Tuesday, May 22
We drove from home and spent the night at the Holiday Inn Express in Boston the got up around 4:30 to catch the shuttle to Logan . I had cocoa in the lobby, then we rode to the airport. The flight to Chicago took a bit over two hours then we had a two hour lay-over there. The plane to Honolulu left the gate on time, but it took a while to get to the head of the taxi line. On the flight I watched The Bridge to Terabithia, which had just as sad an ending as the book. Should have known! We got to Honolulu a bit ahead of time because of tail winds. Unfortunately Dick's suitcase didn't arrive with us. We couldn't get an earlier flight to Kauai , so called Chris and Bill to tell them we'd be coming on the scheduled one.
We left for Kauai at 5:25 and were met by Chris and Bill with crownflower leis. We drove to their house, had chicken for dinner and watched Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert. Chris and Bill's house is lovely, with an outdoor lanai, tile floors throughout and a kitchen decorated with tropical flower tiles. Glassed cupboards hold her dishes and Peggy Karr tropical flower fused glass dishes. We went to bed around nine- which proved to be our habit for our whole time there.
Wednesday, May 23
We slept pretty well and Dick was up and taking pictures around the neighborhood by 6:30. He took lots of bird pictures- loads of Java Finches at Chris's feeder, two kinds of doves and mynahs. I got up early, emailed people to say we had arrived safely, then went back to bed for a little while. After breakfast and a shower, we left for the north coast.
We went to the Kileau Lighthouse first. Dick took hundreds (it seemed anyway) of pictures of shearwaters nesting in holes on the ground and red-footed boobies and frigate birds soaring around the cliffs surrounding the lighthouse. From there we went to Hanelei town and walked around and got walnut shrimp and salads and took them to Middle Beach to eat at a picnic table. On the way we stopped at the viewpoint for the Hanelei taro fields, a lovely multi-colored patchwork far below us. After Middle Beach , we went on to Black Pot Beach , where the Hanelei River enters the sea. Chris and Bill swam and I got in waist deep, but found it a bit cool. Dick wandered around taking pictures, but couldn't swim because his swimsuit was still en route.
We had great shave ice in Kapaa with three different flavors of syrup each. When we got back to the house Dick and Chris worked on photos, identifying birds and places. At around 6 Dick's suitcase arrived and all was well.
Thursday, May 24
We were both up early again. Bill and Chris went to his doctor's appointment. We worked on photos for a while, then took a nap. When Bill and Chris got back we had lunch, then left. We saw falls and the Wailua Valley . Then we went to Lydgate Park . We snorkeled quite a while and I used my new underwater camera bag- which worked well. The water felt a little cool, but the air was warm. And once you see fish, you forget about the water temp and get lost in the views. We showered off in the outdoor shower, stashed our gear in the car, then took a walk through Lydgate Park . First we went down by the river, with piles of rubble still left from a storm. We saw one rock with what appeared to be petroglyphs and walked down to the river. We found a coconut that looked (and tasted) in good condition that may have washed in and broken on the rocks. Then we walked up the other way. We passed the amphitheater that had burned, but great ceramic panels of sea creatures were still there in good shape. We crossed the Fun Bridge which was like a maze of bridges. Down below we could see two cars stuck in the sand- one from trying to loose the other. Eventually the helper vehicle got out, but the other had to wait for a tow truck. We took pictures of the ceramics decorating the bridge and the bridge itself. Then we walked back to the beach on the sand.
Back home we worked on photos, including my fish ones and had dinner, then watched The Daily Show and Colbert Report before bed.
Friday, May 25
We were up around 7 and off to Tunnels Beach by about 9:30 . We couldn't park near the beach entrance because it was fully parked, so we drove down by a nearby camp and parked there. It was a pretty long, hot hike back over the beaches to Tunnels, but we could see our progress as Bali Hai came closer and closer. I snorkeled twice and Dick in between. We both took pictures, but on my second time, the camera had gotten moved to the ‘scenery' position, so none of the pictures came out. Still there were great, many colored fish with bizarre designs there and it was great fun. In between, I shell hunted and got a lot of tiny ones, especially nii'hau shells that they make intricate necklaces of. We parked our stuff by a tree with roots so exposed you could climb under it, and had lunch there. We watched the net fishermen and kite surfers and generally had a wonderful relaxing time.
Back at the house, we showered the sand off us and our clothes and gear. Then we headed for the Waipoulo Rice Bowl restaurant and had a good meal there for $5- meat, vegetables, and lots of rice beneath. An older Japanese-looking woman sat across from me with her legs folded under her, lotus style, on her chair. We went to the next door super market and got postcards and souvenirs. We drove through the area where Chris and Bill had their condo originally and walked through the Coconut Marketplace. I got Dick a T-shirt and a dress for myself and it was a pleasant wander through Memory Marketplace because we did it often when Chris lived next door to it. At home, we worked on photos once again until bedtime.
Saturday, May 26
In the morning Dick and I went hiking around her area with Chris. We hiked up a road with a nursery on one side and beautiful mountain views on the other. The flowers were wonderful and almost everywhere you looked. After that we hiked to a waterfall where a big group of teenagers showed up soon after we did. We spent a good deal of time watching them jump from the rocks into the pool at the foot of the falls. It was challenging trying to get a photo of them in mid-jump, but fun. We found a passion fruit on the trail and tasted it and got pictures of the fruit with a blossom that had fallen.
When we got back to the house, I sorted through all my little nii'hau shells and threw away all the sand that was in the bottle. I began work on my photos and got my postcards off in the mail. Then we went to the Samini restaurant where the special is a noodle soup and the seating is at counters that fill the room with spaces between for waitresses to deliver food. I had skewers of teriyaki beef and chicken and a piece of lilikoi pie for dessert.
We went to the Kauai Polynesian Festival and walked through the craft tent. Vendors had a shell called the sunrise shell that was like a beautiful red and yellow scallop and was used in jewelry. There was lots of carved wood, colorful clothing and the lovely, expensive nii'hau necklaces. The stage competition started with a very tattooed chieftain from Tahiti who did a ceremonial opening, then there was a dance competition with everyone from little children (kikis) to professional troupes who entertained at the big hotels. One group was even from a school in Florida . We watched the groups, each accompanied by their own musicians. It was a bit chilly and none of us dressed for that, so that eventually drove us toward home. We had lots more photos to work on that evening.
Sunday, May 27
We got a picnic together and headed for Poipu around 10. We stopped at Spouting Horn first. I spent a good bit of time browsing the stalls on the way to it and bought a humu of inlaid wood for Chris and Bill. Several people saw a turtle browsing around the rocks, but it was gone when I got there. The Horn was spouting well, though, high up into the air. I went back and bought us another fish of inlaid wood before we left.
We went on to Poipu Beach where a Hawaiian family had taken over one of the covered picnic areas for a child's birthday party. They had wound crepe paper around the poles and strung balloons and had filled a wading pool with a slip-and-slide beside it. Several people carried outriggers down the beach and launched them. A monk seal was sleeping on the beach, cordoned off by ropes so people wouldn't pester it. We ate first, then snorkeled. But the currents were very strong and after being pulled a good way along, both Chris and I gave up and decided to swim elsewhere.
We drove to the harbor then to the Menehune Fish Pond, supposedly dug by the little people who lived on the Hawaiian Islands before others came there.
We ate at Duke's Restaurant under cover, but otherwise open to the beach. Inside they had a waterfall with beautiful plants and a koi pond below. I had great fish and chips and shared a huge piece of Hula Pie with Bill and Chris. When we got home, we showered off the sand, then worked on photos for the evening.
Monday, May 28
Dick and I got up and off early and went back to Tunnels Beach . We parked in the access street. I swam in light rain and moved around the reefs, with lots of great fish swimming with me. Then Dick took a turn and I hunted tiny shells. I went in one more time, then we drove to Hanelei and took pictures. We drove into Princeville along the golf course, toward the ocean.
We had lunch with Bill and Chris then drove to Anahola. Chris, Bill, and Dick swam in the river which was very warm, while I walked the seashore looking for shells and nice coral. I took some neat pictures of a Hawaiian sand castle with a leaf roof and of two little Hawaiian girls walking a balance beam in the campground. Unfortunately those pictures and a lot of the tide pools later got lost. Also lost, but not as regretted were pictures of a dead eel that Chris found. Chris had caught a prawn and crab, so I took pictures of those too. Dick and I walked the beach in the other direction, then we headed to other beaches.
We went to Fuji/Baby Beach and waded along a ridge of rocks that made lots of little tide pools. We saw lots of sea cucumbers that squirted their displeasure at being picked up by Chris. There were dozens of hermit crabs, other crabs, and a flounder I disturbed from the bottom as I walked along.
We started our laundry, then had a cookout with watermelon and fresh pineapple. We ate outdoors surrounded by poison toads, who squatted in Chris's plant pots and on the patio. Luckily the cats weren't interested in them. We spent the evening trying to name the fish we'd photographed, with lots of help from Chris.
Tuesday, May 29
This was our day for Hanapepe. We crossed the swinging bridge and walked along the river, Dick photographing birds and me, plants. Chris and I walked through three stores, including the one where they had their flowered tiles for the kitchen made. You could see the women working in a room beside the shop. The bathroom had a beautiful flowered ceramic sink and tiles. I got out traditional Christmas ornament- a Hawaiian lady with lei and long yellow flowered skirt at another shop. They had necklaces of the small Nii'hau shells and also the sunrise scallops that we saw at the Polynesian Festival.
We got Subway and McDonald's food for lunch and took it to Glass Beach . Chris and I picked up the small glass sand pieces, then we drove up by the Japanese Cemetery and Chris contributed some bottles of blue glass to be worked on by the waves. Dick got photos of a couple of new birds.
We went on to Lucy Wright Beach and Chris and I worked on filling medicine bottles with green olivine crystals from along the beach. Dick and Bill went to the pier and we joined them when we got there. Chris and Bill talked to a woman they met there fishing a good few years ago.
We had shave ice at a little store, not as good as the first, but nice. We drove to the golf course and saw the great views there and at the harbor. We stopped at the Kauai Coffee company and got coffee to take home. I tasted some mocha coffee, but it still isn't my thing. At the Red Dirt Shirt Company we bought shirts and a polo shirt for Rob and Chris and Bill used their Kauai resident discount.
When we got home, we worked on photos and bit and began packing things up for the next stage of the trip. I sorted the black sand out of my green crystals, and took pictures of Smudge looking cute with her paw over her head. Then Chris helped me name the flowers I had taken and we called it a night.
Wednesday, May 30 – Kauai to the Big Island
We showered and finished packing. On the way to the airport we took a side trip to Wailea Waterfall. We were at the airport in plenty of time, did the half hour flight, then had a good long wait in Honolulu . We sat in an outdoor area and I began writing this account of the trip- which I'm still doing on July 6! Dick bought Chinese food and we ate there. I slept a little on the flight to Hilo. We got our rental car and were on our way by 4 PM .
We stopped at a supermarket for a few things for breakfasts, lunches, and snacks and spent $54 on a small amount of food. We got to Volcano National Park and spent quite a while driving around trying to find the campground where we had rented a small cottage. Finally we stopped at the Volcano House Hotel to get directions, and found that was where we checked in and got our bags of towels and bed linens. They gave us bags enough for four people and directed us to the Namakanysaio Campground which was actually outside the National Park. We were able to use our golden oldies pass again, so could come and go in the park as we pleased without additional fees.
The cabins were like modified A-frames and the bathroom was just a few steps away. We made up our bed and walked around the campground, looking at the rifts where the land had split during earthquakes and lava cooling. By then we decided to have sandwiches for dinner, read and call it a night.
Thursday, May 31- Volcanoes National Park
We were up at 5:30 and went to the Visitors' Center to get maps. We wanted to see the introductory movie, but it didn't start until later. We walked the trail along the rim of the Kileau Iki Crater, then used our flashlights to go through the Lava Tube. We walked back along the road to where we had parked. From there we drove along the Chain of Craters Drive to the end and walked along to where the flowing lava had crossed and closed the road. We walked quite a way along the trail over the lava field, marked by painted spots on the lava. It had formed amazing patterns as it flowed and cooled. We had hoped to see the molten lava entering the sea- even at night when the color would be spectacular, but the hike was five or six miles over rough lava, so we contented ourselves with seeing the steam in the distance where lava was entering the sea.
On the way back up the road, we stopped to hike to the petroglyphs, again over lava paths. The designs carved in the lava formations were neat and reminiscent of Maori designs. Scattered through the petroglyphs were holes where babies' umbilical cords were put to assure the child of a long healthy life. We took a large number of pictures everywhere we went.
We had lunch in the cabin at the picnic table, then napped a little.
In the afternoon we went out again and hiked the trail past the steam vents and onto the Sulphur Banks, where the crystals formed neat patterns and varied colors. Sometimes the smell was a bit much, but for the most part it was cool and breezy in the park and scents got blown away quickly. Lots of interesting plants bordered the trail.
We continued our drive around Crater Rim Drive and stopped at the Halema'uma'u Crater, sacred to Pele, the Goddess of Volcanoes. From there we went through the Jager Museum which had seismographs measuring volcanic activity and information about lava. I was especially intrigued by Pele's tears, tear shaped drops of volcanic glass and Pele's hair which was long hair-like strands of lava. I spent the rest of the trip trying to find one of Pele's tears lying on the ground, but had no luck.
We went back to the area by the Lava Tube to try to spot the birds on a poster there. I found a little ‘blind' area where Dick had a better view, but I spent the majority of my time there trying to find a Happy Face Spider to photograph because I had become intrigued with them from a postcard I saw at the museum. I should have bought the postcard and taken a picture of them. They have various types of happy face markings on their backs and are very cute for a spider, but they are also very hard to find if my survey of the area was any indication!
We went for dinner in Volcano Village and ate pizza in a cute restaurant with paintings by local artists on the walls. I got a bottle of juice for breakfast the next morning and an ice cream bar at a little general store next to the restaurant. Dick worked on photos and we went to bed early so we could get a good start the next morning.
Friday, June 1- Volcano National Park to Kona
We dropped our linen bags off at Volcano House and were off by 7:30 . Breakfast (cereal and reconstituted dry milk) was eaten at Punulu'u Beach- a black sand beach. After breakfast we walked along the beach and saw a sea turtle sunning on the rocks a little off from the shore. Further down we saw a number of turtles feeding on the bottom very near shore. Just as I was leaving the beach, I looked back and saw a humped shape emerging from the water. I went back and stood just a few feet from the turtle as it dragged itself up on the shore, getting some very good pictures.
We drove on to Hookena Beach and snorkeled there. There were beautiful coral reefs and some fish we'd never seen before, but the pictures we took were discouraging. We seemed to be aiming the camera too high to get the fish. We both snorkeled, then washed off and had lunch. We drove on to Kona and found Ali'i Street where other beaches were located a few miles past the busy tourist area. We saw the surfers beach and went on to a snorkeling beach, but it was gray, so we didn't go in.
Back in the city, I walked through the Farmer's Market, taking photos. I got some tea for Heather, but didn't see much else I wanted to buy. We drove up above the city to find Mango Sunset Bed and Breakfast. It was run by an older retired professor (Hans), now a coffee grower and his wife (Marsha), with a little hospitality work done by their 2 year old daughter Karen. They had only had the place for two years but had lots of fruit trees and flowers all around as well as their coffee grove on the hill below the house. They worked the farm alone except to the help they got from Woofers- young people who worked organic farms for room and board. They had two Woofers, Emily and Joseph, while we were there.
You entered the house into the common room which had a kitchenette. Our bedroom was just beyond that with a bathroom at the end of the hall. Our room was lovely and airy and had a sliding glass door to the patio where breakfast was served in the mornings, overlooking the fields, ocean, and town below. We shared our bathroom with two men who were there to compete in a Half Iron Man Marathon and there was one more guest bedroom with its own bathroom further down the hall that was occupied by a young couple. We parked up by the barn- which had areas for washing off snorkeling and diving equipment and hanging towels, as well as the rooms for the Woofers and a screened porch above. A canopy tent held the Woofers cooking area.
After a dinner of ok Chinese food we bought a beach towel since the B&B didn't have any to loan us, then went home to work on photos- our nightly custom. I also got a couple of books from Hans about the family that owned the land and who were Marsha's ancestors.
Saturday, June 2
Dick was up early and went out to shoot pictures of birds but didn't find many. And the computer in the common room was on the fritz, so he couldn't do anything there either.
Hans cooked big breakfasts which unfortunately for me, was eggs, so Dick ate that for the two of us and I was very content with the cereal and juice in the kitchenette. We went off to Kahaluu Beach Park , the one we'd checked out the day before. There were fantastic fish there- lots of bright yellow tangs which we hadn't seen before, eels, and even a sea turtle or two, both on the rocks and underwater. We took turns taking pictures and swam all over the reefed area. At the north end of the beach, the surf was rougher and surfers were doing their thing there. I got a shave ice from a vendor's wagon at the beach, but it was more like a snow cone.
We went back to Mango Sunset for lunch and worked on photos. It rained buckets, so we finally headed north up the coast to see some of the other beaches Dick had listed via internet research. At first we turned south and found a couple of small pretty beaches. All along the highway there was graffiti, but made from laying pieces of white coral on the black lava bedrock to spell out names and love messages. We headed back up the coast to Hapuna Beach State Park . It was a beautiful beach- a long strand of sand. We swam to cool off, but with no reefs, there was no reason to snorkel. The second beach was reached by driving through the Mauna Kea Beach Hotel grounds. You got a parking permit from the man at the gate and parked down beyond the hotel- which was closed for renovations anyway. I snorkeled there, but it wasn't anything special.
We had a good meal at the Big Island Grill, a family restaurant we walked around town to get to. We saw one of many mongooses that have overrun the island. The story was that one bright individual imported mongooses to all the islands to tackle the rat problem, only to find that mongooses hunted in the day and rats came out at night, so never the twain do meet. A further story was that the crate of mongooses meant for Kauai fell overboard and so Kauai is the only island not now overrun with mongooses. At the B&B we found Emily and Joseph, the Woofers, and invited them to come with us the next morning to snorkel back at Kahaluu Beach .
Sunday, June 3
We got up around 6:15 . We had yogurt and muffins since Hans didn't cook on Sundays. Emily and Joseph, the Woofers, met us at the car at 8 and we all drove to the beach. We took photos again and were discouraged about most of them. But the kids had a great time. We went back to the B&B and had sandwiches for lunch. Then Hans decided to roast coffee beans and invited us to come and watch. We went up to the screened-in area above the barn and Hans gave a lecture about growing and roasting Kona coffee, which he considers the best in the world. The coffee beans were poured in a device like a hot-air popcorn popper and did pop like popcorn when the temperature was high enough. Emily packaged the roasted coffee in one pound bags and we got a couple of beans each to chew. Dick agreed that it was great- strong coffee taste without any bitterness. I didn't have much of a frame of reference or a great love for strong coffee flavor, but they were good.
In the afternoon the two of us went back to Kahaluu Beach and practice aiming photos at each other's waists, feet, etc. to try to get the aim correct. A sea turtle bumped me as I went in to shoot more pictures, which for some discouraging reason didn't take at all. We talked to a woman who was from Madison NH, just fifteen or so miles from Sandwich . On the way home we stopped at a market and Hilo Hattie's and I bought some gifts. At home we ate leftovers from our dinner the night before, sitting out on the porch.
Monday, June 4
We had breakfast then headed back to Kahaluu Beach . We each swam three times, and after a few camera glitches, got some good pictures of fish and a sea turtle, swimming among all the people. This time the family next to us was from Boston . We ate lunch and showered back at Mango Sunset and looked at the pictures we had taken.
Then we headed for the Seahorse Farm, but found it had closed just a few minutes before we got there. The woman told us that they send seahorses to lots of aquariums around the world. We walked to the shore from there and I looked for shells among the lava rocks while Dick made us our own graffiti coral sign- Dick + Sandy.
We checked out another beach and I found a tiny sand dollar and small shells. We stopped to see the International Mall, but it was closed too. So we browsed a really nice used book store and found a book on coral reef life that we bought.
We drove along the shore in Kona looking for a place to eat. Parking was at a premium there, but we finally decided to try Huggo's and got one of their four or five parking spots. We ate right on the ocean, tables and chairs right on the sand- good food and great atmosphere! We were going to try to go to a movie but couldn't find the theater we had seen on the first day, and weren't too motivated to spend much time looking. So we headed back, packed some and worked on photos again.
Tuesday, June 5- Kona to Honolulu
We got up very early and found the muffins and yogurt Marsha had left out for us. Karen woke up so they were both there to say good bye to us. We drove into North Kohala and had breakfast at Spencer Beach State Park where I found a few shells. Overall I was amazed at how few shells I found on either island. We stopped at Lapakahi Historical Park and I hiked the path through the ancient village there. There were huts, fishing places, boat storage huts and a large flat stone they used to play a checkers-like game. At one point Dick took a shortcut and met me in a part of the village, then he went back to the car. The path wound around and at one point I found myself following what looked like a seldom used road. I figured I had lost the path, so hiked up a hill across vegetation-covered lave rocks that weren't always as level as you'd expect. When I got to the top of the hill, I could see the road, so bushwhacked across to that. It was good and hot and I was getting a bit thirsty at that point. But from the road, I could see where the car was parked off in the distance, so I headed cross country toward that. When I got there, Dick was nowhere to be found. I called a few times, then headed up to the highest point so I could look for him. I had no doubt that he had gone out in search of me- which was the case. He returned within ten minutes and recovered from his worries several hours down the road. I had a few scratches from prickly bushes but no broken ankles as he had worried.
On the drive north we could see Maui in the distance. We went to the top of the peninsula and saw the King Kamehameha statue. Beyond that we followed signs to Keokea which was nice but didn't have much of a beach. We went to the Pololu Valley Lookout and walked around a little, enjoying the view from high above the sea.
From there we headed more seriously toward Hilo for our flight out. The countryside in the center of the Big Island looked a bit like New Zealand , beautiful green fields and animals grazing on the ranch lands. We went to Kolekole Park where people were picnicking and swimming in the river that entered the sea there. Kids swung on a rope and dropped into the river and everyone seemed to be having a great time. Several teenagers were boogie boarding in the ocean which was very rough.
We got to the airport in plenty of time and dropped off the car. The man sitting next to me was a psychiatrist and we talked for most of the hour to Honolulu . We took a shuttle to the Pacific Marina Hotel , which was close to the airport but in an odd area of town with lots of car dealers, but not much else to offer. We walked around the area for quite a while, trying to find a restaurant, and were happy enough to eat at Wendy's in the end. At the hotel, we worked on email, then called it a night.
Wednesday, June 6- Honolulu to San Francisco
We were up at 5:30 and had a smooth flight that passed quickly. Cindy and Chris met us in their car, all of us communicating by cell phone to meet. We drove to their home south of San Francisco, high on a hill overlooking a harbor and the ocean. The house is lovely and the view spectacular. We drove down the hillside and walked around the harbor, then down on the beach. Dick got a lot of bird photos and I found a few more shells. It was windy, but a great walk. We could see seals and otters swimming fairly close to shore.
We had dinner at the Distillery Restaurant on the ocean. It has an interesting ghost story full of intrigue between men and women and one of the women is supposed to haunt the place. We didn't see her, but the food was great and we went back to the airport feeling like we had had a mini vacation with Cindy and Chris.
We got back to the airport around nine PM and Dick got pictures ready for the website while we waited for the plane. We were supposed to leave around 11, but a seat on the plane was broken and it took about an hour to fix while we sat there at the gate.
Thursday, June 7- San Francisco to Boston to North Sandwich
We finally took off just after midnight . Dick seemed to sleep most of the way, but I'm not sure I even fell into a dream. I watched part of Wild Hogs without using earphones, but the story was easy to follow! We arrived in Boston at 5:30 PST , but 8:30 EST. We had quite a wait for the Holiday Inn shuttle, then he got lost taking the other passengers to a rental car agency. We finally got to the hotel and off in our car. I slept quite a bit of the way to Tilton, where we got dinner at SubWay and stocked up on groceries for the coming week. We got ice cream and money on the way home and arrived back around 1:30 .
Dick mowed the overgrown lawn, I went off to check the garden and we were really back home again!