We have been home from Hawaii for about 10 days, but work and life events have been more pressing than blogging. However, I am determined to catch up a little, so for today, here are some images and impressions from our vacation. We were on the Big Island of Hawaii (the island is called Hawaii, as is the state, so it gets a little confusing). The weather was perfect – high 70’s to low 80’s, sometimes overcast, even a few showers – but so warm and comfortable and lush. The water was incredibly warm and we swam and/or snorkeled almost every day.
The first week we spent on the Kona side (drier side), mostly at a house rental south of Kailua-Kona. Specifically, it was down Napo’opo’o Road below the town of Captain Cook, at the south end of Kaleakekua Bay. This is the bay which has the Captain Cook monument at the north end. The north end of the bay is accessible only by boat, or by a long and very steep trail from the top of the cliff – but it is home to spinner dolphins, and has some of the best snorkeling in the state (clear waters, beautiful coral reefs, and lots and lots of fabulous fish to look at).
The house was right on the bay, and near the old pier where we could get in and out easily at high tide to swim or snorkel. People also rented kayaks there every morning to explore the bay.
Our house near Napo’opo’o pier
First night’s sunset
Morning view of the pier with kayaks
There was an outdoor barbeque, so Rick grilled fish or chicken almost every night for dinner.
From there, we explored south along the coast. Found some great beaches, and visited our friend Jennifer Schwarz, who we know from the old days of Northwest Fine Woodworking in Seattle. She has moved to Hawaii, with all of her woodworking machinery and everything, and is doing some beautiful work.
On my birthday, we went to South Point, the aptly-named most southern point of the island. It is also the most southerly place in the entire United States, farther south even than the Florida Keys. From there, we did a 4-mile round trip hike along the coast to a green sand beach. The sand washes down from a “littoral cone” which contains a lot of olivine. We decided not to scramble down to the beach, although many people were doing it without problems, but just sat and ate our lunch and enjoyed the beauty of the place before heading back.
Here we are at windy South Point, Hawaii
Approaching the green sand beach
Looking down on green sand beach
Twice we rented kayaks and paddled to the north end of the bay. The spinner dolphins would swim and surface around us as we neared the monument, and even jump straight up out of the water, spinning around and then flopping onto their bellies. It was really magical to hear them breathing and see them so near. Near the monument, we pulled our kayak up onto the lava rocks and then explored up and down the coral reefs with our snorkeling gear, enjoying the wonderful sights and fish.
I tried to take pictures of the dolphins, but because of all the bobbing up and down, got mostly pictures of the sky, or the cliffs, or my paddle – or else dolphins doing something not very interesting.
Looks kind of like Batman coming up from a swim.
After we left the house, we drove across the Saddle Road between Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa, to the Hilo (wet) side of the island, and then up to Hawaii Volcanoes Nat’l Park. There we stayed one night at Kilauea Lodge, which also has a pretty decent restaurant. Part of the road around Kilauea crater is closed due to sulpher dioxide fumes from the current eruption (Pu’u O’o vent). But we did some exploring and short walks the first afternoon, and the next morning went for a short hike to a hill in the midst of a 1980’s lava flow.
On the way to Pu’u Huluhulu
We saw a flock of nene’s (pron. nay-nays), the wild Hawaiin geese. Why they live up there at the volcano, I do not know, but there are “nene crossing” signs everywhere!
We also dropped in at the Volcano Art Center Gallery near the visitor center – well worth the visit. Really wonderful, high quality art. We saw some beautiful woodworking in particular, and our friend Jennifer has some of her small tables there. Here is a koa bench that we particularly admired:
The last 3 nights we spent at the Kona Tiki Hotel in Kailua-Kona. Built in 1953, it isn’t fancy, but it was clean and friendly and all rooms faced the water. We had a kitchenette unit so we could still cook our own food, and they had some barbeques down by the pool area so we could grill yet more wonderful fish! From there, we explored the northern tip of the island and found some nice art galleries along the way. Also searched out some wonderful small beaches where we could go for a swim and hang out and relax.
Kohala north coast on an overcast (but warm!) day
A small Kohala beach, only 10 cars let in at a time
The view from our balcony at the Kona Tiki
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