Here are the raw notes from our March 1998 trip to Hawai'i (the Big
Island), entered on a Newton on-site. We were on sabbatical and living
in Burnaby, B.C. (near Vancouver) at the time. Since these notes are
mostly to jog our memories (along with the prints and slides we took),
they are short on poetic detail and overlong on descriptions of each
meal and snack). Our kids were 5.5 (Arju) and 3 (Zuki).
We arrived in Hilo on schedule, about three, but our luggage did
not make the Honolulu connection. We put kids in the rented car
without car seats, and went to our hotel, the Hilo Hawaiian. It was on
Banyan Drive, on a small peninsula east of the town, and our room
overlooked Hilo Bay with a view of Mauna Kea.
We shopped for some basic supplies (breakfast bread, beer, coffee) &
lunch for the next day. The luggage was delivered around 6:30. Dinner
was at Miya's, an "authentic" Japanese place tucked away in an obscure
mall: N had teishoku with tempura, sashimi & charbroiled mackerel; I
had fried ahi; the kids had salmon teriyaki. Nice homey atmosphere.
Slept poorly, up very early (fiveish). I made Kona coffee using
the hotel room coffeemaker, and had it on the lanai (balcony) while
watching the sunrise turn Mauna Loa pink. Our room was five floors up
and less than a hundred feet from the water, with views of the open
ocean to the right and the downtown area to the left.
We made lunches of fish cake & bread (N & I) and peanut butter and
guava jam sandwiches for kids. Breakfast was picked up at the small
bakery outside the hotel (pineapple muffins & bread pudding). We left
for Volcanoes around 7:30. It was an easy trip to the southeast and
up; only the elevation markers told us we were climbing a mountain. In
about 45 minutes we entered the park and stopped at the Visitor
Center. It was cold; we all put on sweatshirts. We walked across the
road and out to Volcano House (the only hotel in the park) to catch
our first glimpse of the caldera, spreading out for miles and steaming
at several points. On the way back to the road we passed a steam vent
at close range.
We drove in a counterclockwise direction to Kilauea overlook - the
road and lot were deserted, it being too early for tourist traffic.
Around to Halema'uma'u Crater. In the parking lot there we all put on
hiking boots and sunscreen, walked out to the nearby crater overlook,
and then on perhaps half a mile to the most recent (1982) lava flow in
this area. The lava was very black and shiny, jagged and piled into
spatter cones along a ridge, and while anxious to take a picture with
her own camera, Z fell and scraped her legs & face. It took about half
an hour to hike back, through areas with smelly steam vents.
Next was Keanakako'i Crater, an older crater starting to be
revegetated, with a recent lava fissure accessible across the road. I
dropped the family at beginning of the Devastation Trail, drove to
Pu'u Puai (a car park near the hill formed by the 1959 Kilauea Iki
eruption), left the car & met them on the trail, which was about
twenty minutes of hiking through the skeletons of trees killed by that
eruption. At the end, I pointed out the view of Kilauea Iki crater,
which we'd hike in two days.
The Thurston Lava Tube was next; we walked through quickly (it was
really quite tame, like your average tourist-attraction cave). This
spot had the most people we were to see anywhere in the park. Then we
turned back and headed south, off the park ring road and down Chain of
Craters road. Had lunch at the beginning of Napau Crater trail, where
the road was cut by the 1974 flow, in a tiny bit of shade. We had
plans to hike the first part of this trail later, to Pu'u Huluhulu,
but eventually gave them up.
We drove further down the road, enjoying gorgeous views of the sea far
down the slope, over mixed fields of a'a (jagged lava) and paho'eho'e
(smoother ropy lava). The road came to an end abruptly, cut by the
1983 flow which still continues, and marked by a moveable trailer
visitor centre to replace the one that burned. We parked and hiked
about fifteen minutes out onto the paho'eho'e flow to see the steam
plumes where lava, flowing from the Pu'u O'o vent, was meeting the
ocean, about five miles off. We could see people setting off for a
closer look but even if the kids hadn't deterred us, the warning
posters would have.
Back to Hilo, and dinner at Sachi's Gourmet, a small homestyle
Japanese place downtown: the kids had shrimp tempura, N & I had
tempura & miso butterfish. Afterwards we walked around a bit, found a
nearly empty restored Art Deco building housing only a cinema and a
stall serving Tropical Dreams ice cream, which of course we tried. To
bed early.
Breakfast on the room lanai. Sunny day. We headed out to the
east, down 132 into the little-travelled Puna district. We stopped at
Lava Trees State Park, and took the marginally interesting twenty-min
walk through the stumpy shapes formed when hot lava met wet trees. No
bugs, at least; we'd been warned about them, and had repellent ready.
Further on, the highway became one-and-a-half lanes. We stopped
briefly at Isaac Hale Beach Park (no real beach) to watch the locals
surfing, but there wasn't much for us to do and we felt as though we
were intruding. We continued to end of road, parked the car below a
large paho'eho'e flow, and started up & over it. Twenty minutes'
scramble got us to a new black sand beach, with rocks down in the
pounding surf. A couple of 4WDs of locals parked nearby told us we
didn't take the most direct route. We sat amidst newly-planted coconut
palms & enjoyed the isolation, and views of the steam plume and (up
the slope) Pu'u O'o venting. This was our best view of the source of
the current lava flow.
The hike back to the car was quite hot. We drove up through Pahoa and
back to Hilo. Lunch was at Nori's Saimin, a boisterous local eatery:
kids had ahi burger, N & I split seaweed saimin & fried saimin (saimin
is just ramen noodles). This was the first time the kids had Spam (a
garnish on both saimin orders); after my using the term in vain for
five years, they didn't believe me when I told them what it was. The
food was not as good as the ambience.
Our room was being made up, so we walked through nearby Liluokalani
Gardens. They were a little sparse; one could tell there was a drought
on. Finally got Z to nap. A & I sat on the lanai, used binoculars for
a while, then took a walk to tiny Coconut Island, connected to the
hotel by a causeway.
When Z woke up, we all went to the hotel's legendary seafood buffet
for dinner. Best choices were marinated mahi-mahi (freshly sauteed)
and fresh pineapple. Everyone ate well. We walked out to the island
once again in the dark, then went to bed early.
Up very early, ate breakfast with Z on lanai while watching
the dawn - it was cloudy, no real sunrise. Packed lunch and we were
off to Volcanoes. The weather cleared some on the drive up.
We parked the car at Kilauea Iki overlook, sunscreened, and started
our hike into the crater. We had a gradual descent through ferns and
forest, then steeper stairs over rock until we reached the beginning
of the lava, about 450 feet down. It clouded over again as we left the
forest cover.
The first part of the crater floor hike was over and around great
piles of tephra and pumice thrown up by the 1959 eruption. Z had to go
slowly; a short way in, she forgot her toilet training and dumped in
her pants. It didn't look like anything decomposed in a hurry in that
terrain, so I had to bag it, pack it away, and go on. Once we were
past the vent, hidden by lava fragments, the ground settled down to
what looked like asphalt with mighty heaves and cracks in it. Steam
rose from vents very close and also some distance away. We passed a
handful of hikers going in the other direction, and were passed once
or twice by single males, but there was almost no one on the trail.
The kids munched on their sandwiches as we walked. The sun was
obscured, even the sky was cut off by the haze, and it all seemed
quite unearthly.
As we reached the far end of the crater floor, and another jumble of
rocks at the edge of the forest, a light mist began to fall and cooled
our ascent. We reached the Thurston Lava Tube parking lot 2 hrs 20
mins after we started. Z had not complained once about the nearly four
mile walk. The kids snacked on gummi bears while I made the short hike
to pick up our car.
We made a brief stop at the Jaggar Museum on the main ring road
(crowded, and not very informative) then headed back to Hilo. Since it
was just before lunch time, we stopped at KTA and bought some poke
(marinated seafood, raw marlin Korean-style and tako, or cooked
octopus) for lunch. We ate them on our hotel balcony, the kids as
enthusiastically as us.
In the afternoon, I did laundry in the coin machines in the basement
while Z napped and N played with A. We had a forgettable dinner at a
Chinese seafood restaurant in a nearby hotel.
After my customary coffee on the lanai, we got in the car
and headed north. It was overcast and periodically drizzling. We left
the main highway for a 4-mile scenic drive through dense tropical
forest which at times formed a tunnel of vegetation above the road. We
had hoped to pick up breakfast at Ishigo's General Store in Honomu,
but it seemed permanently closed, a victim of a fancier gallery/cafe
nearby. We pressed on to Akaka Falls State Park, and walked the
half-mile loop in the rain. The kids enjoyed spotting flowers and
dew-outlined spider webs.
Back on the road, brief stop at Laupahoehoe Point, wind and crashing
surf. Z was particularly taken with the story of the teachers and
schoolchildren that drowned in the tsunami of 1946.
We reached the attractive town of Honoka'a about 10:00 and finally
found breakfast at the Mamane St. Bakery: N & I had banana bread
topped with macadamia nuts and the kids had coconut & apple turnovers.
Waipi'o Valley was a few miles down the road. The drizzle cleared and
we had a good view of the mouth of the valley from the lookout, though
the main part (to the south) was shrouded in fog.
Retracing our path, we drove through Honoka'a and tried to take
another scenic route (the old Mamalahoa Highway) up to Waimea, but it
was closed due to construction about five miles in. We eventually made
it to Waimea just before lunch, and ate at Merriman's. We all had the
dinner-menu sampler plate: kalua pig & goat cheese quesadillas; corn,
shrimp & mac nut fritters; and fish marinated in coconut milk, lime
juice, and Maui onions. Very tasty.
After a short visit to a nice bookstore, we drove back to Hilo in the
pouring rain. Dinner was at Miyo's, a homestyle Japanese restaurant
overlooking Wailoa Park in the tsunami zone. The kids had sashimi &
sesame chicken while N & I had ahi nitsuke, tuna stewed with
shiitake, green beans, and tofu. The salad was much appreciated.
Overcast morning which cleared rapidly as we drove up to
Volcanoes. We headed down Chain of Craters Road to the Pu'u Loa
petroglyph trail. The coast was hazy (brush fires?) and the sun
periodically obscured by clouds. As with the floor of Kilauea Iki, the
trail over old pahoehoe was alternately marked by piles of rock and
visible as sand crushed by the feet of hikers. It took us about half
an hour to get to the boardwalk trail. Most of the petroglyphs were
circles, spirals, and holes, but a few figures were visible. we didn't
step off the boardwalk to look for the better figures the guidebooks
mentioned.
It was getting quite hot as we got back to the car, and we decided not
to hike to Pu'u Huluhulu. We drove "the long way" around the caldera,
and stopped at the totally overrun visitor center to buy the Kilauea
CD-ROM.
We attempted to visit the Panaewa Rainforest Zoo on the way back, but
gave up because of the heat, and took the kids to have shave ice at a
crackseed shop in Puainako Town Mall.
Since it was A's fifth-and-a-half birthday, we took the kids back to
Miwa and sat at the sushi bar. The sushi turned out to be excellent!
Fabulous abalone, giant clam, freshwater and sea eel, sea urchin,
sweet shrimp, salmon, tuna, yellowtail, and salmon skin hand rolls.
The kids chose their own, ate well, and behaved well; the sushi chef
raised his eyebrows at their orders pickled mackerel and salmon roe.
It was expensive (for example, two pieces of abalone nigiri were $11)
but well worth it.
Bad night: Z woke repeatedly with incomprehensible
complaints, and my throat was bad. We took our time over breakfast, as
this was our day to kick around Hilo. Our mood was redeemed by the
Farmer's Market downtown: huge bags of ginger for a dollar, papayas
three for a dollar, heaps of green soybeans still in their pods,
organic salad greens, lots of vegetables. I bought Arju a lei for $5
and the seller gave one to Zuki for free.
Just after nine we headed back to the zoo. N took the kids around
while I wrote travel notes. They took me back to see their favorites.
Back downtown to a nice used bookshop to stock up for A, who was going
through a chapter book every day. Lunch was just around the corner, at
Naung Mai Thai Kitchen - a tiny place where N & I had heaping plates
of mussuman curry, green curry vegetable, and vegetarian pad thai for
$6.
After lunch, we visited the Lyman Museum, which had a really good
exhibit of minerals and seashells, and some odds and ends from
Hawaiian history.
It was quite hot at this point. We took Z back to the hotel for her
nap, and I did another load of laundry, sitting in the basement area
open to the bay and doing travel notes. In the late afternoon, we
drove out to the east where Hilo's rather meagre beach parks are
located, not in search of sand, but in search of Hilo Homemade ice
cream. The store, unfortunately, was closed Wednesdays. Back to the
hotel, to walk about Coconut Island. Dinner was at Miyo's again; N & I
had superb broiled/sauteed mackerel, and the kids shared a large
serving of sashimi. We had our Hilo Homemade ice cream at a bakery
near Miya's (ginger for N&I, mango for Z, Kona coffee for A).
This was the day we moved out of Hilo. We were up early and
left the hotel before eight. All the luggage and groceries fit in the
car, to our relief. We stopped briefly at Rainbow Falls, then
continued on, through Volcanoes Park and along the immense southern
flank of Mauna Loa. The scraggly vegetation of the Ka'u Desert gave
way to macadamia nut plantations, though frequent punctuations of a'a
lava, barren for over a century, continued all the way around.
We stopped at Punalu'u, the only long-term black sand beach on the
island. We had the place pretty much to ourselves, and managed to spot
a sea turtle in the tide pools, struggling to make open water. The
kids, who had been agitating for a sandy beach since we arrived,
finally got to use their pails and shovels.
After a while, the morning sun started to heat up the sand, and the
tour buses started arriving. We headed out, stopping briefly in
Na'alehu (the southernmost town in the U.S.) for some nice
cinnamon-raisin mac nut bread we'd originally found at a Hilo grocery
store.
Approaching the Kona coast, the vegetation settled down to
semi-desert, and the road became windier and more prone to traffic
interruptions. We had lunch in Honalo at Teshima's, an unpretentious
Japanese place right on the highway. N&I had the lunch special of fish
and vegetable tempura and spare ribs; the kids shared an ahi burger.
We continued on to Keauhou, a small "community" (read: three hotels,
several condo complexes, and a shopping mall) and checked into our
hotel, the Keauhou Beach. We had expected something faded but
comfortable, with an obstructed view; to our surprise, the room was
even nicer than in Hilo, and we overlooked palm trees and pounding
surf.
We drove into Kona proper, perhaps five miles north past innumerable
condo complexes and strip malls, then up to Kmart to get cheap "reef
shoes" and to Snorkel Bob's to rent equipment. After Z's nap, we had
dinner at the hotel's Hawaiian buffet. Best: tako poke and kalua pig.
This morning we were trying to do something quite popular,
so we headed out first thing, forsaking the temptation of snorkelling
on the beach near the hotel. Breakfast stuff at the French Bakery in
the industrial zone of Kailua was pretty disappointing. We headed
north.
We drove along the coast highway, through vistas of bushy kiawe trees
punctuated by barren stretches of a'a lava speckled with tufts of
sparse dry yellow grasses and "decorated" with graffiti spelled out in
white rock: a bit more environmentally friendly, perhaps, but no less
annoying than the spray-painted kind. The ocean was some distance away
and below, and we could see surf crashing against the rocky shore.
We drove into the grounds of the Mauna Kea Beach Hotel and got permit
#1, won for us by a lawsuit forcing public access. The beach was
marred a bit by the hotel, but had lovely fine beige sand, coconut
palms, and two lines of submerged rocks at which large waves broke
before reaching shore. The surf was high enough, though, that we
couldn't snorkel, or even let go of the children in the water. They
still had a great time with the sand, and we took turns swimming.
Around eleven the shade had disappeared and we were getting quite hot.
We packed up, walked up the hill to the car, and drove north to
Kawaihae (a harbour with a few buildings nearby). Lunch was at Cafe
Pesto. Arju was intrigued by their having won an award for best kid's
menu in America 1 but in the end, as usual, she found the adult menu
more interesting. We had calzones stuffed with line-marinated fish,
and the kids split a sandwich with garlic shrimp, crab, mushrooms, and
cheese. They ate well enough that we let them order dessert; Z
insisted on ordering a creme brulee, and A had deep-dish apple pie
with Tahitian vanilla ice cream. The portions were huge, though, so we
got to help.
The heat did not deter us from driving to the Mauna Lani resort
complex and taking a hike to see the Puako petroglyphs. It was about a
twenty-minute walk (one way) winding through lava partly shaded by
short (ten-foot) kiawe trees, though these were mostly dry and had
wicked thorns. At the end was a large stretch of smooth rock with a
number of human figures scratched in (not many "bellybuttons", as Z
called them).
We needed a change of pale, so wc drove to the huge, sprawling Hilton
Waikoloa (formerly Hyatt Regency) to look at their multimillion-dollar
Asian-Pacific art collection, spread along an open-air (but shaded)
walkway for about a mile from the main lobby. As we walked, boats and
a mini-BART train passed us. This was Hawaii as theme park, hilarious
in its absurdity. We took the train back to the lobby.
We headed back along the coast highway and got caught in a traffic
jam just north of Kailua. I took a side road in and miraculously found
parking at the only free lot in the area. We treated ourselves at
Scandinavian Shave Ice and listened to the stories of the proprietor.
After a stop at Snorkel Bob's to get A a mask (nothing would fit Z),
it was back to the hotel. The open-air restaurant had "Polynesian"
entertainment (just a small band playing "Hawaiian" easy-listening
guitar music) and the kids were fascinated. I wandered back to the
back terrace overlooking the large tidepool and got a double bonus: a
sea turtle in the clear water below, and the elusive "green flash" of
a perfectly clear sunset, not so much a flash as a half-second of the
last of the sun turning bottle-green. N, who was fifty feet away
watching the kids, was not amused, especially as the conditions were
never right again. We may be the only tourists this year to leave
Hawai'i without a picture of a sunset.
It was Friday night and we didn't want to brave Kailua traffic again,
so we headed south to Captain Cook and ate at Billy Bob's Park & Pork:
big plates of BBQ chicken, pork ribs, and "shred pork" in a raucous
local atmosphere.
Both kids fell asleep on the drive back, so we sat up reading guidebooks.
Up early; had an abbreviated breakfast on the lanai and
headed downstairs to the beach (Kahalu'u). It was almost deserted. The
kids took to the salt-and-pepper coarse sand and the gentle surges of
water along the narrow channels between the rocks to the shore. N & I
took turns snorkelling. It was stunning.
In water no more than waist-deep, I spotted a dozen species in the
first five minutes. Needlefish, parrotfish, wrasses, butterfly fish,
tangs, pufferfish, grouper, triggerfish (the infamous humuhumu
nukunuku apua'a) and others I wasn't sure of. And the colours! Orange
and white; yellow and white; green and blue; grey with blue
iridescence; deep black with bright blue or yellow dorsal outlines;
striped, banded, spotted, speckled. It was like swimming through an
aquarium. Once I drifted through a school of large fish that parted to
swim on all sides; I tensed for ticklish impacts, but none occurred.
We agreed we had to try to show the children. I took Arju out a short
distance and had her hold her breath while wearing my mask; she liked
what she saw and wanted to get her own.
By about nine the kids were a little chilled, and people were starting
to arrive: splashing with their fins, standing on coral, chasing fish.
We went back to the room and cleaned up.
We drove a short distance south on the main highway and turned onto
the old coast road, which wound north at higher elevation. It seemed
we were back in the old Hawaii, or on the east coast again: lusher
vegetation, quaint shacks, small local garages. Only the occasional
upscale house reminded us where we were - that, and the views of the
developments down the hill.
We continued along the upper slope road, with good vistas of Kohala
Mountain in front of us, Hualalai to the right, Mauna Kea in between,
and the thin green fringe of the major resorts by the sea. Prickly
pear cacti started appearing among the lava outcrops. Z fell asleep
and A read continuously.
Through Waimea, and onto the Kohala Mountain road, planted with tall
windbreaks beyond which we glimpsed cattle grazing in fields. We wound
down the mountain; the terrain became greener, and we arrived in the
small arty town of Hawi. Some care had been taken with the
storefronts, which were rustic yet bright without looking forced.
Lunch was at the Bamboo; N & I had broiled mahimahi with salad greens,
and a side of Thai green papaya salad. The kids split a kalua pig
sandwich, though A found the lilikoi (passionfruit) barbecue sauce far
too sweet. Our salad dressing suffered similarly, a victim of the
"sugar as exotic" syndrome.
After lunch, we drove east to the end of the road, at the Poholu
Valley lookout with a fine view of cliffs, a black sand beach, and
dunes covered with dense vegetation. In the few miles since Hawi we
had moved out of the Kohala rainshadow and into rainforest.
Driving back through Kapa'au, Z spotted the King Kamehameha Statue for
the second time (recognizing it from one of the free "guides" we
picked up for them to draw on); while A read chapterbooks every second
she could while in the car, Z spent a lot of time looking out the
window.
We stopped again in Hawi for Tropical Dreams ice cream (Kona coffee
for us; caramel butterscotch for A and guava sorbet, the best choice,
for Z). While N took Z to a bathroom, A started reading a book on
revealed Buddhist prophecies.
A few miles west, we took a very narrow, rolling, rutted dirt road to
Mo'okini Heiau, a place of worship and human sacrifice commanding a
great view of both mountain and sea. The walls, built of lava blocks
without mortar, were better preserved than others we had seen. It
wasn't spooky as the guidebooks all said, but we could feel the
"mana". We were more spooked trying to negotiate the road out.
Back on the highway, we arrived at Lapahaki State Historical Park
within a half-hour of its closing, and decided to skip it and head
back. We drove into Kailua, found parking, and walked around the
reconstructed 'Ahu'ena Heiau (now part of the King Kamehameha Beach
Hotel, and the site of their weekly luaus) before having lunch at the
Ocean View Inn, a distinctly downscale restaurant with the best
location in town. Clearly, it predated the '70's developments.
We all had the same thing: broiled ono steak. The accompaniments were
forgettable, but the fish was great, like swordfish but moister.
N tried to see the sunset from here, but it couldn't be seen through
the shops, and as we followed her down the main drag it got more and
more touristed and horrible. I finally suggested that they wait in a
small seafront stretch while I walked back and got the car. But
driving back to where they were, let alone parking, was a major
ordeal. We finally all made it into the car and retreated.
We attempted, this night, to see manta rays from the bar terrace of
the Kona Surf resort, to the south of our hotel. We had to park far
out, and press through a large conference reception, only to find that
dive boats were hovering offshore stealing the rays, and the surf was
so high we couldn't see anything. So we skulked back to our hotel. As
usual, the guests arriving for the hotel restaurant's buffet made it
impossible to park, and we had to park across the street.
Up early and out snorkelling first thing in the morning. It
was colder and cloudier than before; the kids splashed into the water
and then shivered on the beach when they wanted to play in the sand. N
managed to see sea turtles twice, but I didn't. On the other hand, I
saw a wrasse with what appeared to be a spiny mouth. It turned out to
have a small sea urchin sticking out of its jaws; when I followed the
fish, it repeatedly spat the sea urchin out forcefully against rocks
and sucked it back in, presumably to tenderize it. Eventually the fish
swallowed it and continued looking for food.
A couldn't get the snorkel tube of the set we rented for her into her
mouth properly, and was quite frustrated at our attempts to fit her
mask carefully. In the end, I went out with her on my back, and she
dipped her mask into the water while holding her breath. It worked
well enough.
After a few turns each in the water, we called it a day, had hot
showers, and decided to treat ourselves to a hearty brunch. Brunch is
not normally our meal, but we're not normally out swimming before
seven. We drove south to Kealakekua and the Aloha Cafe. A insisted on
ordering the "Aloha Special", with scrambled eggs, sausage, a huge
pancake, a muffin, and a chunk of canteloupe. N & I had fresh fish
(ahi) with the usual brunch accompaniments, and Z was content with a
large mocha scone and nibbling off our plates.
After a leisurely meal on the side lanai of the cafe within sight of
the ocean, we continued to Pu'uhonua O Honaunau, or the Place of
Refuge. This had a reconstructed heiau and a large stone wall in a
very pleasant setting, with a small cove, lots of tidepools in
pahoehoe, and a walk through coconut palms. The natural surroundings
were more compelling than the few historical displays. Our books told
us this was one of the best places to snorkel on the coast;
unfortunately, the surf was high, and no one was in the water, not
even the locals.
After some time spotting fish and hermit crabs in the tidepools, we
headed back to the hotel. Z napped while A and I went down and did
laundry. Actually, I loaded the machine, and then we sat out on the
hotel's big ground floor lanai, at the edge of the shade, and watched
fish in the shallow water. Most of the fish were small catfish or
nondescript grey darting smelt, but we spotted a number of single
specimens of different varieties, including a triggerfish and a
blue-green wrasse that hung out for some time.
When the laundry was done we went up to the room. N and A suited up
and headed out to the beach again, while I tidied up and worked on
travel notes. When they returned, they reported that the beach and
water were quite crowded, the water was often cloudy and the fish
scared away by the antics of the tourists. N held the lifejacketed A
beside her in the water, which worked better. Despite the
less-than-ideal conditions, A was bubbling over with what she had
seen.
Z slept quite late, and we headed to Kailua to find a restaurant for
dinner. The first two we found were closed, which did not help our
mood, as we figured that the remainder would be packed. Finally, we
got in at Thai Rin, on the main drag a little south of centre. We
ordered a lot of food, which turned out to be a good idea, as the
kitchen was slow (as we left, people who arrived just after us were
still waiting). We had chicken satay, pad thai, green fish curry, and
a garlic seafood combo. The curry was a bit watered down but the other
dishes were fine, and everyone ate well.
More snorkelling first thing in the morning, of course. I
found and swam alone with a sea turtle for about ten minutes. There
were fewer colourful or large fish than on the first day. A came out
with me for a while; Z wanted to try, and I took her out and she put
her face under the water a few times, but had difficulty holding her
breath for long. She claimed to have seen fish, "a bunch, like a
class", and later pointed out the tang on our fish ID card, which is
what was swimming around us when she looked.
When more people started to arrive, we cleaned up and headed north in
the car. This was to be our last northern beach day. We drove into the
Waikoloa complex which contained the Hilton, but stopped before it at
the shopping arcade. Nearby, on the edge of a golf course, were some
surprisingly dense petroglyphs. Some, containing letters, were clearly
post-contact, though of some age nonetheless. It was March break in
Hawaii too, and we saw a daycamp group out on the short trail.
After that, it was time for lunch at Roy's Waikoloa Bar and Grill, in
the shopping complex. This was a rather upscale restaurant, but with a
limited and cheaper lunch menu. N & I had the fresh fish (bluenose
snapper), which came in an ingenious preparation with the fish on top,
greens just below, and rice on the bottom, a narrow tower with levels
delineated by fried wontons. The kids split a beef teriyaki sandwich.
Everything was quite well done.
'Anaeho'omalu Bay was just down a short road; we could almost have
walked there, but for the heat. We found a sheltered place under some
large leafy trees. This beach was walking distance from a couple of
large resort hotels, and a favourite of windsurfers, so it was
probably our closest approach to the archetypal Hawaiian beach
experience.
The kids had a great time, as the bay was sheltered by a reef and the
water was really calm. The snorkelling was not as good as at Kahalu'u,
but had its merits: the coral was more interesting, though not as
colourful as what we've seen in documentaries. I saw a fierce looking
eel hanging out of a rock with its mouth open; didn't get close enough
to identify the type. Also, another sea turtle. There were also a few
fish we hadn't seen before, though the ones we recognized were in much
smaller numbers, and clearly more skittish than the quasi-tame
Kahalu'u fish.
In the late afternoon, we packed up and headed home. Zuki fell asleep
on the drive back; we let her nap for a while, but got her up early
and put her in the shower screaming. She had quietened down by the
time we arrived at our restaurant for dinner.
A place called Oodles of Noodles in a shopping mall next to Safeway
might arouse suspicions, but this was the latest venture for Amy
Ferguson-Ota, one of the leaders in the Hawaiian nouvelle movement.
The meal was too ambitious, however; seared ahi casserole was skimpy
in its fish portion, and the "casserole" turned out to be orichiette
in a cream sauce, an incongruous partner. Fresh island fish in black
bean butter with fried noodles had the flavours right, but was far too
rich. For once, the kids had kids' noodles, though N insisted on an
add-on of grilled pork for her spaghetti.
We passed on the expensive desserts and went back to Scandinavian
Shave Ice for some more messy but delicious combinations.
N was feeling poorly this morning: too much sun, salt, and
cream and butter. I went out snorkelling alone, to finish off the
photos in the underwater camera. It was pretty good, still not as good
as our very first day, but I had some sunshine, found a turtle to
photograph, and went out to the very edge of the breakwater, where I
saw hundreds of zebra fish feeding on very shallow rocks, and
something larger and very fast zipping through chasing them from time
to time.
At one point I noticed N with the kids on the beach; they had gotten
restless in the hotel room. But the tide had left the sand hard and
unfriendly. I suggested we pick up some baked goods and go to a beach
just north of Kona, where there might be finer white sand.
We drove up to the main east-west road heading into Kona, and stopped
at a shopping mall to find a bakery called, unfortunately, Buns on the
Run. We got a selection of items and a cup of coffee for me, and
headed a bit further north, to just south of the airport. This was the
location of the National Energy Lab, and a small local recreation area
with a sand dune set behind higher rocks (against which the surf
periodically dashed spectacularly) to form shallow tidepools and a few
spots where the ocean surge snaked its way through to become a gentle
wash.
After the kids came to terms with eating on sand, they went at the
stuff with shovels and pails, while N and I relaxed in the shade of a
large tree. Then we walked over the rocks to watch the surf, and
joined what appeared to be a home daycare group in a small natural
pool.
N was too tired and ill to contemplate lunch out, and we had an
accumulated pile of leftovers in the hotel fridge. So, after dropping
off our rented gear at Snorkel Bob's, and stopping by the surprisingly
nice Middle Earth Bookshoppe (they have to do something about these
names) for a guide to reef fish, we dropped N off at the hotel and
went to a nearby KTA supermarket and also a specialty shop for a
surprise, for this was Z's third birthday.
I brought the kids back; N was asleep. We tiptoed out to the lanai and
had our meal. I had my last Kehuna beer, leftover pad thai, and ahi
shoyu poke I'd bought at the supermarket; the kids had leftover
noodles and barbecued chicken. Then we had some pineapple, and finally
Z's birthday pie, a Kona coffee macadamia nut pie bought at the
specialty shop (Mac Pie). A was not too impressed by this, but Z loved
it, and I thought it was quite well done, considering how many bad
pecan pies I've had.
Z went in to nap with N, and A and I did our laundry and fishgazing
routine. We fed the fish with stale bread. A woman pointed out a sea
cucumber; A spotted another one later on, which was pretty good,
because they look like rocks, and you can't see them move. I spotted a
flatfish only when the rocky bottom appeared to move, and we also saw
black crabs and a few colourful fish.
We had heard of a "free Polynesian revue" at the Kona Surf and thought
the kids might like it. It turned out to be on the same bar terrace
where we had attempted manta-ray watching. The kids got to sit near
the stage, while we stayed at a table farther back, which was fine
with me, as it was pretty cheesy. At least most of the "talent" were
kids and teenagers, and there were very few women in coconut-shell
bras. I worked on travel notes while nursing a beer, and at one point
we all wandered over to see the sunset, which was pretty but
green-flashless.
The show ended about 7:30, and we hastened up to Kona for our farewell
dinner, at Su's Thai Kitchen. Only it was full; they told us we needed
to come at 5. Where were we going to eat? I didn't want to repeat the
experience of being turned away, given how late it was getting. We
decided to try a place where, if there were no seats, we could at
least get quick takeout food.
While looking for a bookstore that morning, I had noticed a place
called Kona Mix Plate in the shopping mall near Buns In The Sun. We
went there; it was open; we got a table, and we were the only
non-locals in the place. I had a mix plate of butterfish and fish
teriyaki with mac salad and "two scoops rice": the kids split a
calamari steak dinner; N had the meal she'd been wishing for all
afternoon, saimin (noodles in soup). Everything was great and the
staff were really friendly. It was a perfect finale.
We drove to the hotel, put the kids to bed, and packed for departure.
We breakfasted on whatever was left. I got the car from
across the street and we loaded it up. We had some time to kill, so we
took the kids down to the main lanai for fish-feeding and
crab-spotting. Then we checked out, filled the car with gas, and drove
to Kona Mix Plate for our takeout lunch for the road. They opened at
ten, and we placed our order and told them what it was for.
At the airport, the check-in line was really slow, and by the time we
got to the gate, the flight was full. We were offered the next flight
out, which meant that I had time to buy the kids some cheap leis,
which they played with and fought over for the rest of the trip. We
got on the next flight, and started eating our lunch: Korean chicken,
chicken teriyaki, and spice pork, all with "three scoop rice" and no
salad. All the meat was grilled, nothing was greasy, and the flavours
were superb. The flight attendant asked if we had extra. The flight to
Honolulu wasn't long enough to finish everything, so we finished it
off in the airport. We started our five-hour flight home at two; we
were all sitting together, and the flight was uneventful; the kids
were exemplary. We got into Vancouver before ten, retrieved our car,
drove home, and put two sleeping children into their own beds.
12 March
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