Portland…..Honolulu……Kona
Smooth travel. Slept a lot, weird. Big gray clouds and ominous sky upon arrival. Drove through a small rain shower on way to cottage. Annette was waiting for us, just as she had promised. Our cottage was in a nicely kept neighborhood just four miles from Waimea. She showed us around, she’s thought of everything, really.
It smells familiar here. The doves are singing. I hope so badly to see turtles, whales, and spinner dolphins.
DAY 2
It was a leisurely morning of hanging out on the deck to absorb the sun and relax after a long day of travel the day before. Went to the grocery store, just like Food Front in Hillsdale. My spelt bread was $6.68…ouch.
Had lunch and headed out to explore. Destination was Place of Refuge, also called National Historic Park. Pulled into first National Historic Park, walked the 1.2 mile path to the beach, and came upon an area where sea turtles were feeding in the ponds created in the lava at high tide. One was beached, two in the pond. What a special experience to be so close, to watch, to take it all in.
We wandered across the lava, continued on the path, and ended up at a pretty beach (Honokohau Beach) where some people were snorkeling. Two more turtles were in a lava pond near the beach.
From there we drove to Kekaha Kai State Park. The road was unpaved, long, and very, very bumpy. It took many minutes to get there. We thought it might be a good kayak beach but the surf was too rough. The beach was gorgeous and not crowded while we were there.
Heading north we stopped at A Bay, a resort area, and found the beach there to be very pretty. The sun was setting so we stayed to take photos. After that we stopped into a store at the resort hoping to score some soy ice cream. It felt like Disneyland in there! No soy ice cream so I bought M&M’s…$5.50!
Drove back to the cottage after several hours of exploring and had dinner at home. At some point we discovered that the National Historic Park we went to was not the Place of Refuge. We didn’t go south far enough. I was fine with that, we saw turtles and that’s all that mattered.
DAY 3
Headed to Volcanoes National Park. Interesting drive, more vegetation, less traffic. Cloudy and raining at the park. Hiked the Kilauea Iki trail. Starts in forest, crosses the caldera, back up thru forest to get out. Very cool! Small steaming vents were warm as you got near them. Saw a pheasant and a small, red songbird native to Hawaii, the apapane. It has many songs and the forest was filled with bird song.
From there we went to the remote and very pretty Punaluu Black Sand Beach. The black sand was interesting. More turtles, one with an especially beautiful shell – wow! The drive home was very, very long. We essentially circled the entire island that day.
DAY 4
After yesterday’s adventures being so long we opted for a shorter day. We headed out for some snorkeling and beach time. Beach 69 (Wailea Bay) was the first stop. The snorkeling was not right for me so I didn’t go in the water. The sun and breeze felt perfect. Whales could be seen in the distance. They were frisky and playful. Many breaches – what a treat! I got sunburn which is not cool. I watched the whales too long before moving my chair to the shade.
We headed north to Hapuna Beach State Park. A wide white sand beach with shallow water. I got in an cooled off and had fun with the small waves rolling in.
Came home, took a shower, took a nap, dinner at a Thai restaurant in Waimea. I was in bed early, very wiped out.
DAY 5
Tropical Botanical Garden was the first on the agenda. The forecast was wrong and we had sunny and clear skies all day. That made it hard for photography with so much contrast. The orchid garden was especially good but the bright sun was a challenge. I was also being preyed upon by the sneaky mosquitoes. I didn’t feel them bite me but later I had many bites. We spent 3.5 hours enjoying the garden and taking photos. A highlight was the gecko, oh yes. It was strolling around on a large palm and posing for me.
Smoothies at “What’s Shakin’”, but before that we stopped into a funky art gallery. I bought a watercolor painting, Lin bought a CD. There isn’t much funky on this island so I was glad to find that gallery. Her watercolors are quite good.
Too full for dinner after that smoothie so a half sandwich did the trick.
DAY 6
Snorkeling at Kealakekua Bay (K Bay). Crowded but tolerable. Ocean a little rough. I went in and was having fun with my cameras but got tired without fins. I lacked the energy and the desire to go back in later using Lin’s fins. There were fish but not as many as at Poipu Beach on Kauai.
Lin took a nap on the beach in the warm sun. We stayed a few hours, good times.
Changed clothes in the car and drove just a few miles up the road to Kona. Wandered an outdoor market for a few minutes just before it was closing. I bought another watercolor and 100% Kona coffee for Mom and Dad. I felt good supporting locals. The market was like a small version of Portland’s Saturday Market.
We parked the car in a public lot and attempted to find the two places my neighbor Pat suggested for good seafood. An energetic and cheerful kiosk attendant personally delivered us to Kona Canoe Company. We got a table at the edge of the water and watched the sun go down while drinking a mai tai and enjoying teriyaki chicken for me and mahi mahi for Lin. We wandered the boardwalk for a bit and then the street, stopping periodically to enjoy music from a nearby bar patio.
Kona is eclectic and clean and low key. Drove home behind a drunk driver, yow.
DAY 7
Drove north to Pololu Vally lookout via Route 250 from Waimea. Interesting road with rolling hills, small “towns”, and good views of the ocean.
The view from the lookout was a good one and reminded me of the Napali Coast on Kauai. We did the short and steep hike down to the black sand beach. It was warm and humid. There was a path along the beach and in the trees. We took it. At a junction we headed up instead of down toward the beach. It was so humid I felt like I was in NC, for real! The path was forested and birds sang along the way. We saw another small bird I’ve never seen before. I looked it up at home ‘red-billed leiothrix’. We hiked almost to the next valley. We found a small shady spot under a tree and had some lunch. The hike up from the beach felt steeper, hotter, more humid. I was tired and took it slow. Worth it, totally worth it.
Drove to Hawi to check out the art galleries we heard about. Hawi was a disappointment and not as interesting as Kona. Heading back to our cottage via Route 270 we stopped at Kapa’a Beach Park since it was recommended by Pat. Two photographers were set up and noted that two hours prior there was a mother and baby just 60 ft from shore. Dang! Wish I’d been there for that! I read later that there’s a deep channel there and the whales get quite close. Mental note for next time! We did see several spouts but no other activity to speak of.
We headed home for dinner. I noted lots of spouts along the way. The vast views of the ocean on the Big Island seem endless. I enjoyed being able to see so much.
Dinner was at home. Annette stopped by and chatted with us for a very long time, too long. I packed my stuff and got organized for the trip home the next day.
HEADING HOME
Breakfast on the deck. A gecko offered another interesting photo. Alfie came by to hang out, per usual. At 10am Annette and Pally came by to say goodbye. We shot a few photos and headed to Hapuna Beach to kill some time. We weren’t there 30 seconds and I saw a large pod of spinner dolphins frolicking in the ocean ahead. We watched the show till it was time to peel away and leave paradise…till next time.
