Leaving Paradise

Another wonderful day. I didn't blog yesterday because it was a day of decadence. We decided to enjoy a "resort day" and enjoy we did. We only left the resort to buy more wine. We finished the day wrapped in towels by our masseuse as we watched the sun sink into the Pacific. Needless to say, a wonderful day.

After breakfast today we headed south to Kona. We stopped along the way for Paula to look for whales.


We drove into downtown Kona and had about an hour to site see before we met Diane and Johnny for lunch at the Kona Brewery



We returned to to the Fairmont for snacks and more drinks and ended the evening soaking in the hot tubs spaced throughout the gardens.

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Location:N Kaniku Dr,South Kohala,United States

Circumnavigation

We were up early Thursday and, after packing an ice chest, we headed northeast through cattle country. The west side of the island is arid; lava flows, brushy trees, and even some prickly pear cactus. Once on the east side of the mountains everything changes dramatically. Deep, verdant forests with thick, lush fields. We drove along a dramatically different coastline then what we had become accustomed. We crossed many steep canyons or gulches that dropped into the ocean. Huge trees and ferns over-hung the road. Our first stop was Akaka Falls.


The walk to the falls was as beautiful as the falls.


A few miles from Akaka Falls Paul pointed out a small road, the old highway. It was only 1-1/2 lanes wide with many one lane bridges. In most places the road was completely over-hung with trees. We traveled through a green tunnel with the constant sound of birds and splashing water. The road hugged the coast and offered spectacular views.





We continued through Hilo and found Rainbow Falls (with more than a little help from the GPS).


The giant banyan trees around in the area are even more impressive than the falls. It is difficult to capture the immensity of the trunks with a camera so I will leave it to your imagination.

The Hawaii Volcanoes National Park is at 4,000' and much cooler. The temperature dropped from 80 degrees on the coast to 64 degrees in the park. There is no visible lava but still a fascinating place. Portions of the Crater Rim Road are closed due to sulfur dioxide vapors.


We were able to drive around the south rim to a lava tube. The walk through the rain forest was full of bird sounds but the vegetation so thick we were unable to see the birds. The lava tube is amazing


Roots hang down from the ceiling and water was constantly dripping. Very cool, both literally and figuratively.

From the Kilauea Caldera we wound our way back to the coast and stopped at a black sand beach in Punalu'u for a snack (Snickers bar cold from the ice chest, Lays potato chips, and Diet Coke). The black sand is pretty but very coarse, not something I would want to run bare foot through.


We traveled around the southern tip of the island and turned north only to experience the most winding road of our trip. We made it home just at sunset after traveling 248 miles. Just another day in paradise.

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Location:N Kaniku Dr,South Kohala,United States

Points North

As I mentioned earlier, Paula and I slept in with no firm plans. Maybe a couples massage on the beach or a lazy day by the pool. Over breakfast we visited with the concierge and she outlined a fun drive north to Hawi. We grabbed bottles of water and a couple of diet Cokes and headed off. A few miles north of Kawaihae driving along the west coast through thick grasslands dotted with trees we saw whales breaching offshore. We took the next turn to the shore which led us to a beautiful State Historic park; Lapakahi. It is a 600 year old village. Only the rock walls remain and is a beautiful area


Multiple whale spouts and splashes but to far off for good whale pictures. We continued north stopping at every beach and park along the way. All were unique and scenic. Hawi is on the northern tip of the Big Island and Maui was visible offshore the entire trip north. We continued on to the Pololu Valley. Wow!


We back tracked to Hawi for lunch at the Bamboo restaurant. It had been highly recommended and lived up to the hype. We found a candy store across the street and stocked up on essentials for the remainder of the trek. From Hawi, we headed over the mountains to Waipi'o Valley.


A tsunami wiped out the village located in the valley in 1946.

We made it home in time to enjoy the sunset over cocktails.


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Location:N Kaniku Dr,South Kohala,United States

Catching Up

Paula and I were up early for another adventure but, before I tackle today, I have some catching up to do. After our whale watching trip Tuesday, we headed to Waimea with Diane and Johnny. A local had recommended a restaurant to Diane that served the food the locals ate. Good food but portions that not only overload a plate but, bloat a belly. As an aside, since then, we've had the restaurant recommended by two other locals if you want to eat like a Hawaiian. They described it as plate lunches and said even the fast food drive thru's served plate lunches. Pork, chicken, lots of white rice, and macaroni salad.

After lunch, we checked out a beach Captain Casey from the whale watching tour recommended to Dani. Too rough for snorkeling but 7 large green turtles were riding the waves among the rocks. It was fun to watch as the waves would carry them right up to us and then, they would tumble back. We left there and headed to the beach at the Fairmont. The area is called Turtle Point and lived up to it's name. The first time I saw the turtle swimming below me I screamed TURTLE so loud that Johnny claimed to hear me over the wind and waves while submerged. I have yet to remember to set my camera correctly for under water pictures but here is proof of the green turtle sighting;


It was a great day and a fun way to say aloha as D & J headed south to their new home.


The next day we slept in with no real plans. The concierge recommended going north to Hawi.

Sorry, we just decided to go soak in the hot tub next to the beach. I'll try and catch up on yesterday and today later. Aloha.

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Location:N Kaniku Dr,South Kohala,United States

Whale Watching

The title, "Whale Watching"' could apply to every time we are in view of the water (which is 95% of the time) but this post is dedicated to our whale hunt. We met Johnny and Diane at the Puako boat landing at 7:00 this morning along with Casey, our skipper, and his deck hand, J. I assume his name is spelled J as opposed to Jay because he said his name was John but, because his father was John, he uses J. Of course, as all good sailors, he had a story of changing his name every time he moved. Either way, both the skipper and his mono-letter deckhand, were fun and knowledgeable.


We had a beautiful day for our three hour tour. No; Ginger, Mary Ann, and Gilligan were not along for the ride. Johnny does look a little like The Professor, though, and Diane could play Ginger.



We saw whales almost from the start but they were always just out of camera range. We were all anxious to spot the first humpback.


Within minutes we were seeing spouts and flukes but hoping to see the classic breach. After an hour, we saw one whale leap, and then another.


Forty tons of mammal propelled out of the water with two powerful tail strokes, wow! I know your thinking - the next picture will look like a Pacific Life insurance commercial but, alas, none of us were quick enough with our cameras to capture the spectacle. It was a thrill to see magnificent humpback whales and it is an experience none of us will forget.

Best of all, this was just the start of our day. After quick showers and a change, the four of us were off to Waimea for lunch. Diane had asked a local to recommend the best restaurant for authentic Hawaiian food. The drive was pretty. We climbed from sea level to 2,500' through cattle ranches. The food was good but much more than we could eat.

After lunch, we went in search of a good snorkeling beach but I'll save that adventure for a future post.

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Location:N Kaniku Dr,South Kohala,United States

Monday Sunset

After a full day of exploring, snorkeling, and eating; Paula decided we needed a sunset walk before happy hour. We walked south along the beach trail


to Mana Lani, about 3/4 of a mile south of our beach. There are a number of small, secluded beaches along the trail. The sun began setting as we worked our way back north and we enjoyed a beautiful sunset.





After all the healthy exercise and fresh air we headed straight to the lounge for refreshments and for Paula to catch up on her iPad scrabble "Words with Friends" online.


I believe she had just used a double word square against Cindy at this point.

Location:N Kaniku Dr,South Kohala,United States

Lazy days and Good Company

Sorry for the intermittent blogging but we're having too much fun to take time out to write. Yesterday was an easy, lazy day, however.








You can see how I spent most of my day. We did work up the energy later in the afternoon to walk the beach trail to visit Diane and Johnny. D & J prepared another wonderful supper for us and, as we were too full and it was dark, Johnny drove us home.

This morning, the four of us headed out to explore more beaches.








We dumped our gear in the shade under the trees and headed to the water. Diane was the first in -









Johnny and I were right behind her. The waves were high and stirring up the water but we were still able to get in a good swim and see fish.








Paula volunteered to stay on the beach and guard the ice chest.

After our swim we checked out another pretty beach and headed into town for lunch and a little window shopping then back home for a nap before happy hour.








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Thar She Blows

As you can see, paradise. This is the beach behind our hotel.

We had another wonderful day made even better by spending it with Johnny and Dianne. We met at the trailhead for the Puako petroglyphs. It was an easy, 1.4 mile hike through the lava fields to an area of petroglyphs carved into the lava rock. Most of the trail was shaded by scrubby thorn trees that are very similar to mesquite or acacia trees.


The trail ended at the beach near our hotel so we made the short walk back to the beach restaurant/bar. As it was high noon, we decided to enjoy drinks, appetizers, and lunch.


We spent a relaxing hour snacking when Johnny spotted the first whale. Several whales were moving by, some just blowing a cloud of mist into the air and others leaping half out of the water with a great splash (and applause from our fellow diners).

After our repast we walked to D&J's car and they drove us to several of their favorite beaches. Most were closed due to high waves but it was still fun to see the crashing waves and hang out with the two of them.

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Location:Puako Beach Dr,Kamuela,United States

Settling In

I've been a little remiss in my posts but, in my own defense, it would have been more a travelogue detailing cab rides, airport lounges, and airplane rides; of little interest to anyone. We spent our first night in Hawaii on Waikiki Beach. If was after dark when we got to our hotel so, after checking in and printing our boarding passes for the Kona flight, we almost called it a night. We changed our minds deciding to get some exercise and fresh air after traveling. We walked along the beach and, as we were turning back to our hotel, an offshore fireworks display lit up the night. It went on for more than 10 minutes and was fun.


Yesterday, after another walk along the beach, we flew from Honolulu to the Big Island. What a contrast. Oahu was all freeways, buildings and people. The Big Island is virtually deserted. The 22 mile drive from the Kona airport to Puako is through lava flows that reminded me of driving over the McKenzie Pass in the Oregon Cascades. Our hotel, The Fairmont Orchid, is great and we were quickly settled in and had lunch on the beach. We headed north to find my sister and brother-in-law, Diane and Johnny. They must have seen us coming. We found their house just as Dani had described sans Diane and Johnny. Their absence worked out in our favor; they were shopping for our dinner. By road, they are 6.5 miles from us but around 3 miles by beach. We met up with Diane and John for drinks and dinner later that night and had a wonderful meal featuring ahi tuna and filets. We visited, talked, and shared before, during, and after the meal. I'm afraid I may have bored poor Dani to death - I broke out the pictures from our last trip.

We intend to meet up with D & J after breakfast and explore the petroglyphs nearby. I promise to upload pictures before the next post and share some of the beauty of paradise with you.

Aloha for now.

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Location:Puako Beach Dr,Kamuela,United States

Preparations and Practice

No detail too small. We are all about pre-planning and preparation. We read that the water temperature this time of year in Hawaii is 78 to 80 degrees. Brr, that sounds chilly to us southerners so we decided to test our cold water tolerance. We heated the pool to 78 and Paula gave it a go. As you can see, she also took the opportunity to get in some snorkeling practice. No cramps, shivering fits, or turning blue. Climbing out of the pool into the gray, 56 degree weather was worse than swimming in the 78 degree water. We are still in the market for wetsuits but now know that we can survive the cooler water temperatures.

Reservations in Hand

Well, we couldn't make our tickets work for Fiji so we are all set for Hawaii. We leave next Thursday for 10 days on the Big Island. It will be even more special because my sister and brother-in-law will be there. They are old pros on the island and have already given us a myriad of tips and suggestions that have helped a lot while we prepare. If I read the map correctly, they will be staying near us for the first half of the trip.


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Location:Sugar Land