Hawaii, June 2004 – BillzPage

The three of us packed off on a trip to Hawaii: a full week on the Big Island in a condo at the Mauna Lani resort where Barb and I stayed in 1993. This was Allie’s first trip to Hawaii. We were eager to show her the best of our favorite island in the world…other than Hong Kong.

June 13

We flew more or less directly to the Big Island, most likely from Dulles Airport via San Francisco to Kona, most likely on lots of United points from the good old days. We rented a car and went directly to our condo at Mauna Lani Point, virtually the same unit on the 15th hole where Barb and I stayed before.

June 14

We took a drive to the end of the road on the north side of Hawaii. I don’t think I’d ever been quite that far before.

The view overlooking the Pololu Valley and Beach was quite spectacular. Allie and I hiked down to the black sand beach while Barb stayed up top and protected the car and her knees.

We drove back along the Kohala Mountain Road, Route 250. It offers stunning views over the whole Kohala Coast, the northwest side of the island. It’s also a great lesson in microclimates as you climb from coastline to over one thousand feet. The trees and vegetation are beautiful and change quickly as you ascend from wet to dry territory.

The Kohala Coast. Mauna Lani is down there in the middle of the coast.

June 15

This was volcano day. We circumnavigated the island, starting east through Waimea and down the east coast toward Hilo.

Along the way, we stopped at Akaka Falls, taking the short hike (this time Barb came!) from the car to the falls. The falls were quite spectacular.

We stopped in Hilo for a bite to eat then headed on toward Volcanoes National Park, stopping first at the Visitors Center then taking in the view of the Kilauea crater. We made stops so Allie could check out the steam vents (stinky!) and walked through a lava tube.

We learned there was active lava flowing into the sea at the end of the Chain of Craters Road, so we headed down the mountain a number of miles to the literal end of the road. We found a spot to park and set out on foot over the fresh lava. You could easily see (and feel the heat from) areas of fresh lava slowly flowing.

We were able to see where lava was hitting the ocean. The lava was flowing slowly enough that it was not explosive or especially dangerous when it hit the ocean. It was remarkable to stay there awhile and actually see the island growing. New land being formed before your eyes.

It was a hot little hike, but remarkable

We stayed as long as we felt we could, but we still had miles to go before getting home. We hiked back to the car and got back on the road. The south and west parts of the island were not so spectacular, or at least not so visibly from the road. Eventually we came the Pu’uhonua o Honaunau National Historical Park, a sacred place of refuge for native Hawaiians. We wandered the nearly empty site, quietly and respectfully admiring the ancient structures and the culture that built them. After a while, Allie found a deserted stage and treated us to a version of her Hawaiian Rollercoaster Ride dance. I hope the ancestors were OK with that.

Not far away, we stopped in Kealakekua Bay and had a look (from a distance) at the spot where Captain Cook was killed after making the mistake of returning when he wasn’t welcome. A worthy reminder to all tourists.

We grabbed a light dinner in Kona before making our way back to Mauna Lani. A long but very successful day.

June 16 – 18

We spent the next several days enjoying the Mauna Lani beach and golf courses, in our respective ways. Allie swam and made friends with some sea turtles. Barb got some sun at the beach. I plunked my way around the North and South courses.

Our condo was very nice, with a spectacular view and nice amenities. Allie especially loved her cool bed that folded into the wall.

We returned to Merriman’s in Waimea for dinner one evening. This was the local restaurant we first encountered in 1993 and it was every bit as good the second time.

On June 18, after another day enjoying the resort, we went for a casual dinner at Waikoloa Village, a few miles upcountry. We ended up at the restaurant in the Waikoloa Village Golf Club where we had to wait a while for a table. (The restaurant there has evidently changed hands many times and is currently not very good, but it wasn’t bad when we were there.) It was a most opportune night to wait because we were outside to witness one of the most beautiful sunsets I can remember. The colors just kept getting deeper and more dramatic. Allie entertained us with a non-stop round of cartwheels and handstands. It was quite magical.

Views of Mauna Kea with the observatories on top

June 19

We signed up for a little family adventure “Flumin’ Da Ditch,” that is, kayaking the Kohala Ditch, an irrigation system built in the early 1900s for the sugar cane industry on Mauna Kea’s north slope. We drove up to Hawi then got in the tour company’s four-wheel drive vehicles to go several miles uphill to the ditch itself. After donning life jackets we scrambled into the inflatable kayaks for our four-mile paddle downstream. There were a number of tunnels that necessitated headlamps which the tour provided; some of the tunnels were a little drippy and creepy. There were several places where you’d inevitably get soaked by little waterfalls gushing into the ditch. Overall, it was a fun experience and I’m glad we did it.

A few years later in 2006, earthquakes collapsed some of the tunnels and bridges, closing the ditch. With four years of concerted community effort, the ditch was repaired and tours resumed though the original Flumin’ Da Ditch company went out of business. The ditch tour seems like a useful repurposing of industrial infrastructure to give tourists something fun to do and learn a little of Hawaii’s history along the way.

Later in day, Allie and I took the opportunity to walk as far as we could along the Mauna Lani shoreline to a black sand beach at the south end of the property. There was no one on the beach which inspired Allie into more cartwheels.