Emptyknitster

The perfect screen saver...

Each day was wonderful on Paradise. But all good things must come to an end.... Tidal Pool sunset, across from our house Observatory sunset... Hapuna sunset... Kona Coast sunset... Mauna Kea sunset... Kona sunset... If you lived this everyday what would you have to look forward to?

We were enjoying an open air market in Kona when Hubby heard another tourist talking about a "really great tour" he had taken to the lava fields. Hubby was unable to resist this adventure, there is something about the combination of fire, being a male and a fireman that got his blood flowing... First thing the next morning, we were on the road to the volcano. It's a beautiful drive, from the west side of the island - dry and full of beaches, up to Parker Ranch - lush and green, to the east side - rainforests and cooler.  We went to the summit of Kilauea and checked out the crater. The crater inside the larger crater of Kilauea We visited a park were you can see the devastation caused by earlier flows into the ocean. Owners of the land prior to the eruption are now just beginning to rebuild, although a home was lost last month because of the lava. The end of the road... A brave soul, with an ocean view and a "glow in the evening"... Then on to finding...

As far as animals were concerned, there were several firsts on our vacation. At the beginning of our stay we woke up to some very familiar bird sounds.... Knock, knock. Who's there? "Your friends - the turkeys, and it's a hella'va lot nicer here than in Montana!" Why did the turkey cross the road? To get to the beach, silly! We had never seen a manta ray at Hapuna Beach, so that was very exciting to be able to swim with one, and there was also a turtle at Hapuna which, although not a first, was still exciting. On other beaches we saw many pretty birds, turtles, sea cucumbers, sand crabs, whales, and just hanging loose were the geckos and mongooses.

One of the great things about this vacation was just relaxing on the beach reading. I packed Pillars of the Earth by Follett and lugged it on the plane across the country thinking that this one book would be my entire two week vacation read. I was off on my estimation and instead the book turned out to be only an eight day read. In hindsight quickly finishing a book shouldn't have been a surprise when reading is your only activity other than: 1) rolling over every 20 minutes to ensure an even tan 2) moving under the umbrella to avoid a burn  3) dangling your toes into the ocean If you like historical fiction, England, and books that span over many years of a medieval family's life, this read is a must. I was glad to have finished any book. I hadn't read a book since summer, but there were 6 more sand filled days to go before we flew home, hmmmm...    We were staying in a house that had a small bookshelf. While snooping, I hit pay dirt! At the time, I thought ...

Hubby is a very hard guy to buy a gift for but the gu rls outdid themselves! For his birthday, knowing we were going to make this trip to Hawaii, they bought him a tour to the Mauna Kea Observatory. Lucky me, it was a ticket for two!!  We meet our tour group at three o'clock in 83 degree heat. The tour guide was a geologist and while driving up the mountain he talked nonstop about the island. Great information! Until the drive up we didn't know that there a re two types of lava rock:     "...pahoehoe (pa-hoy-hoy) and a'a (ah ah). Pahoehoe lava comes out smooth and dense and can form large areas that resemble flat parking lots or smooth bumps. A'a, on the other hand, forms individual rocks anywhere from a few inches to many feet in size. The rocks are porous and very jagged. In general, pahoehoe is very easy to walk on and a'a is very difficult, if not nearly impossible, to walk on (at least without getting hurt)." Or this tidbit: "Mauna Kea...

 One of the first things we did upon arrival on the Big Island was to go to our favorite beach - Hapuna. I decided that I would get back to walking after spraining my ankle and hubby decided he would work at...relaxing! Sometime Monday afternoon we noticed that the south part of the beach was very quickly being cleared. Everyone was being told to leave and move further up the beach. Everything was very official even Hawaii 5-0 was there! Being very bold tourists Hubby went over to get the straight scoop and found out that a military ordnance had been discovered by one of the life guards.  Tuesday the entire beach was closed. We were sad but the closure forced us to seek out other beaches on the island. Although they are nice, Hupuna still remains our favorite and we were glad two thirds of the beach opened on Wednesday. Friday the military came in and “... exploded a World War II 16-inch unfused projectile that was found in the waters off Hapuna Beach on the Big Island...