Wednesday - fly to San Francisco, met Leo and Grace at the Gate for Kona - had a snack at the terminal food court - fly to Kona (watched Fracture with ANTHONY HOPKINS - SAT NEXT TO OVERLY TALKATIVE TEENAGER (but nice kid) named Jake - bought an overpriced snack box for $5 - Landed in Kona Int'l Airport - deplaned to an outside stairway - met up with Velma and Cassie (Vickie got lei'd) - met up with Teresa.
got our bags and got into Dad's car - off to Wal-Mart for a few groceries and shoes for Vickie (and some sunscreen)
drove to our condo right on the strip - said goodnight to dad and Velma
went to Hooters for dinner and a beer (fish and chips and a cob salad)
Back to our room to sleep - early day tomorrow - 12 hour bus tour of the whole island
Thursday - set alarm for 5:15 to call kids before they went to school...up around 6 AM - life cereal and cinnamon raison bagels, coffee and milk
Bus driver picks us up at Bubba Gumps at 7:30am - we get to sit in the front! Our bus driver's name is Greg Benson from Oahu - really knowledgeable and a nice guy. our first stop is the Kona coffee plantation gift store for coffee samples and macadamia-rum cake (and to shop) - we take too long going potty and are the last ones on the bus
off to a bakery about 30 minutes away - roads are lined with avacado and mango trees - Kona coffee plants everywhere - driver shows us that a coffee bean is actaully the seed inside a fruit - and that 1 in 100 beans isa single, not a pair, and that is considered better coffee - a peaberry - got to try some - no big deal... it's good, but i like sumatra better - the bakery has INSANE dougnuts - we bought two - a guava and a passionfruit-iced one - HOLY COW - best doughtnut ever-around the bakery we see samples of Hawaiian crops - pineapple plants with pineapples on them, sugar cane plants, avacados, mangos.
next stop black sand beach - really cool - and look, there's a giant sea turtle on the lava near the edge of the beach - a little treacherous getting close to him, but we manage to snap a few – there’s a bigger one further down the beach on the sand... he's asleep - our driver warned us to stay at least 10 feet away from the turtles, so we take a few photos at a safe distance.
time to go to the volcano house atop kiluwea - a 35 minute drive - it's exactly noon when we arrive. Along the way Greg is pointing to plants and fruit trees lining the road... we have 45 minutes to grab a quick sandwich in the cafeteria and explore... enough time to see the visitors building and buy a few gifts.
off the caldera on top of the volcano itself, Smells of sulfur and steam fishers are all around, We stop and have around 20 minutes to hike down to the lookout point and snap a few more photos, Smells toxic.
Next stop is a lava tunnel created by quick moving lava during an eruption long ago... its raining, and smells like fresh mountain air - bright flowers and foliage lines the crooked path to the tunnel... gobs of water drop from the ceiling as we make our way through the dark cavern... the sides of the tunnel have square light installed about every 25 yards to help see the otherwise pitch darkness. We dodge cold deep puddles on the muddy path below,.
Back at the bus Greg tells us we have 20 minutes to the next stop and he plays us some Hawaiian music while we take a short snooze. next stop is the orchid farm
Anyone want to buy a $10,000 orchid - on sale for $8000? Big bright orchids everywhere - many with the sweet fragrance you’d expect..some with unexpected smells - chocolate, peach, vanilla – very, very cool... we buy some more gifts.
Next we have a long haul to Hilo - long drive, more Hawaiian music, more history - we get to see the stone Kamehameha lifted and turned over as a test of his virility.
We stop at a gushing waterfall called rainbow falls.,,, monkey pod tress are also everywhere. Vickie has to pee so bad she ignores Greg's advice and uses to public restroom...we eat some crackers at a local craft store and board the bus for parker ranch.
We see a fire along the way burning on the hill... we learn a Hawaiian cowboy is a paniolo ,,, and beef is called a pi pi ,, so what do you call a pi pi on a hill ? Lean beef,,, Greg's bad joke,,, pi pis laying down are ground beef....(groan) - Vickie and I share a chicken plate lunch and sit with cousin Greg talking about home and kids and life.
Back on the bus... time to head back and drop everyone off at their resorts - it's no secret most everyone on our bus is staying at very expensive golf clubs and resorts... nice folks, but rich,
we are the last ones off the bus and Cousin Greg recommends a few spots along the strip,... we tip him and thank him for a great tour... highly recommended.
After a quick shower at the condo, we meet up with Dad and Velma, Pat and Jen and cousin bob at LuLu's for dinner... bob ends up footing the bill and we have a great time visiting. Afterwards we head back to our condo and crash... long day...
Friday - Breakfast in our room...over to lava java for internet access and a spinach wrap. We shop a little along the strip... We head over to the farmer's market and buy more gifts and some papayas and a white pineapple.,,,, BEST PINEAPPLE EVER - had some fruit for lunch, then went swimming in out complex's pool... very nice. - went to the reunion party and ate, drank, visited with everyone... Cousin bob played ukulele while Princee Ann and SUZANNE DID THE HULA - as did Brawney and the other birthday folks... sang happy birthday to Tommy, Tony, Patrick and Rick... ate cake... visited more. Got a ride home in Pat's red convertible mustang. Very cool.
Saturday - Breakfast in our room... dad and pat pick me up and we're off to Waikola for some golf... dad gets the local rate and pat and I only have to pay for club rental... nice!
decent course...nothing fantastic...I play a lousy first 9 holes... dad and pat do much better... I play the front nine much better (after surrendering my fairway woods) nice set of Nike clubs though) - after golf we meet up with the girls at the king shops and have a snack (I ate a fish burrito - some snack) dad had a dipped ice cream and pat a hot dog. The girls shared but had nothing of their own
Dad and Velma take off together while Vickie and I pile into pat and Jen's convertible mustang for the 40 minute trip back to Kona. Vickie and I decide to rent a car for Sunday since we are going to visit Pam and Don's Friend's church in Kona. Pat and Jen drop us at the budget rent a car and we get a sapphire blue Pontiac that is fairly new and drives well. Nice to have a car for a while. Back to the Kona Islander Inn for a shower and rest. pat and Jen pick us up later for dinner at Teresa, Randy and Jeanette's. Although dinner is supposed to start at 7, we don’t get there until 9. Patrick brings roast port loin while randy and Teresa prepped BBQ'd steak and shrimp...there's also steamed broccoli, rice of course, and mushrooms. Later i prep a fruit salad of papaya we brought from farmer's market, and a white pineapple that everyone loves…along with some watermelon. Not much in the way of drinks. Jeanette ekes out a few screwdrivers with what's left of her vodka and then it's diet cokes and water. We visit while a game of spinners materializes at the dinner table... Randy seems to be doing much better and might even move to Reno...that would be a very interesting situation and further confirmation of our staying Reno right now. We leave Teresa’s around 11... another great day and a solid sleep.
Sunday we're up as usual around 8am and have some of the banana - peanut butter bread Vickie bought for me while she was out shopping the previous day. it's okay... but c'mon for $3 it ought to be a little bigger. After I finish my coffee we're off to church... the road is very steep and winding with many churches past along the way, At the top of the hill sits the church where Gary is associate pastor. Nice guy with a friendly face and constant smile. The sanctuary is wall-less with a large rear-projected screen in front for worship lyrics. Although I don't recognize all the songs, the style and feel of the church is very familiar and we are at home. The worship pastor is a thin dark haired island-looking guy with a pleasant moustache smile and baritone voice. After announcements the head teaching pastor calls the kids up to the front for a short kids' lesson on fear and trust... he uses a toy helicopter and a white plastic castle-looking prop and tells us it's a volcano (use your imagination) - He tells us of how he preformed a wedding with four of these helicopters circling the active volcano, and how the one he was on even tipped face first into the bubbling, lava filled caldron to give everyone on board a better view. The kids are dismissed to Sunday School and the pastor continues with his lesson - the sermon is on Fear and he used the story of the disciples being afraid in the boat while Jesus sleeps... he shows us slides of his recent (2004) trip to the holy lands and their boat ride on the actual sea of Galilee. During the sermon he shows a not-so-short movie clip from Joe Versus the Volcano relating his experience of moving to Kona and planting a church to Joe's experience jumping into the Volcano... it worked okay... clip was too long though =) --- next he asked people to share their experience of trusting God in their lives via open mic... a few people shared similar stories of how God had heard their prayers and answered them. Vickie and I both considered sharing, but were content with hearing the locals talk of their experiences. Church ends with a familiar song that i can't remember right now since I'm on a plane a few days later and I'm heading back to SF. Vickie was upset about the seating arrangement (we're not next to each other, but I'm in front of her - But I'll get to that in a little while... back to Sunday.... the head pastor - I wish this guy in front of me would sit still... his seat is all the way back and the laptop is poking my stomach…anyways the head pastor whose name escapes me... Vickie will probably fill this in later - announces it's pastor Gary's birthday (you remember Pam and Don's friend?) he gets up in front of everyone and we sing happy birthday... oh, his wife is really nice too... can't remember her name either. Anyways we get a short tour of the facility... I guess the building we had service in is not the final sanctuary, but the events center... they plan to build another building within 5 years that will be the real sanctuary... can't imagine a better place for church than this building... all you see to the left is coastline and ocean... all you see to the right is tropical plants and flowers.... and there's a pleasant breeze wafting through during the whole service... really nice... anyways Gary shows us the youth area which is a loft above the sanctuary... it has the obligatory foosball (same table as Rod and Ginny's) and air hockey... plus shuffle board to the right... obviously donated, and a TV and video game console... not sure which one-they blow fans on the futons constantly because they have trouble with mold due to moisture. the fans seem to help. The nursery is awesome with hand painted murals of animals and sky and clouds... very nice. We take a photo with Gary and his wife...wait I'll ask Vickie what her name is...Carla is her name... I knew she'd remember - Anyways we drive off looking for someplace to have lunch... we decide to go to a pink building around the corner from our hotel. It's a candy factory and ice cream shop, locally owned by some folks from San Jose... they have been running it for around 15 years... I have the Korean short ribs with rice (duh) and a side salad (the salad actually came first, but I don’t want to erase what I've written) with a papaya, poppy seed dressing that is really good... after dropping a gob of dressing on my shorts, I actually get to enjoy my salad... the place is nice, and it's air conditioned... big plus…although my ribs are a little fatty, they are very tasty and Vickie's mahi mahi fish and ships are pretty good too, We buy some salt water taffy for rod and have just enough room for ice cream.. Vickie has the pineapple sorbet and I have the Ohana nut crunch (kinda like heath bar crunch with macadamia nuts).
The bathrooms are way too hot inside so I pass on going there and we take a few snapshots outside - I was a little bitter that the gal serving the ice cream charged me full price when I really had a half portion, but whatever... Next we head back to our room at the KII to change into our suits - we're off to Hapuna beach... the big "white sand beach" on Kona... it's a good 30 minute drive there, and we're only able to stay about an hour and a half because our car is due back... the place is packed, but we find a parking spot near the back of the lot and hike the short distance to the beach... it's a pretty warm day with full sunshine. Once we claim a spot it's off to the water and crashing waves... the3 surf is a lot rougher than I expected, but Vickie is having a great time. That's a relief. I thought for sure I would be swimming alone. The water is cool and refreshing and very clear… although the distinct salt water on your lips keeps you spitting. There are lots of boogie boarders and body surfers. After about 20 minutes we end up on our towels in the sand, both reading our books…Vickie's reading some book on deliberate parenting and I'm reading a book I bought for Scott years ago called shadow divers. After some time we decide we better head back to Kona to return the car. My dad told me to call him when we get to the rental place so he can come get us... once we return the car and wait a short while, dad and Velma show up. We head back to the KII and shower/change and go out to dinner with Dad and Velma... we go to an L&L by the hotel, but decide it looks too small, so we drive about 15minutes to the one by dad and Velma... when we get there we see the whole Fernandez clan... Tommy, Bob, Princee Ann, Suzanne, everyone...they invite us back to Princee Ann and Scott's place for a visit... we decide to eat at L&L - Dad and I had the garlic ahi, and Vickie got the teriyaki - chicken... I think Velma go the Katsu... I like the meal much more than Vickie but she's a good sport about it. We head over to Princee Ann's and Scott's place and visit for about an hour and a half... after a couple of beers it's time to go... as we're saying our goodbyes, a loud voice boomks across the apartment "GET OUT" - we look to see an irate guy in a baby-blue sleeveless tee shirt hollering for us to leave "I"VE HAD TWO COMPLAINTS ALREADY!!!! THIS IS MY PROPERTY!!! EVERYONE OUT NOW!!! A shame we all left on that note... Rik's wife was calmly explaining to this jerk that it was a family get together and not a drunken frat party, but by then we were already getting into our cars. felt bad for them... the guy could have been more adult about it but chose to be a hump. We say our goodbyes to Dad and Velma... they're off the Oahu the next day for another week of golf and visiting with friends... some of the Fernandez family will be there too. wish we could go =( Vickie and I watch a little food network at the condo before bed... I'm always amazed at how many geckos are scurrying up and down ouir building... they're really cool.
Monday ... our last full day - Vickie was a little disappointed about how the evening turned out... I think she wanted to spend it just us seeing a movie or something... but without a car your kinda stuck... she's okay...just a little bummed... we decide to walk the opposite direction on the strip than we had been (away from ABC and LUL LUs) and towards Kamehameha hotel... lots of little shops and lots of gifts to buy... I found a silver thumb ring and she found a toe ring she always wanted... she almost bought a pants/shirt combo but it didn't quite fit the way she anted...so no sale. I call Patrick to see if they are back from Hilo yet...turned out they didn't spend the night there after all.. so we decided to meet after lunch at our hotel and ride out to captain cooks monument where we will kayak out to the monument (a two mile row) and do some snorkeling. I honestly don't think Vickie will do it... Vickie and I first eat the Big Island Grill (BIG) ... I have a HUGE bowl of saimin which comes with tempura shrimp... it's awesome... Vickie has a papaya stuffed with chicken salad and a bowl of soup...l flourless chocolate cake to go... We drop our cake off at the hotel, change into out suits, and meet Pat and Jen in the lobby for the ride out to the kayak launch site about 30 minutes away... Vickie knows the name of the beach so I'll let her fill that in. After a dizzying windy drive through misty rain forest we arrive at the launch site where we need to rent two kayaks,,, a toothless 30ish woman tells us it's $40 per kayak - a bit spendy but what can you do? You’re there already... anyways Vickie and I life jacket up and literally jump into the boat (it's the only way to get in) and we row out towards the monument two miles away... the ocean is really choppy and it seems like it will take forever... my left thumb is getting sore and i know I'll have a blister, but we sally forth... before long we get to the monument... a weathered make-shift lava-rock docking point with a chained off white monument that looks deceptively similar to the Washington monument. It stands about ten feet tall and is surrounded by corral reef teeming with brightly colored fish... Jen and patrick arrive about 10 minutes later and Jen looks a little green... before long her stomach settles and they gear up to go snorkeling. There are little black crabs scurrying all over the island... kinda freaky and cool at the same time... we snap some photos for a Russian family and they take a few of Vickie and me in front of the monument. You can see tons of life under the water even without a snorkel... but I wanted to see more... soon pat and Jen pass us their gear and to my surprise Vickie accepts it and is off exploring... it's like swimming with all the fish from finding Nemo... tangs, needlefish, anemones all over schools and schools of them... the time is way too short. We have to start heading back because we bought tickets to a luau... we paddle back to the launch point... getting back is much quicker and easier, although Pat and Jen thought we were really moving fast. We made such good time that Vickie and I had a chance to shower off before we had to get back on the car. The toothless girl invited us back to a local luau, but we couldn't go since we were leaving the next day. The ride back was fun as wind whipped through my fuzzy head.... we told Jen and Pat we'd walk over to the royal Kona Inn and meet them after we had cleaned up... After we shower we head over... lots of people in line as the smell of smoked meat and sweet cake fills the air. Pat and Jen arrive before long and we all get really good seats near the stage. Mai Tais are all you can drink... although they are pretty weak. There's a couple at our table from Maryland who are on their second honeymoon in a year (Stan and Natalie) and another couple on their first Vickie seems to hit it off with. We get called to the buffet line as the second table. There's salads, poi, coconut jello, smoked pork, marinated steak, two kinds of chicken, ono fish filets, raw sashimi, rice, bread and coconut or pineapple upside down cake... the food is very good…if you hurry you can get seconds, but we're too preoccupied with the sunset and they consolidate the buffet into one line, then nothing... the shows about to start...we take some last minute sunset photos and watch the show begin... lots of folklore and dance, fire knife dancing, the obligatory hula (Didn't know men hula too) and of course the "let's embarrass the audience" hula with "volunteers" It was a great show. Pat and Jen walk back with us to our condo... but first we stop at the ABC for a ukulele for the kids (special phoned in request)
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