We are going to try pictures today, but first we’ll write the post.
Monday morning we got up early and drove to Waimea for breakfast at a restaurant called “Hawaii Style.” It was recommended to us by a local person. We had an enjoyable breakfast there. The portions were large. How large? Noah’s pancake was so large that he could have worn it for a hat. I’m not joking; the portions were huge and the food was delicious.
After breakfast instead of returning directly to the hotel we drove up north, almost to the end of the island. We were up to more than 3,600 feet and we had interesting scenic views of the coast and coastal plains.
After we turned south (highway 270) and stopped at Lapakahi State Historical park. The park is archaeological site that [partially] preserves an ancient fishing village. We saw lots of stone walls which are the remnants of the village. The paths down to the ruins and the coast were rocky and uneven but well worth the extra caution we needed.
The morning drive was lots of fun. Noah was interested in everything and he asked lots of good questions. I should mention that at Hawaiian Style he continued his tradition of eating every piece of bacon in sight.
It was only late morning when we we got back to the hotel so Noah and I decided to play in the surf again. Usually, when I go into the surf I take off my glasses, but this time I did not and I paid the price. I ducked into a wave the broke sooner than I expected and it ate my glasses. Ok, you say, simply put on your backup pair because you ALWAYS travel with a backup pair, don’t you? For the first time in recent memory I forgot to pack my contact lenses. Oh, Oh, now we have a problem; I can see very little at a distance without my glasses. But did we let that slow us down? No, we did not.
We went out to a late lunch in Kawaihae to Kahloa Burger and Taco where Noah devoured a bunch of chicken nuggets, proving he could eat something other than bacon. Patricia did the driving, of course.
Noah and I spent time Monday evening swimming in the hotel’s pool. Noah impressed me with his ability to swim on his back from one end of the pool to the other. The rest of the evening we spent reading [we started on the Lord of the Rings] and watching the end of a movie Noah chose–perhaps one of the worst movies ever; it was about a group of hamsters and guinea pigs who could talk and were trained as spies.
On Tuesday morning it was time for us to pack up and leave Hapuna. Before we did that we started calling around to see if I could get replacement glasses quickly. It turns out that it takes a long time to get glasses because there is no place on the Big Island that acutaully makes lenses. But with the cooperation of my doctor in Santa Fe and a very accommodating vision center at Hilo, I was able to get some sample contact lenses that would let me see well enough to drive and enjoy the rest of the trip. Since we had resolved that problem much more quickly than we had anticipated, we went to the ʻIMILOA astronomy center. [ʻIMILOA MEANS “TO SEEK FAR” AND IS THE HAWAIIAN WORD FOR BOTH “EXPLORE” AND “EXPLORER”.] We saw quite a few interesting exhibits and then we attended a planetarium show, which Noah seemed to enjoy.
From Hilo we headed for Volcano Village and our Airbnb house. When we left Hilo, we were at sea level and the temperature was about 90 degrees. We climbed steadily to more than 3,000 feet and the temperature fell to just above 60 degrees. We found the house with no trouble at all. The location is great and the house itself is very nice. It is spacious–3 bedrooms–and very nicely furnished and equipped. the setting is on the edge of the rain forest–“rain” is the key word because it was raining when we got here and it has continued to rain.
I must tell you another thing about Noah: he prepared dinner for us Tuesday evening. He made mac and cheese for us. He set the table, fixed the food, cleaned up, and helped with the washing. Pretty impressive.
Once again Noah said he was not tired and once again he fell asleep sitting up right in the middle of doing something with papers and his sketch book. He has proven to be a great traveling companion.