Trip Around the Island

After our fun filled day of blisters and petroglyphs, we decided to take a leisurely drive and explore the east side of the Island. The east side receives most of the rain and has the greenery and waterfalls - the west side is dominated by lava fields. We head north and climb into Waimea. It is interesting to see all the cattle on the sides of the mountains. We see a few wild goats but still no donkey sightings. Apparently there are wild donkeys on the Island but except for the Donkey Crossing signs, we have not seen any evidence of their existence.

Waipio Overlook

Leaving Waimea we head to the Waipio Valley. It is a gorgeous view. The road to the bottom of the valley is extremely steep and only 4 wheel drive vehicles are allowed. If I had the time and the right footwear, it would be an interesting hike down. However, with blisters and two companions that now believe hiking is synonymous with pain, we head back to the car to continue our exploring.

Part of Akaka Falls

Next stop is Akaka Falls. On the way to the falls, we find a place to have lunch. We brought beverages along but no one thought of bringing any snacks so after 4 hours of exploring we are starving. Refreshed from our lunch we head to the falls. Pat takes the lead and decides to take the scenic route. The trail is thankfully paved but full of steps and inclines. We view the falls and marvel at the tropical landscape - so much different from the west side. Back in the car we continue south.

Surf at Kolekole Park

We stop at that park Kolekole which has a very small beach area but wonderful surf action. There is a small waterfall and swimmers enjoy the area where the river meets the ocean. Back into the car, we continue south and we finally reach Hilo. We drive around the city, looking at the downtown area, driving past the prison, and then stop at a gas station. We fill up with gas and decide to head home. I enter in our destination address and we begin the trip home. However, when soon realize that the GPS unit (Cynthia) is sending us on the Saddle Road. This is a road that runs between the two mountains and the one I was specifically warned not to take by the car rental company. We turn around and take another route. This one will take us past Volcanoes National Park and around the southern end of the Island.

We drive past the park, but we are unable to see anything due to the landscape. We continue on and the landscape doesn't change. It is miles and miles of small trees and moon like landscape. The driving isn't bad because we are coming down from 4,000 feet so we just coast along and apply the breaks occasionally and we encounter very few other cars. That should have been a sign because as we keep driving, the road becomes narrow and winding. Now for me, after driving on Pacific Coast Highway 1 in California, this is actually not too bad for a narrow and winding road. The cliffs and drop offs when we encounter them aren't that bad. Cheryl, however, doesn't like heights or roller coasters so she is not enjoying any part of the ride. The ride continues on and on and on and on. After an hour, the landscape is monotonous and we all need to go to the bathroom. No rest stops, no fast food restaurants, no gas stations. Just miles and miles of either moon landscape, macadamia trees, ranches with cattle and the occasional view of the ocean. We continue on and on. I can't emphasize enough how it seemed the road just went on and on and on and how it could be narrow and winding causing you to slow down. if only it was a bit wider and less curvy, you could drive a bit faster.

Finally we begin to see civilization. We are entering Kona. Lots of coffee farms and more cars. We made it. We finally come to a McDonalds restaurant and are able to use the restroom. We continue on, just wanting to finally make it back to our condo for a cold beer and a respite for our aching butts. We did stop at a scenic overlook to take a picture of the setting sun. We once again will miss the sunset. We drive through Kona, Kailu-Kona, the lava fields and finally arrive at Waikoloa.

It has been an experience driving around the entire Island. The area around our condo has petroglyphs carved in the volcanic rock. Many are of a person with a circle. Some scholars believe the circle represents a journey around the entire Island. I can't imagine what it would have been like to walk around the Island with its many mountains, hills, deep valleys, rivers and lava fields. It must have taken them months. After our ride we also feel the need to carve a figure in the lava somewhere and add a circle. Like I said yesterday, the Big Island is kicking our butts.

Exploring the Big Island

Island cats catching a few rays

I woke up before sunrise again. It may be 5:30 here but my body thinks it 9:30 and time to get up. Cheryl also woke up and we decided to go on a walk. We headed toward the beach or where Cheryl thought was the beach. We ended up walking over a lava field but we made it to the beach. It is a very nice beach within walking distance of the condo. We say the ubiquitous mongoose as well as several cats. The hotels in the area care for them and they spend their days lying in the sun.

Back at the condo we made plans for the day. We decide to explore the area north of Waikoloa. We pack a lunch and hit the road. The first stop is Waikoloa Village. Not much to see - we just drove around and then headed back to the highway. Continuing north we find another turnoff and head to the beach. It is a lovely beach and we spend some time there. I take pictures of everything hoping that a few will turn out.

The Seashell Sisters hard at work

The Seashell Sisters (Pat & Cheryl) spend the time looking down trying to find interesting shells. A whale could splash a few feet from shore and they wouldn't notice - a sea turtle could be sunbathing on the beach and they would step over it. They are extremely focused when looking for shells. We watch a few surfers enjoying the high surf and then decide to view the petroglyphs located on the property. Cameras in hand we set off. At first the path is smooth and easy. Then we enter a forested area and the path becomes narrow, dusty, winding left and right and up and down. After a few minutes we begin to wonder if this is a good idea. After 30 minutes we know this is not a good idea. I trudge ahead leaving Pat and Cheryl behind to check out the area. Just over the hill is the petroglyph area. I take and few pictures and return to the girls.

Petroglyph

By now I have blisters because I am wearing wet beach sandals, Pat's new shoes are red with dust from the trail and Cheryl's sandals are also filthy.

Trying to get out of Petroglyph Forest

Limping, we slowly make our way back to the rental car. We take out our cooler and find a lovely picnic area where we fill out stomachs and nurse our wounds. Luckily I never go anywhere without my first aid kit. A few sprays of neosporin and a couple of Spongebob bandaids we are ready to continue exploring. Well, more like we are ready to nap. We drive to the next beach and after 5 minutes we decide to return to the condo. The intrepid explorers are finished exploring for the day. We pick up some food at the food court in the Marketplace across the street. We eat, shower, look at pictures and we are all in bed by 8 pm. The Big Island is kicking our butts.

Kona

View of the mountains from our lanai

After a leisurely morning enjoying left over plane snacks and freshly brewed coffee, we headed to Kona to explore, buy a few souvenirs and then pick up our groceries. On the way, we were surprised by how many wild goats live in the lava fields. We found a parking spot and headed into the downtown area. We had breakfast at a local Mexican restaurant. I had a loco moco which is rice with a hamburger patty topped with an egg and smothered with brown gravy. It is a local dish and not as bad as it sounds. Cheryl had chicken fried something with sausage gravy and Pat had an omelet. The restaurant was across from an ABC store and had a lovely view of the cruise ship anchored offshore. After filling our faces we visited the first church built in the Hawaiian Islands. We found a small beach where we watched the waves, jumping fish, smoking snorkelers and discovered a colony of lava crabs.

Lava Crabs on the lava wall

They are black and live on the lava rocks so I named them lava crabs.

Cheryl "hanging loose" in Kona

Bags full of tacky tiki souvenirs, we headed to Wal-Mart and Safeway to purchase supplies for the week. At Wal-Mart we filled our cart with Hawaiian print shirts and more souvenirs. At Safeway, we filled our cart with a few groceries and lots of bread and beer. This should be a fun week. The highlight of the shopping trip was of course the chocolate chewy cookies that can only be found at Safeway. Back to the condo where we relax on the lanai and enjoy the scenery and wildlife. I saw a mongoose run across the golf course and I named him Rikki Tikki Tavi (only mongoose name I know). We watched lots of birds and then we were visited by the geckos. Of course on Hawaii even the geckos are more colorful.

Garry - our Hawaiian lanai gecko.

Cheryl saw one first and named him David. Who ever heard of a gecko named David?

Hibiscus flower outside our condo

After relaxing we decided to find us a lava flow. We head to the King's shops which is just next door and we found one - a $8.95 one and that was happy hour prices!! We continued to explore, visiting the shops, picking up more trinkets and snacks. We even visited the King's Road which is a road that was cut into the lava fields to connect the villages of Hawaii. I can't imagine walking from one village to another on this road. It is open to the elements and difficult to walk on - I hope they had good sandals. The sun set during our exploration and of course we missed it. It was dark on the way back to the condo but fortunately we all had our new Hawaiian LED flashlights that we had just purchased from the ABC store conveniently located across the street. Back in the condo, I blog and the girls write out postcards and drink a lukewarm beer. Apparently our refrigerator cooling level was too low. We increased it and tomorrow we will have a cold one (hopefully).

Aloha cold weather dwellers - tomorrow we are off to the beach, or the volcanoes, or the rain forest - so many options and all of them fun!

Aloha from the Big Island

We made it! After 17 and a half hours of traveling we finally arrived at the Kona airport. With all the snow, we kept our fingers crossed that our flights wouldn't be cancelled. Luck was on our side and we left the snow and ice for sun and warmth. The flight was looooooooong and they packed us in like sardines. When one of us shifted position, all the passengers in the row had to shift. I hope to regain feeling in my lower extremities within a few days. It was a balmy 75 degrees when we landed. I missed a gorgeous sunset standing in line to get our rental car. Cheryl tried to take a picture but her battery was dead and Pat has a new camera and she doesn't know quite how to use it yet so no pictures of the gorgeous sunset.

We drove to our condo and checked in. We are staying at the Outrigger's Fairway Villas located in the Waikoloa Beach resort area. It is an oasis of green in the midst of the lava fields. Pat went to bed first at 7:30 pm local time (11:30 pm WI time). I went to bed next at 8 pm soon followed by Cheryl at 8:30. She tried to watch Lost but just couldn't stay awake. We were awakened by music from an alarm clock that had a 9:30 alarm set by a previous guest. My cell phone started ringing at 5:30 am and I had to dig through my luggage to find it to turn it off. We were all up before sunrise. It may be 6 am here but our bodies are still on WI time. The sun came up and we enjoyed the warm weather. We are planning on visiting Kona today. We need to pick up groceries and it is Social Security Day so Pat is flush with cash. Lava flows will be flowing in Kona today and I don't mean the hot red molten kind.