Last Day on the Big Island

Hung out at the local playground in Hilo. Drove around so Evan could get a nap in and made a couple of stops at Rainbow Falls, a place called Boiling Pots with Pe'e Pe'e Falls, and drove down Banyan Drive.

Then it was time for the very long trip home to Cleveland, via Honolulu and Houston.

Kilauea Caldera at Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park

It was a bit rainy and cold up at the summit, but we all had our chance to see an active volcano. The Halema`uma`u crater within the Kilauea caldera of Mauna Kea had smoke and steam billowing out of it, and as we drove around the park we were able to see steam vents in various areas, where rainwater sinks through the ground to rocks that are heated by the liquid rock beneath, releasing steam into the air.

Since Grandma's ankle was still bothering her, she stuck around in the car while the rest of us walked down underground through Thurston Lava Tube.

Later that evening, Jon, Evan and I drove out to the coast and were able to do a little night hike out on a lava flow where you could see the glow and steam of lava entering into the ocean.   It was amazing how dark it got at night, with the lava flow being completely black and having no light pollution nearby.

Driving to Hilo

On our drive over to the Hilo side of the island and the Dolphin Bay Hotel, we stopped by the World Botanical Gardens and the beautiful Umauma Falls.

Biggest Cinnamon Bun Ever

We started the day by visiting Island Lava Java for the biggest cinnamon rolls I’ve ever seen (they were tasty too), and a visit to the Na Kamalei Toddler Playground at Old Kona Airport.

Later we visited Wawaloli Beach Park, basically a huge shallow tidepool. It rests on a lava shelf so that the waves crash into the rocks at the far end, but there are no waves within the tidepool itself. Evan enjoyed a boogie board with a porthole in it that allowed him to check out the fish underwater.
 

We later took this and returned to Kahalu’u Beach where he could see some larger, more colorful tropical fish (and a sea turtle swimming along), and Grandma got to see St. Peter’s Church -- “The Little Blue Church”.
 

The Place of Refuge and St. Benedict's Church

Today we headed a bit south to St. Benedict’s Church in Honaunau, Hawaii: St. Benedict Catholic Church is also known as the Painted Church. This storybook picture church dates back to the 1800's. From 1899 to 1904 Father John Velge from Belgium painted the church which includes colorful frescoed ceilings and walls. The murals on the walls and ceilings depict many biblical scenes.

We then continued on to the Pu'uhonua o Honaunau National Historical Park, called the Place of Refuge. Here in the national park you can walk through an ancient Hawaiian village and see firsthand how the kings of Hawaii once lived.

Snorkeling and Firenesia Luau

In the morning we gave grandma a break because her ankle had been bothering her.   We took a 5 minute drive down the street to one of the best snorkeling beaches on the big island, Kahalu'u Beach Park.  They had snorkels for rent, so Jon and I took turns snorkeling while we hung out with Evan.   We were lucky enough to see a sea turtle basking on the rocks, as well as lots of fish.   We liked this beach as much Hanauma on Oahu.

Firenesia was a very nice luau, the setting was beautiful on the grounds of the Sheraton on Keahou Bay. The food was delicious, including the kalua pork (pulled pork from a pig baked in a pit) and the weather was great. The fire dancing was amazing and kept Evan entertained.

The Glass Bottom Boat

Back when Grandma was a travel agent, she apparently booked someone for a tour on one of these things. It’s a great idea, you sit on a boat, and look through glass boxes built into the bottom of the boat. Like a cross between snorkeling and being at an aquarium.

We found a tour in Kailua-Kona through Kailua Bay Charter Co. aboard a 36-foot glassbottom boat called the Marian. Of all of us, Grandma was the only one who sat still staring through the bottom of the boat the entire time, and the only one who didn’t feel the slightest bit of seasickness.

Evan had fun learning how to drive a boat!

Traveling

Today was a travel day. We departed Oahu and took a flight over to the Big Island of Hawaii. Unfortunately, at some point in the past 24 hours, Grandma twisted her ankle. She did a fantastic job traveling today, but I think was a bit tired by the end of the day.

Our condo here was great. We had a two-bedroom townhome at the Keauhou Kona Surf and Racquet Club, in townhome 177. We were so close to the ocean that the first night we were there I didn't sleep very well. I felt as though we were on a boat and was convinced that the sea was raging and the waves were actually hitting the exterior walls of our condo. Once I woke up the next morning and was able to analyze the situation, I was able to see that the waves were not, in fact, hitting the condo at night, but that we actually had a significant blowhole situated in the rocks right outside of our condo. The remaining nights I slept pretty well after that, now that I knew what was the source of the sound. Jon slept great, as he loves white noise, so apparently he appreciated the ambiance. If you're ever looking for a place on the Big Island, I'd highly recommend this one. It was nicely decorated, plenty of room for 3 adults and a child, right on the water. It was affordable. The location couldn't be beat, a five-minute drive from a large grocery store and restaurants, some of the best snorkeling on the island and a nice luau.

My Favorite Beach

Today we took Grandma to see one of my favorite beaches, Kailua. This time around we drove down past the main Kailua Beach entrance to the parking lot at the south end of the beach, which worked out well as there are virtually no waves here, plus there was shade from the trees for Grandma to sit under.

Evan had fun playing with his construction trucks in the sand and chasing Jon and me through the gentle waves coming up on the shore. It was a pretty relaxing time and a lot of fun, plus it was sunny, which was definitely a good thing, considering it often rains on that side of the island.

To give you an idea of how nice this beach is, this happens to be the area of the island where Barack Obama rented a vacation home and brought his family this past year for Christmastime.

Tonight Evan, Grandma and I were also able to make it over to the lagoon at the Hilton to grab a spot on the grass and watch the fireworks. I think Grandma was happy, she said she hadn't seen fireworks in quite some time. I got a neat little video of the fireworks as seen through the shadow of a palm tree.

Happy Birthday Grandma

Today was Grandma's 66th birthday, and what better way to celebrate than kissing a dolphin, right? Did I mention Grandma doesn't swim? She won't even take her feet off the ground in a swimming pool. Anyhow, we made our way down to the Sealife Park about a half an hour south of our condo to hang out with the dolphins. Evan was quite excited, which made it a little difficult when we had to wait a bit to get into the water with the dolphins.

Jon, Grandma, Evan and I all got into the dolphin show pool with a group of about 8 other people and a dolphin trainer. I think we all had a good time. All that Evan cared about was getting to feed the dolphin, so fortunately the trainer allowed Evan to toss our dolphin a fish once he was done posing for pics kissing (licking) and dancing with the dolphin (which apparently wasn't as exciting as actually feeding a dolphin). Then Grandma had her chance as I held onto the back of her lifevest so that she didn't take a dive into the quite deep dolphin pool. Her pics turned out great. Hopefully I'll get the pics scanned in so I can post them here. Again, no instant digital camera gratification this time.

Evan enjoyed the touch pools with Jon, complete with getting to pet a small sea turtle. The touch pools were reminiscent of Evan's story where Curious George goes to the aquarium, so it was fun to make comparisons between the images in the story and real life. We also had the chance to feed the sea turtles once again, and Evan had a close encounter with a manta ray through the glass of the aquarium.