The Last Hurrah! Thursday, 2/18/16

We have enjoyed our week on The Big Island, but now it was time to go.  Our flight from Kona to Oakland didn't leave till mid-afternoon, which left us with a few hours for more exploring.  The ETA at Oakland was 9:30, and then we had the three-hour drive up to Nevada City, so we wouldn't get home till after midnight. Tom and Diane's flight didn't leave till late night and they wouldn't get to Sacramento till 9 the next morning.  Tom would return the minivan, thank you very much; it served us well for the week.

Tropical Giant White Spider Lily -- wowzers!

One final look at Bldg 21, third floor, overlooking the golf course.

Stylish, clean, and quiet, plus all the comforts of home.

Hawaii is known for its spectacular wildflowers,

and rightly so.  These Lantana pop!

This last morning before departure, we discovered yet another beach/snorkel spot not far from where we were staying --Anaeho'omalu Beach, a calm bay and a lovely place to relax on the sand after a swim or snorkel.  Maybe next time!

The wind, ohmygosh, that wind!  No hat or visor would stay put.  Hair blowin' every-which-way, but the warm sun felt so good.  Tom was getting in a few more doses of Vitamin D. The four of us climbed into the minivan for the short hop to the airport, where we said our good-byes, and see-you-tomorrows.  Our friends would join us in Nevada City for the next week, trading in Hawaii for California before returning to their home in Tallahassee, Florida.  Hey, this sounds like a travelogue!

I'll leave you with this very subtle rainbow, another quintessential Hawaiian symbol.

Aloha, till we meet again!

California, here we come!

Lava, Surf, Seahorses and More -- Tuesday, 2/16/16

Another wind-advisory day, gale-force winds blowing gangbusters,
and every bit as strong as yesterday's!

I thought we might be able to swing a visit today to Waipio Valley, the Valley of the Kings. Though one of the most remote regions on the Big Island, various possibilities are available once there, as in hiking or tours by ATV, horses or narrated wagon ride. I called one outfit early and the guy I spoke to said, "You know we're only giving tours on the rim, don't you?" Nope, I didn't know. "Yes, somebody in the valley has Dengue Fever." I thanked him and hung up. Never mind. Scratch that. We formulated Plan B.

We booked a tour at Ocean Rider Seahorse Farm!  The tour didn't begin till 1 pm, so we piled into the Town and Country Minivan to scope out more of the coastline.  Just north of the airport, we turned in at a sign for Kekaha Kai State Park.  The pavement ended 100 ft later.  The ocean didn't look too far away.  Wrong.  We curved around and around great piles of lava.  Let me tell you that driving on the pot-holed lava rock seemed endless before we reached a parking lot.  Kudos to Jimmy for braving it!

I took these pics while the vehicle was bouncing on the alleged road (but this is not the road).  They barely smoothed the rock out before opening the road to the public!  Yikes!

With the strong winds, the ocean is very turbulent,

but it makes for fabulous photos! 

We didn't hang around too long, since we needed lunch before our tour began.  In case we ever return (ya never know), we marked this park as a good one to explore.  There's a beautiful stretch of beach that's sandy, not rocky, with picnic tables and rest rooms.  If the water is calmer than today, there's snorkeling and swimming.  Maybe they'll fix the road in the meantime?

I've been meaning to comment on the minivan.  We'd reserved a full-sized car, a sedan, to rent, but they were fresh out of cars.  For no extra cost, we could have "the minivan out there," so we took it, despite the gray color (same as asphalt).  Boy howdy, we came to really appreciate that vehicle, mainly because we sat up higher than we would've in a car and that increased the all-around visibility for everyone, especially the back-seaters.  Very nice.

Tom and Diane posed for a pic before we left the park.

This was a cool venue, close by, just south of the airport.  A little overpriced, but the money went to a good cause.  The demand for seahorses by aquariums world-wide causes great concern for wild sea horses.  In fact, there was a 50% decline in the world seahorse population from 1990-1995.  Ocean Rider is an organic Hawaiian-based aqua-farm that practices good farming techniques in raising its seahorses.  By raising seahorses, Ocean Rider helps "save seahorses from extinction through continued research, education, conservation and propagation of the endangered seahorses and sea dragons."  Our tour lasted about an hour, culminating in holding one!

Trying to take a photo in high sunshine through water of swimming seahorses has to be a lot like taking a picture of wiggling redworms in a can.  Near about impossible to get a good shot.  Some of the tanks held 50 horsies, or more, all scooting around.  Ocean Rider had a lot of tanks.

First you make a "reef" with your hands, as seen above and below.  A tour guide places a seahorse on your "reef" and that's all it takes.  A seahorse naturally wraps its tail to anything.  Are the two below dancing?

Look at that tiny seahorse in Diane's hands!  None of us wanted to let the seahorse go; they are so cute.  Diane and I wanted to take "ours" home!  Kind of like we wanted to pack the chameleon in our suitcase on our last visit to Hawaii -- click here.

Jimmy had a nice clinger!

 These seahorses were in small tanks for viewing only.  Loved the seahorse farm!

Since we still had much of the afternoon free, we drove south to Kailua-Kona again to canvas more of the area. In the heart of Historic Kailua Village is Hulihe'e Palace, circa 1838, a Heritage site. Once the former vacation home of Hawaiian royalty, it's now a museum run by the Daughters of Hawai'i.  We didn't go in, because you simply can't do it all, but it certainly looks inviting.  More like paradise!

Gorgeous Giant spider lily (Crinum amabile) on the grounds.

Hawaii's oldest Christian Church is located almost across the street from the palace: Moku'aikaua Church, founded in 1820 by Asa and Lucy Thurston from the first ship of American Christian Missionaries, the brig Thaddeus. (I read Michener's book, Hawaii. Enough said.) The church continues to be in use and is open to the public for tours; Jimmy and Tom went in. I was busy watching a small flock of birds on the grass outside (below). It was time to head for the minivan. No, I'm not even going to try pronouncing the church's name!

Common Waxbill (Estrilda astrild)

Another stellar day ends for us on the Big Island, complete with a glowing sunset.

South to Kona and Beyond! Saturday, 2/13/16

None of us had ever explored Kailua-Kona Village.  Located about 15 minutes south of the airport (if traffic is moving) on Hawaii's lava-lined sunny west coast, Historic Kailua-Kona Village is a lively seaside town, a gathering place in the heart of the Kona district.  Once a sleepy fishing village and a retreat for Hawaiian royalty, it's now a destination for shopping, dining, places to stay, and seeing some of Hawaii's past culture. Lots of people were Out and About! It's also home to Kona Farmers Market, a bustling must-see, open Wednesdays-Sundays.  Today being Saturday, we set our sights on going.  We were in for a treat, in many ways!

But first, our raucous alarm clock -- the Mynah bird.  Every morning, these birds would park in the palm trees and commence waking us at first light.  You can see it's screeching in this photo!  Sometimes they'd sit on the balcony railing!  They're funny birds.

A small sampling at the farmers market. We bought a sweet pineapple, a small bag of Rambutans (red, below), bananas, and Tom bought some Lychee nuts. Ginger candy, an 8 oz jar of raw Noni honey for me, which tastes like heaven and which I brought home, and other goodies. Jimmy bought me a pair of fire opal-sterling silver honu earrings, because he wanted to and because tomorrow is Valentines Day! Honu means turtle in the islands. Very enjoyable traipsing thru the stalls. So much wonderful fruit for sale!

I'm here to tell you that these are the most delicious bananas ever.  We bought two bunches like this during our week and ate every one.  Island-grown, they're tiny and taste as good as candy.

It isn't easy walking on this stuff.

I don't know what it is, but the shell was hard, about the size of my palm,

and securely fastened to the rock.

Yellow-fronted Canary (Serinus mozambicus) spotted near the market.

Looks like it has a wart on it's beak!

After walking around the Kilauea-Kona area, visiting shops and galleries, we hopped back in the minivan and continued south toward South Point and the Punalu'u black sand beach area.  It was quite a long drive and we should've allowed more time, but it seemed sensible since we were already so far south.  The A/Q turned very voggy as we got nearer Kilauea Volcano, but cleared at the southern tip.  A mysterious cloud band sat atop the land at Punalu'u (above), but stopped at the ocean, like a line drawn in the sky.

Punalu'u was our last stop.  You see the black sand beach behind me and Jimmy.  If you've ever walked barefoot on lava, you'll understand when I say, sturdy shoes and socks would've been better than sandals!  It hurt.  The people in the background are taking pictures of the sea turtles.

I saw six or seven Green Sea Turtles on the beach, in various stages of egg-laying or resting. This area is "cordoned off" by piled up lava rocks, with signs asking you to keep out. Nevertheless, apparently the mentality nowadays is that the sign is meant "for you, not me," and still people walk up to the turtles, I guess to take their picture. Geez. No brainers.

Coconut palms fringe the upper edge of black "sand," with beach cabbage (Scaevola taccada) below. The latter sported tiny white flowers. Numerous underground freshwater springs are located offshore. The mix of green and black on land, with the deep ocean blue is a real eye-catcher. A lot of history right here, too.

You can bet we didn't go in the water.  Look at those waves beating against the rocks!

Another recommended MUST-STOP was the famous Punalu'u Bake Shop.  We almost didn't make it in time, arriving a scant half hour before they closed.  Their shelves were nearly empty ... the good stuff, the yummy bakery stuff, sold out hours before.  However, always look for a silver lining ... a cooler full of ice cream!  We each had a dish of our favorite, and retired to their patio outside.  Jimmy and Tom sat at a table.  I ate my ice cream on the go, looking at all the flora on the grounds.  Diane joined me.

This was mighty fine bread, toasted in the morning!

On the bakery grounds -- oh, those yummy bananas, so easy to reach, too!

The shrub was humongous, with lots of flowers, but I'm not sure what it is.

I'm including this picture in the post for those inquiring minds.  For you who have often wondered where tapioca comes from, now you know.  Even if you didn't wonder "often," here's your answer anyway!

Tonight's sunset, captured from the backseat of a minivan moving about 60 mph,

and seen thru the VOG.

Lest I forget ... up, up, and away ... Wednesday, 10/08/14

My friend, Fran, who used to live on the Big Island, thought I might laugh at Kona International Airport, because ... well, it just doesn't quite live up to the idea of an international airport.  Nope, Fran, quite the opposite -- I love this little landing field!  LAX it isn't, and that's a good thing, IMO.  LAX, and many others like it, is so out-of-control big that scores of people, myself included, dislike flying into or out of it (but will out of necessity).  Just look at how sweet this airport is.  The best part is being right there, where the action is -- close to the airstrip, watching planes landing and taking off, travelers getting on and off.  We weren't sequestered inside a sterile building, behind glass, wishing we could see something real.  Kona is the real deal.

This is the check-in area.  Open air, tropical-style, of course.

Jimmy awaits our flight, sitting beneath a palm tree...

... while I wander around, looking at everything ... birds, planes, and people.  Never saw a plane like this one -- no, it's not ours, but it certainly is neat looking. 

Here comes our jet, right on time,

about a half hour before our scheduled departure.

 

Jimmy's joined the line of boarding passengers,

and I'm right behind him.

 

Our inter-island flight to Maui is less than a half hour, but the flight attendants manage to hand out refreshments (much appreciated by us).  Love the name on the water cup.

The Island of Maui hove into view, a most beautiful sight from my window seat.  Once on land, we had a short wait for our flight back to the mainland ... Oakland International Airport (OAK), which is nothing, nothing like my favorite:  KOA: Kona

We arrived home at Midnight, safe and sound, tired and happy, and grateful.

T H E  E N D!

Playing the day away! Tuesday, Oct 7th, 2014

On our last full day on the Big Island, the four of us decided we'd hang out at the Hilton Waikoloa Village area, which is a huge complex (inc our Kings Land condo) that bills itself as a "spectacular oceanfront playground."  That is a correct analysis, as far as we're concerned.  Swimming, shopping, dining, relaxing, riding, you name it -- it's there, and we enjoyed ourselves immensely.  No long routes to drive, just a kicked-back kinda day, appreciating what we have right here.  The Waikoloa Village link has a video that I watched, and that, too, pretty much sums up our experience on the Big Island.  I think I'll let the pictures do the talking today.

 

We took the little shuttle train (with lights on) to this end of the complex, starting with a nice cuppa.

I've never seen so much artwork at a hotel before, much of it open to the elements.  (but, remember, it doesn't rain much here)  Can you spot the doofuses invading the scene?

Of course we stopped to visit the birds.

This happy young lady has a great job!

 

Jimmy and me, Diane and Tom (in reflection) amid the art.

This beauty is a Silver Pheasant (Lophura nycthemera),

another eye-catching Asian import.

We had lunch at Island Fish and Chips,

and these guys knew where the French fries would drop.  

Pool time!  This pool at Kings Land is warm salt water.  It winds around islands, has waterfalls and misters that look like steam vents (I was cautious) a water slide, hot tub, cold plunge (didn't) and is oh-so-heavenly.  The water seems to caress your body!  Easy to float, too.

One of the pool waterfalls.

It'd work out your neck aches -- or give you one!

After shopping, swimming, and playing,

it was time to change at the condo for dinner! 

 

From our table, we watched the sun ease down toward the ocean.

Outstanding open air dining at Kirin Chinese Restaurant.  

The sky turned this remarkable shade of lavender/orchid (untouched pic) as we finished dinner.  Could it get any better?  We don't think so; it was just perfect.  One more special thank you to our friends, Tom and Diane!

The End.