Waikoloa

So many places with unusual names, so many beautiful spots. I'm about 90% sure this is Waikoloa. We had lunch on the beach here. I took quite a few pictures after lunch. The main reason I'm posting this picture is that it's one of my favorites and makes a very nice wallpaper.

Whale Watching

Saturday we went whale watching (again, off Kona). We went out on a boat called "Sea Smoke" that was built for James Arness (Marshall Dillon of Gunsmoke) and raced successfully between California and Hawaii.

It was a windy, rough day; lots of chop on the water. For about two hours I had to hang onto the rail at the front of the boat with one hand while hanging onto my camera and trying to take pictures with the other. Since I am fortunate enough not to be bothered by seasickness, this was both fun, and very good exercise.

I got 6 or 7 good shots. Opportunities happen quickly and disappear fast. I saw much more than I could catch on film.

Submarine Ride in Kona

I'm back home now. I didn't have regular access to the Internet while in Kona so I'll put up a few posts to round out the stuff I did while in Hawaii.

On Thursday we took a submarine tour Off Kona. Looking at the brochure it would be easy to be sceptical. Part of me was concerned that this would be a gimmicky rip-off to separate tourists from their money.

Turns out it was a lot of fun and well worth the money. The sub went a little deeper than 100 feet and was a great way to get some really nice pictures of local fish and the coral reef.

Valley of the Kings

Today we took an ATV tour of the rim of Waipi'o Valley where King Kamehameha reigned. There were two stops at waterfalls (1 shown) a lot of terrific views and pictures and FUN going along hardscrabble dirt roads @ 20-30 mph on a quad.

Hiking the lava pt.2

We went back to the volcano today. Hiked from 1:00pm to 4:30pm in extreme heat (100+ degrees) across what may be the world's largest solar heat collector. About 100yds from the edge of the cliff overlooking the ocean, we saw a couple of Humpback whales breaching offshore...nice two-fer. We also saw a warning sign there telling us the cliffs were unstable and that no one should proceed further... we proceeded further.

Good, obedient people see steam, foolhardy scofflaws see lava.

Steve

Monday 03/05

We had a big day; hiking at Rainbow Falls, and Boiling Pots (shown) and snorkeling at two different beaches. In Hilo I picked up a ukulele. I guess that will be my big souvenir for this trip.
They have five different kinds of SPAM here; garlic, spicy, bacon (that makes sense), low fat (healthy SPAM?) and the regular variety. SPAM aside, the produce alone has been worth the trip.

Hawaiian Wildlife

We had a good day yesterday; snorkeling, lunch at a local farmer's market and dinner at an excellent restaraunt. Since my digital doesn't go underwater, I have no pictures to show you from yesterday. We watched whales and sea turtles from the back porch, but I decided to show you a picture I took from the front porch this morning of a vacant lot across the street. The island of Kauai has thousands of chickens roaming everywhere; let's hope this isn't the start of a more ominous trend on the Big Island.

Steve

Lava Field

What do you do if a red-hot smoking swathe of incredibly destructive lava has cut a path through your village (kalapana for instance), consuming all in it's path, burying all you own under twelve feet of black metallic rock? I guess you put up signs for a black sand beach and plant coconuts.

Friday

Two hikes on Friday; a six miler along the coast in Pahoa (see picture), and after sunset a hike in the volcano park. We went about two miles through the lava field with flashlights (slow-going). Another mile or so would have taken us right up to where the lava was flowing along the surface, but as it was dark, late, and a little rainy, we stopped short and for a little less than an hour watched bright red-hot lava flow into the Pacific. It looked strikingly like the picture fronting the chapter in High-School science text books that describe how the Earth came into being. An amazingly peaceful spot with a view that's awe inspiring. Bright streams flowed down the side of the volcano as well; that the lava was still so hot after flowing at least two miles down hill says a lot.

Steve

Woke up this morning and found myself in Puna

We got in a little too late last night to get any good pictures or issue a new post. This is a shot from the patio of Bonnie's (our hostess) house... nice place to wake up.

There was a crying baby on the flight, our luggage arrived an hour after we did, and we had a lot of rain last night...waa!

We plan on walking the lava today. I expect to get some good shots of that.