Hawaii, The Big Island, February 10-25, 2020

The trouble with spending a couple weeks in Paradise is that you have to go through a couple of days of hell to get there and back.

We flew from Minneapolis to Los Angeles, and then from Los Angeles to Kona, Hawaii on Monday, February 10th. We arrived in Kona about 9 o'clock and we got our rental vehicle, a black Chevy Malibu Hybrid, and headed to our condo. 9:00 PM in Hawaii is 1:00 AM in Minnesota.

Tuesday, February 11, we woke up about 4:00 AM, which was 8:00 AM Minnesota time. We had breakfast and found a Walmart to get groceries, etc. From there we went down to the ocean just below where we were staying.

We drove south along the Kona Coast to see Puuhonua O Honaunan National Historical Park, which is the “city of refuge”. We walked the trail and we saw a green sea turtle sunning itself. We walked along the Heiau on the black lava.

We had brunch, and then headed back to the condo to rest. We ate at Jackie Rey’s Grill, and then watched the waves and the setting sun below the condo.

Wednesday, February 12, we woke up early again, about 4:30 AM. We had fresh papaya for breakfast, and we headed out to mail the valentines to the grandkids.

We went to the Kalako Honokohau National Historic Park and walked the 2-mile hike around the ruins and fishpond with very high walls. It covered a very large area along the ocean.

We went on the petroglyph boardwalk also. The weather was 82°, and sunny. This was quite a contrast to the below zero weather they were having in Minnesota. The trail led down to the ocean.

Lunch was at Maggie’s Beach Grill, then a stop at a Farmer’s Market. Saw some bright yellow finches. Supper was at the Royal Thai - great pineapple stir fry and shrimp & scallops. We watched a beautiful sunset close to our condo.

Thursday, February 13 we walked the trail at the Old Airport Park. There were many lovely native plants, lots of feral cats, and mongooses that darted away into hiding. At the beach there we picked up some pieces of coral.

Next we headed up the mountain on Kaloko Drive for a tour of Thunder Mountain Coffee Plantation. It was very interesting - coffee is the fruit of the plant. Each red berry has 1-2 nuts that are separated in many steps to get the best tasting coffee. We bought a cup and some coffee beans. At the end of the same road (just over 5,000 feet in the “Cloud Forest”) we saw a view of Kona and the ocean below. There were beautiful flowers and rain forest trees and ferns.

Coming down we tried to find a restaurant and ended up on a narrow two-way one lane road — luckily no one came the other way! We ended up eating at Big Island Grill in downtown Kona. A historic church nearby was being renovated and wasn’t open.

Our B&B was a condo in a large complex that fronted the ocean. During our stay we had several gecko visitors, one only a couple of inches long.

Friday, February 14 was a travel day from Kona to Hawi in the north. We stopped at Ahaehoomaluo Beach and saw a sea turtle and took a path around the ancient fishponds. We ate at Waimea in a small cafe, got groceries, and saw a museum of Hawaiian cowboys. We took the “over the mountain” road to Hawi — lots of hills and valleys and one lane bridges. We drove to the Pololu Valley Lookout — it was very crowded.

After settling in at the B& B, we ate at the Bamboo Restaurant. The food was great and there was a wonderful Hawaiian guitar player & singer. It was a nice way to celebrate Valentine’s Day.

Saturday, February 15 we had breakfast at the B&B, then went to the Pololu Valley Lookout - there was only one other car and an amazing view! On the way back, we drove down a very narrow road to the Keokea Beach Co. Park. There was great wave action against the black rocks with high cliffs around it. A flock of wild chickens wanted some food.

On the way back we stopped at the King Kamahamaha statue, shopped at the Farmer’s Market, and went down the coast to see the Lapakahi State Historic Site. We walked both sections of the trail through the ruins of a native Hawaiian village. It was on a lovely spot right on the ocean. and ate supper at Kings View Cafe in Kapaau - very informal. Hawi was very busy during lunch and supper - lots of activity and traffic.

Sunday, February 16 we woke up to rain. We headed down the West Coast Hwy and across through Waimea to the east coast, down through Hilo to see Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. The rain stopped, but it was very windy.

The visitor center at 10 am was very crowded, so we grabbed a map and headed down the Chain of Craters Road. We stopped and walked part of the trail at the Kilauea Iki Overlook. It is an immense crater. The 1959 eruption spewed lava as high as the Empire State Building! We stopped twice to see the lava field and a view of the far southern coast.

At the Alanii Kahiko view we could see the “new” land created by the flows.

At the end of the road, we walked out near the sea arch and saw the high black lava cliffs created by the flows from 1983-2018. The ocean waves splashed high up on them. We ate very good pizza at a restaurant in the town of Volcano.

We stopped in Waimea for groceries and took the coast road back to Hawi. We stopped at Kapaa Beach Co Park and looked for whales. It’s a very pretty spot. We had supper at Sushi Rock / Trio in Hawi — a wonderful meal of chicken and Hawaiian Brown Rice with Macadamia Nuts and Pineapple!

Monday, February 17 There was heavy sounding rain during the night with wind. This area is in the path of the Trade Winds. After breakfast we headed down to Puukohola Heiau National Historic Site. The Heiau was built by King Kumahamaha to mark the end of the warring with other chieftains and the unification of all of Hawaii. (About the time of George Washington.). We walked the trail after watching a very good movie about the King and that time period.

We sat for a while at Spencer Beach Park right next door. On the way back we stopped at Kapaa Beach Park and saw whales spouting and one humpback breached!

For lunch we went to Kapaa village and at the Pomaikai Cafe — a delicious icy of Mango and an Asian chicken salad and a club sandwich. We read out on the lanai -we’d been pretty busy, so we needed a lazy afternoon. We ate supper at the Sushi Rock Cafe. Roger had swordfish, beautifully presented.

Tuesday, February 18 we again had rain during the night. We headed out early to the east coast north of Honoka to take the shuttle ride down into the Waipio Valley (the Valley of Kings). The van had four benches and no windows. The road down was very steep and bumpy. The Valley walls are over 2,000’ high. Our guide was a native of the valley. He showed us various plants and had us taste the nectar from a flower.

He drove right through the rapidly flowing rivers and irrigation ditches as there are no bridges in the valley. We got to go back in farther as he still has relatives that live there. There was one large waterfall 2,000’ high and several thinner ones. We also saw fields of taro. A wild mare & her colt came to the bus for his alfalfa packets. After a steep ride up the same road we purchased a wooden turtle key ring at the store.

Wednesday, February 19 It was very windy with high wind warnings and a stormy looking sky. We waited for it to clear and went south to see the Puoko Petroglyph Park near the Mauna Lani Resort. We walked about a mile out to them through thick scrub woods with lava rocks — you had to watch both your feet and your head (for overhead branches.). The site is a large lava face that is filled with a lot of petroglyphs — mainly of people. We went down to Holohdokai Beach — lots of lava & rocks. We saw 2 or more whales spouting not far from a boat.

At Hapuna Beach we walked along the shore a little and enjoyed the view. It is a beautiful white sand beach with picnic tables, etc.

We picked up some groceries in Waimea and ate at Merriman’s (voted the best restaurant on the island.). It has an interesting menu — great Ahi and prawns.

Roger spotted a whale breaching on the way to the B&B, so we stopped at a couple of beaches, but the waves were so choppy we didn’t see any signs of whales.

Thursday, February 20 was our last day in Hawi. We went to the Hawaii Wildlife Center nearby and saw some photos and videos of the birds they care for there. At KeaKea Beach Park there was a beautiful view with high surf. Next we checked out King Kamehameha Park. There was no beach - lots of sports facilities and a golf course.

We then went down a “beach access” on a very long, bad road and ended up with just a view from a cliff top at the end.

After lunch we went down to Spencer Beach and waded a bit. There was a lot of wind. We saw a couple of whale spouts. We stopped back at Kapaa beach but saw no sign of whales. There were four fire trucks and an ambulance just off the coastal highway, and then a helicopter flew up the coast. We have no idea what happened. We ate an excellent supper at Bamboo. We packed to head to Hilo tomorrow.

Our B&B in Hawi was a workshop that had been rebuilt as a living space. The shower was out on the lanai. It was completely enclosed but was unique. We had a couple of gecko visitors. The most unusual gecko we saw was on a step in Hawi. We both thought it was a toy one until Joan bent down to touch it and it run away. It has light colored with bright blue, orange, and other colors on its back.

Friday, February 21 it was rainy and windy as we organized, cleaned, and finished packing up. We headed down the Kahela Mt road and were almost hit by a big truck at the bottom. We went through Waimea, then to the coast and up to the Waipo Valley Lookout. We were the only ones there! The skies had cleared and there was an amazing view of the black sand beach and the 2,000’ cliffs.

We went south to see the Kalope Rainforest. We hiked on a narrow trail under giant trees and ferns for over an hour — it was beautiful! We saw a huge clump of beautiful orchids just off the trail. The GPS took us there on rough and narrow roads — quite an adventure in itself!

Next we stopped to see the amazing waves at Laupaheohoe Beach Park on the east coast. In 1946 it was the scene of a tidal wave with many lives lost.

We got to our new place close to Keaau and settled in. It was a two-bedroom house with nice furnishings located in a quiet neighborhood about 4 miles off the main highway and about 6 miles south of Hilo. The only disadvantage was having to drive quite a way to find a restaurant.

Saturday, February 22 we went north to Akaka Falls Park and walked the long part of the loop trail to the falls and back because they were working on the short part of the trail. There were lots of stairs! The falls was awesome — 442’ straight down into a pool. It was totally surrounded by rainforest. We heard birds and frogs and saw birds and a lizard. There is a fish and a crayfish species that climb up the falls to lay their eggs.

Next we went on the scenic road to see the Hawaii Tropical Garden and Onomea Falls. We walked nearly the whole garden. There were orchids everywhere and lots of beautiful flowers, interesting plants, and sea views! The falls are a tier falls in a river. It is a beautiful place!

We ate at a small cafe with outdoor seating a mile north of the garden. The tuna salad sandwich and turkey wrap both had lots of bean sprouts and were very good. A tiny green gecko about 3” long joined us.

We had supper at the Dimple Cheek Cafe. It was a Thai restaurant. Many of the restaurants, when you get out of the large urban areas, have a distinctly local flavor. Most meals were with rice and a stir fried vegetable, some with Thai, or Japanese, or Hawaiian spicing.

Sunday, February 23 after breakfast we drove to the end of Beach Road. The sign there said it was the beginning of a two-mile trail down to a remote beach. We decided to pass. We drove into Hilo and walked a little in the Liluokaiani Japanese Gardens. It was a lovely landscaped area on the shores of Hilo Bay. Very picturesque!

We drove up to Rainbow Falls and walked up to the top viewpoint — you could see a rainbow in the mist of the falls from there. At the bottom the whole falls was shown, but there was no rainbow.

The next stop was Panoewa Rainforest Zoo and Gardens in the hills above Hilo. We were greeted by peacocks and wild chickens. There were lots of rainforest animals, including two tigers, and beautiful flowering plants.

We ate at an oriental restaurant and headed back to start organizing to pack.

Monday, February 24 was our last day. We packed up and headed down to Lava Tree State Park where we walked the trail through the lava covered tree trunks. The area was covered with vegetation and had areas with fissures that were fenced off.

We then went back to Volcano National Park and walked the Crater Rim Trail. There was a lot of steam coming from vents all along the trail. Some of the vents were very deep. There was no lava in the crater, but there were a few steaming vents. The crater was huge!

We went to a golf course to eat lunch and found it had been burned in a fire and was closed.

Next we stopped at Punaluu Black Sand Beach Park. It is a beautiful spot with sparkling black sand, black lava rocks, tide pools and a swimming area. We saw a green sea turtle resting on the beach.

To get to Kealakekus Bay State Historic Park we ended up driving through a long road that went through a residential area. The park had a beautiful ocean view, a big Heiko structure and a rocky beach area.

Out last stop was at the Old Airport Park where we walked the trail.

One thing I have to mention are geckoes. They are ubiquitous all over the islands, urban and rural places. They are inside the places we stayed and outside in even larger numbers. They often blend in, so you don’t even see them. While we are fine with the little guys, I am guessing there is a good share of visitors who are a bit more wary. They are harmless, and do eat bugs. This guy was about three inches long.

We then headed to the airport and found our gate wasn’t open, so we sat outside until it opened. We ate in the airport and waited for our 10 pm flight. The flight to LAX was a rough one. Joan had a last-minute seat change to the last row of seats, because the bottom part of her assigned seat was missing. During the night, the flight crew in the back of the plane was very loud as well. We arrived at LAX with no time to eat before our flight to MSP. That flight was much smoother. It was a very long day!!