We're On Our Way!
May 17
What a great week! 8 fun-filled days on the Big Island of Hawaii with my sister, Babs, and our two sisters-in-spirit, Dreena and Christine. Our travel day was a long, long day... starting at 3 a.m. with a drive to LAX, but we all arrived safely (and happily). Christine, Dreena, and I met in the United terminal at LAX early in the morning.
Being together made the hour fly by, and soon we were on our way. Five hours later, the peaks of Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa peeked over the clouds and we were soon touching down on the lava-covered landscape of Kona.
Babs' plane did not arrive for another two hours, so we collected our bright red rental car and headed for lunch at the Harbor House Restaurant. We were back at the airport to greet Babs with an aloha, then drove through Kailua town to our condo, Kona Makai, on Ali'i Drive. We were delighted with the condo! We had a room on the top floor, with a gorgeous living room and wrap-around deck overlooking a black shelf of lava and the beautiful Pacific.
I was fascinated by the blowhole in the lava shelf and stood watching the sea pouring into it and spouting out again as the waves rose and fell.
Our first evening, we just settled in to our rooms, sat on the balcony watching the waves and laughing, had an early dinner in Kailua town and did a little food shopping for our breakfast the next day. I was actually too tired to eat and collapsed into bed around 8:30 p.m.. (We were still on California time... and after our long travel day, it felt later than that!)
Exploring the Kona Coast
May 18
On our first full day in Hawaii, we drove south to explore the Kona coast. Dreena was the driver today, and I was the navigator. The girls quickly discovered, much to their amusement, that I am directionally dyslexic. I have a very good sense of direction and can almost always find my way...I just don't always remember my right from my left, so after a few confusing directions, Dreena discovered that she had to follow my finger pointing - not my verbal directions!)
First stop was the little town of Napo'opo'o on the shores of Kealakekua Bay - where Captain Cook met his end in 1779. On the shores of the bay stand the remains of an ancient temple, Hikiau Heiau, a large lava stone platform and adjoining complex that was once used for human sacrifices.
From the little village, we drove along an undulating road over the lava fields to the famous Place of Refuge, Pu'uhonua o Homaumau.
In the time of the ancient Hawaiians, the punishment for breaking any kapu (taboo) was death. It was important to keep order. After all, if the gods were angry, they would send tsunamnis, volcanoes, hurricanes...all sorts of miseries. But if you could make it (by swimming as it was kapu to walk across the king's lands that surrounded the refuge) to Pu'uhonua o Honaunau, the priests could absolve you of your transgression and you could live out your life. The most important structure is an immense lava rock wall, made with uncut stones, that is 10 feet high and stretches almost 1,000 feet around.
We wandered around the grounds for quite a while. It is a lovely spot right on the shore, with coconut palms, fish ponds, replicas of old Hawaiian houses...and several tiki gods to watch over the place.
In the hills above Pu'uhonua o Homaumau is St. Benedict Roman Catholic Church, better known as The Painted Church, with its gorgeous walls and murals. (When we arrived, I had a little moment of panic when I discovered that I had left my camera in the restroom at Pu'uhonua o Homaumau, but Babs and I drove back down the hill, and a kind lady had just turned it in to the park staff. Whew!)
The Painted Church was built in 1899 by a Belgian priest, Father John Velghe. When he had trouble enticing the local people to the church, he began a project of painting murals telling many of the stories from the Bible, and he entranced the population with his use of perspective to create the illusion of a cathedral in the tiny space. The remarkable thing is that Father Velghe created this beautiful space with no background or training in painting - and with the use of house paints provided by local parishioners!
This is Kona coffee country, so there were numerous little coffee plantations. We marveled at the lush tropical surroundings - one of the joys of the Hawaiian Islands. I was also on the lookout for birds, and a gorgeous pheasant obligingly posed for us as we drove by!
Lunch was at a simple little Chinese restaurant in the town of Kealakekua, followed by an ice cream treat at Tropical Dreams, which was a funky combination of an ice cream parlor and thrift shop. Christine found a beautiful flowing dress on the rack almost immediately. We were delighted to discover that the entire town was filled with thrift stores where Christine, Babs, and Dreena all found some tropical clothes for great prices.
Back at the condo, we enjoyed a dip in the pool then took the short drive back into Kailua for dinner.
Back at the condo, we played games, sang to Christine's ukelele, and ended the day with a gorgeous sunset.
Sensational Snorkeling!
May 19
There is something really magical about a good snorkeling trip... and we had one of the best on Thursday. We left the condo early and drove down to Keahou Bay where we boarded the Hula Kai - under the care of Captain Kirk! - and cruised along the Kona coast for two snorkeling stops.
The first stop was in Iguana Bay, so named because of a very distinctive lava rock lying along the top of the cliff.
I was a little disappointed by the first stop. The water was fairly clear, but it was a bit too rough to get over the shallow reef, so our fish spotting was limited to a lot of yellow tangs and black durgons.
But we had a wonderful surprise coming up. Because of the rough conditions along the coast, the Hula Kai crew decided to make our second stop at Kealakekua Bay, one of the top snorkeling spots in the world... and my favorite in all of Hawaii. The snorkel spot sits right below the Captain Cook monument (which actually sits on British soil!).
There is a shelf of thriving coral that lies along the coastline in shallow water, but it drops off dramatically into the very deep water of the bay.
The clear water was filled with a huge variety of gorgeous tropical fish and my underwater camera got a good workout. I saw three eels, including one swimming free through the water. We could hardly stand to get out of the water when it was time for the good lunch on the Hula Kai!
After lunch, Dreena impressed us all with her abilities on the paddle board. Christine and I both headed back into the water for a while. We just couldn't bear to leave those gorgeous fish!
As we were cruising back out of the bay, we were joined by a pod of spinner dolphins who use this calm bay to rest in the morning after their night time hunting.
We got back to the condo in the late afternoon, cleaned up and went into Kailua town for dinner, then headed home for another very early bedtime after a glorious day!
A Day at the Beach
May 20
Every day here on the Big Island of Hawaii is a fun adventure with the girls. Today brought two more great snorkel trips. The morning was spent at Kahalu'u Beach Park, a very popular place for snorkeling. The ancient Hawaiians built a big sea wall at the mouth of the bay, so the entire bay is a big fish bowl.
I've had mixed results there in the past…some days were too crowded with snorkelers, and sometimes the water was too murky. But we had a great day today…blue skies, clear water, and hundreds of fish, including several varieties I have never seen before. Just beautiful. We could hardly get Christine to leave the water!
After stopping by the condo to clean up, we spent our last afternoon on the Kona side of the island exploring the little touristy town. We started with a great lunch at The Daylight Mind sitting on a deck over the sea.
After lunch, we walked down to see the Ahu'ena Heiau, the temple for King Kamehameha who had chosen this spot for his court.
Then we strolled around Kailua, poking in and out of the various shops (and picking up a few little items here and there), admired the Hulihe'e Palace and Mokuʻaikaua, a church built of lava rock by the early missionaries to Hawaii in the 1820's. Our last stop was at Kailua's permanent farmers' market, with its fruit stands and stalls of crafts and touristy items - clothing, backpacks and bags, and object d'arts.
The evening brought more thrills…a night-time snorkel with manta rays! We all got outfitted with wet suits to ward off the chill of the night water, then headed out off Keahou Bay at sunset on board the Hula Kai, the same boat we had used for snorkeling yesterday.
The boat joined several others anchored just off the rocky coast and the crew laid out a long plastic plank with hand-holds. We swam out to the end of the plank, stuck a floating "noodle" under out ankles to keep them floating above the mantas, and peered into the deep. The boat and the float both sent powerful beams of light into the water which attracted the plankton (and lots of small fish), and the plankton attracts the mantas.
It was awesome, in the true sense of the word! We had to wait quite a while, just bobbing up and down in the choppy water, but suddenly, there she was…the first manta gliding silently below us, huge and black.
But the best was still to come. Three times throughout the next 45 minutes, mantas turned loops directly below us. They started near the bottom of the sea (visible below us in the lights) then swam up towards us with their giant mouths wide open to scoop up the plankton.
As they neared us, they did a somersault so that their belly, gleaming white with black spots, was literally inches from our faces. Having a manta ray with a wing span of about 12 feet spin right under my nose was exciting and a bit scary at the same time! I could hear the gasps and laughs of delight coming through the snorkel tubes of the people around me. Just magical!
I had taken my underwater camera, but it was hopeless to try to take photos. I had to hold on to the platform, as the water was quite choppy, and the encounters were always so unexpected, as we could not see a thing outside of the ring of light cast by the platform, so I gave up and just enjoyed the show! I borrowed the two photos from free Wikimedia to share, but the photos just don't capture the wonder of seeing these giant creatures actually swimming just below you. If you ever get the chance to do this, do it! (Even if you get seasick…which Dreena and I both were when we got back on the boat). Another wonderful day!
Travel Day - Kona to Hilo
May 21
The Big Island of Hawai'i is a BIG island...larger in size than all the rest of the Hawaiin Islands put together. So we had decided to stay for half of our visit on the Kona side and the other half on the Hilo side to better explore as much as we could. Today was our travel day moving from the west, dry side to the tropical east. We had a leisurely morning packing up and enjoying our last views from the nice lanai overlooking the ocean, then took off around 10:30 and headed north along the coast.
My very first trip to Hawaii many years ago started on this part of the Big Island and, since I had been expecting a lush tropical island, the dry landscape and huge lava fields north of Kona had been a shock. But hidden along the coast below the highway on this dry side of the island are some of the big luxurious resorts, so our first stop was at the Hilton Waikoloa Resort, where Dreena had stayed with her girls several years ago. The resort is so big that visitors travel to their rooms with a tram that circles the grounds.
The center of the complex is filled with a large lagoon with its own sandy beach - filled with tropical fish and even sea turtles.
We browsed around for a bit, enjoying the Asian sculptures around the grounds.
After visiting the resort, we took a short hike into the lava fields behind the hotel to see the Waikoloa Petroglyph Field, an area filled with thousands of petroglyphs carved into the rocks by the Hawaiians who were crossing the border between the ancient kingdoms of Kona and Kohala along the Mamahaloa Trail. The trail was indistinct at first, and we searched quite a while for a sign of the petroglyphs.
But suddenly we were surrounded by them carved into every flat space on the rocks.
I could recognize some of the figures from the stylized icons still used on tourist clothing and various signs here, such as the turtle and the human figures.
Along with the petroglyphs, we saw cave shelters and the stone semi-circles which the ancient people had erected to shelter themselves from strong winds as they moved along the trail.
After exploring the petroglyphs, we continued north to the town of Waimea where we had lunch in the Hawaiian Style Café, which looked very plain on the outside, but served delicious food - including a fabulous pancake topped with haupia, Hawaiian coconut pudding.
We arrived at our new lodging just north of Hilo - a gorgeous house sitting above the sea - in the mid-afternoon.
We were all amused by our on-site property manager, Rory, a nice looking young man with a head of thick wavy dark hair. He had been sound asleep when we arrived, so he gave us a very groggy greeting and went over a few of the house rules…including the need to close all the windows and turn out the lights at dusk - around 6:30 in the evening! - because of the flying termites! He assured us that, yes, they could get in through screens. We were a little concerned about the lights out rule, but he said we could turn them on again after it was fully dark outside.
Well, that seemed strange, but the house was gorgeous! A large living room, gorgeous koa wood floors throughout, granite counters in the well- appointed kitchen, three large bedrooms, and a lovely big deck overlooking Hilo Harbor. In Kailua-Kona, we had had views of the sunset. Here we would be seeing the sunrise. And there were orchids growing out of the tree in the front yard. Spectacular!
The rest of the day was very relaxed. We unpacked and settled in, then played a rousing game of Mexican Train (which I lost big time).
Exploring Hilo
May 22
Christine woke up very early this morning and took a walk along Kaloa Road, which ran in front of our house along a bluff above the sea. I was up by the time she returned, so she joined me for another walk. Right below our house was a small bay and a pretty little beach park. Even at this early hour, the road was lined with cars and small trucks and the water was filled with surfers. We walked down the stairs to the park and watched the surfers catching the waves. I was impressed with how quickly they could stand up on their boards and get a good ride at the very last minute.
As we stood on the beach, it started to drizzle and by the time we got to the top of the stairs, the rain had turned into a real downpour. We walked back to the house, laughing in the rain and soaked completely through, but just as we approached the house, the sun broke through and we were treated to the sight of a double rainbow that ended right on our house…our own little pot of gold.
Babs and Dreena were just waking up, so we had breakfast "at home" and then headed just a few miles north to the spectacular Hawaiian Tropical Botanical Gardens. In the late 1970's, a couple from the mainland bought a home near this spot and then found this property - filled with trash and old cars - for sale. They purchased it and made it their life's work to transform the area into a gorgeous garden filled with tropical plants from all around the world, in addition to Hawaii.
We walked down a long boardwalk into the gardens, surrounded by lush foliage, tropical flowers of every shape, size, color, and the sound of water from the many streams and waterfalls that fill this spot.
We just wandered for a couple of hours, not even minding the rain that periodically drifted through, just entranced by the beauty and variety of the surroundings. Here are just some of the gorgeous, sometimes weird and exotic, flowers and plants that filled the gardens.
We were fascinated by the orchids that sprouted right out of many of the trees.
Even the leaves were spectacular.
The trails led us down to the sea where we read the legend of the Twin Rocks - two lovers who gave their lives to protect the bay of the little village by turning into two large rocks that block the entrance to the bay.
The garden had other beautiful features in addition to the spectacular foliage: an aviary, a pond filled with koi. The sound of the waterfalls and streams added another dimension to our walk.
On the way back to Hilo, we explored options for lunch on Trip Advisor and made a great choice - Pineapples - where we had a delicious lunch. After eating, we drove up the hill to see Rainbow Falls on the Wailuku River, the site of another of the Hawaiian legends. The god Maui did battle here against a giant mo'o, or lizard, named Kuna, who was causing trouble for Maui's mother, Hina. After my recent trip to Mo'orea, which means "yellow lizard," I was fascinated to see the obvious language connection between the Tahitian and the Hawaiian language.
Our last excursion of the day was to the Imiloa Planetarium where Babs, Christine, and I all fell asleep watching the film on all the inventions that arose from space exploration. (The film wasn't boring! We were just finally overcome by heat, humidity, and travel!). When we left the planetarium, we had to make a mad dash to our rental car in the very heavy rain that had appeared while we were visiting the planetarium.
Christine created a delicious dinner of "pizza" using leftovers from our big lunch piled onto big spinach tortillas spread with pesto sauce. She definitely wins the special chef's award on this trip!
Pele is Awake!
May 23
One of the highlights of this trip has been the chance just to spend time together. We have laughed (a lot), cried (a little), joked and teased, played, and relaxed. So this morning, we enjoyed a full morning of sitting at home sharing thoughts and stories, just enjoying each other's company and sharing love and support.
But one of our most highly anticipated adventures was waiting, so around 11:30 a.m., we set out for Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park, which is only about 26 miles from Hilo. Along the way, we stopped at the Akatsuka Orchid Gardens, an orchid farm that bred orchids and created new hybrids of this versatile flower. We wandered for almost an hour through a display of an astounding variety of orchids. A very worthwhile stop!
We started our Volcanoes adventure with lunch at the famous Volcano House Hotel and Restaurant, from whose rooms people like Mark Twain and Franklin Roosevelt had watched the fireworks in the crater below.
Our next stop was the Thurston Lava Tube, a huge tunnel through the lava bed, open at both ends and dripping with the water that filters through the porous lava rock ceiling. This is the largest of the many lava tubes that snake through the park, formed when flowing lava cools on the top, but continues to flow through underneath. As the eruption ends and the hotter lava flows on out, it leaves open tubes behind.
Near the Thurston Lava Tube was the trailhead for the Kilauea Iki trail, a four-mile trail across the still smoking lava bed left by the dramatic 1959 eruption of Kilauea Iki.
The hike started with a walk through a primeval forest of huge fern trees. I could easily imagine a velociraptor crashing through the ferns. Here and there were overlooks of the Kilauea Iki crater floor and Halemaumau crater smoking in the distance.
We finally descended down a steep trail to the basin of the crater. The trail was difficult to navigate at first as the floor of the crater was cracked and uneven. lifted up here and there by the many tremors that rattle this landscape.
The second half of the trail was smoother, and dotted with vents that were steaming - caused by rainwater filtering through and hitting the molten magma that lies just a few feet below the surface. We held our hands over the vents and could feel the intense heat rising from the cracks. Finally, we followed the switchback trail back up into the forest on the other side of the crater.
After our hike, we returned to Volcano House for dessert and to wait for dark.
Pele, the Fire Goddess and goddess of lightning and volcanoes, was wide awake. From Volcano House, we could see huge plumes of smoke rising from her legendary home in Halema'uma'u Crater. At dusk, we drove down the Crater Rim Road - now closed along the backside of the crater due to Pele's toxic smoke - and joined the crowd clustered on the rim of the crater to watch the spectacle.
It was awesome in the truest sense of the word. As we approached, we could see bright orange light emanating from Halema'uma'u. The floor of the crater was cracked with bright, shifting lines of lava that bubbled and moved, and on the left side, Pele was throwing out blasts of fire and light that illuminated the night sky.
As the sky darkened, Pele's glow got brighter and brighter.
What a thrill to see our living planet at work! It was hard to tear myself away, but finally it was time to drive back, through the dark and the rain, to our home in Hilo.
A Last Lazy Day
May 24
Our last full day on the Big Island. After all of our recent adventures, this was a relatively quiet day, but we still managed to pack it with lots of fun.
We spent the morning at Richardson's Ocean Park, a pretty little black sand beach. Dreena and I were content to sit on the beach and watch the waves crashing on the rocks at the mouth of the bay, but Babs and Christine went in for one last snorkel. They came out of the water excited about the number and variety of fish they say, including some they had not seen on any other of our snorkel trips. We had hoped to see the turtles that frequent this beach park, but did not have any luck this time.
We returned home to clean up and Christine once again worked her culinary magic to create fabulous burritos, once again relying on the left-overs we had brought from our big meals out. Then we returned to downtown Hilo to browse the shops. Dreena and Christine visited the thrift stores and found some terrific tropical clothing for great prices, while Babs and I sat in the ice cream shop and had a sisterly heart-to-heart. When Dreena and Christine rejoined us, we finally had our first Hawaiian shave ice of the trip. The best part of this trip has been the chance to spend such a good long amount of time with these amazing women.
Dreena treated us all to our farewell dinner back at the wonderful Pineapples Restaurant. Then it was time to finish packing up for our trip home on Wednesday.
Heading Home
May 25
We were up early for our drive back to the Kona Airport. It was tough to say good-bye to Babs at the airport...and to Dreena and Christine when we arrived back in L.A.
This has been a glorious week of fun and friendship! Let's do it again!!!