Snorkeling

Ever since we bought snorkeling vests, I have loved exploring what's under the water!  The vest keeps me afloat so that all I have to do is just relax and enjoy the secret beauty of the underwater world.

The walk from the parking lot to our first snorkeling spot took us through an area with old Hawaiian fish ponds. Don't know how to describe this area except to say that it looks like a perfect postcard of old Hawaii!

The soft sand was very inviting.  Lovely place for relaxing and lunch.

The sand made it easy to just walk into the water as opposed to the other rocky beach where we snorkeled another day.  Getting into the water at that beach by climbing over the slippery rocks took some skill and nerve! 

Once we got in the water, we were mesmerized by what we saw underwater! 

All underwater photography credits to 

George.  

He is getting to be quite the underwater photographer!

Yellow Trumpet Fish

Black Triggerfish

Schools of fish.  I especially enjoy just swimming above them watching their interactions. 

In some places the color and shape of the coral is captivating.

There are many of these Yellow Tang.

This guy is called an Orange Band Surgeon Fish.

This interesting looking guy is a Raccoon Butterflyfish

1 Moorish idol and 2 Convict Tang

I am so happy that we have discovered this new hobby.  I can hardly wait to go again. 

Green Sand Beach

You've seen white sand beaches and golden sand beaches and maybe even a black sand beach but did you know that there are green sand beaches?

It sounded intriguing so George and I made the trek to see it.  The trail is only about 2 1/2 miles one way and it's mostly flat.  You can't get lost because you are right on the edge of the ocean and all roads seem to lead to the green sand beach.

Locals are willing to take you to the beach in one of their SUVs for a small price (I think it is about $20 per person) but we are hikers so we walked it.  

If your rental car is an SUV, you can drive yourself.  Be be warned that some of the roads are like this!

 The path is mostly flat with only an occasional climb. On the way back we stayed on the road closest to the ocean and that seemed to be the easiest way.

It was hot though.

And we made it to the green sand beach!  As you can see, it is not grass or leaf green but more of an olive color.

We didn't take the steep path down, because we were flying out that evening and didn't want to miss our flight.  Next time, I'd like to actually swim there.

In case you were wondering, the sand is green because of a large deposit of the semi precious stone, olivine which is broken up by the waves and mixed with the black sand from the lava.  Sometimes people do find large chunks of olivine.  Wouldn't that be exciting?

Waterfalls

The Kona side of the island of Hawaii where we stayed is very dry. The amount of rainfall here is about the same as in Boise, a measly 11 inches per year.  The weather is perfect for lots of lazy afternoons by the pool or on the beach. Some call it 'eternal springtime'. When you cross to the other side of the island, the Hilo side, things change dramatically.  Hilo gets about 130 inches of rain per year - that is more than 10 feet of rain.  Rainy Portland only gets about 43 inches per year.

All that rain makes for lush vegetation and some spectacular waterfalls.

 'Waterfalls wouldn't sound so melodious if there weren't rocks in the way'. Rishabh Gautam

"There is no better place to find yourself than sitting by a waterfall and listening to its music." Roland Kemler

Can you believe the size of this Banyan tree? 

Volcano Power

Beautiful beaches, waterfalls, fantastic weather, flowers, good food and lovely resorts are the norm for the Hawaiian Islands.  What sets the Big Island apart is its active volcano!  You probably remember in 2018 when Kilauea sent a river of lava, destroying 700 homes.  About 13 1/2 square miles of the island were repaved with lava. 

I secretly hoped that we would get to see some lava flowing but it wasn't to be.  We did enjoy two great hiking days exploring Kilauea, the most active volcano in the world.  I think the photos prove that something is still going on under the ground. 

Look behind George and you can clearly see the steam vents.

Rain has seeped into the ground and is then heated by Kilauea and comes out as steam. It was raining which made things even steamier!

This area is called the Sulphur Banks and is colorful but a bit stinky, although not as bad as some areas in Yellowstone. 

These are some warning that you don't see on every hike!

I love how determined plants somehow make their way through the lava.

And speaking of plants, the whole area around the lava is the lushest rain forest you can imagine.

One unusual phenomenon that we learned about are the so called 'lava trees'. These are formed when a rush of molten lava makes its way through a forest.  Rather than knocking down all the trees in its path, the lava's sudden contact with the tree's cooler, moist trunk allows a thin layer layer to cool around it.  After the initial rush of lava passes and the 'tide' goes down, the semi cooled lava that has accumulated around the doomed tree trunk remains.  Full disclosure, I didn't take this photo and we didn't see any quite as cool as this but I decided to include it because it is interesting.  

We could clearly see that what is in front of George is a tree trunk but it has been knocked down.  If we ever go here again, I definitely want to see the erect lava trees.
  

One of the funnest things we did was to hike down and across the caldera from a 1959 eruption.

It was quite hot but we made it down, across and then back UP the other side!  

The trail guide said to plan for 2 -3 hours and this geriatric couple made it in 2 hours! Yes we did feel quite proud of yourselves!

Never underestimate the power of Mother Nature!

From the 2018 eruption....the road was so badly damaged that it is now closed.  Just ahead of the area where you could walk, the destruction was even worse.

I'm glad we made the long drive to the Hawaiian Volcano National Park twice so that we got to really experience Kileau.

We put 1247 miles on our rental car over 10 days!

Tears

During our wonderful week in Hawaii, I received a Facebook message from a woman from Lonoke to let me know that my mother's house had burned.  It's a small town so everyone knew about this but my cousins were hesitant to tell me.  They eventually did decide to tell me and sent these shocking photos.

My mother has been dead for almost 11 years and I haven't owned this house in about as long. Yet looking at these photos brings me to tears.

Years ago, I was in Lonoke and noticed that the new owner, who I had never met, was outside so I stopped and told him who I was.  He invited me in to see the improvements that they had made to the house.  Seeing a nice young couple living there and obviously enjoying the house comforted my soul.  Life goes on. So many sweet memories were made in that house and it felt right that a new family was now making their own!  

My mother built it 5 years after my Daddy died. She confided in me that living in the house that she had lived in for so many years with my Daddy was hard for her.  She said that every time she looked up she expected to see him come into the room.  Building a new house was one step forward in her mourning process.  

Moma loved that house and was proud of it.  The yard was meticulously taken care of.  She mowed her own lawn and raked her own leaves up to the time of her death at age 88.  The house had a distinct smell that I can still conjure up in my mind.  It was a mixture of rose petals and wood smoke from her fireplace that was comforting and let me know that I had come home to my mother who loved me totally.

Ironic that it would burn down. I'm no fire investigator but it looks like the fire started in the living room.  You can even see through to the mantle above the fireplace.

 I am thankful that no one was home when this fire started.  Thankful that the memories will always be tucked up for safekeeping in my heart.

Heiau

We followed the guide book to find this beautiful heiau or temple.  The word is pronounced HEY-YOW.

Some people call it the Stonehenge of the Big Island.

This particular one is known as a navigational heiau.  The ancient Polynesians were exceptional navigators.  These stones were aligned to point the way to other Hawaiian islands, Tahiti and other far away places.

It was only AFTER we had climbed up to see them that we saw the sign saying to NOT GO OFF THE PATH!  Oops!  We didn't walk among them or take any rock souvenirs so hopefully the legend of bad luck befalling you, won't happen to us just for walking up there. 

Please don't report us to the authorities or any Hawaiian Gods!

Malasadas

One thing we both fell in love with on the Big Island are the Malasadas, Portuguese donuts.  Soft puffy balls of deliciousness.  They don't have holes like traditional donuts but they are sometimes filled with various creams and all of them are liberally sprinkled with sugar.

Coconut Cream Filling

Some just have a delicious glaze.

Passion Fruit Glaze

George was addicted too!  His favorite was the chocolate filled.

One night we went to a restaurant where our dessert was 3 Malasadas with 3 syringes to add the filling ourselves....one coconut, one chocolate and one guava!  Can you say delicious?

Our favorite place to buy them was the Southern Most Bakery in the US.  It's on the way to the volcano from Kona so be sure and stop if you ever go.  You won't be sorry!

I watched this guy making them to see if I could get any hints.  Yes you can find the recipe on-line.  And yes, I may be trying to learn to make them.

Our 2nd favorite place to buy them was at Tex's Drive in which in north of Hilo.

And for the record....I lost about 2 pounds on our trip.  I don't think I can thank the Malasadas for 

that.  If I do make them at home, I must go on several 4 mile hikes with significant climbing to try and equal things out!