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May 26, 2014

Everything has been wonderful but this was a highlight.   A three-hour helicopter tour of the island with a private landing on top of a peak.  We passed over many of the sites we saw including Captain James Cook cove where we snorkeled.  We passed over the volcanoes where we could see the lava bubbling up.  We even saw a WWII b-18 bomber that had crashed.  There were plenty of waterfalls and coves.  It just got better and better.  So many parts of the island you cannot see unless you access by boat or air.

I later found the story on the B-18 bomber which crashed on February 25, 1941.  The aircraft was flying a training mission and all six crew members survived the crash. Continue reading →

May 25, 2014

We had been to Kailua a couple of times before but we ate and then moved on.  Today was the first day we spent some time walking around.  The city is the former summer home of King Kamehameha I and the place King Kamehameha the great died.  Today it is the home of the Ironman challenges and a place where fishing sportsmen flock to to catch large fish.  It is a quaint town with both historic sites, good places to eat.

It was raining when we walked around but nothing too much to deter our activities.  We wandered the streets, took pictures and then got something to eat at Sushi Shiono.  I wasn’t that hungry and I really wasn’t in the mood for sushi.  I ordered noodles and Sophon ordered Sushi and Sashimi.  We shared and I loved it all.  At the beginning I would have preferred another place, this one turned out to be wonderful.

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Beehive Flower

May 25, 2014

The Botanical Gardens was another highlight.  Growing up in upstate NY winters were long and cold and summers were very short but hot.  I grew up with relatives working in forestry.   When I moved to California, I was amazed at palm trees and all the things that would grow here as opposed to NY.  When my father last visited me, he got such a kick out of picking oranges from my back yard tree and either eating them or making a glass of  orange juice.

Hawaii has many sub-climates and I marvel at it all.  The Beehive Flower close to the entrance looked like something out of Alice in Wonderland. I thought I was going to drive there, take a casual walk through only to find both Sophon and myself marveling at everything along the way.  We spent much longer than I expected and as I wondered if we shouldn’t move along, I reminded myself that we started out with a few ideas and would not try to see it all.  This was worth some extra time.

The entrance to the park is at the top of the cove and it ends at the beach.  There are various gardens including Palms, heliconias, orchids, bromeliads and water lilies.  There are waterfalls and a view of the cove.   Continue reading →

Akaka Falls

May 25th, 2014

Akaka falls and the circular falls are north of Hilo on the other side of the Island.  What I love about the Hawaiian Islands are the causally marked turn offs.  I saw the “Akaka Falls” sign, headed towards it and the next thing I know I am in a park where there are multiple water falls and beautiful landscape.

Down the street was a fruit stand selling fresh coconuts, pineapple and other local fruit.  I stopped to check it out.  The guy who owned the stand picked the fruit off the trees behind him.  What a life, picking fruit to sell to the tourists passing buy. He was real nice and I enjoyed talking with him.

There was something on the table that I didn’t recognize and said it was an Ice Cream Bean.  It appeared to be a large seed pod about a foot long.  When you opened it up, there were large white peas with dark seeds.  I had never heard of the ice cream bean and had to try one.  It is creamy and sweet with a hint of vanilla.  He told me to google it, that it is then miracle fruit that cures everything.

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Me in front of Waipi’o Valley

May 25, 2014

This is a site that I was looking for instead of stumbling upon it.  Waipi’o lookout is a lookout on the northern part of the Island.  There aren’t words to describe the view.

The Valley is an undeveloped area of Hawaii and the boyhood home of King Kamehameha I and was a retreat for the Royals.  It is also known as the Valley of the Kings.

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View from the Southernmost point

May 24, 2014

Key West holds the Southernmost point in the continental US but the Big Island  is the winner of the 50 states.  I was trying to find the green sand beeches when I saw the sign to the Southernmost point.  I hadn’t really thought about it before.  It made sense that the southern point of the Big Island would also be the Southernmost point in the USA.  I decided to check it out.

I drove 12 mile through dry meadows to get there.  The Southernmost point had steep cliffs going into the ocean and a blowhole not too far away.  I was surprised to see the small crowd was mainly locals and they were enjoying jumping into the blowhole and over the cliff’s edge.  I am not one for heights so I was a bit anxious just watching it.

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The Painted Church

May 24, 2014

After lunch my friend (Sophon) and I headed out to explore the island. I knew the Island was big and I did not set out to drive around the entire Island but that is pretty much what I did.  When I got back to the hotel late at night, I was beat.

My first stop was the Painted Church overlooking Kealakekua Bay, I was actually trying to get to a National Park and saw the King’s sign indicating a historic site so I stopped.

The church was built in 1899 and at the time, many Hawaiian’s couldn’t read so Father John Velghe using ordinary paint, painted biblical scenes in order to teach the bible.  Continue reading →

Fried Calamari

May 24, 2014

On our way from Kailua back to where our car was parked, we passed Sam Choy’s.  Where had I heard that before?  It took me a few minutes but I realized that he was a guest judge on Top Chef earlier this year.  I was going to get my car and go straight back to have lunch.  I did exactly that and I wasn’t disappointed.

My friend and I had Char siu ribs glazed with a hint of coconut, fried calamari, and a chicken teriyaki sandwich.  The view was awesome and so was the food!

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Our Zodiac Raft

May 24, 2014

I started the morning with a snorkeling tour from Captain Zodiac.  I think one of the best things you can do in Hawaii is get out on the water.  The water is warm and blue and the marine life is everywhere.  As we left the marina we ran into a group of spinner dolphins.  It was fun to watch them play and frolic.  Our guide said that the spinner dolphins are one of the smaller species of dolphins.  We watched for a while and then we pulled away and headed to deeper waters.

I have to admit, there is a fear of the ocean for me.  I never had it until I saw “Jaws” and once I did it scared me.  It is hard to get in the water and not think, what is around me that I cannot see?  Before I left for Hawaii, I was watching a show about man and nature frequent collide.  There was one scene when a couple spotted a pilot whale, the woman dived in, her husband filming, she hugged one of the whales and another came charging.  He grabbed her leg and pulled her down.  She lived to tell about it but she was surprised to.  Continue reading →

The view from my hotel room

May 23, 2014

I am off to Hawaii, this time the big Island!  I am looking forward to this trip. I have spent a lot of time in Hawaii back in the 80’s when I was installing Property Management systems in hotels.  I used frequent flyer point to take my parent there and I took one trip after that.  Most of my time was spent in Oahu, Kauai and Maui.  I had taken a day trip to Hilo on a previous trip but I didn’t see a whole lot.  This feels both old and new.

My flight went was planned and I arrived just afternoon.  First thing on the agenda?  Lunch!  I had booked marked a few places using Yelp and then headed to one place but couldn’t find parking.   I discovered the Big Island Grill which I had also bookmarked.  It was good local food.

I then headed to the Hilton Waikaloa.  I was a bit surprised at what I saw on the way, miles and miles of lava rock.  I am not talking about rocks here and there, I am talking about miles and miles of nothing but complete devastation.  I would later learn that on some maps, they would indicate the year the lava field belonged to with the year.  I found a map referencing 1859 and the land was a completely desolate section!  Assuming there were no more eruptions, it was going to be at least a thousand years or so until it was forested again. Continue reading →