Ranger121
Full Member
Hi to anyone else MDing on Maui. I'm semi-retired (read lazy here) guy on Maui since early this year. Pretty nice for weather, scenery, beachy stuff, girl watching, driving real slow behind lines of tourists in rental cars, etc. Also kinda slow for night life, group activities, meeting single women, finding friendly neighborhood bars, etc. Dig ? Some good, some bad. But I understand and accept that I am not a "local" ( thank you, Jesus), and I bring a different set of values and expectations. So, I know if this don't suit me, I can go home. Better not to criticize the local culture outloud.
For now tho, I'm having fun despite the reverse racism here that all us white folk should have to experience to understand what us Cauc's have sometimes inflicted on our darker skinned brethren back in the world. It's a subtle, low-key, type of thing which one doesn't even know is happening at first til you realize " Hey, I've been sitting here 15 minutes and I haven't even got a menu yet". What the hell?"
Brought over a Minelab Musketeer from Tucson when I moved 'cause prior visit daughter had lost a gold bracelet in our little "private" beach area and we couldn't find it ( never did). Now, understand she's lived here 20 years; I mentioned at the time "we need one of those metal detecting thingies". She said "We'd clean up if we had one, Dad, cause everybody I know has lost rings and stuff due to the suntan oil and cold water shrinkage factor."
Bought one when back in Tucson, first trip next day to local playground, kicking sawdust up trying to find source of beep, kicked out a $100 dollar bill. First day! I was hooked, Also found a few pennies and learnt of the dreaded "poptop". Doh!
So, have honed my beach hunting skills this summer. Found 3 large Gator-Ade bottles full of clad to date. Which are buried in the yard to prevent grandkids pilfering, Also, a baby food jar of silver rings, some with gem stones of dubious value, crucifi, crosses, chains, bracelets. One gold ring with 2 diamonds and one centered pink tourmaline, one large mans gold wedding band, 4 wheaties, no pre-64 silver coinage, scads of fishing sinkers of all weights and shapes, a huge old meat cleaver with wooden handles which were still in good shape, strange.
Also in spots along this particular beach area, what must have been target areas for boat mounted machine guns or maybe just rifle practice cause .30 cal bullets of military origin by the thousands. This entire stretch was a training and staging area during WWII for the allied island hopping campaigns. There are phtos in the local museum showing all sorts of war games along here, thousands of GI's on the beach practicing assaults, and, still everywhere to be seen, concrete bunkers, remains of bunkers, huge concrete vehicle barriers with the projecting railroad track pieces long since cut away for scrap, old concrete ammo storage bunkers inland, just lots of potential areas for MDing some WWII relics and,I'm sure, coins of that era as well. Why haven't I found some of those things and coins, you ask? 'Cause, 1. I ain't the first or only one here detecting these beaches and 2. It was all leveled, plowed, replanted, turned into pretty parks and pathways for the tourist industry (actually, "the word "tourist" is a very politically incorrect term here, we say "visitor", yuk, yuk). However, a fellow detectionist I met on the beach one day pulled out a 1939 Merc dime he had just found 6 inches under the swingset in the park. Needless to say, I now have and intimate knowledge of that swing set area and all it's ground features.
Anyway, since I came with the Minelab Musketeer, I've bought a Whites Amphibian II as well, which performs terrific in the sand or dirt but is worthless in saltwater; so also now have a used Minelab Excalibur 1000 for the wet stuff but I'm too skeered of sharks to go more than knee deep. An irrational fear you say? Uh-huh. Since Feb, there have been 3 shark attacks just here on Maui,,, the last one right on the beach I go to every day. 40 feet from shore, 6 to 10 foot Tiger, I just get this feeling of dread when "out there" like we got when we were kids in the dark. Can't see the boogie man but I know he's there !!
But "out there" is where the good stuff is. I guess I'll just have to wait 'til the big storms hit and be on the beach detecting as the swells bring it in.
OK, thanks for listening. I know I get carried away. One last thing. In Hawaii, it's illegal to detect anywhere inland of the beaches due to heritage issues of the Hawaiian people of which there are maybe 4 or 5 actual Hawaiian purebloods on Maui. OK, I respect that in deed if not in spirit. But, as I've heard and as I've found personally, no one including cops, rangers, locals, gives a crap. Just stay out of their yards and you can detect anywhere! Cane fields, trails, dirt roads, parks, wild country, no hassles. Fill in your holes, respect any No trespassing signs, smile and wave, say "Howzit, Braa" when approached, and you'll be accepted as another dumb tourist,,I mean visitor. I can go on all day but let me hear some of your stuff now. I have some interesting plans for the next few months. Will post again. Later, Braa !!
For now tho, I'm having fun despite the reverse racism here that all us white folk should have to experience to understand what us Cauc's have sometimes inflicted on our darker skinned brethren back in the world. It's a subtle, low-key, type of thing which one doesn't even know is happening at first til you realize " Hey, I've been sitting here 15 minutes and I haven't even got a menu yet". What the hell?"
Brought over a Minelab Musketeer from Tucson when I moved 'cause prior visit daughter had lost a gold bracelet in our little "private" beach area and we couldn't find it ( never did). Now, understand she's lived here 20 years; I mentioned at the time "we need one of those metal detecting thingies". She said "We'd clean up if we had one, Dad, cause everybody I know has lost rings and stuff due to the suntan oil and cold water shrinkage factor."
Bought one when back in Tucson, first trip next day to local playground, kicking sawdust up trying to find source of beep, kicked out a $100 dollar bill. First day! I was hooked, Also found a few pennies and learnt of the dreaded "poptop". Doh!
So, have honed my beach hunting skills this summer. Found 3 large Gator-Ade bottles full of clad to date. Which are buried in the yard to prevent grandkids pilfering, Also, a baby food jar of silver rings, some with gem stones of dubious value, crucifi, crosses, chains, bracelets. One gold ring with 2 diamonds and one centered pink tourmaline, one large mans gold wedding band, 4 wheaties, no pre-64 silver coinage, scads of fishing sinkers of all weights and shapes, a huge old meat cleaver with wooden handles which were still in good shape, strange.
Also in spots along this particular beach area, what must have been target areas for boat mounted machine guns or maybe just rifle practice cause .30 cal bullets of military origin by the thousands. This entire stretch was a training and staging area during WWII for the allied island hopping campaigns. There are phtos in the local museum showing all sorts of war games along here, thousands of GI's on the beach practicing assaults, and, still everywhere to be seen, concrete bunkers, remains of bunkers, huge concrete vehicle barriers with the projecting railroad track pieces long since cut away for scrap, old concrete ammo storage bunkers inland, just lots of potential areas for MDing some WWII relics and,I'm sure, coins of that era as well. Why haven't I found some of those things and coins, you ask? 'Cause, 1. I ain't the first or only one here detecting these beaches and 2. It was all leveled, plowed, replanted, turned into pretty parks and pathways for the tourist industry (actually, "the word "tourist" is a very politically incorrect term here, we say "visitor", yuk, yuk). However, a fellow detectionist I met on the beach one day pulled out a 1939 Merc dime he had just found 6 inches under the swingset in the park. Needless to say, I now have and intimate knowledge of that swing set area and all it's ground features.
Anyway, since I came with the Minelab Musketeer, I've bought a Whites Amphibian II as well, which performs terrific in the sand or dirt but is worthless in saltwater; so also now have a used Minelab Excalibur 1000 for the wet stuff but I'm too skeered of sharks to go more than knee deep. An irrational fear you say? Uh-huh. Since Feb, there have been 3 shark attacks just here on Maui,,, the last one right on the beach I go to every day. 40 feet from shore, 6 to 10 foot Tiger, I just get this feeling of dread when "out there" like we got when we were kids in the dark. Can't see the boogie man but I know he's there !!
But "out there" is where the good stuff is. I guess I'll just have to wait 'til the big storms hit and be on the beach detecting as the swells bring it in.
OK, thanks for listening. I know I get carried away. One last thing. In Hawaii, it's illegal to detect anywhere inland of the beaches due to heritage issues of the Hawaiian people of which there are maybe 4 or 5 actual Hawaiian purebloods on Maui. OK, I respect that in deed if not in spirit. But, as I've heard and as I've found personally, no one including cops, rangers, locals, gives a crap. Just stay out of their yards and you can detect anywhere! Cane fields, trails, dirt roads, parks, wild country, no hassles. Fill in your holes, respect any No trespassing signs, smile and wave, say "Howzit, Braa" when approached, and you'll be accepted as another dumb tourist,,I mean visitor. I can go on all day but let me hear some of your stuff now. I have some interesting plans for the next few months. Will post again. Later, Braa !!
