Hawaii

On May 23 we headed to Hawaii, our first big trip in 32 years. Our first tour was on the DUCK, an old amphibious vehicle from the war. We toured Honolulu and Pearl Harbor with a little water trip to Sand Island.


We drove the island and on Memorial Day we went to the Punch Bowl-a veteran’s cemetery located in an old caldera. There were 50,000 graves decorated with a flag and a lei. It was very awe inspiring.




We were headed to the Polynesian Cultural Center and I was the navigator. I could feel my head bobbing and my eyes closing but we were almost there so I didn’t worry too much. I woke up quite a while later to find we had traveled about 15 miles farther than we needed to so we were a bit late. You would think on an island there would be much danger of getting lost but we did a few times. The PCC was fun and we spent the entire day experiencing Polynesian culture including the luau and the program at night. We didn’t get lost going home=) We played in the water at Waikiki beach and in the evening at the Banyan Tree watched the programs.


View from the Royal Grove. Waikiki Beach.



We headed to the island of Hawaii and were greeted by Kristi and Steviann. Kristi’s hair is shorter than mine which must be a first. We went to their house in paradise and got to tour what they have been working on for 17 years. We had great food and got to sleep in the new bedroom addition with a beautiful bathroom. We saw most of the coffee growing/processing at their home and it is a tremendous amount of work. We had so much fun with the Hill's, we hadn't seen them for years and it was just like old times!!!


Can you see the little bananas? They are called Apple Bananas and they are the perfect size.



We went to the volcanos and couldn’t see very well but we did walk through the Thurston Lava Tube. Later in the evening we traveled to the place where the flowing lava meets the ocean and saw the glowing red mass and smelled the sulfur. The park ranger said when the sulfur hits your lungs and gets some moisture it turns to sulfuric acid, isn’t that nice???


One of these 'rocks' is not like the other. Do you see it??



We went to the black sand beach and it was incredibly beautiful. The sand is like little crystals lying all about. There were green sea turtles lazing about. I wanted some of that black sand soooo bad, but there are signs everywhere telling about fines. I didn’t have enough money to pay the fines and even then I bet they take the sand away.


We went to town and had moco local rice on the bottom and a huge hamburger patty next , on top of that were two fried eggs and it was all smothered in gravy. It was the best food on the trip when we ate out. Kristi is a great cook and her food was the best on our trip. We had a terrific time with the Hill’s.





We headed out to our Bed and Breakfast in Kona and you would think with only one road we wouldn’t get lost but dang it was dark and we are incredibly talented. Also, the road signs aren’t the greatest...The B & B was fabulous with amazing breakfasts that kept us going until lunch.



We went snorkeling at Captain Cook. First we had to kayak out to the monument and then we could snorkel. We were rewarded as soon as we put our masks in the water, it was just like the Discovery Channel. Roy wants to buy a waterproof camera because it was sooo beautiful. We went snorkeling again the next day at another beach. The reef wasn’t nearly as healthy and there were too many people for my liking, but there were green sea turtles and I almost ran into one while snorkeling. There was an aggressive little brown fish that kept charging us, I guess we were in his territory.




After rescheduling our appointment for the Temple about 6 times we got there Thursday evening for a session.



We went back to Honolulu to stay in the amazing Royal Grove Hotel to stay the night, this time no a/c.


On the way to the airport we stopped at the Harley Davidson shop to see what Roy needed for his motorcycle and then headed back to reality. There is more to see and do and I can’t wait to go back.