Green Sea Turtles say "Goodbye"

The flights from Hawaii back to the mainland leave late in the day.  From Kona our flight left at 10:45 pm.  In the past we used to get out of our hotel room at checkout time - usually by 10 am.  This makes for a really long day before a really long flight.  Now we just schedule our flight one night earlier and stay in the room relaxing until we have to leave to catch the plane.  Old folks, right?

For our last day on the island we went OUT for breakfast at a pretty cafe with a great ocean view and outdoor dining.  I had an orchid floating in my glass of water and some delicious banana/macadamia nut pancakes with coconut syrup.  Heaven.  We went back to pack and I went to the shore to take some last pictures.  Just for me a green sea turtle came up on our rocks to sun herself.  I think she wanted to be sure that I come again for another visit.  I bought a silver and pearl turtle pendant as my Hawaii souvenir.

After a relaxing time at the pool and a good nap we walked back downtown for dinner.  Several of the buildings have retail business downstairs and a second floor restaurant with big decks looking out at the ocean.  Our choice was a place called Humpy's Big Island Ale House which had a large selection of beers and lots of fresh fish.  We passed on the beer - I didn't want to burp all night on the plane - but we enjoyed different versions of the fresh catch of the day Hawaiian Ono.

Much later, after my usual bedtime we were watching the lights of Hawaii Island fade in the distance and spent the next hours trying to sleep on a crowded plane.  And now we are home.  A great tail wind shortened the flight a little.  My sweet Kellen was so delighted to see us at the airport - just what I came home for.  There is less snow, my house is messy and I miss the sound of the waves.  Goodbye ocean and dolphins and whales.  Goodbye warm sun and salt water and swimming.  Goodbye trade winds carrying the scent of flowers, bird songs, and outdoor dining.  Is it time to go to the cabin yet?

Spinner Dolphins and Dinner With Captain Cook

Although apparently large groups of spinner dolphins on the Kona coast are a frequent occurrence, it was a great delight for us to see dozens of these friendly creatures and their babies playing off our shore.  I first noticed a group of paddle boarders hanging out in front of he condo.  Then I could see that they were surrounded by dark fins.  Yikes, I thought, and called to Rick when I saw a couple of the dolphins leap and twist.  Then I could see more and more and more sleek gray bodies in the water.  Just beautiful.  We had this delight to ourselves for a short time and then boats came from everywhere to dump snorkelers into the water to join the dolphins.  I got frustrated watching one very aggressive boat motor among the dolphins and the snorkelers, but it was an exciting time, regardless.

We took in some more Hawaiian history today.  First a tour of Hulihe`e Palace which was built in 1838 by the second Governor of the Island of Hawai`i, John Adams Kuakini. After his death in 1844, the Palace passed to Princess Ruth Luka Ke`elikōlani. While Princess Ruth owned the Palace, Hulihe`e was a favorite vacation retreat of the royal families.  

The Palace was built by foreign seamen, of native lava rock, coral lime mortar, koa and `ohi`atimbers. It was originally paneled in koa. The walls are 3 feet thick which along with the trade winds and shade from the big porches keeps the inside pretty cool.  It is just across the street from Moku`aikaua Church, the first stone church on the Island of Hawai`i.  It is a short walk to the pier on Kailua Bay.

The beach in Kailua Bay is where the swimming section of the Ironman is done.  Lots of folks were in the water practicing the swim.  At the pier we climbed on the Kanda ll for an evening history boat tour down the coast to the spot where Captain Cook is buried.  The cliffs rising above Kealakekua Bay are the Big Island’s signature seascape. This is where Captain James Cook took his last breath. It was a scenic one hour ride along the coast to the bay where we had a luau type meal on the boat in the calm waters of the bay.  However, the ride back was like being on a roller coaster.  Matthew, this would not be a boat ride for you!  We had great live music, drinks and a sunset.  A perfect last full day in Hawaii.

Kona Reef Condos

We are staying in a one bedroom condo at the edge of Kailua-Kona.  We have a full kitchen and have made good use of it for our breakfasts and packing picnic lunches.  There are three buildings in this complex and they are clustered around a beautiful pool, hot tub, and barbecue area.  Many of the condos are owner occupied so it is a pretty quiet place.  Just right for us. 

A llittle back alley runs from our parking spot to the downtown restaurants and shops.  This area is delightful, but really busy.  We have learned to avoid the traffic snarls by driving around that part of town whenever we leave for an adventure.  We have a wall of windows looking out to our covered lanai, then a strip of grass, then the rocks which are constantly covered by ocean waves.  Our bedroom at the back of the condo has louvered windows which help to pull the trade winds though the condo, although there is and air conditioner for reall hot days.

I am grateful to be retired and to be able to take a fewer more days here in Hawaii.  It was great to spend much of today just hanging out watching the waves and spying on the big cruise ship that appeared in the harbor overnight.  We lazed by the pool and swam and swam and swam and watched the surfers catch waves.  The weather is perfect - sunny and 80.

We went a few blocks into town after watching the cruise ship pack up the thousands of extra visitors and move on to another island. We had dinner at a casual little Indian restaurant overlooking the ocean.  Rick spent dinner watching three little girls do the hula in the shopping area adjacent to the restaurant.  They were adorable and very serious about their native dance.  After dinner we walked to the Kona Inn Shopping Mall which is really an old motel type inn that has been turned into a series of small shops.  After finding just the right t-shirts we went back to our favorite ice cream shop for some toasted coconut (me) and macadamia nut (Rick) ice cream.  A perfect end to a perfect day.

Hawaii Volcanoes National Park

In honor of Jennifer I had a Hawaii plate lunch today.  I know that it was one of her major goals when she visited Hawaii on her honeymoon and she talked about it often - one of our Survivor celebrations included a Minnesota version of the plate lunch.  Mine was a scoop of rice, macaroni salad and a hunk of Kalua pork baked in banana leaves.  We ate at a great little outdoor cafe in Volcano Village called Cafe Ohia.  Rick had Portugese Bean soup.  Delicious.

The big island of Hawaii was created by eruptions of five volcanoes.  Kilauea and Mauna Loa are two of the world's most active volcanoes and contine to add acres of land to Hawaii Island.  The summit of Mauna Loa is 56,000 feet above the sea floor (not above sea level) which means that if the whole bulk of the volcano was on land it would be 27,000 feet taller than Mt. Everest.

Both of these volcanoes are on the south end of the island.  Their height and activity makes that area mostly unaccessible except by taking a winding road along the coast.  Once again this road is part of the old foot trails that circle the island.  It is a beautiful drive with spectacular views.  I loved the many small towns, old churches and cemeteries, and small farms.  Lots of homes had gardens that included coffee plants.  We could smell the roasting coffee as we drove.  Folks set up card tables along the road to sell fresh fruits, veggies and coffee!

The drive was about 2.5 hours on this winding, narrow road.  We went to the Visitor's Center (after getting into the park free on our Golden Age Pass) and saw a movie describing the development of the volcanoes.  We also discovered that there is no visible lava flow at this time which is sort of a bummer as I was thinking that an evening cruise to scee the glow of the lava hitting the sea would have been great, but next time we get here I guess.  We were also warned about the sulphur dioxide gas that can cause breathing problems when the wind blows the wrong way - roll up your windows, turn on the air conditioning and get away swiftly!  Part of the drive around the crater's rim was closed due to the gases, but we drove part way and saw the huge crater, the many steam vents puffing up through the landscape all over, and the huge lava tube that you can walk through - very cool!

Our return back to Kona was on a new road called "Saddle Road" which took us over the top of the island between the peaks of Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa.  The only time we have seen the tops of these tall volcanoes was during the flight in when we could see them peeking above the clouds.  The drive shortened the trip back by about 45 minutes which was good because we were bushed and ready to sit and listen to the waves and watch the sun set.  Only three more days of this.

Old Mamalahoa Scenic Heritage Corridor

I was happy to see that the sun is back again and look forward to more swimming.  But first we drove up into the hills along a road which follows a path that the ancient native Hawaiians used - the Mamalahoa highway.  It is a narrow, well paved road that follows the trail which existed about the 1500 foot level of elevation around the island.  At this level there are many nice homes with spectacular views.  There are also stores, hotels, missions, and plantations from the early 1900's.

Ten miles of this road has been designated as the Kona Heritage Corridor.  At the center of this stretch is the town of Honualoa. This village is an old sugar town which was settled by immigrants from Europe, Japan, the Portugal, and China.  The local post office was the town communication center and the school and churches helped to bring this community together despite its diverse cultures.

Today many of the old buildings survive and are now art galleries and cafés.  The old flamingo pink Inaba's Kona Hotel still provides rest for tourists at $40 a night.  It also has a unique boardwalk out to a deck which looks down 1500 feet to the ocean.  Perched out on the deck are two small bathrooms with windows opening to the spectacular view far below!

We got back to the condo for a afternoon of swimming, lounging and reading.  I was excited to see a green sea turtle lounging on the rocks outside the pool.  They are an endangered species but seen fairly frequently in Hawaii.  We went to Bubba Gump's for a fish dinner served on a covered porch just a step from the waves.  One of my favorite things about Hawaii is the many restaurants that have open air dining.  It is so lovely and warm in the evenings it seems sad to est indoors.  Our perfect day was topped off with a scoop of toasted coconut ice cream.  Ahh.

 

Cowboys and Fishermen

We drove to the north end of the island past vast fields of black lava from various eruptions of Mauna Loa, the biggest volcano in the world.  Most of these flows were from the 1800's and had not broken down into soil so there was no grass or trees except along the coast where big resorts have hauled in soil and planted palms.  As we headed further north past the most recent flows we began to see scrubby trees and grass.  We drove up the slope of an old volcano (The Big Island has five) to Waimea. 

This is a cowboy town.  Hawaiians call them Paniolos.  It is the site of the Parker Ranch which is one of the U.S.A's oldest ranches largest ranches.  The ranch was built in 1847 by John Parker, a New Englander who jumped ship on the Big Island and married the daughter of a member of the Hawaiian royalty.  We stopped at the Parker Ranch Store and saw fun stuff like pearl button cowboy shirts made of wild Hawaiian print fabric.

We left town and drove the Kohala Mountain Road which was narrow and winding.  It took us past lush green pastures with cattle, sheep, horses and goats.  We had wonderful views of the ocean.  The air was cool and misty.  By the time we got to the bottom of the hills we were in another climatic zone - very tropical with huge trees and flowers everywhere.  We stopped at the town hall of Kapaau and took a picture of the statue of King Kamehameha.  After a picnic lunch in the car because of the drizzle, we drove to the end of the road to Pololu Valley Lookout which is sort of the end of the world.  It looks down at a black sand beach and out over endless miles of ocean.  The was a muddy, slippery path down to the water but my adventurous husband decided that it wasn't for him.  Many other folks came back up the hill covered in mud.

We drove back along the coast to Lapakahi State Historical Park which is the archeological dig of a fishing and farming village from 600 years ago.  The cottages that were on this site were built of the black lava stone and thatched roofs.  It was built in a protected valley with a good beach for landing their fishing canoes.  We saw several pods of whales swimming off shore.

The surf was still pounding (like my fevered head) when we returned to the condo.  I love having the sea in my front yard.

Whales, Waves and Quilts

I woke up to gray skies and a runny nose.  Rats!  I managed to avoid the family virus and then caught one here.  Fortunately Rick brought an arsenal of cold remedies so I will take it easy today and hope for a quick recovery.

Speaking of rats, the island is overrun by mongoose (geese?) that were imported to control the rats in the sugar cane fields.  Now they are everywhere and pretty much eliminate ground nesting birds.  That is too bad since there are species of birds that exist only on the Hawaiian Islands.  Just in the last two days I have seen four beautiful birds that can't be seen anywhere else.  They seem to want to join us in our condo so we have to be care to keep the screen door closed.

While I sat on the lanai talking to the birds I noticed that the pod of whales was back in the bay.  They are frequently near the surface so it is probably females with babies who need to surface more often than the adult whales.  We watched them slap the waves with their huge pectoral fins and tails.  A little entertainment for the folks from Minnesota.  They must have liked the big waves from last nights storm - so did the surfers who hung out in the waves just off the tiny, rocky beach next to the condos.

My highlight of the day was a visit to a local quilt shop - Quilt Passion - which had a wonderful display of Hawaiian quilts and lots of beautiful batik fabric.  I bought a fabric for making a table cover or wall hanging of sea turtles.  We will see how my hand applique skills are coming along.  It was fun to talk to a group of ladies who were sharing lunch and looking at new quilt fabrics.  

I was happy to see a drawer full of books at the condo and have enjoyed reading on the covered lanai even in the drizzle today.  The temps stayed around 75 and the light rain did not seem to bother the surfers at all.  Oahu is getting much more of the storm and has famous high surf today which means that many folks needed rescue.  If it isn't ice and snow it is surf, but I prefer the warm, thank you very much.

Pu'uhonua o Honaunau National Historical Park

My ancestors in Norway lived on a farm on the fjord.  I don't know why so many Norwegians decided to live in the Midwest when they moved to America - so far from the ocean.  I think that saltwater runs in my veins and the rhythm of the sea is the pace of my breath.  I love the sound and smell and taste of the sea.  

Today we drove south along the coast through small towns and past Kona coffee farms to a National Historical Park.  It is the site of a royal residence on Hawaii Island.  The royal grounds were part of a political sub district that descended down the slope of the Mauna Loa volcano to the sea.  The districts were divided this way so that residents would have areas for farming, collecting drinking water, and fishing,  It included a beach canoe landing for the chief and his attendants.  At this site the sacred bones of the chiefs were buried.  No blood could be shed within the confines of this area, so it became a place of refuge for defeated warriors as well as those too old or too young to fight.

A massive stone wall built of volcanic rock in about 1550 separated the royal grounds from the place of refuge.  As long as the defeated warriors stayed within these very barren areas they were safe.  In 1960 the area was set aside to preserve Hawaiian history.  The native Hawaiian National Park ranger who introduced us to the area and told the story of its history was just terrific.  He certainly made the place come alive for us.  It is still held as a very sacred place for the Hawaiians and the spirits spoke to us in the breeze.  

It was pretty hot in the sun and we were happy to sit in the shade and eat our picnic lunch.  We drove back for an afternoon rest and then walked downtown to Huggo's for dinner right at the edge of the water.  I spied a pod of whales out in the bay and we watched them all during dinner.  After topping off a great meal with a slice of macadamia nut pie we waddled back to the condo for the sunset.  A great day.

Big Yachts and Big Waves

We are rubbing elbows with the rich and famous.  The richest woman in Britain, former Miss UK Kirsty Bertarelli and her billionaire Swiss husband, Ernest have parked the biggest motor yacht ever built in the UK, a 96-metre six-deck yacht named the Vava II in the bay in front of our condo.  It was lit up like a Christmas tree last night when we arrived.  This morning we could see the helicopter parked on the top deck.  I'm sure they will be stopping by later for drinks.

They will have to fly over because there are some awesome waves breaking off our shore.  The big storms hitting California have their start out here and the surf is high.  It is so loud when we have our sliding doors open that it is hard to hear the TV news.  

As usual the time change has screwed up my internal clock and I was awake at 3:30 am ready to start the day.  I went back to sleep several times until 6 when I gave up the fight and went out on the lanai to sip Kona coffee and watch the sun rise.  It was 69 degrees, humid, with a light breeze.  I just love Hawaii!

Rick is fighting a sinus infection, the remains of a cold and cough as well as still recovering from his shoulder injury.  He was pretty wiped out from the flight, but the coffee revived him too.  So we had breakfast while watching the waves come in and then went to stock up on groceries.  I always forget how expensive food is on the island.  I would hate to be feeding a family here. Carter, I am eating some fresh mango for you.

After lunch and a nap we slathered on sunblock and headed to the pool.  My body soaked up the sun, heat and warm salt water.  It's a hard life but someone has to do it!  There is a beautiful barbecue area by the pool so we grilled some burgers for dinner and sat with a glass of wine watching the sun set.  It has been a perfect first day in paradise.

From winter to summer in 14 crowded hours

On our group ski trip to Steamboat we scored a big one -- a TSA pre-screening pass which let us get though security without taking off our shoes or jackets, and we could leave our computer and liquids in the suitcase.  We went though a fast line.  It was a delight.  I was excited to discover that the TSA prescreen was on our boarding pass and as such did not pack so very carefully to save time at security.  Well at 6 am in Minneapolis there was no security line for TSA pre on our end of the airport,  So I was one of the folks you hate who struggled with my luggage in security.  Arghhh!

Our flight to Phoenix was full, aren't they all these days?  Our seats were at athe front of the plane which loads last and we were told that there would be no space for carry on luggage by the time we got on the plane and should check it.  Na uh.  I had my good new camera and lenses in this bag and I was not going to send it to the thieves at the airport luggage handlers after tumbling down the luggage conveyer to the cart.  I got special dispensation to keep my bag with me.  I think they recognized me as someone who had not had coffee yet.  Since we had to de-ice the plane we all had to get on very early and I got three bites of a muffin and a quarter cup of coffee before we got on our meal free plane.  

We got to Phoenix in time to hit the midday rush at the airport and had to run from one end of the airport to the other where we found that several plane delays had filled the area so full that the floor was the only place to sit.  We got loaded and started a long and turbulent flight.  We got in to Kona about 45 minutes late but enjoyed the 80 degrees of sunshine.  Ahhh!  It took over an hour to unload the luggage, but it did arrive and then we were on our way to our condo by the ocean.  

We are both exhausted but so happy to be here listening to the pounding waves just a stones throw from our lanai.  Aloha!