Pupus and Good Friends

Last night two of my very favorite people had me over for pupus and a visit.

They've moved into a great new place and I hadn't seen it yet.

We had the best pupus! I could have just eaten the guac and been

very happy.

It was nice to just sit and get caught up.  We've known them since we bought

our house and they've been such a huge help to us.

Mahalo again Travis and Marisa.

Love you guys!

Emerson Grey Designs

Our favorite Daughter-In-Law, Bri, has started a new business,

Emerson Grey Designs

I've seen what she can do with her amazing finds.  She has a real talent

for design and also the experience.

Give her website a look and then contact her for all of

your design needs.

We love you Bri and are so proud of you!

Ironman

When we first decided to go holo holo, I told hubby I'd see what deals I could get, but it

was Fall Break.  Well we got the deal and took off.  Little did we realize but it

was Ironman Week in Kona.  Yikes! The place was crawling with tons of people everywhere,

especially in downtown Kona and all over the highways.

We only went through downtown once, and that was enough.

Our travels actually took us on the Queen K highway that is

used for the bike part.  Wow! Long, hot, voggy, did I mention long and HOT?

The winner finished the whole thing in 8 hrs 3mins.....amazing. 2 1/2 mile swim,

112 mile bike and 26 mile run!

Kohala, Hawi and another end of the road

We went to Waimea for lunch and decided to continue up to the Kohala part of the

island.  We decided to see where the end of the road took us, and we weren't

dissapointed.  We passed through Kapa'au, which is said to be near

the birthplace of King Kamehameha. We got to see the original statue. I've seen two other,

Hilo and downtown Honolulu, so it was interesting to learn the history behind this one.

One small, single story hospital for this area.  Hubby had gone here years ago and he

said it really hadn't changed much.

quick pass through Hawi ( it was raining)

We reached the end of the road and found another beautiful valley.

We stopped at Mahukona Beach Park and found out about the

railroad that served the sugar plantations in the area.  They tried using

railroads to haul the cane, but once big trucks came along, all the railroads

stopped running. 

This is what is left of the station next to a pier where the ships would come.

We were laughing at this sign at the beach park camping area.  Do you think

they'd take our chickens?

Hilo and Waipio

Since both of us have spent some time in Hilo Town, we decided to pass through, after a

stop at Big Island Candy, and visiting with a friend.

After crossing the Wailuku River on the "singing bridge", we made a little

detour to look at some great old houses that were in an old part of Hilo.

 The drive up the Hamakua coast is beautiful.  We took another little detour to go on a scenic drive.

Since re-reading this book again, I really wanted to pay a visit to Waipio Valley.

 It was very late afternoon, so the pictures didn't come out as pretty

as it was.  The valley is 6 miles deep and considered a very spiritual place

by the Hawaiians.

The beach here is black sand.

Interesting to find out that a tsunami and another time a huge flood filled

the valley and not one person who lived there died. 

I think the sign said that it was a 25% grade, and just by looking at the road...it's so steep!

Maybe someday, with four-wheel drive.

to be continued...

Hapuna and Puukohala

Summer 1963 spent a lot of time at this beautiful beach...Hapuna.  I can remember

the talk back then, "some rich guy had bought a lot of land there and was going to build a hotel".

I couldn't imagine what that would have been like.  Well that "man" was Laurance Rockefeller and

the hotel  became the Manua Kea. 

Hapuna Beach has been named one of the 10 best beaches in the world. A lot has

changed since 1963, the little beach shacks are gone, there are restrooms,

 but the one thing that hasn't changed are the Kiawe trees in the area.

We were wondering if some of them were there when I was young.

In this area is a huge heiau, Pu'ukohala.

In 1963, this site was all overgrown and I still remember getting

"chicken skin" walking around it talking about the human

sacrifices that Kamehameha had done there.

being there today, brought up those same "chicken-skin" feelings.

to be continued...

Ka Lae and Kealakekua...Discovery

A few years ago I'd taken a class at Bishop Museum and one of the things that

was discussed was the "first contact" here in the Hawaiian Islands and how

it's been proven where those people came from in Polynesia.  First contact here

was made at a point on the Big Island called Ka Lae or South Point.  It was one the

places I'd really wanted to see on this little vaca.

 In the same general area was another spot I'd wanted to see.  The drive getting

down to Kealakahua was so pretty. 

Kealakekua was said to be the spot where Captain James Cook  made his

contact with the Hawaiian's.  The only way the monument can be reached

is by a hike or by water.  We didn't realize the monument had been

there for so long and that the English had actually erected it.

 To get back up to the main road we passed this pretty little painted church.

Since there were a lot of tour buses, we decided not to stop.

to be continued...