Day 9 Leaving Hawaii--Apr. 10 & 11

Marv and I decided we wanted to spend our last morning at the beach, playing in the water, while Heidi and Kris hoped to get to downtown Honolulu to see the royal palace. That didn’t work out for them when they lost track of each other at the International Market. We rented a boogie board to try some wave riding. It didn’t work too well but we had fun trying. After an hour or so we had to check out of the hotel and have them hold our bags until it was time to go to the airport. We returned to Duke’s Canoe Club for lunch and then had Nate, the shuttle driver who had driven us from the airport, take us back to the airport. Our flight left on time and they made good time, getting us to Chicago about 20 minutes ahead of schedule. On the seven hour flight we saw “Did you hear about the Morgans?” and “Young Victoria”. None of us got any sleep to speak of so our heads were cottony as we arrived at O’Hare around 4:30am Central time, or 11:30pm Hawaiian (and our body) time. The next legs of our voyage were uneventful and we arrived back to our house about noon. It was another memorable and successful Spring Break for the four of us. We were all left with the pleasant impression of how happy the Hawaiians we saw and who served us are. We felt safe everywhere we went. We learned of and experienced the concept of Ohana (family) and were called “cousin” by our new friends. And like Puerto Rico last year, it seemed like we had been to a foreign and exotic locale without ever leaving the country. We left many things undone and several islands unexplored. Sometime in the future, hopefully in the wintertime so we see the humpbacks, we’d love to return to Hawaii. I will most likely next return to this travel blog in June, when we go to Alaska. Y’all come back then, ya hear?

Day 8 Oahu--Apr. 9

In the spirit of the intrepid explorer Captain Cook, we decided to take the public bus to Pearl Harbor today. We knew that the Arizona Memorial was closed for renovations and that the journey would take us over an hour, but considered all that to be part of the adventure. We caught the bus just down from the hotel with very little wait. With stops at nearly every corner it actually took us an hour and ten minutes to arrive at the Visitors Center. We watched the film about that fateful day of Dec. 7, 1941 in the temporary outdoor theater. Then we took the shuttle to the USS Missouri, the only remaining battle ship of the Iowa class and the one where the surrender papers were signed to end World War II. We were shown around by a Korean volunteer who did an excellent job of tying the War history into his personal history. We had plenty of time to wander around the ship, which is now set-up like a museum to not only World War II but the Korean War and Desert Storm, in all of which the ship saw action. From the deck we could easily see the Arizona Memorial. On the shuttle on the way back the driver pointed out a restaurant under the bridge to Ford Island that had a 4:00 social hour with drink and hors d’oeuvre specials. Since we hadn’t had lunch and it was 4:00 we made the short walk over and had two rounds of Mai Tais and shared four of the pupus (appetizers). That was enough to hold us for a long time. The return trip on the bus seemed to take less time but I’m not sure it was much shorter. Our waitress at breakfast had told us there were fireworks on the beach every Friday evening so we walked down to it on the sand and watch for them. After twenty minutes or so we realized there were flashes on the other side of one of the tall hotels right on the beach. By the time we walked around the point, they were over so we missed them. So we headed back to the International Market to see what the entertainment was. We found what claimed to be the oldest band in Hawaii playing a mix of blues, rock, Hawaiian and World Music. They called up an old friend to sing some numbers with them and they ended with a sort of Hawaiian Pride Anthem. It was an enjoyable last evening before we had to pack-up to leave Hawaii on Saturday.

Day 7 Oahu--Apr. 8

All day today was set aside for the Polynesian Cultural Center. We decided to go with a tour group because of the challenge in getting to it on the northeast shore of the island, about an hour and fifteen minutes away. Our ticket included the ali’i (Royal) luau dinner, which we figured was going to be a big meal. Rather than worrying about taking a lunch or paying exorbitant prices inside the Center, we went to Smorgies, just a block away, for their $7.95 breakfast buffet. After filling up there, we figured we could get by with a snack until dinner. We caught the bus at the Hyatt Regency, another two blocks away took off at 10:30 for the park. Our tour guide, Cousin Gandhi was a native of Samoa who came here in 1999. His chatter along the way was a bit over the top but he did tell us the points of interest along the way. It was also enough to make us glad we hadn’t paid to have him be our guide for the remainder of the day. We arrived just as the park opened at noon. The Polynesian Cultural Center (from here on I’ll call it the PCC, like they do) is administered by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Our ticket included a tram ride to the town of Lale to visit the campus of Brigham Young University Hawai’i and the Temple, which was the first LDS temple built outside of the continental U.S. But we didn’t avail ourselves of that part of our ticket. Seventy percent of the people who work in the park are students from the University and ones who work in the “Villages” come from the country or islands represented. We were pleased to find there was no proselytizing within the park. And I’ll give the LDS Church this: while the Congregationalists tried to wipe out the dances, language and traditions of the natives wherever they went, this is a beautiful setting that is all about preserving those same things for some of the Polynesian Triangle nations. The Center is an idyllic mostly outdoors setting with six separate “villages” for Hawaii, Fiji, Tonga, Samoa, Tahiti, and Aotearoa (New Zealand), and exhibit areas for Rapa Nui (Easter Islands) and the Marquesas. The villages have indigenous buildings, activities and presentations. We learned greetings and other words in the native languages. Drumming and dancing are integral to each culture and the differences and similarities are highlighted. There is also a lagoon running through the area adding to the illusion that these are islands, just as the Polynesian nations are. Indeed, the word Polynesia is Greek for “many islands”. We started by taking a canoe ride from the entrance to the very back of the PCC, where we found very few people. It made our first encounters very personal but gradually the crowds worked their way through the park. At 2:30 there was a canoe pageant on the lagoon with islanders performing on each canoe. After a very full afternoon we enjoyed the luau complete with a roasted pig and a band and accompanying hula dancers. Our day ended with an extravaganza called “HA: Breath of Life”, which featured more than 100 dancers doing dances from the six island nations about which we had learned so much. We were all happy to have a bus driver to take us back to the hotel, to which we didn’t return until 10:30. It had been a very full day.

Day 6 Oahu--Apr. 7

We got away from the Kona Bali Kai, got gas, returned the rental and arrived at the airport without a glitch and with plenty of time. Our flight to Oahu left early and took only about half an hour so we were on our second island about half an hour earlier than expected. We found a shuttle to take us to the Ohana Waikiki West for $9.00 a person; cheaper and more comfortable than a taxi. Our very interesting driver, who was originally from Iran, gave us a mini-tour on our way in, which was very helpful. Despite arriving around 11:00, the Ohana had our room on the 16th floor ready so we checked in and got settled before looking for some lunch. From our balcony we can see Diamond Head through the buildings and the ocean to our right. We are three blocks from the beach, and right across the street from the International Market, through which we walk to get to the beach. Everything we need is nearby. A friendly woman gave us directions to her favorite place—Duke’s, right on the beach. It was good food and not as expensive as I would have expected. After we ate, Kris and Heidi went back to the International Market (I’ll just call it the I.M. from now on) to find the Post Office while Marv and I walked up the beach for a while and then cut back over to the hotel. We made arrangements to go to the Polynesian Cultural Center on Thursday and talked about what else we wanted to do. It was too late to go to Pearl Harbor so we opted to take the free trolley to Hilo Hattie’ in Honolulu. It is the quintessential “All Things Hawaiian” store, with everything from clothes to kitchen ware to bath and skin products to coffees and snacks. But it was still smaller than what we had expected. Heidi and Kris did quite a bit of shopping before we all got back on the trolley and rode back to the I.M. We walked through it again and stopped for coffee (them) and a mango smoothie (me). When we met back at the hotel Kris and Heidi had found the perfect place for dinner—the food court at the I.M. was having free entertainment. Back we went again to the I.M. We each found something different from the others to eat. Marv had a whole fried tilapia and I had sushi, from different vendors. The show was a Hawaiian drum band and 6 or 8 dancers with a variety of costumes doing dances from all the Polynesian cultures. It was probably similar to what we’ll see tomorrow on a grander scale, but they were really good. It was still early and a lovely evening so we walked back to the shore to stroll along the beach for several blocks, enjoying the magical street scene and all the people before going back for bedtime.

Day 5 Hawaii--Apr. 6

Our last day on Hawaii is our last chance to do a snorkel trip. We went with SeaQuest, which was an inflatable raft trip. The 7:45 beginning meant another early morning. Our very entertaining guide, Liam, took us first about half an hour down the coast to Pu’uhonua O Honaunau (Place of Refuge) Bay where we had been on Saturday by land. The water there was a bit rougher than it is usually but we stayed for about an hour and saw two green sea turtles, along with spectacular fish and coral. One of the turtles swam straight at Marv, causing him to have to back pedal in order to keep his required distance. As we left the bay a pod of spinner dolphins swam all around us. We went north to Kealakekua Bay where the Captain Cook Memorial is. The intrepid explorer first came to the islands in this bay, where the natives greeted him as a God because his pale skin and masts with sails seemed to be the fulfillment of a prophesy. However, on his return trip there was a little “misunderstanding” and he was killed here. The bay is now a protected marine sanctuary and the snorkeling is even better here. The natural harbor is calm and protected and the reef drops in a sheer wall down to 150 feet. We saw a green sea turtle here, too, and Kris and I saw a four foot Moray Eel. After an hour or so we made our way back up the coast, pausing several times to look at sea caves and arches. We got back about noon, picked up a few more groceries and ate lunch on our lanai. Then everyone wanted a nap before thinking of anything else. Afterwards, Marv and I sat on the shore and read, napped and listened to music (Marv) and journaled (me) while Kris and Heidi took a walk to find some postcards. We ended up staying there all afternoon and got to see some green sea turtles feeding. For dinner we went to Jackie Rey’s Grill for some authentic Hawaiian poke (a raw marinated fish pupu, or appetizer) and salads. Afterwards we tried to find the Sheraton Resort, where they shine lights into the water near the deck. The lights attract plankton, which in turn attract manta rays to feed. But they turn off the lights at 9:30 and we couldn’t find the resort in time. So instead we returned to the Kona Bali Kai for the last time to pack up and get ready for an early trip to the airport to fly to Oahu in the morning.

Day 4 Hawaii--Apr. 5

Today was our day to see Volcanoes National Park. Different sources said the 90 mile drive would take us anywhere from an hour and half to three hours so we wanted to leave by 7:30. We followed Highway 11 south, taking a side road 12 miles down to South Point, the southern-most point in the US. The windswept point is home mostly to cattle and a small wind farm now. There are canoe lifts which are apparently used to lower and hoist canoes from the cliffs to the raging waves 50 feet below, but it was hard to believe anyone would do it in those prevailing winds. After climbing around on the lava surface for a while we climbed back in the car and continued on to the Black Sand Band beach of Punalu’u. The beach is just a short walk from the parking lot. It is famous not only for the black sand but also for the very rare hornbill and less rare but still endangered green sea turtles. The hornbills come there only to nest from May to October and there are only 55 known females in Hawaii. The green sea turtles come to the bay to feed on the algae on the rocks. After watching the waves for a bit we realized that the water was teaming with green turtles, impossible to count because of the wave action. It is fascinating to watch for them to stick out a flipper or bring out their whole head to breath. Finally tearing ourselves away we drove on to the Park, arriving at the Visitors Center about noon, just as a volunteer host who was a native of Oahu began a talk about the geography of the island and volcanoes, along with a mini lesson on how to pronounce Hawaiian words. He then led a hike but we wanted to eat so we passed on that part. It became abundantly clear that we were in a rain forest as light misty rains came and went. There were no covered picnic tables so we ended up enjoying our wine, bread and cheese in the car in the parking lot—not very picturesque! We went into the Center to watch three short films about the park and the present volcano action, and looked at the displays. A ranger went over the map with us, making note of what we should try to do with the rest of our day. We were a bit disappointed to find out that more than half of the Crater Rim Drive was closed because of the presence of high levels of sulfuric acid. But she encouraged us to take the Crater Rim Drive to Chain of Craters Drive and highlighted spots to stop along both. At our first stop there were three trails; one to a lava tunnel, one down to the lava lake of Kilauea and one along the rim of the cauldron. When Marv, Heidi and I returned to the car, feeling that we couldn’t see much because of the increased rain, Kris lost us. He hiked the half mile to the tunnel and returned, since he hadn’t found us. Heidi and came across him on the trail and explained what had happened. It all took about half an hour but there was no harm done. Chain of Craters Drive descends 4000 feet in 17 miles. Along it we climbed a couple of viewing platforms and took in the eerie lava landscape. In the process we are learning to identify pahoehoe and a’a, two kinds of lava flow. Near the coastline we took a mile and a half hike to Pu’u Loa, the largest collection of petroglyphs in Hawaii. Etched into the lava 700 years ago are 23,000 figures and shapes. 16,000 are holes, circles or concentric circles. Oral history tells us that they were ceremonial depositories for babies’ umbilical cords, left to appeal to the gods to protect the child into adulthood. It was a very spiritual spot. From there we continued quite literally to the end of the road. In 1983 when the Pu’u O’o vent spewed, the lava flowed down from the cauldron to the sea, right across the road for several miles. And that was the end of that circle drive! Marv and I opted to hike what they said was half an hour but was really more like a mile to get some pictures on the lava. As we retraced our journey there were more rains coming in so we saw a spectacular double rainbow over the black lava. Back at the top, we hiked a half mile or so through the rainforest to go through the very wet lava tunnel cave, which is partly lighted. It was close to dinner time so we headed into Volcano Village but found long waits and expensive meals at the two open restaurants. Instead we opted for coffee- and treats-to-go at a small café. It was dark when we returned to the National Park so we took Crater Rim Drive the other direction to see steam vents in the headlights, the Jaggar Museum (the first scientist to really study the volcanoes) and most importantly, the glowing Kilauea lava dome. No one knows when Kilauea will erupt again, but the growing dome makes it clear that it will happen again. Driving back to Kona, we were happy to come across the Shaka restaurant and bar (the southern-most restaurant in the US) still open and serving food. We found out that Duke had squeaked by Butler and ate dinner about 8:30 or 9:00. When we got back to the Kona Bali Kai, we were all exhausted from our full day, no one more than Marv, who is doing all the driving.

Day 3 Hawaii--Apr. 4

Sun. Apr. 4: Happy Easter! We wanted to attend a UCC Church today and got two suggestions from a church secretary in Hilo with whom I had corresponded before we came. We ended up at Mokuaikaua Church, which proved to be an interesting experience. Built by early missionaries in 1837, using coral and lava rock, this is the oldest Christian church in Hawaii. Because the Congregationalist missionaries first came in April 1820, they were celebrating their 190^th anniversary today. The service began with about 20 minutes of praise music and the Samoan minister had a pretty conservative, fundamental message for his very receptive congregation. But the people were friendly and welcoming, and the woman next to me gave me her lei with “some sugar” (a kiss). Heidi and I stayed to hear a history talk by a very fervent member, who did seem to know her stuff, but had a pretty sympathetic and approving (of the missionaries) point of view. Because the lines were so long, we regretfully decided not to stay for the anniversary luau to which everyone was invited. Instead we went back to change our clothes and make a lunch and took the roads leading to the north part of the island. There is a big difference along the drive between the lava desert close to Kona and the gentle slopes of the oldest part of the island as one travels north. We stopped at Kekaha Kai State Park Beach to enjoy our lunch and watch people playing in the waves. Marv and I went down and got our feet wet and marveled at the fine white sand beach, edged with harsh black lava boulders. Further on we took a very rough unpaved road to the south part of Kiholo Bay. Here we found “The Queen’s Pool”, a collapsed lava tube which has a spring that keeps a few feet of crystal clear fresh water in it. There is a ladder to climb down into it and one can swim under the rocks into another part that is open to the air above too, but none of us went in. Instead we hiked on up the beach to see the spectacular beach complex built by Paul Mitchell, which he apparently rarely visits. Pretty unbelievable!! Back in the car, the temperature dropped as we continued to drive. We drove around the northern tip of the island, encountering a lot of fine, cool rains. In Hawi we enjoyed a Kona Brewery draft at Luke’s Tiki Bar before retracing our route. As we came down the west coast we encountered the most vivid, full spectrum, full arc rainbows any of us had ever seen. Pictures may not do them justice but we took plenty! We returned to Kawaihae and had dinner at a Tres Hombres Mexican restaurant set back and above the beach at the harbor, over which we watched the sunset. Back “home we split a bottle of wine while we made our plans for Monday and Tuesday, and got to bed a little bit early.

Day 2 Hawaii--April 3

We slept fitfully but all night long, awakening by about 7:30 Hawaiian time. We made our single packet of coffee and enjoyed it while waiting for our agreed upon time of 8:00 to call Kris and Heidi. I went down to see if I could use the Wi-Fi in the open air lobby of the Bali Kai (I could!) and then Marv came down to say we were going to get our pals. They had watched the tourist info channel and found out that there is an every Saturday organic farmers’ market right nearby. It is held in the parking lot of the Keauhou shopping center so we could kill several birds with one stone. Each couple shared a large breakfast plate from one of the vendors. After tasting the coffee at several stands we each bought 100% Kona coffee to have here and some to take home. We meandered and sampled and enjoyed the live Hawaiian music being played on a stage. When we had our fill, we went to the drugstore and supermarket for other breakfast and lunch foods, and went back to put them in the fridges in our rooms. We loaded up the car to be gone for the afternoon and drove south to the Pu’uhonau O Honaunau National Historic site. Our picnic on the lava rock beach was welcome before we climbed around on the rocks and examined the tidal pools alive with corals and tiny fish and crabs. Then we were thrilled with our first sightings of two humpback whales, quite close to the shore. Most of the humpbacks have now begun their journey to the Arctic Ocean so we were really pleased that we got to see a couple. We returned to the self-guided interpretive walk around the sacred grounds which only royalty could enjoy or even see and learned about the strict rules which governed the populous between 1550 and the nineteen hundreds. For example, a commoner could be put to death for even casting a shadow on the sacred grounds within the 17 feet thick, 12 feet high stone wall. Interestingly, the shore of the point just outside the wall was a Place of Refuge. If a person could reach the Point of Refuge (usually by swimming across the bay) then they were safe and, after purification by a priest, could return to his/her place in Society, absolved of the crime. As we walked around the area, Ken kept us updated on the Butler/ MSU Semi-Final game. Things seemed to be going well until we didn’t hear from him for a while and then got a sad, one word text: LOST. It became gradually cloudier as we explored but the woman in the gift shop said it wasn’t clouds, it was “vog” or volcanic fog from Mauna Loa. Be that as it may, we did drive through some very light rain in the same area. We took a different route back and stopped at the Painted Church. This Benedictine Catholic Church was built down near the coast, but when a new priest came in 1832 he supervised moving it up the hills into the cooler climate where the village people were moving. Then he began painting the interior with decorations and murals of important Bible scenes, modeling his work after a Spanish church. He died before finishing all the murals but the church is being kept up as he left it and has an apparently active membership with Mass the first Sunday of the month. We continued on to the Paleaku Peace Garden but drove past without stopping. We hoped to visit the Kona Coffee Living Museum but found that it had limited hours and days when it is open and was closed. Donkey Balls chocolates proved to be too expensive for the likes of us, so we drove on to two scenic overlooks and then dropped back down to the La’ Aloa Beach, just down the Ali’i Road from the Bali Kai. There a small swatch of fine white sand beach is surrounded by black lava rocks. There were lots of kids having a great time playing with their boogie boards in the surf. While we watched them, a man yelped that he had stepped on a sea turtle. Our attention turned to observing two large turtles feeding without concern for the buffeting waves that sometimes brought them perilously close to the large lava rocks. We were disappointed when two people told us that just a few minutes before they had seen a humpback whale “dancing” and breeching just off shore. As one of the turtles swam off we decided to return to the Bali Kai and rest up before going down to the shore area there to see if there would be a sunset worth watching. We also agreed to try the nearby Kona Brewing Company for dinner. The sun peeked out for a few minutes just as it reached the horizon and was well worth seeing. However, Kris and Heidi arrived just after the sun set so they missed it. Kona Brewing Company and Pub turned out to be a great choice. We ate outside under a sort of open sided umbrella tent. They had good sandwiches, really good beer and an amazing brownie and ice cream dessert which the four of us shared. Yum---my!!! Back at the Bali Kai, Marv, Heidi and I opted to go in the hot tub and pool for a while before we all hit the—very welcome—sack.

Day 1 Hawaii--April 2, 2010--Happy Birthday, Mom!

Fri. April 2, 2010: This is the big day—we’re going to Hawaii! And so far, so good. This is written from the LA airport (LAX?). We started with two small problems: Marv was randomly selected as being unable to check-in online, meaning he had no boarding pass in Detroit and had to answer some questions to get through the check-in. After we got that taken care of, the swab of his backpack was suspect, so he was “wanded” and patted down in security. But once another machine cleared him, everything improved greatly, including exit aisle seats to Chicago and an empty seat next to us from Chicago so we could spread out and come and go as we pleased. “Orson Wells and Me” during the flight.We saw the film We board in about half an hour with next stop---Hawaii!

The next leg of our journey was unremarkable. We sat next to a woman who was going to Hawaii with 4 generations to celebrate her 85^th birthday. She was delightful! We watched the film “Dear Heart”, for which Jeff Bridges got the best actor Academy Award this year. Arriving at the Kona airport was easy and we got or luggage and took a shuttle to get our rental car. That took a while but Dollar was out of the Dodge Charger-size vehicle we had reserved so they upgraded us to a Lincoln Towncar at the same price. We’ve never had such a big car! The GPS took us straight to the Crown Kona Bali Kai, where we checked in and got our rooms. We’re in separate buildings so I don’t know how Kris and Heidi like their accommodations, but we’re happy with our “Mountain View” (not really) room with a kitchenette and king size bed. Bed we can see the ocean across the street from our lanai. It should do us very well for our five days here. We tumbled into bed about 10:45, having been up for nearly 24 hours straight without sleep!