Two Makakilo Residents Co-author An Islandwide Beach Guide
Makakilo residents Carol Kettner (left) and Katherine Garner will share details about their recently published book, ‘Oahu Beach Access: A Guide to Oahu’s Beaches Through the Public Rights of Way,’ Saturday at Kapolei Library. Photo by Mark Kettner.
One day a few years ago, two Makakilo residents – longtime friends Katherine Garner and Carol Kettner – were out riding their bicycles in Kahala when they happened upon an unfamiliar beach access.
“We saw the blue (public access) sign and we decided to go exploring,” Garner said. “And it was so beautiful, we thought, ‘Why not go to all of the (public beaches) on the whole island and take pictures?'”
It was a fun but major task that amounted to countless hours of research and took four years to complete. Their book, Oahu Beach Access: A Guide to Oahu’s Beaches Through the Public Rights of Way, is the finished product of their journey and was published in May.
This Saturday, Garner and Kettner host a presentation at 10:30 a.m. at Kapolei Library to discuss their book, detail their research process and share some of their favorite spots around the island.
The book covers the entire island of Oahu and offers a guide to finding the 89 public beach accesses and the 50-some beach parks that are owned and maintained by the City. The co-authors, who met years ago when their children were in the same play group, are both avid hikers and bikers and were excited to undertake the opportunity to explore this island’s beaches – and to share that information with others.
“It’s a guidebook for people to enjoy the places around them,” Kettner said. “Another thing that was intriguing was that if it was maintained by the City and County, we knew that our taxpayer money is paying to maintain all of these public accesses, and we don’t know anything about them or where to find them,” Kettner said.
The co-authors both are experienced writers, but publishing this book is a first for both. Garner writes online articles dealing with health and wellness and travel, while Kettner owns a party-planning business and has written plays through her work with the company.
Garner said that their goal in writing this book was to share these “hidden treasures” with everyone. “That is our right – it is our public right to go to these places,” Garner said.
“We want people to enjoy (the beaches) as much as we have, because we both lived here for so long, and we never really knew a lot of these beautiful places existed or how to get to them,” Kettner added. “And now there is easy information on how to find them.”
Saturday’s presentation is free and open to the public. A door prize drawing will be held for an autographed copy of the book. For more information about the event, call 693-7050 or visit librarieshawaii.org.
