Hawaii '07

O'ahu

and now I leave you with some eye candy

kealakekua

anaeho'omalu bay

Waipi'o Valley & Waterfalls

Sunsets

We started our adventure in Honolulu, on the island of O'ahu, where we visited the Pearl Harbor memorial, the USS Missouri (where WWII came to an end), and Waikiki Beach. It rained 16" during the day and a half that we were there! Needless to say, we were soaked - but a bad day in Hawaii is still better than a good day at "the office".

the USS Missouri, however, was wet, but tourable. here I am with 6 guns, each capable of shooting the equivalent of a VW bus very far, very fast.

the soggy USS Arizona memorial lies off-shore, unreachable

hunt for Red October, anyone?

ammo for those big guns (above) ... and these are just the bullets, not the entire shells

not kidding... really

the benefit of rain is that you get fantastic raindrops-on- flowers pictures. there are so many great hawaiian flowers, that i am devoting a whole separate tabblo to them. not to worry, i wouldn't pass up the opportunity to go crazy. see my main page for the flowers tabblo.

mom sports her aloha spirit with a fragrant plumeria

okay, so i had to include at least *one* flower shot... to whet your appetite (and satisfy mine)

Stormy Waikiki - by day

Sunset at Waikiki

Waikiki by night

surfing school and rental shop (Waikiki)

I got the chance to catch up with my favorite Jason and meet his family, including cutie Landon (here)

The Big Island

after 2 days in O'ahu, we boarded a puddle jumper to the island of Hawai'i (often called "the big island" to reduce confusion), where we spent the rest of our week. mom's days were spent on the golf course, and mine were spent exploring by land, sea, and air.

just about to touch-down on Hawai'i

the Kona airport looks more like a cabana than a TSA secured area

nothing much could beat the view from our hotel room

hotel grounds

the hapuna beach hotel by day...

hotel grounds

...and by night, dressed up for our luau

luau - hawaiian dance

luau - dancing with fire

luau - tahitian dance

Polulu & Kohala Mountain Road

view of Mauna Loa from the Kohala Mountain Road

Day 2 on Hawai'i:

After breakfast I took the Kohala Mountain Road north to the wet-side of the island, to the valley of Pololu (pahl-luh-LOO). The western side of the island (where we were staying) gets less than 10 inches of rain a year, because the trade winds that blow from the east dump all their moisture on the eastern slopes of the big volcanic mountains that bisect the island as they rise over the ridges. This is perfect for the resorts (on the lee/dry side) because it guarantees sunshine almost every day, and perfect for hikers because it keeps the other side of Hawai'i wild and "untamed".

On the short drive to the east side, the terrain changes drastically from dry desert to lush rain forest (the "wet" side gets over 300 inches of rain p/r year in some spots). The high country in between (2,500ft and higher) looks more like the wild west than Hawai'i, and is home to the US's largest privately-owned cattle ranch. This truly is a land of extremes. Flipping through the dial on the radio picks up ukulele tunes and Travis Tritt (aka kuntry music) side by side.

The road passes through the quaint town of Hawi (ha-VEE) and then abruptly dead ends at the top of Pololu Valley, a 2,500 foot vertical drop - almost - to the estuary and ocean below. Of course I hiked to the bottom - what a silly question to ask! A black sand beach and eden-like vistas awaited me at the bottom. A lot of sweat and triumph waited for me back at the top, which I managed to reach before running out of water or losing my dignity by stripping off too many layers of clothes (believe me, I pondered my options about 1/2 way up the "hill").

I capped off the adventure with a lovely pina kohala (like a pina colada, but 10x better) and some thai peanut tofu stirfry with locally-grown veggies in Hawi. Yes, please!

Pololu Valley - ancestral home of King Kamehameha the Great

Hawai'i's higher altitudes are serious cattle country

Pololu, from the top

the hike down: steeper than it looks

looking up Pololu from the place where it meets the sea

this quaint swing awaits the weary traveler who makes it to the bottom of the valley. it's quite comfortable.

this cutie hippie child found the sand the hard way

black sand

Pololu's black sand comes from the volcanic soil

ebony and ivory

to travis - this valley reminded me of you in so many ways

driftwood

rock stacking for my CA crew!

South Kona - Painted Church

a praying statue adorned with puka shells outside the painted church

the church's gardens boast of multicolored plumeria, radiant in the post-4pm-rain sunshine.

painted church

Days 3 & 4 in Hawai'i:

We explored Hawai'i's western coastline just south of Kona (or Kailua-Kona, if you're the postal service), including a national heritage site (Po'ohonua o Honaunau), a fantastic bay (Kealakekua), a lovely "painted church" adorned with the frescos of early missionaries, and a family-owned-and-operated coffee farm.

Kona's coastline is slightly wetter than the northern portion of the west Hawaiian coast, due to a longer coastal plain and shorter mountains that allow some rain to pass over and mist the lush green coffee and fruit tree plantations each day at precisely 4pm. (locals swear you can set your watch by the rain). The mountain air and mist is perfect for growing coffee (really expensive coffee!) and every flower under the sun.

South Kona - Po'ohonua o Honaunau

the view of the bay from the Ali'i's village, complete with guardian

Po'ohonua o Honaunau is formerly the Hawai'ian city of refuge. If you broke any law (kapu) in old Hawai'i, the punishment was always death. Death by strangulation, death by bludgeoning, death by fire,...but always death.

UNLESS, you were able to get to a spot like this one, before your enemies got to you. IF you were able to make it to the city of refuge (which is only accessible by sea, because the village chief - Ali'i - lived on the land-side, thus blocking your access), you had the chance to make your sacrifices/rituals, spend the night, and go home the next day a free man.

These sites: both the Ali'i's village and the city of refuge are now part of the National Park System, and are a great place to explore and get a better grip on ancient Hawai'an culture.