Hawaii - updated

December 19^th – Time to pack but we did get a nice walk, breakfast and the girls did a little more shopping. After an early lunch it was time to head to the airport to start the long trek home to Arizona or from warmer back to warm. We left Kona airport jus after 1:00 PM and arrived in Phoenix close to 1:00 AM, and then had to pick up Lexi and drive back to Green Valley. Got home about 3:30 or just after midnight Hawaiian time.

December 18^th – We got up, had some breakfast and hit the road by 8:30. We took the “

Saddle Road

” through the mountains to get a good view of the peak and the observatories on Mauna Kea. It is about 14000 feet but the locals like to add to it by measuring to the ocean floor (another 18000 feet) which would make it the tallest in the world. The road never got over 6500 feet but even there, there were lava flows from old volcanic activity. Well – the whole island is the result of volcanic activity. As it is with most of the island there were interesting flowers and trees along the way. We made our way through Hilo and just south of there toured the Mauna Loa Macadamia nut farm. It is one of the largest in the world with over 250,000 trees on 2500 acres. The trees are all in rows but each section is separated by the Norfolk pine trees – both trees were brought over from Australia. Samples and souvenirs were plentiful.

Then we stopped at Lava Tree State Park. It is a unique display of an unusual

Thing that happened when a lava flow 12 feet deep came through here. The trees didn’t disintegrate until the lava had cooled enough to leave hollow towers of lava where trees had once stood – huge trees and flowers are everywhere there now but these unusual towers are still there. Now it is lunch time and we were not disappointed by following a local recommendation for good Mexican cuisine at LuQuins.

We still had time to drive to a coastal town that is divided by a lava flow. There we found the Star of the Sea – another “Painted Church” by the same Fr. Damian that did the one in Kona. It was worth the trip. It was moved to this location by the town’s people just hours before the lava flow would have consumed it in the old location. Then on to the main event of the day – Our helicopter tour of the Volcano which just started flowing into the ocean again three weeks ago.

We had a great ride in an EcoStar helicopter with a great pilot/narrator. It was like sitting in a living room chair but at 2500 feet and being zoom right in when you see something good. We saw a lot of lava flows from the past and some of there effects – like a town split richt down the middle and a church saved by the villagers just before that lave would have destroyed it. Another was a house very near the current activity that is the only one of 64 and he was close to loosing it twice before – stubonrn old guys refuses to leave – the view is great but the only way in or out is a six mile hike across lava or a helicopter.

Three lava flows into the Ocean

Needless to say this was the trip HIGHLIGHT!

With a little searching we found a local homemade Ice Cream place that had flavors like ginger, boya fruit, likini (passion fruit), coconut and about ten other flavors. While eating it we were invited to walk through the tropical gardens out back that was there before it was an ice cream place. Now if you need a unique place to pitch a tent this is it.

On the way back we planned to stop in Waipio Valley for another great viewpoint. The road down to the beach said 25% grade ahead – wow that would be a tough hike much less driving down (4 wheel drive required) – oh really… Another long but productive day in paradise.

December 17^th – We went for our morning walk in a lot of wind, so I think we got more of a workout. We had a relaxing morning and fixed a nice spaghetti meal for lunch and looked around the resort for awhile – they are still working on the pool, hot tub and activities. It has been closed since we got here and while it has a lot of people upset it really didn’t affect us as we do most of our exercise on our own and create our own activities and tours. We did go to a nearby black sand beach we found out about and it is neat to see. The surf was fairly calm there and we saw people out there snorkeling and paddle boarding. We heard about another beach with green sand but it was a long drive and a dangerous 31/2 mile hike in. We decided to go to church tonight to free up the day tomorrow over on the other side of the island. We tried to get to an authentic Hawaiian mass but the times and places didn’t fit in to our schedule. We enjoyed the one we went to in Waimeia and our friends went with us – we enjoyed their singing abilities much more than the local choir… We stopped at another resort on the way home that has its own shopping plaza where there was to be some entertainment and food but all we found was some strolling musicians singing off key Christmas carols and restaurants to open soon or one that was REALLY expensive so we went home and raided the refrigerator for what ever we wanted – plenty of choices. Then we started playing cards and before we knew it – it was midnight! Nite, nite.

December 16^th – It’s going to be a long day. The girls planned it and Linda thinks if it is only an inch on the map it shouldn’t take long. Then they adjusted the plans as we drove… Combine that with road construction, a max speed of 55 and a lot of 35 and 45 – I think you get the picture. But I have to be honest – they really got us to see some interesting things along the way and we got several water falls and the Volcano National Park all in. We had a great sunset too, but we were still in the Park, we had one more stop to see the glow of lava from the caldera – well worth the wait. Now the long, dark and winding road home. Thanks Ken.

December 15^th  - We decided to stay fairly close to here today because we have the big Luau tonight. But decided to go back to a beach where we saw the big sea turtles the other day. We took along the snorkeling equipment and got some good looks at colorful fish and several of those turtles. I grabbed the back of the shell on one of the big boys thinking I would just hold him still and watch how they moved in the water – WRONG!! He pulled away quite easily. I think in deeper water you could get quite a ride. We came back to get lunch – we have a lot of leftovers – just not too much. Save the appetite for tonight.

Wow – what a Luau. Good setting, great entertainment and lots of local foods. Watch that punch though.