Hawaii and Home

Our son wanted to have a family "destination" Thanksgiving in Hawaii. He found a lovely home in Waialea Kahala with lots of rooms! The main house had 4 bedrooms, and several nooks and crannies where people could sleep. The detached garage had a small apartment upstairs and a bedroom and bath downstairs. The house had a securely enclosed back yard and was a short walk to the beach. It also had a swimming pool. There were spacious rooms for lounging, including an outdoor lanai and the house even had two complete kitchens; one inside and one out!

On our first day we all decided to climb Diamond Head. It was quite a trek, in a long line of tourists. Morning was the perfect time to make the ascent as most of the trip was in the shade of the wall of the volcano. 

This is where we are going!

 The views were worth the climb:

Waikiki

Diamond Head Lighthouse

We two Grandmas celebrated our hike to the top and back with a Dole Whip!

Having a house with a pool was perfect for the family. The kids enjoyed a lot of time in the pool. 

Besides our family, our son invited a friend and their three children. The kids had a lot of fun together, including down time on electronic devices - a luxury for our grandkids!

It was nice to have house with nicely outfitted kitchens so that we didn't have to eat at restaurants all of the time. This is Izzie, one of the kids from the other family. He had never washed dishes before, or so he stated! I had to take a picture for his mom as evidence that he can do it!

The house had three sitting areas, but only one inside table, so we often ate in shifts, or took our plates to some other area. 

We set out for a hike to Manoa Falls, only to find that they were closed. The Park Service was working on the trail. However, we stumbled upon Lynn Arboretum which had a hike to Alhualama Falls. Sadly, there was very little water... only a trickle. 

We also visited Foster Botanical Gardens. They had an amazing collection of trees, and this cute visor that I found at the gift shop. This should be easy to make!

We often went different directions, and found lunch places wherever we were. We stumbled on Fresh Catch in Kaneohe. The shop had amazing sea food with a fast food atmosphere. Most of the customers were local. It was quite a find!

Our plans for having a house-sitter fell through. We found Babcock Barks practically in our back yard. Kelli, the owner of the company, took our dogs into her home for the three weeks we were gone. Here (from L to R) Tucker, Gypsy, Cap and Ivy wait for dinner.

The dogs had a wonderful vacation. They even watched videos lounging on Kelli's bed!

We stopped at the Dole Plantation and took the train ride tour. They produce only a small amount of pineapples, but their property showcases Hawaiian agriculture. From there we went down the road to a small coffee farm. 

We also visited the Waikiki Aquarium. It was built at the end of the trolley line so riders might be encouraged to ride to the end of the line! It is a small aquarium. I enjoyed watching the octopus. On my first pass he was sleeping, wonderfully camouflaged on the rock coral. 

On my second pass, he had come out and was exploring.

Before we knew it our time was up and we had to fly back to San Francisco. We rode our bikes down to the truck rental company to pick up a 16' Penske truck. We spent a day loading tools and sewing machines, a bit of furniture and some odds and ends.

We took off the next morning, traveling 500 miles or so each of the next 6 days. Below is a picture as we climb the pass on I-5 just north of LA. My friends said this area is called "The Grapevine". It was fun to see many cars pulled over so that kids of all ages could play in the snow - an unusual experience, even for this area.

Sunrise in Palm Desert, CA

Considering that we travelled over 3,000 miles, we were fortunate in having few delays other than heavy traffic, some construction and some disabled vehicles. As we approached the bridge over the Mississippi River in Baton Rouge all traffic stopped. There was an accident a mile beyond the bridge. However, while waiting a car a bit ahead of us overheated and caught on fire. That must have been terrifying for the owner of the car, and for the vehicles around him. A fire truck came up the bridge on the west bound lanes and extinguished the flames.

 We stopped to see Scott's sister and to pick up some furnishings that had belonged to his mother, and then, after 6 long days of driving we were home. We unpacked the truck and returned it the next day. Then, we unpacked most of the boxes, and now we are getting back to getting settled.

La La Lava

Our cruise took us to the "Big Island" (Hawaii) where we planned to take a helicopter ride to see the lava flowing from Kilauea. It was raining and our flight was cancelled. Flights later in the day were "iffy". So, we did the next best thing; we rented a car and drove up to Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park. We stopped and had lunch on the rim of the volcano. This was the view from our table. The size of the caldera, the crater area that looks like a barren plain, is 2-3 miles in diameter. Inside the caldera is an active area called the lava lake.

This picture (borrowed from the Park Service site)

shows the lava lake from the Jaggar Museum.

To give you an idea of the size, the lava is spewing up 10 - 12 meters.

At some point in the future, the lava lake may look like this rippled lava found at the Craters of the Moon National Preserve in Idaho. We Dreamers stopped there on a trip in 2013, and unbelievably I never put up a post about the visit. 

The name of the park is apt. The scenery does look like something out of this world. It is estimated that lava last flowed here 2000 years ago. Whoa... it obviously takes a long time for vegetation to get going again. 

Both sites had a lot of information about lava. Lava isn't all the same. The form it takes is determined by what the magma, the molten lava, is doing and how it is cooled. Here are just a few examples:

Spatter

Molten lava that cools when it is ejected.

It looks like bubbles.

Pele's Hair 

Pele is the fire goddess. She is the creator of fire, lightning, wind and volcanoes.

Fine strands of glass that are created when lava is thrown into the air

Pele's Tears

Small droplets of lava

Cinders

Frothy pieces of lava rock

As lava flows the top begins to cool and ripples solidify.

A lava tube forms as the exterior solidifies and the interior continues to flow.

One the tube is formed, lava from later eruptions may find its way through the tube. The line on the wall of the tube shows the height of a later flow.

Kilauea's lava erupted from a vent in May, 2016 and slowly made its way to the ocean, 16 miles away. The lava began to enter the ocean in late July. Lava tubes have formed in some areas and molten lava can be seen through "skylights", as seen here. 

Photo courtesy of atlantic.com "The Atlantic Photo" site

This is a shot I took with my cell phone as the cruise ship went by Kamokuna, showing the lava and the cloud of water vapor mixed with sulfur dioxide and hydrochloric acid. 

This photo from the Atlantic.com "The Atlantic Photo" site shows the lava coming over the cliff to the ocean as seen from a tour boat.

The lava has covered sections of the road that used to run along this side of the island. Visitors may hike to Kamokuna to see the lava fields, however we Dreamers didn't have the time. To be honest, we likely would not have had the energy to make the trek. The hike is almost 8 miles over rough lava each way. But, oh, to see it up close. It certainly would be truly awesome!

Another photo courtesy of atlantic.com "The Atlantic Photo" site

For more pictures and information about the volcano visit:

A Photo

National Park Service

Olé, Olé

While we were on our cruise around Hawaii we Dreamers attended a class on ribbon lei making. I was enamored with the ribbon lei* that many of the crew members wore, and enjoyed learning how to make the simplest version.

Lei were introduced to Hawaiians by early Polynesians, who adorned themselves with necklaces of flowers, seeds, shells or bones. The lei soon came to signify peace among opposing chiefs.With the advent of tourism, lei became a symbol of welcome. I received a flower lei as I boarded the ship. Each night the cabin steward would adorn the towel creation with my wilting lei.

The instructor of our class explained that lei are given to friends and are proffered for special occasions. She told a story about engaging fellow airplane passengers in making ribbon lei on a trip to the east coast to attend her daughter's graduation. Passengers round her helped and by the time she landed she had ribbon lei in school colors for all of the graduates.

This is the first lei that I made.

After learning how to make lei I decided I wanted to make more. When we docked in Hilo the next day we made a quick stop at a craft shop. I was amazed by the ribbon aisle. I'm used to seeing a variety of ribbons, usually on spools that are 3 to 4 inches in diameter. The craft stores at home have a long aisle of ribbons in great variety of widths, colors, fabrics and styles. This craft store had that aisle, then it had another with nothing but large spools of 3/8" grosgrain ribbon in many colors, all on 7" spools, each spool holding 100 yards of ribbon! I guess that says something about how popular ribbon lei are in Hawaii!

For the next few days, until we met the rest of the family, I experimented with making lei in different color combinations and with slight variations to how I folded the ribbon. I incorporated silver ribbon and a gauzy ribbon. By the time we caught up with the family, I had more than enough for everyone.

The ship also had classes in making lei using Kukui nuts. I didn't have the opportunity to take the class, but I purchased several different styles of nuts and shells. We Dreamers made a few lei with the nuts. Here the little one reluctantly wears a Kukui nut lei with her grass skirt.

Items made from Kukui nuts have spiritual significance. Kukia nuts are said to "enlighten" the wearer. The nuts from Hawaii's State tree, also called the candlenut tree, have dense oil that was once used for lamps. The original oil lights consisted of the Kukui nut meats themselves. A number of nut meats were pushed down on small wood spindle forming a candle. The top most nut would be lit afire. As the nut was slowly consumed by fire, the next nut would catch fire.

Samples of lei displayed on the ship

It is said that if you toss your lei in the water, you are guaranteed to return to the islands. This is the other grandmother's lei.

I didn't toss mine. When my lei had met its end I didn't think about the legend. Perhaps if one's lei is buried in a landfill in Hawaii, the same can be said?!

* There is no plural form of words in Hawaii. Therefore, "lei" could be singular or plural.

Views on the Move in Hawaii

Our son suggested that we go somewhere, as a family, for Thanksgiving. He chose Maui.... a great choice! We Dreamers have never visited the islands, so planned to go a bit early to get a feel for the place. First we planned visits to Oahu and Hawaii for a few days each. Then, we realized we could do a cruise around the islands and see even more, and not have to lug suitcases. So off we flew....

Molokai from the air, on our way to the Honolulu airport.

A welcome sight after a long flight.

Honolulu from the air

Pretty pool from the 16th floor.

It reminds me of the turtle bowl I had as a kid!

Sunrise in Waikiki

Waving goodbye to Honolulu from the deck of the cruise ship.

Carmen made sure our cabin was clean,

and created critters to greet us each evening.

Life on deck was dreamy! 

I even took some time to relax! This is my view from the deck in Maui.

The "super" moon as viewed from the deck

Lava flowing into the sea from Kilauea

We had to use tenders in Kona. The waters around the islands are a rich, deep blue!

The breakwater as we come into Hilo

A drizzly view of the Na Pali coast on Kauai

A rainbow shines on our last morning on the cruise ship

I caught a view of our ship from the air and felt a hint of melancholy.

Good-bye. It was fun.

Now.... onto the next adventure!