsland.com
Hawaiian Isle Real Estate LLC and Luxury Real Estate Florida, Inc.
808-443-4302 www.KonaBigIsland.com and www.GroumetCoffeeFarms.com

I’m so excited to have won and to have an autographed book by Baron!  I just loved Ruby Tuesday and (Roadhouse) Hard Days Night.  Can’t wait to read this one.  No need to waste the postage, I’ll stop by your office to pick up my prize.  Baron can address the book to Kimberly Gillaspie.  I  would like the Quinn’s gift certificate please. Thank you so much, it was fun and a unique concept…congratulations for being so innovative!

Kimberly

John Sevick was the winner of the drawing for the first week held on Sept. 19th. 

… thanks for the delightful news.  If the Costco card is still available, that’d be great.  Their regular gas is “ONLY” $3.969 per gallon this morning … 

Mahalo nui loa!  John Sevick

If you’re asking, “What contest?”, you haven’t been listening to LAVA 105.3 radio. The contest introduced my  latest celebrity listing, KAMAHALE at Ohai Estates.  CLICK HERE and follow the link to my web site to enter. It is not too late! You still have a week to win. The last drawing will be held at midnight on Friday, October 3, 2008. It is really easy to enter now that this amazing listing, KAMAHALE at Ohai Estates, has been released for sale. The prize for the last drawing will be a $100 gift certificate from Jack’s Diving Locker (known as Jake’s in the Mike Travis Books), an autographed copy of “Angels Fall” and a CD of Music from The Red Bar.

Baron is also a gifted musician and The Red Bar is located in the kitchen of KAMAHALE.Baron has confirmed that Snyder’s, which serves as something of a second home for his central character, Mike Travis, is modeled after Quinn’s, located across the street from the King Kam Hotel on Palani St. Lolo’s is Lulu’s. Jake’s Diving Locker is really Jack’s Diving Locker, world renouned amoung scuba divers. Read his mysteries carefully and you are likely to spot many friends and acquaintances from Kona as well as places in his books.Birtcher’s home,

KAMAHALE at Ohai Estates, takes its name from the fictional family name of Mike Travis’ mother. It also represents hale for house and kama for a place of birth. An apt name for the home in which Birtcher’s characters were conceived and evolved. All his books to date have been written there. The next book will hit the shelves in 2009.

Want to know more about Baron Birtcher and this celebrity listing? Contact me, Joyce@KonaBigIsland.com for a complimentary edition CD of Music from the Red Bar, complete with a custom insert that tells you about Kona’s Mystery writer and his talented wife Christina – a celebrity in her own right. Also available on DVD, a slide show tour of this unique Kona home.A Hui Ho!

Joyce Murphy, Realtor Broker BIC
Hawaiian Isle Real Estate LLC and Luxury Real Estate Florida, Inc.
“In Real Estate, Experience Counts!”
Phone 808-443-4302 or E-mail Joyce@KonaBigIsland.comMore Kona Real Estate Information at: www.LuxuryRealEstateHI.com

Licensed Real Estate Broker in FL and HI

 

AS REQUESTED, I AM LINKING directly to Baron R. Birtcher’s* official web site where you can find sources for ”Angels Fall” and Killer Coffee online.  My diving friends from are Alaska report that Birtcher’s books are in short supply. I’ve noticed Boarder’s Bookstore in Kona is nearly sold out too. So I contacted my new favorite mystery writer, and fellow diver, Baron.  He offered THIS LINK to his web site where you can find on-line sources for the book.  More important, he promised Mike Travis will soon return in his next Kona adventure.

ATTENTION DIVE BUDDIES!  Those of you who dive regularly with Jake’s*, I mean Jack’s Diving Locker.  Keep your eyes open as you read.  One of the characters in “Angels Fall”* is a boat captain you know.

IF YOU LOVE KONA, don’t miss this book. Here’s what critics say:

 “Baron Birtcher’s* Angels Fall is a taut and evocative thriller set in the lost paradise of Hawaii. The plotting is tight, the characters are vivid and there’s a sense of longing and loss that accompanies the action. Birtcher is a fine writer and you will enjoy this book.” 

—T. Jefferson Parker

(Edgar Award winning author of The Fallen and Storm Runners)

“Baron Birtcher ruined my whole work day. I kept trying to set Angels Fall down to do my own stuff, but couldn’t stop turning the pages. It’s stylish, fast, soulful and has an indelible—and rare—sense of place. You want to read this book, then you want to live in it.” 

Joyce Murphy, R(B), BIC, ABR, ALHS
Hawaiian Isle Real Estate LLC and Luxury Real Estate Florida, Inc.
“In Real Estate, Experience Counts!”
808-443-4302 / 808-327-1155
More Kona Real Estate Information at:
www.KonaBigIsland.com

Joyce@KonaBigIsland.com

THE VIS WAS GREAT, from 90 feet I could clearly see the second group of divers on the surface and maybe 40 feet toward the shore.  We checked out a Pipefish hiding in a hole with two Ghost Shrimp. A few minutes later the Eagle Ray made a second pass to delight the group of divers too.  We saw an Octopus, a beautiful Flat Worm, Flounder, Golden Gobies and lots of yellow fish too.

LATER IN THE DAY, near the shore it was baby day. There were dozens of juvenile fish. Best of all there was a Whitetip Reef Shark pup about 2 feet long. He’s been hanging out in a low ceiling lava tube for the last week or two, but this was the first time I was lucky enough to catch him there.  Nearby in another hiding hole, I saw my first Sponge Crab. Well, I might have seen one before and just thought it was a sponge.  Just before the dive ended we spotted a pair of Reticulated Butterfly Fish, perhaps the most beautiful of all the butterfly fish. (Pictured Above)

AT THE END OF THE DAY we thanked Captain Paul, and all the Jack’s Diving Locker staff for another great day of diving.  Join us in the water off the Kona Coast when you can.  Feel free to add your dive experiences to this blog. You are welcome to call or e-mail with your dive questions too.

Joyce Murphy, PADI Advanced Diver

“In Real Estate and Diving, Experience Counts!”

Joyce Murphy, Realtor (B)
Hawaiian Isle Real Estate LLC and Luxury Real Estate Florida, Inc.
808-443-4302 / 808-327-1155
More Kona Real Estate Information at: www.KonaBigIsland.com

“I’m so excited I have to tell all my friends what I saw today. Then again they say a picture is worth a thousand words.” Dave wrote.

DaveSanfordStudios.com © 2008
Dave is a dive instructor and professional photographer who lives and works on Oahu. I was fortunate to have him come to the Big Island and do a photo shoot for my listing known as The Beach Boys’ Estate.

He continued to describe his whale encounter, “The only word that comes to my mind is: Amazing… If you look closely you can see the outline of the mothers back under the baby. They were so close it was scary. The little one was swimming right at me. It was like standing in the middle of railroad tracks with a train coming toward me.”

As a diver, I can tell you this is a dream come true. To hear whale song when you are at 60 feet will make you smile in your regulator. It always brings that secret hope you might actually be lucky enough to see a whale in the water. To have one approach close enough to take a photos – well – I’d probably forget to press the button.

If you are interested in working or diving with a great photographer, I’ll be happy to put you in touch with Dave.

Joyce Murphy, PADI Advanced Diver

“In Real Estate and Diving, Experience Counts!”

Joyce Murphy, Realtor (B)
Hawaiian Isle Real Estate LLC
Luxury Real Estate Florida, Inc.
808-443-4302 / 808-327-1155
More Kona Real Estate Information at:
www.LuxuryRealEstateHI.com

WHAT IS WITH, “I’M NUDE UNDER MY WETSUIT.” I’ve come across this a couple of times on the dive boat lately and I just don’t get it. We’re all nude under our suits – right? I confess also being confused by food advertised as “organic” or “all natural”. I’ve been keeping my eyes open for inorganic, unnatural food. I guess you can’t be too careful because you are what you eat. I’m trying to figure out how to make real estate “Green” and I think I’m on to something.

LIFE IS GOOD IN KONA. Fresh from diving we warmed ourselves in the hot tub. I picked a tangerine from a tree in the yard and squeezed the juice in my diet Pepsi. Although it was sunny today and temperatures on the surface hit the 80’s again, the water temperature is a little chilly. My husband, Pete, finally put on a 3 mil. suit. I was toasty in layers 3-7-2. Despite wearing 20 lb to take me down, I had plenty of gas left in my tank when I hit the deck after a 70 minute dive. Eli, one of our dive guides, had 100lbs more than I did so he got to do the “I’ve got more air dance” during the safety stop. I wish I had video of that for you.

HUMP BACK WHALES were a hit during the surface interval. The captains at Jack’s Diving Locker are great about trying to make the interval between dives as much fun as the dives. The second dive of the day was a great too. We stopped at Carousel Cave where we found the two Fellows nudibanchs in the picture.

NEED A DIVING CONNECTION? There is a link on the side bar for Jack’s Diving Locker. They’ll help you with boat trips, classes and accommodations.

Please forgive me if you have been accustomed to checking my blog and have missed updates for the past few weeks. I was very busy selling real estate during October and November. Most of December I spent with my mother. Remember, I to know someone is out there. Please feel free to add your comments and photos about Kona, diving or real estate.

Joyce Murphy, Realtor Broker BIC
Hawaiian Isle Real Estate LLC
Luxury Real Estate Florida, Inc.
In Real Estate, Experience Counts
808-443-4302 / 808-327-1155
More Kona Real Estate Information at:
www.LuxuryRealEstateHI.com

TOMORROW IS MY DIVE DAY the water is getting nice and warm. I am looking forward to some nice long dives and a Whale Shark visit during the surface interval.

Mahalo,
Joyce Murphy, Realtor Broker BIC
Hawaiian Isle Real Estate LLC
Luxury Real Estate Florida, Inc.
“In Real Estate, Experience Counts!”
808-443-4302 / 808-327-1155
More Kona Real Estate Information at:
www.LuxuryRealEstateHI.com