Hi! Im Captain_Oblivious. You may remember me from trip reports such as
Operation Big Thunder and Delaware: So Close To Where Youd Rather Be. Its been a long, long time since I updated this report with a new chapter, but now that baby Drew is here, Im back at work and procrastinating just as well as I ever did before.
When I last left you, dear readers, we were gazing at the wonder of molten lava bubbling up from the earths core and lighting up the night sky. Naturally, anything that follows will most likely be a disappointment, including this chapter. Well try and muscle on through it anyway.
It was our last day on the Big Island. Breakfast was the first order of business, and we had no intention of visiting Stoney and the Totally Radical Bakery again. So we took a page out of fellow DISDad cj9200s
Hawaiian trip report (literally, its page 12) and went to
Island Lava Java for breakfast. They have some seating, but we got takeout since we were on the run. Wonder of wonders: not only did they list a cinnamon roll on the menu, but they were available for purchase! Even better, they were huge and delicious. And they went great with 100% Kona coffee. We were kicking ourselves for not coming here for breakfast on the previous morning. But then again, I wouldnt have had such a good story to share, since so many of you are apparently invested in our suffering.
Anyway, we headed back down the road south of Kona, pulling off on a side road that led us to Kealakekua (The Gods Pathway) Bay on the coast. This picturesque bay is the site where the great British explorer Captain James Cook first landed on the Hawaiian islands, becoming the first European visitor to set foot here. He was originally mistaken for a god by the natives, and thus the captain and his crew were treated extremely well and showered with gifts. However, as time passed, the natives started to grow frustrated that their visitor did not deliver the great blessings they thought would come with his arrival. Some Hawaiians stole a small boat from the crew, and the resulting dispute over the boat ended up with Captain Cook dead from a stab wound. The white memorial across the bay marks the site of his death.
From there, we took a narrow one-lane road (because we hadnt had enough of those yet) south to
Puuhonua O Honaunau (I just shredded my larynx) National Historical Park. We didnt have a lot of time to explore, but those National Park passport stamps dont just magically appear in your book, you know. Theres a $5 entry fee, or you can use your handy Tri-Park Pass, like the one wed acquired on Maui.
This site was known to the Hawaiian natives as a place of refuge. If you remember, their society held laws called kapu that were sacred. Some laws restricted the obvious crimes, like stealing from your neighbor or murder. Other laws were more obscure, such as not allowing your shadow to cross that of the king. In any case, breaking one of these laws brought a sentence of death, to be carried out immediately. And you thought your job was stressful.
If you were guilty of breaking a kapu, you had one chance: you could literally run for your life. You would have to head for this place of refuge, and if you made it before the rest of the village caught you, a priest on the site could absolve you of your sin, perform a purification rite, and allow you to go free until the next time you got too careless with your shadow placement.
The park itself is a beautiful piece of coastline.
They were holding some sort of festival that day, and we regretted we couldnt take the time to do some of the activities. I guess well just have to go back someday.
They had a few of these tiki figures around the park. As always, we were careful to maintain a respectful distance.
Except for Sarah. Honestly, I dont know where she gets this from.
Near the top of this picture, you can see a building near the water. This is a replica of a heiau that had been built on site by a Kona chief and used as a burial site for royalty.
A wall separated the royal compound from the actual place of refuge. No matter which side you were on, this was a sacred site to the Hawaiians.
Our next stop on the way back to Kona was the
Greenwell Coffee Farm. This is one of many coffee plantations in the area that offers free tours of their facility (and the chance to buy as much expensive coffee from their shop as youd like).
Youll never believe this, but the tour actually started from the gift shop, and we were given ample time to wait there before we actually got going. We did get to taste as much coffee as we wanted, so we had that going for us, which was nice. Unfortunately, we could only taste it black. Kona coffee is much less bitter than other coffees, so it wasnt that bad, but
ok, I admit it. I drink wussy coffee, sugared up as much as possible. Ive never understood how people can drink it black. Yech.
Anyway, the tour was actually pretty interesting. We learned that they have to pick every bean by hand. Its a delicate operation, because breaking one branch on a coffee plant will cause the entire plant to die. We also learned that the climate in Kona on the western slopes of Mauna Loa is perfect for the coffee plantwarm, not overly hot, just the right amount of rainfall, etc. They said they had a scare a couple of years back when the temperature dropped to a record low
of 64 degrees Fahrenheit.
Here are the large sheds where the beans are dried. They can slide the roof back to allow them to sit in the sun.
All in all, we were glad we took the tour. It was interesting enough to feel like you learned something about the coffee-growing business, and short enough that it didnt feel dry. And, of course, the price was right.
We needed lunch before we got on the next plane, and for us the choice was easy: we went back to the
Kona Brewing Company. This time, we went for the sandwiches. I got the Black Sand Porter BBQ chicken sandwich, which was pulled chicken breast with ham, peppers, onions, cheese and BBQ sauce. Julie got the Porterhouse Dip, which was roast beef (marinated in Black Sand Porter), onions and cheese. I have to say, she won this round. Her sandwich was fantastic; mine was decent. I also took the opportunity to have a glass of the
Black Sand Porter, since it was my last chance to do so. Good stuff.
From there, it was a stop at Costco to re-fill the gas (which was a bit of an adventure, since you couldnt see the Costco from the road) and then checking in at the airport. Our flight had a stop in Honolulu on the way to Kauai, where we had to change planes. When I printed out the boarding passes, we had a slight problem: we had no seat assignments on the second leg. I started measuring Scotty to see if he could fit in a suitcase, but Julie suggested I talk to the customer service rep instead. They told us they had us in the system, and it would be no problemwed get our assignment in Honolulu. Allrighty then.
We boarded the plane and I took a seat on the left side, figuring Id finally get a chance to get the glorious pictures of Diamond Head and Honolulu from the air that Id missed out on when we had first arrived. Meanwhile, the kids were taking turns having the window seat on our flights, and it was Daves turn on this one. Scotty would get the window on the second leg to Kauai.
It was only after we started our descent that I realized my side of the plane wasnt turning to face the island until after wed passed all of those sights. Sigh.
Anyway, I was able to spot Aulani from the plane, but didnt get a good picture of it. Heres the west side of the island. Aulani would be just beyond the edge of the picture to the left.
Pearl Harbor:
USS Arizona Memorial:
We got off the plane in Honolulu and headed to the customer service rep. He worked his magic on the computer for a few minutes and then printed us new boarding passeswe would all be in row 36.
When it was time to board, I once again headed for the left side of the plane. This time, Id be in position to see the city and Diamond Head as we took off, and would get my glorious aerial photography accomplished. We made our way to row 36
and discovered it was the very last row in the airplane.
No window. You might guess how Scotty felt about this development as well. To add insult to injury, the row was narrower than usual and we felt like we needed a can opener just to get into our seats.
Well, at least we got to Kauai. It was getting late in the day by the time we landed, got our rental car, and stopped at a
Walmart for some groceries. We had an hour (or so) drive to Princeville ahead of us, so Im sorry to say we punted on dinner and just stopped at a KFC in the town of Lihue. You can let me know if youd like a review of our meal there.
Wed rented a condo in The Cliffs in the town of Princeville on
vrbo.com for this stay, mostly because it was cheaper and gave us more room than the hotels on the island. It was dark when we arrived, but check-in went smoothly and the condo was really a nice place to stay.
Master bedroom:
Living area:
Upstairs loft for the kiddies:
Once we unpacked, we pretty much collapsed into bed. It had been a long couple of days, and that would influence our decisions over the next couple of days. And possibly cause some regrets.
Coming Up Next: Yet another new island! And us not doing a whole lot of anything!
I'm going to have to see if it's cheaper to bribe your SiL to go to Costco!
I appreciate it! Everybody is doing well so far.
