Hawaii

We took a week off and went on a long-awaited (and postponed) trip to the Big Island of Hawaii with John and Elizabeth. We flew out of Los Angeles to Honolulu, and then to Kona. I was really excited to glimpse the volcanoes from afar as we flew in! The condo was awesome, with the flair of a hula hut from the 1800s but appointed with all modern conveniences. Even the wooden door was skillfully carved with a volcano picture. I’d never seen a mongoose before (they were imported into Hawaii long ago) and were all over the grounds. Food was next, and we hit up the farmers market for all the island wonders, such as pineapple, papaya, guava, this weird spikey fruit that had an inside that looked like a grape with a marble-sized seed, very tart. Also picked up vegetables including a purple potato that had no flavor no matter how much butter we poured on it. John, Elizabeth and I took pictures – and these here are from all three of us. Elizabeth took the most exquisite, breathtaking flower and fauna pictures – they are so tiny and detailed! John had a camera that was waterproof so we used it snorkeling and kayaking. We stopped at the black sand beach on our way to Volcano National Park. We hoped to see red lava, but it has quit running into the ocean and now Kilaweaua has a dome and lots of little earthquakes. Unfortunately for us, rain and fog moved in at dusk just as we were waiting to see the glow from the caldera, so we never got to see hot lava, but we did hike through the caldera from the 1959 eruption. Ron got to metal detect a couple of beaches while we snorkeled – John and Elizabeth swam near the turtles! We also rented a couple of double kayaks and we all kayaked across the bay to see the monument where Captain Cook landed and was killed. Then we snorkled there in the marine sanctuary – it was pristine and amazing! The kayak back was a challenge as the sea had developed a 2-3 foot swell by then, but we made it! Hilo is a town on the rainy side of the island so we visited a botanical garden there and another farmer’s market, as well as eating other island cuisine – Ron loved the toasted coconut cappuchino! The last day we rested on a big white sand beach while Ron detected for jewelry (he found a cool toe ring) and finished our shopping. It was a beautiful area, a wonderful trip and we’re so glad we did it!