NORTH OF HILO AND BEYOND

Thursday July 25, 2013

We began our day with fresh banana bread at the Dolphin Bay Hotel. We then headed to various sites close to Hilo.

The first was the huge rock (Naha Stone) located in front of the library. This is the rock that Kamehameha lifted at the age of 14. According to legend, whoever could move it, would be king of all of the islands.




We drove to several different waterfalls, Rainbow Falls was the closest so it was first, then Pe'epe'e Falls and the Boiling Pots and Wai'ale Falls. These were just a short ways out of Hilo. It was early in the morning so no crowds to speak of. After a bit the falls all seem to look the same.





Next we went over to Lili'uokalani Gardens near Banyan Drive. That area is really picturesque and relaxing. We walked over to the nearby Coconut Island which is basically across a bridge from the gardens.


Then off to the Tsunami Museum for any updates and to remember how much destruction tsunamis have caused in the islands, especially in Hilo.

We had some fairly slow but scenic driving to Akaka Falls. This falls is fairly far off the road but it was well worth the drive. We wound our way along a path and steps while enjoying large tropical trees and plants. Very pretty.







Parker Ranch in the Waimea area was a nice stop to rejuvenate with lunch and window shopping. This stop sign lets you know you are in a different territory.


This shop name says it all.

THE VOLCANO

Wednesday July 24, 2013

We ate breakfast at the Kilauea Military Camp. It was only a couple of miles from the Volcano House. We were going to stay more than one evening but decided against it once we discovered some areas were closed due to VOG, a mixture of volcanic gases that inhibits breathing.










We drove the Crater Rim Road until we got to the Chain of Craters Road. Crater Rim Road is closed off for a fairly large section. We continued our drive until we had to park the car and walk the 3/4 mile to where the road is covered with lava. We hiked on the lava a bit and took photos of the 2 types of lava-a'a and pahoehoe. The first is chunky and rough and the second is smooth and ropy.



It was fairly cool and windy as we attempted to hike the lava.


We had to pose near the classic "Road Closed" sign.

Then onto the petroglyphs and then the crater walk. The petroglyphs had a number of holes dug and an umbilical card was put in each as a baby was born. It seems to be a symbol of long life. We sure saw a lot of little holes.







The crater walk did not have as many steam vents as usual but was still just as massive and eerie feeling while you were down there.







There has also been some issues with fumes etc. since the 2008 eruption that continues. The evening photo from yesterday indicates where some of the new eruptions are. We got a photo of that same spot but only that was during the daytime. It doesn't look like much but a football field could easily fit in it. It is also 3 miles away, which it doesn't seem that far away either.
This is the Halema'uma'u Crater where we viewed it at the Jaggar Museum.




We then drove onward to Kalapana or black sand beach that we had previously gone to with the family. This beach was a disappointment, since there wasn't much beach left. We remember you guys frolicking in the waves here before, but you would not have wanted to be near these waves. The palm trees that were planted are now bigger but it just is not the same. Also, it is another spot to watch a lava eruption up in the mountainside, so now it is a tourist area to park cars and view in the evening.








Next was the Lava Tree State Park. We walked around and saw some HUGE trees surrounding the lava residue trees. It was cleaned up a bit from past trips. We also noticed a sign of interest near the park.







We stopped at Mauna Loa plantation and factory and then onto Hilo Hattie's. Both were ok and not very busy. The area of Hilo looks pretty distressed. Lots of buildings closed or in relatively poor condition.

We stayed at the Dolphin Bay Hotel which is older but seems to be pretty nice. The small tree frogs (Coqui) in the Hilo area are going to be a pain tonight. They have been trying to kill them off with all kinds of chemicals and such with little success. They are very loud and shrill. We may need more than one drink tonight.

SOUTH TOWARDS THE VOLCANO

Tuesday July 23, 2013
We ran a couple of errands this morning before heading out to the volcano. We headed down to Pu'uhonua o Honaunau-the place of refuge. There were huge stone walls surrounding this area of royal grounds. Numerous carved figures also guard this refuge.








South Point was our next visit. We needed to go off of the road a considerable distance to get to it. It is now a paved road, which was nice. In some spots it is still single but at least you are not on a dirt trail where your tires mind the ruts. The wind blows very, very hard in this area. Definitely a bad hair area of the country. We got some fantastic photos of some gigantic waves that just boiled their way into shore. Hopefully they look as strong as they actually were.












"Broken Road" was also at South Point. Needless to say, the road was in awful condition and no longer driveable or very walkable.




It was getting later in the afternoon and we hadn't had lunch yet, so the Punaluu Bakery in Naalehu was the perfect spot to take a break. The only problem was that some cute but annoying birds seemed to think they could also participate. We ate and headed to the black sand beach.








This stupid bird is eyeing up what tidbits it wants to steal from some visitor, mainly us at the moment.
The black sand beach of Punalu'u was a neat site to see where the waves crashed in against the pristine black lava sand. We did not see any turtles today. This area tends to have turtles in the area. The sand also was not hot. It can be quite hot when the sun is beating down. Today with the cool rain, the sand was tepid.




"Need to get some of that lava out of my shoes"




Just a little wind blown from South Point.




The trees at South Point are pretty bent due to the very strong winds.
We finally got to The Volcano House where we will spendthrift the night. Parts of the crater rim road are closed due to fumes from the eruptions. That could limit our access to various areas of this national park. We shall see what happens tomorrow. Hopefully some of this clears up a bit.






We did see the glow from the Jaggar Museum. It showed up very nicely in the dark. Pretty neat.

NORTH OF KIALUA-KONA

Monday July 22, 2013

I had written a complete blog for Monday and was ready to post and I am not sure what happened, BUT the whole thing disappeared. I was far from excited so this particular post is now going to be very abbreviated to say the least.

* First we ate a local breakfast of rice, Spam, Portuguese sausage, and scrambled egg. It wasn't a breakfast of champions, but it was pretty good for a change of pace.
* We got in the car and headed north.
* We stopped at Hamakua Macadamia Nut factory where we sampled all sorts of items with macadamia flavored or enhanced things. We even had the opportunity to crack some nuts. We had to wear safety glasses and I can see why. I had one that really skid across the floor.



* Next was the original statue of King Kamehameha in Kapa'au.
*. We then headed to Pololu Lookout and went on a very good hike through the rocks and such to a black sand and rocky beach. It was below the cliff so we had to climb down and ascend back up the steep trail. That was a neat and very scenic site.















* Next we drove to the Pu'ukoha Heiau (temple) which was built by King Kamehameha to overtake the other islands. Numerous sacrifices were made to appease the gods in order for this to be a success. You would think that human sacrifices would not have to be the norm, but maybe it made the gods more pleasant to deal with.
* We decided to try The Kona Brewery for supper but there was a waiting time of more than 35 min. It seemed like all of the tourists in the area were actually dining there. There were lots of other places that had slim crowds. In fact the shops were not busy at all or closed or in the process of closing for the evening. This was way before 8 PM. The economy issues have really hit this area as well. There were a number of shops and businesses that were completely defunct. Not so good.

This was a busy and warm day but we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.

A LONG DAY OF TRAVEL

Sunday July 21, 2013

We woke up awfully early to catch the shuttle to the Milwaukee airport. It came on time and we were ready to go, along with another family. The shuttle stopped at a couple more hotels enroute to the airport. We were there in only a few minutes and went through security without any groping. We flew on a small CR1700 Canadair Regional Jet to Houston, but it is comfortable enough, so not a problem. It looks like we have a couple of hours for our layover. Just enough time to check our e-mail and charge up electronics and just relax.


We had a fairly long layover on LAX and as you can see Walt is just overcome with excitement.



We will then have a 5 hr. and 43 min. trek to Kailua-Kona. Whew!!!!!

40th ANNIVERSARY PARTY DAY

Saturday July 19, 2013
We ate a nice relaxing breakfast at Alterra. This was the one with the view of Lake Michigan. We walked along the lake for awhile afterwards, and then onto take photos of various landmarks. We eventually got to the party about 1 or so. It was a nice relaxing event and once again gave us an opportunity to visit with family members. Michael and the crew eventually had. A custard craving and needed to make a "Custard Run" about 7:30 or 8:00 PM. I am not so sure that Culvers was ready for their big order to go. Remember they also had to transport custard for Tom & Sue as well as us. The staff probably cringed when the mob of six custard deprived individuals arrived at their counter. By the way it was really tasty, so Culvers once again proved they can still produce a good product.
We headed back toward the airport hotel and purchased gas enroute. We have an early start tomorrow and wanted to make sure that Anne would not have to put $50 worth of gas in the neat little RAV 4 before she returns it on Mon. We chatted a bit with Anne and then off to bed.

WI & HI

Friday July 19, 2013
We will use almost any excuse to get to Hawaii (at least I will). We left FL to head to WI for a 40th Wedding Anniversary for my brother and sister-in-law (Tom & Sue). We decided since the flights to WI were already expensive and we were already flying to a nice destination, that maybe we should make it a multi-city enjoyable trip. Therefore, after we leave WI on Sun. we head toward Kialua-Kona, HI. This is on the Big Island.
We met Anne (our daughter) in Chicago and flew from there to Milwaukee. We did a bit of shopping at REI and then headed over to Tom & Sue's for an afternoon visit since Heidi was also In town. Matthew and Casey and Madeleine drove in from St. Louis and were ready to relax and feed their little gremlin and get her in for the night. Madeleine, who is now 14 months old,
was the center of attention while we were there.
The party is tomorrow afternoon, so our morning is free to check out a few places in the area before we arrive.