The Sunny Side of the....Island! Kailua-Kona!

Heading along the southern edge of The Big Island from Volcanoes NP, we stop for breakfast at the Hana Hou Restaurant....the "Southern Most Restaurant in the U.S.A.  The pancakes and papaya are fantastic!

Great coffee...

Gonna miss this once we're back in the northern most territory!

Then it's a stop at the black sand beach we remember for turtles.  No one there....not a soul, nor a turtle!

Beautiful black sand beach at Puna'u lu'u

Well, "someone" is there!

Our drive takes us all the way into Kailua-Kona to meet up with an old Friday Harbor friend who happens to be visiting at the same time!  We have a great lunch, and then head up to Holualoa on the mountainside above Kona.  There we find our "Vacation Rental By Owner" coffee cottage.

Front steps to coffee cottage

Passion flowers!

Lime tree!!

Trumpet flowers!

Red flowers!

Yellow - Orange flowers!

Our eyes have a hard time taking in all the incredible colors and fragrances.  The flowers!  The limes....the avacodos...the gauvas....the papayas....the.....all of it!  Surrounded by beauty we settle into our cottage with ease.

Coffee beans....turning to coffee "cherry"....now.

This week is all about sunshine, warm water, not much for schedules and some far out thought that the best place to try a paddle board is somewhere in warm water.  We remember we've always wanted to get up to Mauna Kea and see what the mountain is all about...and then...what about the beaches...oh, and a swim with turtles?  A Friday Harbor friend gave us her sister's contact information and said....find her!

Picking fruit at Pamela and Yuan's farm.

We spend an afternoon with Pamela and Yuan at their house on the side of the hill by Kealakekua.  What gracious hosts!  It's fun to make an "island to island" connection.

New friends conected to old friends!

Pamela and Yuan gave us some great ideas about immersing ourselves in this side of The Big Island.  First we follow their advice and go looking for a special beach....Minini!

Here Steve finds a blue crab leg!  And the waves fill the shore and tidal pools reaching toward the water.

Never turn your back on the ocean!

Not like our crab legs at home!

We make some great meals in our coffee cottage by doing some grocery shopping for salad ingredients and then....fresh ahi to grill!

Prepared by Chefs Nan and Steve

Hard to beat this dinner!

We also follow insider information and head up to Mauna Kea for sunset and the star show.  This trip takes us back over the Saddle Road half way to Hilo and up to 9,000 feet at the Visitor's Center.  Yes, we brought our socks, down jackets, hats and gloves.  And we were thankful!

Just found sunset at the ridge!  Or cloud-set!

Freezing in the fog and cold air....but still in Hawaii.

The next morning we make sure to show up at the local Kona "kanakapili" which is Hawaiian for uke jam session!  This is a great group of folks who show up Thursday mornings to play ukes, calling out songs and flipping through their iPad to locate downloaded song sheets.  We sit down next to a woman who lived on Orcas Island most of her life!  Island to Island...that's how it goes.  She shares her music, her friends and an extra stool with us!

Strumming away in the back row

From Kona this day we travel back across the Saddle Road to revisit Hilo Guitar and Ukulele Store.  Ohhhhh....myyyy....

Ken at Hilo Guitar and Uke shows off this beautiful one with mother of pearl turtles!

How about the whale tale inlay on the top of this one?

No big purchases....yet...but lots of looking and playing.

Q. How many is too many ukuleles?  A. Just one more!

We wrap up the week with more beach trips.  One day we drive out the terrible terrible "road" to the beach at "the old airport runway."  It's fabulous!  And on the "A List" looms a paddle board lesson...and wait...we almost forget to swim with turtles!!  But...

Old Airport Beach

For paddle boarding we choose HYPR Surf and Paddle Board in Kona.  We find Ian to be an excellent teacher...with a video to point out some important points...and then land practice in paddling and, most important...how to stand up...with the motion of the ocean!

Instructor Ian gives Steve a lesson the the wall 

Ian teaches me how to stand from "table position"....

I'm not so sure about this...

You see how easy he makes it look?  I'm not totally buying the possibility of actually doing this in the water....and truthfully, my turn to practice standing up on land...with Ian shaking the board from behind (it's balanced on a rubber ball!!....you can't see that!)....was not a stellar preformance...but...

He's up!!! ...and going!

She's up...and paddling out to sea!

This sport (SUP) is a killer on the legs!  But what a way to get your core...and your legs...in shape.  I'd rather do this than sit ups.  I hear Ian shouting: "Nan, NAN...eyes up...look FORWARD NAN...the faster you go, the steadier you are....keep paddling"...and I begin my mantra....with shaking legs..."The faster you go, the steadier you'll be...the faster you go...." and it's true!

Awesome Instructor Ian....at HYPR Surf / Paddle in Kona.....this guy rocks!

Still...not to forget a swim with turtles.  The Honus have eluded us so far...no sign of turtles on beaches, or in the water.  Time is flying....it's Sunday.  Tomorrow we leave and after asking around we decide to snorkel the beach a little south in Kona.  There are lots of people on this weekend day.  There are fish...and there are....

Snorkel-er Nan

Snorkel-er Steve

We snorkel for about an hour finding amazing tropical fish, even in a beach area that's popular with swimmers / snorkelers.  So many many fish....

Hello Mr. Fish!!

Finally heading into shore and about to give up...Steve begins pointing and POINTING...at....YES! Honus!

Yo!  Mr. Turtle!

Underwater shot!  Just swimming by!

With a check off for "Swim with Turtles"....we head to Huggo's On the Rocks for our last night sunset happy hour.  It's a fabulous sunset....and a happy...hour...or two...

Mango Mango....yummy!

Loving the warm....perfect evening temperatures...and sunset!

A perfect goodbye to The Big Island....and I didn't even mention the Kona Coffee Fest with Saturday morning coffee tasting stroll in Holualoa....or the little Episcopal Church we visit in Kealakakua...or a wine tasting invitation from new friends, or a dinner and lunch with old friends...

Taste test #38??????

Christ Church Episcopal

Sitting in the Kona airport....we don't have the feeling this is our last trip to The Big Island...no, not at all.

Waiting in Honolulu to take us home.

SeaTac....after dark...way after.

Home to San Juan Island by the next day...we are greeted with a total communications breakdown.  No phones, land or cell...no internet...and an opportunity for the island spirit to pull everyone together and figure out how to make life work without technology.  Maybe it's time to head to Baja???

Sleeping on the Rim of a Volcano...

Kilauea glows fiercely in the night sky.

We leave Kalani on the south end of The Big Island at noon.  Driving to Volcanoes National Park takes only a little more than an hour.  We find our camping cabin after checking in at the  main lodge.

The inside is nice and cozy, great bed, fluffy cover and thick towels.  But...ahhhh....still have to trek across the path to the bathrooms.  However, for $60 a night, instead of $355 at the main lodge...well...what a deal!

Cozy bed inside!

Steve fixing the rum drinks at our table!

We make ourselves at home in Cabin #4.  Opening our duffel bags we realize all our clothes are "wet" from the 99% humidity near Hilo.  Almost made me want to "wring" things out...but instead we drapped them all over the inside of the cabin, hanging from each bed post.  The weather up here on top of the mountain was a relief with cooler evening temperatures.

The next day we spend exploring the different areas of Volcanoes NP....from the Thurston Lava Tube, to the rim of the volcano during the day and the rim of the volcano during the evening and in the night sky...to Chain of Craters Road, to the edge of the sea where the lava had taken over the road and flowed into the Pacific...all a remarkably bold statement of the power of the natural world.

End of the road....today.

Steve gets Park Ranger going on her uke!

At the Visitor's Center Steve finds a Park Ranger who has a uke on the counter.  He asks if she plays...and...so, we start a mini jam...well, only one uke really....but we all sing!  Hawai'i Aloha...a new favorite song.

Morning coffee in the main lodge watching the volcano!

Thurston Lava Tube

Volcano gases in the air early in the morning

It is said that returning your flower lei back to sea ensures a safe voyage back to Hawaii in the future.  Can't hurt to stack the deck...but now that we know better, first I separate the flowers from the chord that strings them together and take out the little bead inbetween each flower....then, into the breeze they go, landing far below on the Pacific Ocean.  I do this at the Sea Arch at the end of Chain of Craters Road.  This picture does not tell the whole story....it's almost 90 degrees and very humid.  I can barely stand the heat and head back to the air conditioned car!  

Volcano view at 6:30 p.m.... just after sunset

Volcano view at 6 p.m. sunset

We have one more night to sleep in our little cabin and get a good view of something we may never see again...the reflection of moten lava deep in the caldera glowing on the gases that escape into the air.  We are amazed at how quickly the view changes from nothing but "smoke" by day, to a real glow at sunset to a remarkable firey red with the dark night sky!  The road around the rim is mostly closed due to the dangerous gases emitted by smoking Kilauea...so we get our looks from the part that is open near the lodge and the Jaggar Museum.

Volcanoes National Park is incredibly diverse in landscape, flora and fauna and bird life.  In one day we spent time in the damp darkness of a lava tube, immersed in jungle forage on the rim, hiking a useless road to the place where the lava blocks it, thankful for the sea breeze in intense heat, watch lightning bolts in the evening sky through the steam rising from vents, notice birds as they soar high above the expanse of the crater and then see the small bright red birds flit from branch to branch.  

Here you find the power and wild-ness of nature  from the very small to the great and powerful awesomeness of something below the surface of Mother Earth....not visible, but with a sense there might be a great stage entrance at any time.  What a drama!  

A walk on lava....not easy.

Hope....springs...

On to the Kona side for some sunshine and perhaps a little less drama?!

Kalani Ukulele Retreat!!

 We arrive at Kalani Retreat Center on Monday afternoon after a fast trip across the new Saddle Road.  The road now is like a super highway cutting the time almost in half for travel between the Kona side and the Hilo side of The Big Island.

New black sand beach at Kapana....where lava cut off the road!

Warm, black....sand...

From the time we put our feet on the ground at Kalani we are immersed in Hawaiian colors and sounds!  The grounds here are dense jungle green and tropical.  The sound of coi qui frogs and ukuleles ...and a conch shell which blows to announce three fabulous meals a day surround us.

Steve on the path to the dining lani

Stopping to marvel at the flowers means leave early for lunch!

Typical menu.....fantastic food!

Breakfast...

We find lots of whole grain options, fresh fruits, huge salads with delicious dressing choices...all thoughtfully prepared.  Wow.  Healthy meals!

More flowers grace the paths everywhere at Kalani

Our room in "the treehouse" at Kalani

Take a look at those windows!  All screens, all the time.  Talk about feeling like you really are living in a tree house....without the mosquitos!

Right ouside our room!

This week is full of ukulele music workshops by fabulous instructors, evening concerts by local uke and guitar players, field trips for a "lava walk," planting coconut trees to reforest the land covered by the 1995 lava flow, a uke lesson at Hilo Guitar and Uke Store by a great Hawaiian instructor, a visit to Chuck Moore's uke building studio, and an evening at Uncle Roberts. (local roadside bar and music spot)  Did I mention time to jump in the incredible swimming pool?

Kalani pool....warm warm water!

Nan planting her coconut tree!

Oh yes, and we DID play ukuleles!!

Performance night

One of the workshops, at both uke retreats we've attended, has been "Band." Each instructor heads up a group of workshop participants and together a short group performance is created....and yes, preformed...the last night.  We're not in this photo....I guess we were too busy thinking about our moments on stage to remember to get photos!

It was a great six days of music, new friends, lots of ukes, lots of new concepts....surrounded by the sounds and sights of Hawai'i.

Now, on to Volcanoes National Park....and our camping cabin!?