Aloha mai kakou, welcome to a new episode of What School You Went? where we start every conversation with this question because that's the question that a lot of us ask when we just meet strangers or anyone else. I'm Ron Mizutani, and today we're talking about one of Hawaii's... I'll say once-hidden gems because we're talking about Glass Beach on Kauai and I say once-hidden because of social media and has fully, really exposed this unique shoreline on Kauai's
south shore. I want to welcome back my dear friend, Olena Heu to the conversation. Olena is an award-winning journalist, a television personality, she is an entrepreneur, Marketing and Communications executive, and a former Miss Kauai and Miss Hawaii. Welcome back.
Thank you.
Olena grew up on the Kapa'a side of the island. What school you went?
Kapa'a High School. But I also went to Kilauea Elementary School too, which is just this cute little charming red and white school. I MC'd May Day.
At Kilauea Elementary?
Yeah.
You know, so funny because Kauai has, well, three high schools, right? I know there are other schools, smaller private, Christian schools and such, but either you went to Kapa'a, Kauai High, or Waimea.
Correct,
Right? So sports season, you guys played Kauai High, the Red Raiders, and then the menehune of Waimea over and over and over.
Although my husband played baseball and football for Kaiser on Oahu, and he remembers flying to Kauai and staying in the Kapa'a high school gym and smashing them in football. He always talks about it. But not during my years because my years, we were killing it.
Oh, really?
Yeah.
I'm not gonna ask. Because that's rude. Never ask a woman her...
There are nines in there.
We pretty much figured that out. You know, I want to take us instead of Kapa'a on the other side, if you will, of the Garden Island, all the way to 'Ele'ele. And it was once a hidden gem. Very few people knew about glass beach. When was the first time you went there? And was it? Was it empty? I mean, was it, there was no people there at the time?
Yeah. So I remember as a kid going to like, Hanapepe and going to the salt ponds and Koke'e. And so it's like always along the way, right? You stop at all these places, Spouting Horn. And I feel like back then, you know, obviously you didn't have GPS, and you didn't really know where things were. But when we stumbled upon glass beach, it's kind of that combination of like a black sand beach, but with the glass on top. And it's just magic. And I feel like, I remember like touching it and
like holding it in my hand. But I feel like back then like you didn't take anything, right? You would leave it. And so unfortunately, you know, as it's become more popular, and there's things like Yelp and TripAdvisor and whatnot, the thing that has led to the demise of glass Beach was the people taking the glass on the beach. So but it was just like something out of not Candy Land, but you know, just some magical world.
So So for folks who don't, who have never been there before, and it will never be the same. Sadly, you're right, because, you know, ironically, it's made of because of garbage. And of humans garbage. And now humans are taking it away, if you will. And there's some irony in there. But it used to be and you know, I never knew about glass beach. And I used to grow up on that side of the island, Hanapepe, salt pond was my favorite place
to be. And when I was growing up in, you know, shipwrecks beach when we were young wasn't even the Hyatt yet. It was just the sugarcane fields back then. But I got I was aware, I was made aware of glass beach by a good friend, Dickie Chang. And he said, they used to call me Duke, "brother Duke, we go glass beach for your segment," I was doing a segment on hidden gems in the islands. And I didn't know what he was talking about. And so when we got there, I said, Oh,
this is the cemetery. There was a Japanese cemetery down there. I said, "wasn't this like a landfill?" He said "well it wasn't really a landfill. It was just where people started throwing the trash." And it just got more and more where people made their kind of a landfill dump. That garbage eventually made its way into the ocean. The surf did its you know magic with nature and created this unbelievable beach of, looks like gems literally.
I did some research also and I read that it takes 20 to 30 years for the ocean to make sea glass like that. And so if you go back in time, right, I guess it was maybe a little bit more of an industrial side, and then you had the dump. And then fast forward to, what, the 80s and 90s. And then boom, produces all this beautiful glass.
Yeah, again, for those who'd never got a chance to experience that, and again, I don't think it looks the way it did back even when I went 20 years ago. Certain times, if the water was running onto the shoreline, and the sun was just beaming at a certain angle, it was just a sparkling... it looked like diamonds on the beach, and I'm not exaggerating. It was it's just absolutely beautiful. And you're literally walking on glass.
The last time I went, oh, gosh, maybe 2010 or so, it was, I saw mostly green and brown sparkles...
Heinekens.
Budweisers. And like, that was kind of like the beginning of its depletion. Right. And maybe it was also the ocean taking it back. And then I think I went a few years after that. I remember staying at the Sheraton and I got poke at, uh, it's a Japanese name that's known for their poke in Waimea.
Oh, I don't know.
But anyway had driven out there to seek it out. And then it was like, only little bit sparkles.
Ah, that saddens me.
But they also have signs now. Because it's become this tourist destination for people to find it. And they have wooden signs or like cardboard signs along the area that say don't take the glass.
Too late.
And so yeah, but I did notice online, I checked TripAdvisor and there's hardly any sand or any glass. But people were still posting pictures and trying to collect it. And it was kind of heartwarming to see people go and then collect it and then put it on the sand and like take a picture of it. And then say "we left it." So thank you.
Good. That's the message that many people did not receive. Because even when I went that time, the first time and I went back a few times after and still was plentiful. There were certain aquas and blues that were super hard to find. So when you had one, it's very tempting to take one, but then where you going put them, right? I mean, it's it's glass. The browns is probably the old Primo. And the blue, I don't
know what the blue was. Yeah, maybe something back in the day when in a different time of Kauai. But it's really a stark contrast of the beauty of the island. I mean, beautiful Kauai. And here's this beautiful, unusual shoreline that was made of garbage. And that humans left behind, you know, social media has, has its benefits. Clearly, there's some complications that come with with social media. One of them being a lot of these secret spots are unveiled to the world.
Absolutely. Like I will never go to Makapu'u tide pools on a weekend ever again. And you know, it's funny, because for myself, I'm part mermaid, or whatever, you know, I'm just one of those people. And I will purposefully post a tide pool, hiking waterfall picture, and tag Maui, or tag Ala Wai Canal, you know, like, because I don't want to give it away and be and if people ask, where is this, I'll say Kauai. And then you know, they can't
find it. But it's it's turned into a trend now, to really like not show exactly where you are. And something I also just saw, I think someone went to Queens bath. And there might be a lot of one star Yelp reviews now that say like, "it's hard to get there. It's dangerous. Don't go." And so he went and he said was empty. So then he said, "oh, let's go on social and like post how terrible this place is so people don't go there."
You see how that works? Little deception there. It's all about the presentation. But I think social media was one of the reasons and that just people being, you know, not understanding to leave things where they need to be so the next person can enjoy. I like the fact that they if they do have signs that say that and people are posting that in their in their posts, that that's a
good message. I think it's a message that we should all have in all of our, in all of our hidden jewels of where we are today. And I mean, who now with the visitor industry going crazy gangbusters right now. So many local residents and even those who are not from here, that appreciated the beauty of Hawaii. You know, they'll talk about the overtourism and it's not so much the numbers are going crazy. I mean, we're about the 2019 level. It's just it's a
different experience. And it's a different traveler.
It is a different traveler. Yeah. And then everybody wants the shot. Like even Ho'omaluhia Botanical Garden, you know, a couple people posted people walking along the road. And now there are signs along the entire road on both sides that say Don't stop. Don't take pictures.
They want to duplicate that shot that somebody made famous in a post. Yeah. And now everybody wants to mirror that.
Well, and in particular, that place is 200 acres. So you can find your perfect picture. It doesn't have to be you know, that one. So yeah.
You know, glass Beach is is so unique. Yet it's not unique to other places. I remember there was this place in California that had a glass beach, they actually called it treasure beach. It was in Fort Bragg, California. And I remember that because I thought we were the only place, the only show in town. And it turns out that we were not, in fact, this place existed long before our glass beach. But when I dug a little deeper, no, no pun intended. But you know, when people say no pun intended?
You do mean.
Of course they did. You know, that's one of those things like Yeah, you did. Yeah, pun was intended. They too were next to a garbage area, like a dump that became this beautiful beach of treasure. And they call it treasure beach. So yeah, we're not we're not unique that way. But again, humans created this beach. And now humans are taking away the beach.
Well, maybe someone could do like a recycling program. And like, close it and collect tons of bottles and then...
Let the ocean do its thing. Yeah. I'm not sure the environmentalists would like that. Yeah, I mean, this, this happens, like you said, organically for 20 years. And then you know, the ocean and the ebb and the flow of the surf created, you know, took away all the edges where you can literally walk on glass.
Such a good memory, though.
Yeah, it really is. And it's really one of the beautiful things about Kaua'i that I had no idea existed. And that should have been that way. Because once, frankly, I did that story, I can't even tell you what year it was. And I got heat. Because I gave away too much of where this was. And maybe I contributed to that. But this is long before social media, I think. But you know, the media has the power to influence in and sometimes hidden gems are hidden for a reason. Yeah.
What are some of your other favorite stops when you're on that side?
Well, well, salt pond for sure. I used to like going to Big Save in Waimea. Yeah, I used to love their food. Everything was food driven.
I would always check it for kulolo.
I would go to Wong's Chinese restaurant, I think they're still open, cookie factory in Hanapepe. I used to actually like Dairy Queen, which was right right there in 'Ele'ele, you know, it's a different part of the island. When I grew up later on in life, I would go to Pakala's because I like surfing back back then. And we would we would venture out. Pakala's if for those who've never been there, it's this ridiculously long left surf
spot. And you do literally have to go you park on the street, right on the main drag right before Waimea and you have to run through like bulls and cows to get to this surf spot.
I think I just snorted a little.
Was perfect because it was bulls. And these guys were very aggressive. So it was it was like, if you can imagine it was a hell of a run to was at least you know a couple 100 yards and if the bulls saw you they'd chase you.
That's crazy.
I don't know if they still exist but I do know that Pakala's still has, it's a little dirty water too sometimes, I know lots of sharks there too. But yeah, that's my memories of the west side. I mean that part of the west side and Kekaha you know, further down obviously. How about you?
As you mentioned Big Save right? And of course the tunnel of trees and whatnot. But we'd always stop at Lappert's on the way to Waimea and then head up to Koke'e. And I loved New Kids on the Block when I was a kid. And I remember at the Waimea Canyon look out there was a picture of the New Kids on the Block. And I would go and like hug the railing to feel like I was close to them or something.
Somebody put a picture there?
No like they had gone to Kaua'i and taken a picture and I had the poster.
Oh my Gosh.
And so I went to where they stood. And that was my closest like the closest I got to New Kids on the Block. Yeah, girls. Crazy puberty.
Boy bands. I, I would encourage people if they have a chance to go to 'Ele'ele. Do you think they're still some glass there?
Very little. I mean, I pulled up some photos from June. And it just looked like nothing really like you really, really, really have to look for it.
Oh, I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry. I'm really sad by that. My chair just fell down.
I was like, oh.
You know, but we learn, and I think there's a lesson learned there is take what you need, or don't take at all.
When you know, there's a lot of talk about don't ever take like lava rocks or whatever. Just don't take anything. Just leave everything as is, take your garbage and you know, whatever. But leave it as you found it. Yeah.
Nobody can see me in podcast land. But here
I don't know what happened to your chair.
It instantly became very short. Well, again, thanks for stopping by and sharing your memories of glass beach. And really, sadly, this is probably just a lot of memories.
Just a memory. Yeah.
Oh, boy. Well, I don't want to I don't want to end on a sad note.
Go and support the local artists. Because there's lots of artists on that side and the little eateries and gosh, so many great places to see.
Yeah, for sure. And you know, maybe take a drive down to 'Ele'ele and head down there and see if there's some glass left on glass beach. Olena, please take care of yourself. Mahalo for joining us. Until next time.a hui hou.
What School You Went? is a PBS Hawaii Production. Music by Taimane Gardner. If you enjoyed this episode, let us know on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, and tell your friends. You can find us on pbshawaii.org and everywhere you get your podcasts.