What's So Big About the Big Island?

We generally took it easy spending most of our time exploring the beaches or the roads.  We drove enough miles to circumnavigate the island over three times.  When walking found honua (green sea turtles) to be plentiful.

We attempted to scale (by car of course) Mauna Kea, the tallest volcano on Hawaii at 13,796 ft above sea level (33,500 ft from the mountain's base), on Sunday.  Unfortunately, 70+ mph winds on the summit forced its closure.  As a poor backup, we did some 4-wheelin' up to the observatory on Mauna Loa (the second tallest volcano on Hawaii at 13,676 ft).  It was a virtual moonscape with acre after acre of barren lava flows.  Following several hours of viewing lava flows, we needed some green so we drove to Hilo for an early dinner.  Hilo was a ghost town, probably due to the Super Bowl, but we found a nice "organic" restaurant where we had a healthy meal while watching some interesting locals.  Our drive home via the lush Hamakua coast offered a beautiful contrast to the lava flows earlier.
On Monday, Joni mustered up the courage to attempt some kayaking.  She proved to be plenty strong for rowing a few miles in Kealakekua Bay.  This is the bay where Captain James Cook, the great British explorer, was killed in 1779 and the site of some pretty good snorkeling.  We did not think of getting a picture of us in the kayak until we had returned so settled on a picture of Joni in dry dock.  To prove we really did kayak to the north side of Kealakekua Bay (the only way you can get there is to paddle, sail or swim the 1.5 miles), I have included an up close picture of the monument to Captain Cook raised by British sailors.  The land where the monument sits was granted to the U.K. by the Hawaiian Queen Likelike in 1877 and remains U.K. territory - right here in the 50th state of the U.S.A.

The next several days the winds blew quite hard across the islands raising the surf and making swimming and snorkeling challenging.  We visited a couple of parks (e.g., Puʻuhonua o Hōnaunau National Historical Park where Joni added another National Park stamp to her new book)

A state park which protects the ruins of an ancient Hawaiian village (reportedly 600+ years old) on the Kohala coast was another interesting stop.  But we also saw the original statue of King Kamehameha in the northern Kohala town of Kapa'au and the southernmost point in the United States at the very windy southern tip of the Big Island.

And then it was, as they say in the islands, "Here today, gone to Maui!"

Feeling the Aloha!

It has obviously been a loooooooong time since we added to the blog.  Our plan to retire from Mars at the end of 2011 was replaced by a 31 March retirement date.  That meant Mick would continue to commute to the East Coast each week and that Joni's recovery from surgery would be largely unsupported by her mate.  Joni is now four weeks past her surgery and recovering well but still sore and tender.  What better way to complete her recovery than to spend a couple of weeks in the sun of paradise Hawaii.  We had planned this trip as our first trip in retirement and did not alter our plans in spite of extending at Mars or Joni's surgery.

So here we are, spending the first week in the Kona sun on the Big Island.  We are staying in Waikoloa on the Kohala coast.

On day 1 we spent a few hours relaxing at Spencer Beach just up the coast.  Then walked next door to the Pu'ukohola Heiau National Historic Site where after watching a video about Kamehameha conquering the Hawaiian Islands and walking the site, we scored Joni's highlight of the trip - on day 1 no less!  We bought her a super deluxe National Park Service stamp collecting book.  She is soooo excited!  Here she is proudly displaying her new book in front of the Pu'ukohola Heiau National Historic Site sign.  By the way, that rock formation in the background is the heiau.

Hungry, but excited by our find, we left the monument in search of some local fare.  We happened on an "Ocean Fest" local event in Kawaihae Harbor so we took a chance on finding something tasty.  Again, we not only scored big on lunch (poke which is marinated raw fish, fish tacos and fish salad which were all very good) but Joni was able to push some kids out of the way to get a good spot at the "touch tank"!  She handled some sea slugs, several varieties of anenome and other creatures from the local sea.  You can tell that the children in the picture weren't being very good sports about this big kid taking over the touch tank! 

Stay tuned!  Mahalo!