Freebies

The word, “freebies”, has a cheap sort of connotation. We didn’t think of it quite that way. Rather it was more like experiencing a taste of what the area had to offer. We started of the day with a very informative guided walk through the Rain Forest. For just over an hour, our guide, J J was a pleasant mixture of gabby and chatty and seemed to know a lot about more than just the native flora. The Nialahue Center continues to reclaim several acres from the onslaught of invasive species being introduced and in turn gives visitors a glimpse of what Paradise was like before we began introducing our “ornamentals”. Every third Thursday a group of volunteers wanders through their little parcel of heaven to rip out what doesn’t belong. Then it was off to the Volcano Winery to sample six of the local varieties which included a Macadamia Honey wine which was tasty enough to convince us that we just had to have a couple bottles along with a couple more of their Symphony Mele ( which means Merry in Hawaiian). The sampling gave us quite a buzz on an empty stomach so the next stop was to the Hilo Coffee Mill where they treated us to samples of three different roasts along with a very informative narration about the growth, harvest and care of the “cherries” from tree to the grind. We watched as a freshly roasted batch of beans came out of the oven into the cooling pan. What an aroma filled the place. Our hostess felt the smell was similar to a burnt batch of cookies and I could almost understand why. The beans are at just over 400 degrees when they are dumped onto a room temperature stainless steel tray and stirred ( not shaken ) for five minutes. The snap and crackle could be heard way across the room. Having learned much about our morning brew, we then headed off to the Pana’ewa Rain Forest Zoo. Sadly, the zoo and it’s exhibits had seen better days so we didn’t stay long. I’m glad we didn’t pay to be this disappointed. The bright spot of the place was a mature Peacock which we spotted as we were leaving.

At The End Of The Rainbow

Yesterday was many hours and few miles with lots of stops for photos. Today was just the opposite, long miles and fewer hours. We drove to several more black sand beaches and worked our way back up the coast towards Chain of Craters Road in Volcano National Park. Kilauea sits on the side of Mauna Loa and has been the source of most of the eruptions over the past two hundred years. The Chain of Craters Road is shorter now by eight miles thanks to the Pu’U O’o vent that has been erupting in some manor since January of 1983, making it the longest continuous volcanic event in history. It had been active just a few weeks before we arrived. There’s a beautiful rock formation created by the pounding waves called the Holei Sea Arch which also happens to signal the current end of the road. We walked the last ¾ mile under warning signs placed by the park to assure people they were about to put themselves in harm’s way. There’s no end to the dangers in this area. Earthquakes can occur and open gaping chasms in the cooled lava, vents could erupt at your feet spewing noxious fumes, tephra or even lava into the air, a sudden belch of ash would turn day into night and there is even danger in the hike itself. People going that extra distance are warned to have proper footwear, plenty of water, long pants and even flash lights. No one paid any attention to those warnings, including us. At the end of the trail, we saw only the destruction that had gone before, no sign of oozing lava or even steam as it entered the ocean. It was, however, worth the trip to walk over newly formed ground and look out over the newest parts of Hawaii. As we began to drive back out of the area, it began to mist and we were treated to a 270 degree rainbow.

A Land In Distress

We chose this day to stay in and around Hilo, an easy day I thought. So, we visited and hiked into three of the local waterfalls; Rainbow, Wai’ale and Pe’e Pe’e . It was 11 in the morning and already the temperature climbing out over the black pahoehoe lava was incredible. I had misjudged the amount of energy I was putting out as well. Eventually after pushing a lot of water and having an early lunch, I felt refreshed enough to continue to the area called Puna where there are lava trees, gigantic monkey pod trees and miles on single lane roads that twist and turn their way through a variety of scenery. Along the coastline there are naturally heated pools where superheated water from the earth’s crust has mingled with the ocean sea water. The water temperature ranges from 91-95 degrees depending on the tide. Since Carl does all the driving, we took a few minutes to let him soak his tired muscles. The road finally ended, cut off by a lava flow from the eruption of 1990. We walked a ¼ mile, across a vast area of pahoehoe, silvery, black, glasslike lava that flows similar to a thick cake batter, to find a new black sand beach called Kaimu. Locals have been bringing cocoanut trees to repair and rebuild the area into some semblance of what it used to be. The old beach, Kahena, and the town of Kalapana now sit under anywhere from 8 to 75 feet of solid volcanic rock. In the distance we could see a green metal roof now at ground level. Back at the parking area we noticed the Hawaiian state flag fluttering in the stiff wind, upside down. This is apparently someone’s attempt at humor as if to say the state is in need of help. Madame Pele takes what she wants.

General Update

It was just as crazy as I thought it would be. Our bags had arrived in Lihue, as they should have, on Friday evening. We arrived Saturday morning to find out there was no one in the American Airlines Baggage Area and they wouldn’t be until sometime that night. We picked up our rental car, grabbed some groceries and headed to the Lawaii Beach Resort which was to be our home for the next week. It’s a beautiful resort across from an equally beautiful sandy beach. It’s a favorite of the snorkel crowd as well as a hangout for local surfers. From our lanai we get to watch all of the action only a couple hundred feet away. After waiting all day Saturday and Sunday, we realized no one was going to bring us those bags so we headed back to the airport only to find there had been some minor damage to the bags. AA says they’re not responsible even though the bags were in there care the entire time. It’s the job of Hawaiian Airlines to compensate us for the damage even though we only flew with them from Honolulu to Lihue and they never handled our bags. So remember, when traveling with two or more airlines, it’s always your arrival carrier that is responsible. This is an FAA regulation which isn’t fair but what can I do. After two days of waiting for the bags, I was able to do laundry and we had two more days of waiting until the package arrived with my new camera. We charged up the battery and then drove up the street to the Botanical Garden to practice. The photo is of the fragrant plumeria also known as frangiapani which is used in traditional Hawaiian lei making.

I Don't Sleep On Planes

Leaving Seattle, we flew between Mt. Rainier and Mt St Helens. It was the best visibility of the whole trip and I can finally appreciate how really high Rainier is. We were climbing through 15,000 feet when the co-pilot came over the intercom to draw our attention to the massive snow capped peak. We’ll save some time on our next trip to get up close and personal with more of this natural beauty. That trip, only in the talking stages, already sounds like another full agenda. Our itinerary for Friday was to travel from Seattle to Dallas to Los Angeles to Lihue. Yes, I know, that’s not a direct route. We were at the Los Angeles Airport about to embark upon the third and final leg of our trip to Lihue, Kauai when the lady at the counter made an announcement about being way oversold and they needed volunteers to give up their seats. We’ve done this in the past. It’s called a bump. The airlines takes your seats, puts you on the next flight to your destination and gives you some sort of compensation. Here’s what we got: They put us on the next flight to Honolulu which was leaving in five minutes, gave us an $800 travel credit good for a year, put us up in a hotel in Honolulu for the night, gave us a $20 dinner credit, a $10 breakfast credit and booked us on a plane to Lihue for early the next morning. So, here I sit, very early on Saturday morning in the Honolulu airport waiting for our flight to Lihue. We haven’t had more than a few hours sleep over the past 24, traveled thousands of miles crammed into a space smaller than a phone booth and we’ve been eating airport food . It’s hard to say which has bothered me more but I keep telling myself the perks were worth it. Carl has found a used newspaper to browse while I tap out the keys to keep everyone updated. When we finally arrive in Lihue, there are issues still facing us. Where is our luggage and will our rental car still be available? I have to say that it’s much easier to find a place that you only visit every other year during daylight hours.

Flown Coup

We hit the pavement one last time to find those elusive eagles. It didn’t happen but it certainly wasn’t for lack of trying on our hosts’ part. We did see a couple way off in the distance perched on a rock during low tide or riding the air currents high over our head. I’ll just have to return in January for the first of the salmon runs on the nearby rivers. Then we headed to an area called Whatcum Falls, a nearby park and green space, in the middle of town. There is a lovely stone bridge over the creek which drains the Whatcum Lake reservoir. Sadly, at the end of our week’s stay in Bellingham, we had two minor casualties, my camera and my husband both were injured during a fall into Whatcum Creek. My new Nikon D200 has been ordered from my local photography shop back home. The staff at the Foto Factory are great and will be shipping it to me from more than 3,000 miles away. I’ll have that new camera in a day or two but my husbands’ shin and knee will take a week or more to heal.

Invisible Peaks

The northwest portion of Washington boasts some impressive mountains, Rainier, Hood, St Helens, Adams, Baker, most of them volcanic. My dad kept telling us that we should be seeing these snow capped peaks during the first few days of our trip but the weather and low ceilings kept them hidden. Tuesday evening we got our first real look at Rainier, all 14,000 plus feet of it. We were more than 60 miles away and still it dominated the skyline. This morning, however, was a time to enjoy the beauty of the Hood Canal and Walker Mountain. The Hood Canal is not really a canal because it is closed at one end. Still, it’s narrow enough so that you can enjoy the beauty of both shorelines in many places. A low fog bank helped to increase the early morning “moody” atmosphere for my camera. After leaving the canal, Adena transformed the car into a billy goat and we climbed up the narrow and steep four mile road to the overlook on Walker Mountain. From there we had a great view of Rainier to the south and Baker and Shuksan to the north. We arrived back in Bellingham just in time to visit the local microbrewery to sample the good stuff. Then it was back to my dad’s house to do some laundry and start packing. Thursday is a get away day for us.