Denise Goldberg's blog

An experience on two feet instead of two (bicycle) wheels
Denise's 2004 adventures in Hawaii

Tuesday, November 02, 2004

Home again...

I knew that coming back to late fall would be a shock, and it was...

The flight home was long but uneventful, and I'm having my usual west to east time adjustment issues. I was absolutely exhausted when I got home yesterday just before 5 PM, no surprise given the combination of the time change and the fact that I was only able to get short naps on the plane. Unfortunately that exhaustion disappeared once I tried to fall asleep; I was very glad that I took today as an extra vacation day so that I could sleep in a little bit.

Pictures...
I've scattered a few photos through my blog entries, but you'll need to go to my Hawaii 2004 photo gallery to see most of them. There are actually six sub-galleries so you can pick and choose which area of the island you're interested in. At the end of each day's entry I included the photo gallery link for that day. Of course there is some overlap since I have 9 days of pictures and only 6 different galleries.

Maps...
Curious about where I was wandering? There are two maps that I highly recommend if you're planning your own trip to the Big Island. The first is "Map of Hawai'i The Big Island" by University of Hawai'i Press, and the second is the Trails Illustrated (now National Geographic) "Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park" map. Both are excellent maps and are plastic coated - and both have survived my use through multiple trips to Hawaii.

What's next?
I have a feeling that I'm not done with Hawaii yet, but I think I need to dream of a different place to visit next year. I wonder... if I plan more than one trip for 2005, will I convince myself I need to return to Hawaii that soon?

Sunday, October 31, 2004

One final day in paradise - for this trip, that is!

It's the end of daylight savings time in most of the country - but with pretty close to 12 hours of daylight year-round, Hawaii never switches to daylight savings time. No time change here... I'll just have to remember to change the clocks when I get home tomorrow. I meant to change them before I left, but somehow that didn't get done in my eagerness to start my vacation.

One of my early morning tasks was to check on the availability of an end-of-the-day shower. My intent is to stay here all day and enjoy a last day on the beach, but I didn't like the thought of getting on an airplane covered in salt and sunscreen. As it turns out, there is a locker room near the pool, so I'm all set. It's funny, but I never knew that it even existed.

I started the day - again - with the breakfast buffet. I've been feasting on fresh papaya here, and I think it will be a bit of an adjustment to go back to less access to these wonderful tropical fruits. As usual, I had my camera with me at breakfast and I was trying to catch the crazy birds that flocked to tables as soon as the diners got up. They didn't really cooperate. I took a couple of pictures, but I have my doubts that any of them will turn out. That's part of the fun of the digital camera - no processing fees, so I just keep snapping away. Of course I'll have to pick which pictures to upload for sharing since there is no way I'm going to subject everyone to looking at 500 pictures!




Don't you think he is posing for me?


After breakfast I headed out for a long walk, starting on the grounds of the hotel, and then wandering off onto a trail that leads south from here. I thought I’d check out Hapuna Beach, but before I reached there the trail became so overgrown that I decided to turn around. There’s always that little issue of finding the way back. It was time to head back, check out of the hotel, and move to the beach for the rest of the day.

It was overcast day, but I still sat under an umbrella (when I wasn’t in the water that is) at the beach. After all, there’s no sense in coming home with a sunburn from the last day of the trip. The water was much calmer today; the strong current from yesterday must have been hiding somewhere else today. The sun came out at the very end of the day, then after a half hour show it disappeared behind the clouds again. Still, it was a nice end to my day at the beach.


magic sky


A relaxing dinner at the hotel followed by one more walk was a nice end to the day. I left for the airport a little after eight, and found something interesting on the road. There were reflectors embedded in the pavement - yellow down the center line, white on the right side of the road, and red on the left side. It was a very dark night, so the reflectors were a nice touch on a very dark road. Of course they wouldn’t work too well at home – they’d probably get ripped out by the first snow plow the barreled down the road.

It was Halloween at the airport. All of the American Airlines agents were wearing witches hats and had sparkles on their faces. Oh wait, it was just the women. I wonder why the men weren’t playing too…

Funny, I actually saw some people at the airport who I had met during my stay here. One was a woman I met last night while we were both watching the manta rays. She was in Hawaii with her husband who currently needs some assistance in walking. He was in a wheelchair at the airport, which could be a bit difficult for boarding a plane since in Kona you actually walk up a set of steps (mounted on a truck) to get into the plane. Not a problem though – the airline staff took him to the back of the plane to one of the "food" entrances and lifted him aboard with one of their magic trucks. That worked! I spoke with them again when I got on the plane myself through the normal “people” entrance, and they were both delighted with their special treatment.

The plane we took back to Los Angeles is a turnaround flight. In fact, it was the same flight that I took to get to Kona just over a week ago. Maybe I’ll manage to be on this flight again in the not too distant future. (In case you haven’t figured it out yet, I would have been happy to stay in Hawaii!)

Photos for today can be found in my Kohala Coast and Bugs, birds, and just for fun! photo galleries.

Saturday, October 30, 2004

A historical park, a botanical garden, petroglyphs, and the beach!

Today started with a fabulous breakfast buffet that was included with my room. A hint - if you plan to stay here, join the Prince Hotels guest program. They knocked extra money off the (still very expensive) room, plus they threw in the breakfast buffet with the room. My table was outside, so I could enjoy breakfast and bird-watching all at one time.

After breakfast I headed to the concierge desk to get some infornation. The woman working there was filling in at the front desk when I checked in yesterday. She impressed me by remembering my name this morning - that kind of memory for names must come in very handy when working in a customer service position at a hotel. It turns out that her father owns the last house on the road to Polulu Valley, so I walked right by his house yesterday. He also owns a cabin a couple of valleys over from there with access only by foot. That sounds beautiful.

My first stop for the day was the Pu'ukohola Heiau National Historic Park, which is just a couple of miles up the road. The rocks that were used to build the Heiau were ferried from the Polulu Valley - which was where King Kamehameha grew up - by hand. A line of people passed the rocks from one to another until they reached the site of Pu'ukohola Heiau. The distance? By road, following the shore line, it is about 24 and a half miles. A straight line would be shorter, but a straight route from there also crosses over the Kohala Mountain range. I wonder where that line of people stood. And it turns out that the statue of Kamehameha in Kapa'au is a duplicate - actually the original - of the statue in Hilo. This one was lost at sea and damaged, but was placed in the area of his home after it was recovered and repaired.

A bit further up the road was the Pua Mau Place Botanic and Sculpture Garden. I didn't even notice the sign for the place yesterday, but then again I was ready to stop for the day by the time that passed it. The garden included some beautiful plants, but I was a bit surprised that they had an extensive watering system there. It would have been more interesting to me if all of the plants were those that survived in desert conditions. The sculptures were fun - big sculptures mainly of bugs - dragonflies, spiders, bugs!




A big bug...



And flowers too!


My next (and last) wandering stop was at the Puako Petroglyph Archaeological Preserve. This was actually on the grounds surrounding the Mauna Lani Hotel, and as it turns out there was also a historical park on the other side of the hotel. One was enough for me today though. It was a seven tenths of a mile walk to see the petroglyphs, and it was marked as such. But just after I left the parking lot I passed an area with some reproductions of petroglyphs. I wonder how many people don't realize that these aren't the real thing and turn around to go back to their cars. It was definitely worth the walk. There was a large section of rock containing a large number of petroglyphs - probably a larger area than those I saw in Volcanoes National Park. It's likely that it was also easier to miss the petroglyphs in Volcanoes NP because the lava was darker in color. The petroglyphs here looked older and more weather-worn.

Before I headed back to the hotel, I stopped to fuel the car, and to pick up some food for lunch - it wasn't an energy bar day today! After lunch, it was time to hit the beach. Hmm, my second to last day in Hawaii is the first day I spent any time at all on the beach. That might surprise some people, but it’s totally in character for me.

I really got a kick out of the little sparrows hopping around at the beach - I assume that they were looking for food. Sorry birds, I don't have any food for you, but I'd love to take your picture. Unfortunately most of them moved to fast for me and my camera…

Saturday night is clambake night at this hotel. I was lucky enough to catch this wonderful meal here during last year's visit, and tonight is a repeat performance. Yes, it's outrageously expensive - then again so are the rooms here - but for a change I don't care! My two-day stay here is a perfect (and relaxing) end to my vacation. I was pretty careful not to overeat because I knew I wouldn't be happy later. I was still able to have freshly made Caesar salad, lobster, shrimp, clams, and assorted vegetables. After a quick view of the desert table which contained many interesting cakes and pastries in addition to ice cream, I opted for a make-your-own ice cream sundae. I have to say that it was really funny watching the kids at the dessert bar. One boy had two large plates full of sundae toppings - and I'm not sure that he even had any ice cream hiding under there.




Another attempt to capture a beautiful sunset


After dinner I headed out for a short walk, ending at the edge of the ocean to watch the manta rays. The hotel has a spotlight pointed into the water at a spot where they gather at night – I suspect the light attracts the fish that the manta rays like to eat, but I could be totally wrong about that. It was fascinating to watch, and to me they are ugly, beautiful, and graceful at the same time. I know that sounds like a strange description, ugly because of its gaping mouth, beautiful and graceful because of how it glides through the water. Amazing…

Photos for today can be found in my Kohala Coast and Bugs, birds, and just for fun! photo galleries.

Friday, October 29, 2004

From the east to the west - the Hamakua Coast to the Kohala Coast

Ah, another day in paradise... ending the day at my last home away from home for this trip makes me realize that I'll be heading back to the northeast and to fall weather in the not too distant future - but I'll be sure to enjoy as much time as I have here.

I left Hilo this morning at a little after 8 - after I got a little hung up trying to get to Rainbow Falls. It turns out that one of the main roads out of town - the road leading to Saddle Road (which I was not trying to take) - is switched from its normal 2-way road to a 1-one road going in the direction that I did not want to go for what I guess is the getting to school rush hour. It was close enough to 8 AM that I just waited out the direction change. I wanted to see Rainbow Falls before I headed north, and although there was no rainbow across the falls, they were beautiful.


Rainbow Falls


Speaking of Saddle Road... Jean and John are staying at a B&B in Hilo for 2 nights - I really wonder what they'll do to keep themselves busy today. Then they'll be camping for 1 night north of Hilo before heading back to the west side of the island. All John had to hear was that the rental car companies don't allow you to take their cars across Saddle Road for him to decide to take that road! The rental car contract specifically says that the contract excludes driving on Saddle Road. From my understanding the road is in good shape from Hilo to the Mauna Kea turnoff, but is in bad shape from the turnoff to the west. What I've heard is that the road was really torn up, and when it was repaved only a single lane down the middle was paved. It's possible that the road is no worse than some of the one lane two-way roads that I've driven on this trip, but I suspect it is either rougher or that it's harder to reach via tow truck. The rental car maps also try to exclude a few other roads - including the road to South Point. I conveniently ignored that warning since it wasn't mentioned in the contract.

Time to head north. What's that? A 4-mile scenic route off the main road? I have to say that I should know better. I took the scenic route, and although there were a few views of the ocean, most of the road was in the trees so the views were no better than those from the main road. I learned that roads marked as scenic routes often aren't more scenic than the main road many years ago, and that little fact is still true. Oh well, at least this one was relatively short! After that little detour I headed off the main route again, this time to visit Akaka Falls. If there was any question in my mind about why I didn't stop there on my bike tour last year, there isn't a question any more. After the turn inland, the road seemed to go up and up and up. The falls were beautiful, a long and narrow drop - well worth the side trip in a car...

After my waterfall diversion, I continued on highway 19 (remember, it's only called a highway - it's really a 2-lane road) to Waimea. From there I could see the top of Mauna Kea, still snow-capped and bristling with telescopes. Then I switched to the Kohala Mountain Road. I don't know the exact elevation of Waimea, but I believe it is between 1200 and 1500 feet. I remember Kohala Mountain Road from biking it last year. I wasn't able to take as many photos as I wanted last year because I hate getting started again on that kind of uphill grade. Unfortunately, there weren't too many places to pull a car over on that road either, so many of the photos are still in my head. The high spot on that road - I think - is just above 3000 feet. As I started the downhill portion I could see Maui rise above the ocean in front of me. Beautiful.


Cactus, and I believe that's Mauna Kea off in the distance


At the end of the road I took a new turn for me and headed back to the east. My destination was Pololu Valley, which is a hike from the end of the road. It's a significant drop down into the valley on a steep trail. I wish I had checked my watch before heading down because I suspect that it took me as long to walk down the trail - or maybe even longer - as it did for the return uphill journey. I've always preferred hiking uphill because it seems like my feet stay where I expect them to. On the way down it's a little easier to step on a rock that decides not to stay still. I did check the time on my way back up, and I was surprised to see that it took about 15 minutes of solid uphill walking. It felt longer than that, probably due to the heat and the sun. At the bottom was a black sand beach. The edge of the beach was a layer of rocks, and the area just inland was forested. It might have been interesting to walk up the valley a bit, but it was clearly marked as private property. There were sheer cliffs dropping to the ocean on both sides of the beach. I think there was supposed to be another trail leading up the cliff on the east side of the beach, but I didn't try to find it. I figured just hiking down and back up once was enough for the day.


Pololu Beach


When I passed through Kapa'au on the way out to Pololu Valley I noticed a couple of galleries, so I stopped there on my way back through. The woman in one of galleries asked if I'd just come from hiking up from Pololu Valley when she noticed the sweat still rolling off of me. Then she offered me a bottle of water, which I definitely accepted. It turns out that she goes out there often with her teenage son who is training for something by running up and down that trail. I did end up buying something there, but not because of the water!

On to the Mauna Kea Beach Hotel... I'm back again to the sound of crashing waves to help me sleep at night. I just love that sound. It's not as loud here as at the Kona Tiki the first 2 nights, but it is certainly a noticeable and soothing sound. At this place there is a choice since you can get a mountain view room as well as my choice of an oceanfront room. And it could be very easy to be spoiled by the service in this hotel. (I think that even my sister Suze would find this place acceptable, and that's saying a lot!) I was greeted with a treat of fresh papaya and apple bananas when I got to my room, and it was definitely time for a snack! (Apple bananas? They look like a smaller version of regular bananas - I'll have to look up where the name came from, but that will have to wait until I get home.) My snack urge satisfied, it was time to wash off all of that sunscreen with a shower - this place has great water pressure and immediate hot water - a first on this trip. I rinsed out clothes before I headed out - remember, I only brought 2 sets of everyday clothes with me. I hung my clean clothes out on the balcony to dry (yes, they were definitely out of sight!) and left the wet towels in the bathroom. I headed out, and when I returned to the room later not only was the bed turned down but the wet towels were gone and replaced by clean ones. Spoiled? I think so!


One of those beautiful tropical sunsets... it's amazing how fast the sun just drops into the sea


Tomorrow? I plan to do some wandering and walking - but I'm also planning to spend some time at the beach, really a first for this trip.

Photos for today can be found in my Southwest coast, Hilo, & north to Waimea and Kohala Coast photo galleries.

Thursday, October 28, 2004

It's raining... no, there's the sun... no, it's raining...

It's funny - I was sitting in the living room last night checking out my plans for today when Jean and John got back from dinner. They didn't find the recommended "meat and potatoes" restaurant and ended up at the Thai place too. We had a good laugh, then sat around for another hour talking. Time for sleep...

I woke this morning to a sunny sky - the first early morning sun since I left Kona. It may not last, but it's a nice way to start the day. I checked the weather forecast last night, and scattered showers are forecast for the remainder of my stay here. The graphics that the National Weather Service shows during the day looks like scattered showers but the graphics for overnight look like solid showers. The descriptions are the same though.

Breakfast was a real winner today - pancakes with macademia nuts, eggs on the side, and of course a starting course of papaya and bananas.Yum, again! I found out a little more about this marvelous B&B over breakfast. It turns out all of the water in the house is rain water. Robert has 2 large holding tanks at this house, and 3 more at his house, all connected together. The water flows from the roof into the holding tanks. And the hot water (and the front gate) are powered by solar energy. Interesting.

Today started with a circuit of Crater Rim Drive by car, with a bit of hiking thrown in. It was a beautiful morning in the park with sunshine interrupted by fluffy white clouds, a good day for crater viewing.


The rock in my hand is big, but it's very light volcanic rock with lots of air holes in it! (And yes, I did leave it in the park - I don't need Pele casting a bad spell on me.)


One more circuit of the park, then it was time to head downhill. That was my first rain encounter of the day. Downhill towards Hilo, a little rain, ah, it's dry again.

The morning had just about disappeared by the time I hit the outskirts of Hilo. I turned south to explore the Puna area. On my first trip to Hawaii many many years ago I actually drove south from Hilo, around the southern coast, then headed north into Volcanoes National Park. It's not possible to duplicate that drive any more since lava flows covered the road and destroyed all of the houses in that area in a 1989-90 timeframe, but I thought it would be interesting to drive along the piece of that coastline that is still accessible. There's a triangle drive - heading south of Hilo on route 130, branching to the left onto route 132 and following that road almost to the coast. Next pick up route 137 and follow that for quite a few miles until the road dead-ends into lava. Then follow route 130 back to Hilo. It was an interesting drive. I thought I was done with those one-lane two-way roads for this trip, but I was wrong since a good portion of route 137 was a single lane. This time there was no lack of space to pull to the side though - much improved over the last couple of one-lane roads that I drove. Well, much improved except for the sign "Road Floods During High Tide". When is high tide? Oh, it must be over, but look - there's a puddle on the road. Most of the road looked like it was safely away from the ocean, but a small section near that sign was very close to the water.

I stopped at one very interesting park that had a pool that looked like it was fed by the ocean - but it was a hot pool. I felt it, and the water was definitely warm. The ocean spilled into it, but it definitely was warmer than the ocean water. There were a few people lounging in the warm water in spite of the warning sign about eels. What a beautiful spot!


Yes, it's definitely a hot pool.


I drove to the end of the paved road, then walked ten minutes south across lava to a beautiful black sand beach. The ocean in this area doesn't make bathing beaches though - the water was very, very rough. That was a spot for me to get soaked by rain. When I headed out on my walk there were clouds in the sky, but there was also blue above. When I reached the beach it just started pouring. I thought about turning back at that point, but I didn't want to leave yet so I waited out the rain. I was pretty wet by the end of it, but between my carrying (and using) an Aquis travel towel and the very strong wind I was almost dry again by the time I got back to the car. People have been carrying coconuts down to the beach and planting the sprouted nuts - so there is the start at new coconut palms at the boundary between the black lava and the black sand. It should be be even more beautiful as the new trees start to get taller.


Here's one of the very young coconut trees (or should I just call it a plant?)


Time to head north towards Hilo. I turned onto route 130, and it started pouring again. It stopped and the sun reappeared before long. I found the Wild Ginger Inn after asking 2 different people. It's just north of downtown, and within walking distance of restaurants. It's what I expected - a basic place to stay in a great location. I headed out to explore a bit - and got stuck downtown by the rain. I waited it out staying dry this time since most of the downtown area right on the waterfront has sidewalks covered with an extension from the buildings. That's handy. And I managed to get a few pictures of an absolutely amazing rainbow. I only managed to get part of the rainbow in my photos, but I could actually see both ends in the bay. Beautiful.


I wish you could see how beautiful this rainbow really was...


Dinner tonight was at Cafe Pesto - pizza, not another repeat of Thai food tonight. I had a Greek pizza - a pizza crust topped with feta cheese, yellow and red peppers, and fresh spinach. Excellent!

Now I'm sitting in my room listening to the rain - which nicely waited until I got back here to start yet again - and the chirping of frogs, crickets, and who knows what else that lives in the wooded area behind the hotel. Well, in Kona I had crashing waves all night, and here I guess I'll have chirping bugs and animals! And I'm hoping that tomorrow is a repeat of today from a weather standpoint - some rain is fine, but hopefully I'll get some dry time too.

Photos for today can be found in my Hawaii Volcanoes National Park and Southwest coast, Hilo, & north to Waimea photo galleries.

Wednesday, October 27, 2004

A visit with Pele's earlier creations...

The day started with a wonderful breakfast - papayas and bananas to start, followed by quiche. Good food, and good company too. There were 3 couples here along with me - all 4 rooms were rented last night. One couple was from France, one from the Seattle area, and one from Cincinnati. Between the seven of us and Robert - our host - we had some enjoyable breakfast conversations. Of course we woke to rain again, which gave me an excuse for a slow start. By just before 10 the rain had pretty much stopped and it was time to go exploring.

I have to say that this wasn't my best energy day of this trip, but I still managed to hike for about 3 and a half hours so I guess I shouldn't complain. I started with a hike to Pu'u Huluhulu in the Mauna Ulu area. It started by crossing some lava flows from 1973 and '74, and it was a really good thing that the park service had marked the trail with those small yellow highway markers. When you're hiking across lava it doesn't really wear down to allow you to easily see the trail, and without the yellow markers I imagine it would be very easy to end up wandering much further than you intended to. In addition to the little yellow rectangles there were periodic piles of rock. No problem navigating, and the end of the trail was actually up and through a wooded area. It's amazing how different it was from the area I walked through yesterday - lave that's 30 years old vs. lava that's only one year old.


Better watch where you walk out here!


After finishing up, I headed back uphill to Crater Rim Drive. This morning I had seriously considered hiking into Kilauea Caldera after my visit to Mauna Ulu. That hike is 3.5 miles one way, and I was thinking of doing not the one-way and return, but a loop using another set of trails. Still a long way any way that you look at it. From an energy standpoint I decided that wouldn't be a smart move - and I don't really think it would have worked for me first thing this morning either. Maybe tomorrow, maybe the next time I visit this park! I wanted to take a quick jaunt through the Thurston Lava Tube, but when I passed the parking area there were several tour buses there so I went a bit further to the Kilauea Iki Overlook. I walked from there back to the lava tube, and by the time my feet got there the folks from the tour bus had disappeared. Good timing! I actually had a solo walk through the lava tube. I only walked through the section that was lit since I hadn't grabbed a flashlight when I left the house this morning. So the lava tube was my tourist move for the day. I walked back to the car, and headed for the starting point for the Byron Ledge Trail, which is part of the trail that is in Kilauea Caldera. I figured that even though I wasn't going to do the whole trail that I'd wander down part of it. I don't know why it still surprises me, but as soon as you head down one of the longer trails, people just disappear. So I had a solo walk down that trail too. I probably headed down about a mile before I decided it was time for my return trek. Again, I crossed over a section that was what I guess you could call sandy. You could tell where others had walked before, which was a good thing since the trail was missing those handy yellow markers. And again, I ended up in a section that was covered with trees and ferns. Beautiful.

Before I headed back I walked to the Sulphur Banks where there are bright yellow deposits and steam rising. And warning signs about sulfur fumes not being good for people with certain health problems. And I loved the warning sign about cracks in the earth!


Funny that this sign was along a paved trail!


I stopped early this afternoon - early enough for a relaxing time in the hot tub. And soon it will be time to head out for dinner.

Tomorrow is a traveling day, but I don't have to go too far. I'm staying in Hilo, which is only 28 miles from here. As long as the weather cooperates I'll probably start my day with a little more hiking in the park before I head downhill to the rainy side of the island.

A bit later...
I almost had dinner somewhere other than the Thai restaurant. I was going to go out with Jean and John - the couple from Cincinnati - until they decided to head to a place that was described as an "all American cafe" with meat and potatos type of fare. That sounds like not my kind of place, so guess where I ended up! Of course - Thai Thai one more time. The restaurant staff recognized me from last night and I had a nice chat with one of them. And I had another excellent dinner, Panang curry with shrimp. If I were still going to be in Volcano tomorrow night I have a feeling that I could happily eat there again.

I was very lucky that I grabbed an umbrella as I walked out of the B&B on my way to dinner. And I was equally lucky that the B&B supplies umbrellas for the guests like me to use. It has been raining every so often all day long, and true to form it was raining again when I left the restaurant. It wasn't a heavy rain - more like a very heavy mist - but I would have been soaked by the time I walked the half mile back to my home for the night. (Walked? Yes, walked. Somehow I can't convince myself that I need to take a car to go to a restaurant that is as close as that one is!)

Photos for today can be found in my Hawaii Volcanoes National Park photo gallery.

Tuesday, October 26, 2004

Hey, is that snow up there?

It rained - or maybe I should say that it poured - all night long. Just before I was about to venture out to get to the main part of the house for breakfast, Charlene stopped by to deliver an umbrella for that short walk. What a nice touch!

Breakfast this morning was waffles topped with whipped cream and fresh macademia nuts, syrup too - a good start to the day. As I sat at the table I noticed some big white clouds superimposing themselves on the gray. My imagination? Or was it starting to clear? Believe it or not, the rain stopped. The morning was still gray and wet underfoot, but the sky stopped its weeping. That was one hell of a storm!

We sat and talked for a while over breakfast, and I did remember to ask about the wind farm. It turns out that a new potential owner was looking at it not too long ago - and if the property is sold they will install new windmills. The current farm contains 3-bladed windmills; due to cost considerations the new ones will have only two blades. And apparently because of the decrease in the number of fan blades, the new blades need to be longer which means that the towers will also need to be taller. I'm having a hard time imagining a two-pladed windmill, so seeing the new wind farm (assuming that it is sold and rebuilt, of course) can be a ready-made excuse to come back to Hawaii. Oh, you're right - I don't need an excuse to come back here!

Yesterday's postponed tour of the macademia nut orchard did happen this morning, so I'm even happier that it stopped spitting rain. It was fascinating to learn about the macademia trees. The trees have flowers, immature nuts, and mature nuts all at the same time. When the nuts are ready to be harvested they are supposed to fall to the ground. After wandering among the trees for a while we gathered some ripe nuts from the ground. Back at the house again, we used a super nutcracker to open the macademias. It's amazing how thick the shell is on these nuts, but with the right nutcracker opening them is possible. And as it turns out, raw macademia nuts are really good! (If you want to try some yourself, you can buy both the nuts and the super nutcracker from the Macademia Meadows web site.)


Mac nuts on the ground...


I left Macademia Meadows at 11 - after our tour and some conversations with Charlene, Courtney, and a couple from St. Louis. It was time to head uphill. Or should I say up-mountain? The rim of the crater is at 4200 feet of elevation. I think Na'alehu is between 500 and 1000 feet. From there I drove to sea level, and then back uphill. I covered the 42 miles in much less time than it took me last year on my bike, and since I didn't feel the need to stop for pictures until I entered the park, that helped keep the drive to a reasonable amount of time.

I stopped at the visitor center in the park to get my bearings, and to get some information on hikes. I was looking at a relief map of the park when one of the park rangers pointed outside to the top of Mauna Loa - and it's covered with snow! That amazing storm last night covered the entire state, not just the island of Hawaii, and at high elevations it brought snow. Both Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea are covered in white. Anyone want to go skiing?

It was early afternoon when I headed down Chain of Craters Road. I stopped at a couple of viewpoints, but my first hiking stop was just a couple of miles from the end of the road at the Pu'u Loa Petroglyph Trail. Yes, there really was a marked trail - but without the piles of stones you could easily just wander over the lava. What trail? I actually tried to take a picture of it, should be interested to see if it looks like a trail in the pictures! The prize at the end of the trail was viewing a large number of petroglyphs. There was a boardwalk circling the area to protect the petroglyphs. Apparently it was good luck to bury a portion of a baby's umbilical cord beneath a drawing.


One of many petroglyphs


I headed on to the end of the road for a hike on lava from the April 2003 flow. I actually walked in that area during last year's trip, but visiting again was a good thing to do. That is the jumping off point for hiking to the current active lava flows too, but I won't be headed out there this time. The rangers said it is easily a 4 to 6 hour round-trip hike, and there are no markings to guide you. The easiest time to find your way is around sunrise or sunset when you can see the red glow in the distance - but that doesn't seem like a smart time of day to walk out there. The surface of the lava is nowhere near flat, and it is a difficult surface to walk on even when you can see it. I just can't imagine walking on a black, uneven surface when it is dark outside!

By the time I arrived at the end of the road, the sun was out and the clouds that remained were white. The relatively new (only a year and a half old) lava was pahoehoe and it glistened in the sun. Looking down into some of the cracks I could see red streaks - I assume from the mineral content of the lava. The park service marked a trail over this lava using those yellow tabs that are used on highways. You could wander anywhere in that area, but those little yellow markings were certainly helpful. It's always good to have a clue about the way back!


Hey - are you sure that I can't park here?


I have to admit that I was happy at the end of the day that I had that fossil fuel powered vehicle instead of my bicycle to climb back up those 4000 feet from the sea back to Crater Rim Drive.

I got settled at the Aloha Junction B&B for the night, then headed over to Thai Thai for dinner where I had an excellent Mahi Mahi curry. On last year's trip I managed to eat at Thai That both of my nights in Volcano. I wonder if I'll manage to be attracted to a different type of food tomorrow night or if I'll do another Thai food double.

Here's hoping for reasonable hiking weather tomorrow. I'd like to do a couple of longer hikes, and I've put in an order for a dry day...

Photos for today can be found in my Hawaii Volcanoes National Park photo gallery.

Monday, October 25, 2004

Can you see the wind?

7:30am
At this point I hope it's just a rainy start and not a rainy day. I woke up at 7 to the sound of steady and heavy rain. It rained a bit yesterday afternoon after I arrived here in Na'alehu - of course while I was out walking up the road by the B&B without a jacket. That was light rain, and unfortunately this morning's water from the sky is pretty heavy. It seems like the kind of rain that could continue all day long too. Here's hoping that it doesn't!

9:30am
The rain settled into a light drizzle as I headed from my room to the house for breakfast. (Most of the rooms here are under the main house looking out on grass and then the orchard - but you have to walk around the house to get into the main house.) Breakfast was delicious - french toast made from Portugese sweet bread that Charlene baked yesterday. After breakfast we were offered a tour of the orchard, and of course I said yes. Charlene said she would stop by for us on the lower level, so I headed back to the room for the designated 5 minutes. Of course as soon as I got down here the skies opened up again. So I am sitting on the swinging lounge just outside of my room watching the rain. The sky seems to be getting lighter again, and the rain also seems to be a bit lighter - but that could be my imagination at work. There are worse places to be on a rainy day though, and since my planned trek to the green sand beach - a couple of miles walking from South Point - isn't an all day activity I'm hoping that the weather decides to cooperate a bit and that I can manage that trek in conditions that don't include an absolute downpour! I think that my last minute purchase of essentially a dry-bag (a very cool bag made by a company called AQUAPAC) for my camera may actually be needed today.

A quick change of plans - the other guests preferred not to do the orchard tour in the rain, so we've moved it to tomorrow morning. No problem, that works for me too. Charlene joined me on the porch swing / lounge outside of my room and we chatted for a good hour and a half. A nice way to spend a rainy morning. And no, we weren't sitting in the rain. Not only does the lounge have a cloth roof, it's also under the upstairs deck - so no moisture came through.

I found it interesting that the other guests here are all staying at Macademia Meadows B&B for the better part of a week. They are driving to the things they want to see and do each day and then driving back here at night. For example, one couple went up to Volcanoes National Park yesterday to hike, and today they are headed north of Kona to find a place to snorkel. While there are beaches here in the southern part of the island, the waves are extremely strong and they are not ideal for snorkeling. Volcano is 40-some miles from here - 2 ways, add more mileage for a trip around the crater or down Chain of Craters road. And Kona is between 50 and 60 miles away. All things considered, the distances aren't too bad - but I'm much happier with my bicycle touring-influenced plans of driving someplace, then wandering close by during the day rather than driving the kind of distances my fellow guests are driving every day. And yes, I know that I drive that kind of distances all of the time at home, but the thought of spending lots of time driving when I could be hiking or relaxing just doesn't sit well with me. (What? This from that crazy gal who would happily sit on her bicycle all day to get from place to place?) You could say that I'm happy with my decision to stay 2 nights in each place (only 1 in Hilo) and be relatively close to my planned spot or activity of the day.

5:15pm
As it turns out, I was very lucky today. After my relaxing morning I headed out to South Point. It wasn't raining when I left, but I passed through some rain on the way there. It stopped though, so I wasn't destined to spend the entire hike in a downpour. There were sprinkles coming from the sky occasionally, but not enough to even warrant a jacket. And it absolutely poured for a while on the drive back. I don't know if that was luck or if it didn't rain between South Point and the green sand beach. I suspect that it rained there too, but you never know.

I've been told that the distance from the parking area to the green sand beach is two and a half miles. It sure seemed longer than that though. The trail is well marked since folks tend to drive out there with 4-wheel drive vehicles. And once a track gets too rutted they start a new one.That made for easy walking with no direction-finding, but it seems that the land would be better with no vehicles allowed to cause their own form of erosion. When I got to the parking lot there was a couple just returning to their car. I talked to them for a minute, and they told me that the beach was less than 5 minutes away. I guess they thought they went to the green sand beach but they only walked to the local boat landing. I wonder how often that happens.

But back to the walk... it's very possible that the reason the walk out felt longer than it actually was is that there was a strong headwind the entire way. (Based on information from my hosts, the wind here consistently blows at least 19 to 20 miles per hour - and that's on the quiet days.) And even though the wind was behind me on the way out it was still a long walk. It was absolutely beautiful though. And it probably helped me that it remained cloudy - although still bright enough to require sunglasses - for the entire time. I have a feeling that a sunny day would have made the walk more difficult. The green sand beach is a low spot between two cliffs. Although there was a very steep trail leading to the beach, I chose to enjoy it from afar. I've never been fond of that type of exposure, and I was very happy with the view from the top - as were two other people I met who were sitting at the top waiting for the rest of their family to return.


A view of the green sand beach - from the top, of course!


I noticed one very strange plant (more likely part of a plant) during my walk. The noticeable thing was bright yellow, an oval shape, with prickers coming out of it, also in bright yellow. A seed pod of some sort? I wonder... I'll either have to remember to ask Charlene if she knows or I'll have to try to do my own research after I get home. I wonder what kind of response I would get if I enter my description into Google. Probably a very strange list...


Here's the yellow seed pod, flower, or ???


There's an old, partially in service, wind farm on the road to South Point. I wonder what the story behind this place is. It seems that this would be a perfect place to generate power from the wind, especially since the wind seems to be always blowing at this southernmost spot in the United States. It appeared that less than half of the wind mills were operational. Some of them were simply frozen in place, and some were missing the fan blades. The ones that were running gave off an eerie sound. And yes, I absolutely did stop the car to listen!

My next stop was at Punalu'u Black Sand Beach. I've been there before, but how could I resist another visit to a beach with pure black sand. Although it's not the color that most of us expect to see on a beach, it's beautiful. Black sand, white breaking waves, black rocks with patches of very green plants and more breaking waves. Wonderful.


Punalu'u Black Sand Beach


The rain? As I sit on the lounge outside of my room in the early evening, the skies have opened up again. I guess I really was lucky today, and I hope that my luck extends into tomorrow too.

Photos for today can be found in my South Point to Punalu’u photo gallery.

Sunday, October 24, 2004

Wandering to Na'alehu

Tonight I am in Na'alehu, which is about 70 miles from my starting point in Kona. And it took me about 4 hours to drive that distance. I must have thought I was traveling by bicycle. Seriously though, it's probably a good thing that this is a solo trip because I'd likely make someone else a little crazy with my habit of stopping every time I see something interesting.

I started the day with another good visit with my fellow guests at the Kona Tiki over breakfast, nice and relaxing. Then I decided to seek out an Internet cafe before I left town. It turns out that there are two in Kona within a block of each other. My first choice was the one with a primary business of web access. Unfortunately 9am was too early for them, so I headed to Lava Java - a hopping coffee shop with 3 computers for rent. That worked for me. I was able to update my blog with yesterday's writing. It will likely be a couple of days before I can upload any more blog entries, but I'm writing every day. I'll just need to upload a couple of day's entries at once.

I had been considering renting a kayak today to head to the Captain Cook Monument, but somehow it just didn't happen. If it had been possible to rent a boat on the water - as opposed to picking one up, transporting it to the water, using it, and then returning it. I had plenty to fill my time even without venturing out onto the surface of the ocean.

Along the course of the day I managed to drive down not one but two roads that were one lane wide. I have to say that is not my favorite type of road. The first one was the better of the two - it was hilly but not winding. The second road was definitely the worse. It was narrow, hilly, winding, and 5 miles long. It headed down to a jumping off point for a hike to a black and white sand beach. Unfortunately the road ended in a spot that looked a bit off as a safe location to leave the car. I opted to be a chicken and skipped that hike. Instead I headed back up the narrow winding road once again.

Pu'uhonua o Honaunau was a good spot to spend a bit of time.It's a National Historical Parkthat preserves a residence of the ali'i (royal chiefs). It was used for several centuries but was abandoned in 1819. Although the "buildings" on the site look old, they are actually reproductions. The stone wall that separates the royal grounds from the place of refuge was build about 1550 and is still standing. That's amazing.


Some of the permanent residents of Pu'uhonua o Honaunau


Hey - this bird actually let me take it's photo!


I have a small mystery on my mind. I'm used to seeing squirrels and chipmunks playing suicide games with cars. The silly animals here who are running across the road are different. They are long and skinny and close to the groung - but I have no idea what they are. Maybe I'll find out before I leave...

I'm staying at Macademia Meadows Farm B&B tonight and tomorrow night. It's a repeat visit for me, to a nice, very comfortable home with wonderful hosts. I must have spent close to an hour chatting with Charlene after I arrived. My room is a real winner too. I have a table and chairs plus a rocking lounge just outside of my door. Inside? The first space is the entryway which includes a small refrigerator and a microwave. The bedroom has both a comfortable bed at one end of the room, and a table and chairs in a bow window on the opposite side of the room. A small hallway leads to the bathroom. The only thing I have to remember on my (usual) middle of the night bathroom trips is that the toilet is on a raised section of flooring, can't forget that extra step up!

As I was heading down the hill toward the turnoff for South Point, the wind started howling. I could see it in the flowers along the side of the road, and when I pulled over and got out of the car I could feel it too. This is one very windy place...

Tomorrow the only plans I have are to head to South Point - the southernmost point of land in the United States - then to hike to the green sand beach. And I'll probably wander over to the black sand beach at Punalu'u.

Photos for today can be found in my Kona and the southwest coast photo gallery.

Saturday, October 23, 2004

A beautiful day in paradise...

I guess I'm going to have to come up with a different description for this place tomorrow. After all, I can't start every journal entry with the same description. Or can I?

The Kona Tiki is a very small hotel, and the desk is only open until 7pm. When I arrived last night I found a note and the key to my room in the plant on the front desk - exactly where I was told it would be. Unfortunately after I found the right door, the key refused to cooperate. Back downstairs, I found another guest who told me which room the managers live in. Ernie helped me gain entry to the room. It's very odd, but the door is locked from the inside, there's a little pin that extrudes from the lock on the outside that prevents the key from entering the lock. All I had to do was push that little pin in, and like magic I was able to open the door with the key. And just to show how friendly this place is, the other guest invited me to sit in her room until I could find the manager. Very nice.

I went to sleep last night to the sound of waves crashing, and I woke up to the same sound. This would be a bad place to stay if you didn't like that sound; luckily I like it! I woke up for the first time this morning at 4am, but somehow I convinced my body that it would be a good thing to wake up at a good time for this time zone instead of my home time zone. I managed to get back to sleep until 7. Not bad considering the time change, and especially considering that I did manage to get a coupld of hours of sleep on the flight between Los Angeles and Kona. I was afraid that would really mess up my overnight sleep, but luckily it didn't. Who knows what tonight will bring though; I'm not crazy enough to believe that I'm over the time change already.

Breakfast was outside on the patio. Continental breakfast comes with the room - coffee, juice, fresh papaya and pineapple, along with bread and bagels for toast. No peanut butter - my staple breakfast food - but cream cheese for the bagels is OK too. It was also a chance to chat with the other guests. It's fun to find out what other people are planning for the day, and to see if there's something else that I hadn't come up with on my own. It's funny - this is a hotel, but it has more of the feel of a bed and breakfast. It only has 14 rooms, so the size probably contributes to that feeling. The managers are here for 3 months, and if they choose to they can return for the same 3 months next year. My experience wtih the people here has been the same on both of my visits. The managers are friendly and knowledgeable about the area, and the other guests have been great too.

One of my goals for this trip is to see and do some things that are new for me. I thought that might be difficult given that this is my fourth trip to this island. And no, I don't think it will be the last one!

I didn't plan anything special for today since I figured there was a good chance I wuold need a decent rest day. And by the end of the day I realized that taking it easy was a good thing to do. I haded out in the car this morning, with the plan of getting to someplace where I could do some walking. My first wander was a new one for me. I headed up Kaloko Drive, which is a heavily switchbacked road off the Hawaii Belt Road. (If yu have a map of Hawaii, this road is just a bit south of the Kona airport - but it starts from route 190 rather than the coast road.) I was hoping that I could find some place to walk at the top of the road because the map showed what appeared to be dirt roads up there heading in the general direction of the top of Hualalai - one of the (I believe) extinct volcanoes. As it turns out the land up there is all privately owned, so I wasn't able to do any walking. It was a beautiful drive though, much cooler at the top than it was when I started. And believe it or not I was happy that I wasn't on my bike because must of the drive was at a very steep grade.

Next stop was a beach park just south of the airport.


How low is low? This park is directly south of the airport - and I guess you could fly a kite pretty high with the normal wind here.


I parked the car and started walking south along a dirt road next to the beach. Could I have driven it? Maybe, but that probably wouldn't have been too smart given the sand and rocks. The only vehicles I saw back there were 4-wheel drive trucks carrying 1 or 2 people and their surfboards. A nice walk, with a chance to see shore birds, and to watch some folks surfing. As I headed back to the car, I figured it was a good time to do a grocery store run to pick up some food for lunch. That wasn't quite in the plans though because not too much further down the road I saw a sign for Kaloko-Honokohau National Historical Park. That was a new one for me, so of course I had to stop. The park isn't in its final state yet, but it's well worth a visit. I stopped at the visitor center for information and was told that it was a 20-minute walk to the beach and the main area of the park - or I could drive to the yacht club just a bit further down the road and have a less than 5 minute walk. Of course I chose to walk from the visitor center, and it was a good decision. It was open and very hot at first, but soon I was in the shade of some trees. That lasted until the shore. I headed down the beach to visit the sea turtles. There were a lot of them just off shore and although I did take some pictures I doubt that the turtles will show as anything other than a dark spot in the water. And of course they paid no attention at all to my request that they lift up their heads for a photo!


The sea turtles were definitely not cooperating with my attempts to take their pictures - but there's one here, really!


It really was time for some food by the time I was finished wandering in the park. On one of my first visits to Hawaii I got hooked on papayas. I do buy them at home when they look ripe, although I've had better luck there with papayas from Central American than those from Hawaii. That seems odd to me since they both have to travel a long distance to get to my table. But I'm in Hawaii, and the papaya in the grocery stores are local, ripe, and taste absolutely wonderful. Plus there's the added advantage of being inexpensive. I bought 2 papayas, and they cost a total of two dollars. Yum!

I wasn't quite done wandering for the day though. I left the car at the hotel and headed into Kailua Town on foot. I know - it's a little odd, but this place is called Kona, Kailua-Kona, Kailua Town, and who knows what else! It's mainly a tourist town, and I didn't need to shop for anything except books, so I made my way through Alii Drive pretty quickly. I did stop at the regularly held (4 days a week) craft fair & farmer's market. I talked to a woman at one of the craft stands for a while. It turns out that she and her husband lived in the Boston area while their daughter went to Northeastern Universite, and she was there during one of those awful snowstorms that we had back in the 1997/98 timeframe. We had a good laugh over that! My main goal for my walk was to get to Border's Books. Knowing that there was a Borders in Kona and another one in HIlo, I knew that I didn't have to figure out how many books I would go through on my vacation - a bookstore visit was definitely on my list of things to do today.

On my way back to the hotel I realized that I really didn't want to go out for dinner. Lazy? Probably, but I had already done my share of walking for the day. I stopped at a Thai restaurant and ordered food for dinner. I wasn't quite ready to eat, but it was nice to not need to go out again to find food. I knew that refrigerator and microwave in the room would come in handy!

I came back to the hotel and just sat out by the pool talking to people and watching the sun sink into the ocean. What a nice way to end the day... Funny, the pool here is located close enough to the ocean that sometimes it gets enough splash-over to be partially salt water.

The Ironman Triathlon was held here last weekend, and today I heard that the competitors weren't too happy with the wind. The cycling part of the race runs 112 mile, from Kona to Hawi and back again. With an out-and-back ride, you would expect to have a headwind on one leg and a tailwind in the other. It didn't work out nicely this year though, and they had headwinds in both directions. That's a really long way to ride with the wind working against you.

My first day in paradise? Yes, it absolutely was a good one!

Photos for today can be found in my Kona and the southwest coast photo gallery.

Friday, October 22, 2004

Travel, travel, and more travel

There are days when I wish I could be like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz, and this is one of those days. If only I could click my heels together and say "there's no place like Hawaii, there's no place like Hawaii" , and instantly be transported there. OK, OK, I know - Dorothy's word (and wish) was home, but today mine is Hawaii.

What a nice touch... I arrived at Logan Airport early, and when I walked in to the building my initial thought was that I was in the wrong place. This usually teeming airport was empty! I checked in, wandered over to Starbucks to get a decaf Americano, and then headed for the gate. As I walked down the hallway to the gate area I was attracted to the rocking chairs lining the windows. Ah, a good place to kick back and relax before the first of my long flights. I know, I know - sometimes a long flight is the price to pay for a visit to paradise. It will be a long day with a 6 hour flight to LA, a 3 hour layover, and then a 5 and a half hour flight to Kona. I'm looking forward to the smell and touch of Hawaii as I leave the plane and walk down steps in Kona.

For anyone who is worried - yes, I am wearing my RoadID. No worries here...

Above the clouds...
Ah, the magic of flight. It was gray and rainy in Boston this morning. That's gone now. At 35,000 feet the sky is blue, the sun is shining, and the clouds are beneath us. Nice change. If the weather is nice when I arrive in Los Angeles, maybe I'll find some place to walk outside. I suspect there isn't a convenient walking track near or around LAX, but getting outside for at least part of my layover there seems like a good idea to me. And tell me, why is it that airports don't devote some space to those of us who want to take advantage of otherwise empty time to get some exercise in?

Los Angeles
A walk outside definitely felt good after that cross-country flight. One more long jaunt across the Pacific Ocean to go - and yes, I still wish I could manage a Dorothy. There's no place like Hawaii...

Wednesday, October 20, 2004

The last time I was in Hawaii without a bicycle was a long, long time ago

I've been thinking back over my many trips to Hawaii. I started visiting the islands back in the late 1970s or early 1980s with a trip to the Big Island to hike at Volcanoes National Park. That was back in the days when travel agents were the mode of booking trips, and my travel agent was stunned when I told her that I wanted to book a trip to Hawaii but that I didn't want to go to the beach. I did stop in Honolulu on that trip because I wanted to see Pearl Harbor - but I spent the rest of the time hiking on the Big Island.

My last 3 trips were all cycling trips. The first trip in the series was an organized tour of the Big Island through Backroads. That was also the last trip when I tranported a full frame bicycle on a plane - I rode my beautiful purple Peter Mooney bicycle. That trip was also sandwiched between my switch from doing organized cycling tours to touring solo. The second trip in the series was a visit to Maui with my then new Bike Friday Pocket Rocket, a folding bike that is much less expensive to transport since it fits into a standard sized suitcase - no excess baggage charges. I used the bike for wandering during the day. That wasn't a tour - I simply did day rides, no weight on the bike except for me. The last of this series was in May of 2003, when I did a self-contained tour of the Big Island on my Bike Friday Air Glide.

This trip was supposed to be a repeat of last year's tour, but as you probably already know, this trip has morphed into a non-biking trip. I'm actually pretty excited about it since I plan to visit some places where I haven't been before. My last trip to Hawaii without a bicycle was a long time ago. That was the trip when my mom joined me, and we visited Kauai and Maui. I have good memories of that trip - both of the shared experience, and of the beautiful places that we saw. And I have good expectations of my upcoming trip too. Only two days away now...

Sunday, October 17, 2004

The countdown continues...

It's hard to believe that I'll be leaving for Hawaii this coming Friday. Four more work days, and then I'm off. And five days from right now I'll be waiting to board my second long flight of the day, the flight from Los Angeles to Kona.

I'm still wandering through my Hawaii guidebook, and I'm taking notes on some places I'd like to see, some things I'd like to do. I was there with my bike in May of 2003, so certainly I'll be repeating a lot. But I also plan to visit some areas of the island that I haven't seen before...

Sunday, October 10, 2004

What do you mean you haven't read that guidebook yet?

It's hard to believe, but my trip is almost here. When I made my plane reservations back in April, October was a long way away. When I changed my plans at the end of August from a bike tour to wandering by foot (and car), the end of October still seemed like a long way away. The time has melted away though, and I'll be off just 12 days from now - and I still haven't taken the time to really wander through my copy of Hawaii The Big Island Revealed. I know where I'm going and where I'm staying, but I need to make a list of those hidden gems, places that I don't want to miss as I'm wandering. The volcano is not really cooperating so I doubt that I'll see any active flows, but I still plan to do some hiking in the park. Wandering around the South Point area is definitely on my list. And then there is the area south of Hilo and Pololu Valley on the north end of the island. Somehow I don't think I am going to run out of sights to see!

Saturday, October 02, 2004

The mail is helping me to dream...

...how nice of National Geographic to include an article titled Red Hot Hawaii about Hawaii Volcanoes National Park in the October 2004 issue that jumped into my mailbox this week. The article and accompanying pictures will help me focus on my upcoming trip.

Only three weeks away now, and while the volcano remains quiet I'm still looking forward to my trip. I'm excited about going, but unfortunately I have a feeling that I won't be excited about returning home again as the season lurches closer and closer to winter.

Sunday, September 19, 2004

A volcano watch, or what is Kilauea up to?

I've been keeping an eye on the volcanic activity in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. I'm hoping that there will be some active lava within walking distance, but based on the daily updates from the Hawaii Volcano Observatory, I'm not holding my breath. It seems that the volcano is hiding its small amount of activity in locations that may be difficult for me to reach. It also sounds like the little activity out there is nicely visible at the edges of the daylight, but I'm not going to walk on the very uneven (and sharp) volcanic surface without sufficient light to see where I'm heading.

The park is beautiful with or without active lava flowing, and I still plan to spend some time wandering about by foot.

f
Although the volcano was quiet on my visit there in 2003, there was some active lava.

Monday, September 13, 2004

Ah, decisions made, all set with places to stay...

While I'm still tossing around ideas of how I'll spend my days in Hawaii, I just finished making reservations for places to stay.

On October 22nd & 23rd I'll be at the Kona Tiki Hotel in Kailua-Kona. I stayed at this very laid back hotel to the south of the main drag in Kona on my last trip to Hawaii. It's a very simple and funky place right on the water. The hotel sits just behind a seawall, so the sound of waves crashing against the wall will be a constant visitor.

October 24th & 25th will bring a return visit to Macadamia Meadows Farm B&B in Na'alehu. I loved this place on my last visit. It's very close to South Point although not walking distance. My hostess, Charlene Cowan, treated me last year with a ride to see South Point - remember my only transportation on that trip was my bicycle, and riding down to South Point and back again after all day on the bike just wasn't going to happen. I was fascinated, and I plan to go back to South Point on this trip and do some walking. And in case you're curious, yes, this B&B is on a working macademia nut farm!

On October 26th & 27th I'll be returning to another B&B that I really liked the first time around - Aloha Junction B&B in Volcano. It's a great place to stay with wonderful breakfasts, and of course it has the side attraction of being just outside of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. I definitely plan to spend some time wandering on that black lava!

I'll be in Hilo on October 28th, and I'll be staying at Wild Ginger Inn. I've never stayed here before, but it sounds great. The woman who answered the phone when I called for a reservation made sure I knew that there's no pool or air conditioning, which doesn't bother me at all. It sounds like this place has character, and the reviews I've seen on tripadvisor.com made it sound like a place that I'll like.
A quick update after my return home... while the Wild Ginger Inn was OK, it lacked something that I found in my stay at the Kona Tiki - something I expected here too. And that something was a place to connect with other guests. There is a lobby with comfortable chairs (and a hammock) - but I only saw 2 other people there. If you're looking for an inexpensive place to stay where you will definitely connect with other people, I'd recommend Arnott's Lodge instead of here. The downside is that it is further from the downtown area (and restaurants). The upside is that it is made for connecting with other guests, and you'll have your choice of lodging - from camping on the lawn to hostel-style accommodations, to private rooms.

For the last two nights, October 29th and 30th, I'll be returning to the Mauna Kea Beach Hotel on the Kohala Coast. This place is definitely a splurge, and is much more expensive than my normal abodes on vacation. But I wanted a couple of beach days and I really enjoyed my stay here on my last Hawaii trip. I have a reservation for a room in the Beach Front wing, and I'm looking forward to its ambience.

The last night of my vacation won't be in a hotel, but on an airplane. My flight home leaves Hawaii at 11:30pm, arriving in Los Angeles very early the next morning, and then on to Boston with a late afternoon arrival time. One of these trips I could very easily decide to just stay in Hawaii...



I realized this morning that my trip is just 5 short weeks away. It was April when I made the decision to visit the Big Island again - a vacation planned for six months out. The summer passed by slowly for me with my ongoing recovery, and I made the decision to switch this trip to a journey without bicycle wheels only 3 weeks ago. But the time continues to melt away, and I believe the next 5 weeks will fly away!

Sunday, September 05, 2004

Luggage? Lightweight and minimal is the plan

When I travel by bike I naturally need to limit how much I take with me. After all, everything I bring with me translates to weight on the bike, weight that makes me and the bike move slowly...

This trip is different since I'll be using a fossil-fuel powered vehicle instead of a human-powered vehicle. But - my plans are to bring only a small amount of stuff with me. I'm so used to traveling by bike and needing to wash out clothes in the evening that I think I'll follow that habit for this trip too. That means (I hope) that I'll be able to get by with just a small carry-on bag.

What do I think I really need? Well, I assume that I'll be wearing shorts most of the time - so 2 pairs of shorts and 2 sleeveless shirts, 2 pairs of underwear, 2 sports bras. That's a start. I'll definitely add to that a bathing suit. And I'll bring a skirt - a super lightweight Terry wrapper - and another top. That will give me a change if I want to eat in a nice restaurant. Let's see, what else do I need? Since it will be late October it's likely I'll leave home in a pair of long pants and a short-sleeved shirt. And I might need a vest to keep the chill out on the plane. Those traveling clothes can do double duty as cool weather attire if I need it during my stay in Volcano. What about rain? I have a very light-weight water resistant windbreaker from Patagonia - called the Dragonfly when I bought it, but it seems to have been replaced by something named Houdini - and that's definitely going too. Shoes? Well my primary shoes will be my Chaco sandals, but I'll also bring a pair of lightweight hiking shoes (and a couple pairs of socks) for wandering on the sharp lava. Toilet articles (minimal) and sunscreen. Hmmm... is that starting to sound like too much? I think it will all fit in a small bag, and I think I'll still have room to spare. I guess I'll just have to see when I start to pack!

Monday, August 30, 2004

Dreaming...

What's different about this trip? Well, the first and biggest thing is that my mode of transportation will be a car instead of my body and my bike. I'm still planning on circling the island though; this will not be a sitting on the beach vacation.

My thoughts right now are to start with a day in Kona just to recover from my flight. I don't land there until 9 PM local time, which given the six hour time change makes it 3 AM in my time. My next stop will be Na'alehu and two nights at Macademia Meadows B&B. From there I'll wander to South Point to do some hiking, and maybe I'll spend some time at the beach. Next, on to Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park for a few days of wandering. Then I'll spend some time along the east side of the island before ending my stay with two days of rest and relaxation at the Mauna Kea Beach Hotel.


Ah... the Mauna Kea Beach Hotel has a wonderful beach for a bit of relaxation.


I have some reading to do between now and when I set foot on the island. Hawaii, The Big Island Revealed is a great guidebook from Wizard Publications that I used when I planned last year's trip. (You're right, I do like the name of the publisher!) It needs another reading.

Sunday, August 29, 2004

Traveling on two wheels?

...no, walking! Plans are apparently made to be changed

It was April when I planned a trip to Hawaii for late October of 2004. I enjoyed last year's bicyle tour around the Big Island so much that I decided that I would repeat a variation of it this year. That was an easy decision to make, but the ultimate decision for the form this year's trip will take was a hard one for me.

On May 20th, I had a somewhat spectacular bike crash on my way to work. When I was released from the hospital, I was still set on this trip being a bike tour, but I think that I knew in the back of my mind that it would be a stretch. I gave myself until the end of August to decide whether my trip would be a bike tour as planned, or would be something else. It was a hard decision for me to make, because I really wanted to do it as a bike tour.

I've been back on my bike since the 3rd of July, six long weeks after the crash. My docs have told me to expect it to take six to twelve months (from the date of the accident) to return to what I'd consider normal. I'm definitely not there yet. The longest ride I've managed so far is 28 miles, and that's a long cry from what I'd need to be able to ride comfortably for a happy multi-day ride around the Big Island. Looking back at distances from last year's tour, there are three days that I think would be a big challenge to me in my current condition - two days between 50 and 60 miles that have a few long uphills in them, and one day of 40+ miles that is all uphill. At this point in my recovery, I'm a long way from a 50 to 60 mile day, to say nothing of the hills. And while two months is definitely enough time to prepare for a trip like this one when I'm in what I'd consider to be normal physical state, it just doesn't feel like reality to me right now. I wasn't too concerned about the extra weight on the bike from carying my gear since I'd already decided to do the trip with just 2 panniers (the smaller front panniers carried on the rear rack) and a minimum of gear.

My decision is to go to Hawaii in October without my bike. I don't think anyone will disagree that the Big Island of Hawaii is a wonderful destination, even without a bicycle. I'll still be wandering around the island and I can't imagine taking a vacation that doesn't involve some physical activity. I'm sure I'll do some hiking in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park and in some other spots around the island. Maybe I'll spend a little rest time on a beach. Maybe I'll do something different like find a place to rent a kayak and do a little paddling in the ocean. Maybe...