It’s a sad statement on how lazy we’ve gotten. Here it is May, and I’m posting the story for our January trip. And, dear readers, neither Fred nor Carolyn wrote it, it is entirely cribbed from Carolyn’s aunt Jackie, who we observed writing notes every evening. Why bother writing our own? So please enjoy the account from Jackie. Oh, cast of characters in her narrative:
Margaret: Carolyn’s older sister, retired from biotech and professoring
Troy: Margaret’s husband, birdwatching nut and former rocket scientist (really)
Willy: Margaret’s beautiful golden retriever
Banjo: Margaret’s ugly (but sweet) mutt
Annie: Jackie’s beautiful Corgi
Anne: Margaret’s grown daughter
Elisabeth: Margaret and Carolyn’s Danish sister (former exchange student)
January 15, 2007 (Monday)
Margaret, Troy and I rose at 4 a.m., having taken Willy, Banjo and Annie to Lynnda Lopez the day before. We managed to leave right on time at 5 a.m., and drove to Anne’s place, arriving a6 6 a.m. in spite of one wrong turn. Anne took us to the Oakland Airport, where we settled in. Shortly a delay was announced, which turned out to be 2 hours. Other than that, the flight was uneventful. They plied us with liquids which was good. They also plied us with so-called snacks/junk food. On arrival in Maui, Fred and Carolyn were waiting, having arrived shortly before. Transferred shortly to the next flight, arriving at Kona airport shortly thereafter. Car rental next, a Buick minivan. Five people plus luggage fit easily. Went next to Costco to get supplies. $275 worth. Got it all in the car plus us, which took some expert packing. Drove across the island, through Hilo, and on to Paradise. Dark by that time but made it to our rented house, Cymbidium House, which is lovely. Set in among huge ferns and little ferns. Ate dinner at nearby old fashioned Lodge and had a delicious meal.
January 16, 2007 (Tuesday)
I am doing this several days later, which is a mistake. We drove around Volcano and got oriented. With help from Carolyn, I now remember that Troy stayed home in hopes of getting online during the day at the nearby Internet Cafe, while the rest of us headed for Hilo. We went to the Farmers’ Market which was open on the day. We also went to Hilo Hat-tie’s looking for a muumuu for Elisabeth. No luck. They appear to be out of current style. Darn! We also had a fabulous lunch at the restaurant where Troy and Margaret and I went last time. We also went to Long’s Drugstore to get stuff for Carolyn’s eyes, which are bothering her. I said I saw it as we were looking around, but as it turned out when we finally saw it that I probably did not see it.
January 17, 2007 (Wednesday) We did the crater loop and saw many fascinating things. We had lunch at the Volcano House. We ate sandwiches at home for dinner. Fred took off this night and hiked to the volcano and lava spilling into the sea. He said it was just wonderful with many terrific views. During the day, a great puzzlement was encountered. We stopped at a field of steam spouts. A bus full of Japanese tourists arrived just before us. Their leader went over to one steam spout and demonstrated a weird thing. With little or no steam coming out, he held one or more lighted cigarettes near the opening over the steam, and instantly much more steam or smoke or something appeared. He said it was burning gases. But Fred has questioned several rangers, etc. since, and none has an explanation.
January 18, 2007 (Thursday) We were a little lazy and did not get going right away, but the lava flow into the ocean at night was a major goal. We stopped at many lookouts along the way. On the way down to the beach area we stopped at the petroglyphs off the road by a good walk. They were elementary and not too spectacular but then I didn’t try to carve drawings into the lava, either. Earlier we were looking at another lava flow when Troy saw two Nenes flying overhead. Margaret walked after them, as did we all, and saw them in what may well be their nesting place. They are beautiful birds. Margaret even got close enough to see their unwebbed feet, an evolutionary characteristic.
January 19, 2007 (Friday) We set off midmorning for the little town of Pahoa not far away. It has a certain charm, not unlike little towns on the Olympic Peninsula or various Puget Sound towns in Washington. The big attraction was that it had an Internet Cafe. However, stomachs rule and we had lunch first in a funky little open front cafe and were waited on by an even funkier waiter. But the food was very good. Then we went back to the Internet Cafe and logged on. It was $2 for 1/2 hour, but I splurged for 1 hour at $3. Had the usual trouble sending from Entourage, but received over 100 messages. Switched to Yahoo for outgoing and got a couple of messages off. Troy received no messages from work so he can relax. Fred had some business to transact. After lunch we drove over to Lava Tree Park which was intriguing. Lava at some time or other had flowed through a grove of large trees. It covered them (or coated is a better word) with lava which was so hot it caused the interior of the trees to burn out. Very interesting. From there we went to another park (Ahalanei park) which was just lovely and obviously frequented by nearby residents regularly as well as by tourists. There was surfing and the waves were way up! Also, there was a very large pool where kids could play and swim. It had a very narrow opening on the ocean side. Only very large waves could hit that narrow opening hard enough to flood up and over into the pool. Wonderful contrast between the calm pool and the crashing waves. By the time we were done there, we thought of dinner. Troy suggested Hilo Bay Cafe in Hilo, not knowing that the rest of us had dined there for lunch a couple of days before. It was so good last time we went again and it was fabulous food.
Saturday, January 20. Troy was first up as usual and build a fire in the wood stove, which soon took the chill off. I was next, but barely. Fred soon came out all ready for his long hike today. Troy took him to the start of a trail that will be something like seven miles altogether. He will have to go through some woods, and then come out onto lava overlook-ing the area where lava flows into the sea. He said as he comes back he will be facing the woods which all look alike so he will have to determine ahead of time where to reenter them so he comes out the other side at the right place. He expects it will take him 5 or 6 hours, and there should be some gorgeous viewpoints. Meanwhile, the rest of us took off so that Margaret and Carolyn could go snorkeling down at the beach where Margaret and I went last March. We stopped for lunch first at the Aloha ? Cafe where the geckos come to eat jelly and entertain the customers. Then off to the rental shop to buy & rent a couple of pieces of equipment and then on to the beach. I am told that the water was a pretty good temperature and that M and C saw many, many fish, and even some sea turtles. We all went to the bar afterward to try some exotic drinks. Then off for home. Carolyn talked by phone to Fred and he was back at the house long before we were. He debriefed us on his adventure when we finally got back to the house. He estimated he had walked 10 or 12 miles altogether. The initial hike down to the volcano area took 2 hours. He met some people going and coming, and one man showed Fred his house and yard and brought him back to our house.
Sunday, January 21. Today the plan was to go up to the Saddle Road and to the observatory on Mauna Kea. It was a long but interesting drive through Hilo and then on up to the observatory which was at 9,000 feet. We had a cup of hot cocoa at the visitors center, and saw a wonderful but longish DVD portraying the development of the observatory and the various telescopes, with several of the scientists doing much of the narration. Very interesting. The challenges were not just technical and finding funding, but also coming to agreement on how to treat with appropriate respect the area which is sacred to the Hawaiians. We could not join the tour to the summit because our car was not 4WD. Carolyn wanted to stretch her legs and spoke to a ranger who suggested a fairly easy 20 minute trail. “Fairly easy” was not specifi-cally defined and it turned out to be a lovely but fairly steep climb up to the top of one of the nearby cone-shaped hills. It was clear to me that I would never make it, but Fred taught me to go very slowly: no faster than I could breathe through my nose. Magic! I went to the top with no difficulty, and the view was astounding. Troy called his friend Greg from on top to rub in the beauty. On return down to the Visitors Center we had a few crackers and dried fruit for lunch, thanks to Carolyn’s foresight, and then decided to drive as far up to the summit as our 2 wheel drive would permit. We got up quite a ways when the transmission started slipping! Instant unanimous vote: turn around and go back! The return trip felt riskier than it probably was, because the slope was steep in many places, but Fred brought us all down the rest of the way uneventfully. We returned to Hilo where we went for dinner at an Italian restaurant noted in the guide books, and it was excellent. Then on home. I only lasted another hour before going to bed.
Monday, January 22. We left Troy at the Thurston Tube as a takeoff point for a day of birding. The rest of us set off for Black Sand Beach and Green Sand Beach. Black Sand Beach was first, and it is indeed black. You would not think that would be pretty but it is. We wandered around the area, on the dry sand, wet sand and then onto some of the lava rocks. There were a lot of sea turtles in the area. Some were floating in the water, a couple of big ones just resting on rocks, and a couple lying up on the sand. We ate lunch at a restaurant along the road which was the “Southernmost restaurant in the United States” where they featured home cooked food and it was delicious. They had a sign “Eat Dessert First” but we were too full after the main course. But I got a piece of macadamia nut pie to go (same as pecan pie, but with Mac nuts.) We then went to Green Sand Beach which was hard to find, and a long hike. We drove in a long way, and parked in the “Green Beach Parking” area which was confirmation we were in the right place. We started out on a rough road which 4-wheel vehicles could manage. We walked quite a way when I decided to return–it was too far and too rough. So I started back and had walked quite a long way back when I came to what looked like a fork in the road. I took the fork nearest the ocean, and had only gone a short way when the fork sort of petered out. I then stumbled and made about a six-point landing on very rough lava. Fortunately, I had long pants and long sleeves on so very little damage was done. I returned to the right road, and had gone quite a ways when a 4 drive vehicle came along and they stopped and asked a question. They, too had left a couple of their passengers along the way, and they verified that they had seen two women and
a man who were still going toward the green sand beach. They then offered me a ride and I took it. Bless them! I sat in the car for a very short time until Carolyn returned because her feet were bothering her. It was quite awhile until Fred and Margaret returned, having made it all the way only to learn there was a very steep descent down to the actual green beach, which they did not attempt. We returned to the house and had a pick me up dinner. I offered bites of my mac nut pie, but fortunately there were only two takers. After dinner, Fred wanted to go online so I went with him to the ho-tel/restaurant where we ate the first night and parked in their parking lot, which our waitress had told us there was wi-fi. Sure enough, went online and caught up with messages, etc.
Tuesday January 23. Our adventure today involved splitting into 3 sections. Carolyn and I dropped Fred at a trailhead for a hike he wanted to make. And Margaret and Troy wanted to take a hike and look for birds so we dropped them at their destination. Carolyn and I took the car and among other things proceeded to the parking lot in the hotel near where we stayed (and ate dinner the first night) and parked near the gazebo which has hi-fi. We both turned our com-puters on and caught up with our various messages, etc. Soon we had a call from Troy and Margaret who had finished their bird walk. Later, Carolyn picked up Fred at the appointed time, and we were all back at the house together again.
Wednesday, Januaty 24. This was our last whole day to play, so we headed West and had lunch at the Aloha Angel Cafe. We then went to the same lagoon where Margaret and Carolyn had gone snorkeling a few days before. This time Fred joined them. Troy went to the bar for a beer, from where he could see all three as they swam about. The surf was still way up, so the water was much less calm than before, so no one stayed in as long as the previous time. Howev er, all said they had a good time. Later we drove on into downtown Kona, and walked around to see the town. We then went for dinner at Lulu’s, where fish tacos are featured and where Troy and Margaret and I had gone when we were here last March. Fred drove back to Volcano in about 2.5 hours where we all turned into bees–emptying out the car, packing our bags, picking up in each room, etc. On to bed a bit late.
Thursday January 25. Up at 6 or thereabouts, rushing around packing last minute items, eating muffins etc. that Marga-ret and Carolyn had the forsight to buy yesterday. We were loaded up and left by 7:59 a.m., one minute ahead of sched-ule. Troy drove and hit some traffic and road construction but arrived at the Kona airport about 10:30, in plenty of time for Margaret and Troy to check in the car, while Fred and Carolyn and I checked luggage. We all went through security uneventfully, and had time to find a bench and await the plane. It arrived on time, and we all boarded for the short flight to Maui. At that point, we started our goodbyes. The northern contingent boarded our plane to Oakland about 1/2 hour before the southern contingent got their plane to San Diego. Troy and Margaret and I got our luggage quite promptly and Anne met us with Margaret’s car shortly thereafter. Anne drove to her house, taking precautions not to expose us to any germs that could have been carried by Anne, as Brian has the flu. Troy drove the car to my place where we all hit the sack quite promptly.
Friday January 26. I got up at 6:30 full of anticipation for what the day held. Margaret and Troy were up by 8 a.m. for the same reason. I called Lynnda and arranged to pick up Willy, Banjo and Annie between 9:30 and 10:00. We drove tgwo cars up there and picked up three happy dogs. It is hard to say, though, who was happiest. Margaret got into the back of her car with both dogs, having negotiated with Troy to drive home to Placerville. I have seen Margaret in various situations through the years, but I have never seen her happier!!! I will add that in the afternoon I drove to Cotati to pick up Maude. When I arrived home, I felt like Margaret looked! We heard, too, that Bentley had done well while Carolyn and Fred were gone, so all is well with our collective lives. Except to take another trip together again in the future.
I thought I liked catz. I met one in Barrrra. He was nice and I wanted to play. In this town, (Samara, ed.) they know I am on a leash and they sit just out of my rrreach. I hate theze catz. I do like the beach. See me here in Mazatlan?
See me in the car? I mostly sleep. I get to run on the beach. But I don’t like to get wet. I met a very nice girl rottie – she would have shared her dead fish with me if Mom had let me!