Hawaii

When we vacationed in Europe a few years ago, I kept a daily journal. If I can find it, I'll post it here sometime so the family can remember the time better. For this year's Hawaiian vacation, I failed to take a "journal" with me; but I often thought about what I wanted to journal. And so I'll capture it here in retrospect.

First Impressions

As you descend toward the Big Island, the first thing you notice is the big mountain that protrudes through the clouds. Later, you learn that the mountain is Mauna Kea (not the beach resort, but the mountain summit). As you circle in from the North side of the island to the airport on the West side, you get the sense that this place is a wonderful oasis in the midst of a vast ocean. And do I ever mean vast. You fly 4.5 hours WSW from LAX over nothing but water. Water, water, and more water -- in all directions. By all rights, then, you begin to think "why does this island even exist?" How did it come to be?

Landing at Kona, you step off a large airplane and you walk -- old style -- down steps that are wheeled directly to the plane. No jet way. No "gates" as we've come to think of them. You then walk across the tarmac to the baggage claim and ground transportation area, which is all outdoors under roofs that look like thatched huts.

And the weather is -- well -- perfect. Just perfect. You don't need a jetway because the weather is perfect (as you'll come to learn, predictably so), between 70 and 85 degrees with low humidity and a gentle breeze.

When you drive from Kona to the Waikoloa Beach area, you think you've landed in Northern California, except for lava rocks from old flow. Old as in 1850's old. From Kona to Waikaloa, there is no jungle, no lush vegetation, no coffee plantations, pineapple groves, macadamia nut farms. It's beautiful still, but not at all in the way I expected. Only later do you learn that the Big Island has something like 11 different micro-climates. And they are all different and all beautiful in their own way.

A Few of the Amazing Sights

• Waipio Valley

• Akaka Falls

• The reef at Captain Cook's monument (the photo is just of the beautiful bay that houses the reef)
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• Kilauea and the caldera at Volcanoes National Park









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• The view at sunset from Mauna Kea Summit

• The night sky full of stars and very low on light pollution

• The beaches (with a nod to Mauna Kea Beach)

• The waves and the surfers

A Few of the Many Moments I'll Remember

• Shi-shi at Captain Cook Monument


• Dynamite shrimp at Sansei



• The opportunity to explore a very small part of the Waipio Valley with Kiersten



• Coffee tasting with Jonathan at Greenwell's Farm



• Shaved Ice (Orange Dream) in Hilo



• Singing Iz's version of Over the Rainbow with Zach while he was playing the ukulele (and I couldn't pick up on the right beat!)



• Freezing to death on top of Mauna Kea Summit with Lindsay and Joe (who was, of course, in shorts)



• Sharing a morning coffee break with Linda at the Waikaloa Beach Queen's Market Starbucks



• The pineapple macadamia nut muffins at Island Jungle Coffee in King's Market



• Morning walks to coffee to read Michener's Hawaii



• Working out at the Bay Club fitness house



• The most perfect sand in the world at Mauna Kea resort



• The moonlike appearance of the top of Mauna Kea Summit



• Kayaking with Drew who wanted to race everyone to shore near Captain Cook's monument



• The gecko on the table at the Chew-au



• A final game of "Who Knows?" with Kier and Drew



• Watching Zach and Drew try to knock each other off of the paddleboards at the Hilton Waikoloa bay



• Exploring Volcanoes National Park with Lindsay and Joe



• Helicoptering from Hilo to the new Kilauea vent



• Breakfast with Linda, Joe and Lindsay at Ken's in Hilo



• Huggo's with Joe and Lindsay



• The amazing fish I saw while snorkeling

• Watching the parasailers fly

• An early morning walk when struck by the "re-realization" that my children are not mine, but they are gifts from God. Each of them is His. He wanted them all, each one specially.

• Listening to Joe's iPod on the stereo in the Jeep while traveling from Waikoloa to Hilo to Volcanoes to Mauna Kea Summit and singing along

• Watching Joe's wheels turn when he found something he wanted to photograph in a certain way and wondering "what is he thinking?"

• Understanding more of the full picture at Kokonuts while awaiting the parasailers
  


• Moments of joy, pain, transparency and vulnerability



• The crosses at the island chapel



• The doxology sung in Hawaiian as thanksgiving before the luau, against a backdrop of a gorgeous sunset and the crash of incoming waves