After seeing the "smoking hole" we took a long ride in, through and around the vast lava fields on the Chain of Craters Road to the south of the smoking hole. We stopped so Nasima and Kai could take pictures of several members of our crew tromping around on the irregular rocks. That would include little Cora holding her dad's hand. The whole area
strikes one as a different world altogether, and it was created by more than one flow. It took us an hour to drive around the road. At the start the ocean was 50 yds to our left but we climbed away from the water near the end. We stopped at a small park that had a gift shop where I bought myself a small ceramic dish to keep my pills in every day at home. Two colorful birds showed up, obviously male and female, and we threw them some scrapes of food. They could have been in pheasant family. They were beautiful and I was sad I lacked a camera. Not far from there we decided to eat at small Thai restaurant, which was a good decision as the food was superb. That was in Volcano Village. Before we left out waitress gave Cora a small silver purse which delighted all of us. After that we decided to stick around the Puna area.
That's when the big boys rented some bikes and the younger boys started playing chess, with Conner seeming to grasp the essentials of the game rather well. I spent some time reading the two poetry books I brought with and sipping wine through the afternoon. Nasima and James disappeared for several hours in Hilo. They were shopping for food and clothes, and enjoying being alone no doubt. The rest of the family went for a swim at Champagne Pond and it was there that Sue met a massage therapist named Loke or Rose, take your pick. That led to Kai and I getting massages. She was pretty good but talked to much. My only defense was to go to sleep. Sue was very generous with her giving her $125. I had been using oxcy pills all along because my back was so locked up and painful
and at the same time I was drinking quite a bit of wine which probably wasn't too smart. It was in those minutes where I would tell myself I was getting too old for these kinds of trips. Since I didn't participate in many things I felt like a camera on the sidelines. I was there but not there.
Sue and I had one day where everyone else was gone. Sue said hello to me and wallowed in the quiet. It was only for a few hours but it was sweet. Sue danced, did her yoga practice, and chanted at the ocean. I think it was the same day of the "Red Moon" event, something that occurred once every 500 years. The dark clouds cleared in time for us to get a good look at the slow change of the eclipse, from bright moon to red moon--very dramatic. Aaron got into opening some coconuts and then shredding the meat. Everyone enjoyed that.
A word about a neighbor--it was a friendly widow my age named Glorious Schreiber. She took a liking to this crazy family across the street. Every day she brought us the local paper which I really appreciated because it allowed me to keep up with the situation in Ukraine and with sport scores. Two days before we left she baked us a chocolate cake which was really nice. She was a lovely lady.
Thursday the 17th on April was our last day. We had to be out of of VRBO by noon so the adults were busy packing all morning while the boys took a last swim down at the black sand beach. We ate our last lunch with leftovers and gave some of the rest to Glorious. When we left we took the scenic route along the Nanawale coast road that Aaron and James had traveled with their bikes. It was lke driving through the "Heart of Darkness,"an amazing jungle-dense mass of trees and hanging moss and pot holes galore with the ocean always in sight. We drank the tropical forest to the dregs for the last time. I found the trees the best treat of all. We spent the rest of the day in Hilo. We treated ourselves to dinner at the famous Cafe Pesto which was pricy but very good. Sue told our waitress that she was very beautiful. She was indeed.
We boarded the plane at 8:30 and took off for home at 9:15. Aloha USA.
Wednesday, April 23, 2014
Plane Travel Sucks
Plane travel may suck but it sure the hell gets to Hawaii faster than you could any other way know to man. I fucked up with my new POC (portable oxygen concentrator) when I set it at two rather than one, and when our arrival got delayed by some wacky weather which made us an hour and half late, I had to turn to the airline for some help for what Oxygen I had left had to be saved so we could reach Uncle Billy's Hotel in Hilo where we planned to spend the first night. A Flight attendant came up with two canisters of oxygen which was just right to get to the Big Island. Wised up for the flight home I set the machine at one and I had plenty to spare by the time we got to L.A. On the whole I think the POC worked very well indeed. (NB: the flight back to the mainland was 45 min. early. With flying you always take your chances.)
I had a mishap on the plane: I fell forward on the narrow aisle on the way to the bathroom. Kai and some other woman lugged me to the bathroom to see what the damage was, which was two bloodied knees. (Later I saw all the bruises.) The gal with Kai was an ER nurse who happened to be on the plane. Lucky me. They bandaged my knees and that was that that. On the way out of the plane several Passengers gave me a pat on the back and wished me luck after my dramatic spill, which apparently added some excitement to the flight.
Uncle Billy's was a rather rundown hotel that needed some serious updating. But we all got the rest we needed. The two vehicles we rented were Chrysler products, a Town and Country van and a T & C suburban. Aaron, an aggressive driver, drove the black T & C Suburban. James, Nasima's husband, drove the van. Most of the time he followed Aaron as he was a more cautious driver. Most of the time I went along with the van because it was the "non-talk" vehicle. I needed a rest from all the chatter and the high-pitched noises of the three boys. Going with Aaron was more fun. In any case, I sat back and enjoyed the ride. Sue enjoyed being with the kids who were too rambunctious for me.
The VRBO was fine and well situated. Clustered with about two hundred houses on the easternmost tip of the big Island, a place called Champagne Cove. Sue made a good choice for ten people. There was a lanai porch on the second floor that stretched the length of the house which faced due east, along with 75 yd path down to the ocean and a black sand beach. The swimming pool proved to cold to swim in, although Conner braved it once. Palm trees circled the pool, as did various species of flowers. There was an outdoor shower made out of lava rock. Between the pool and beach there was a band of lava rock, and plenty of it. The house was aired-out by the trade winds that came through the dozen open windows on L-shaped lanai porch. It wasn't quite as warm as I thought it would be. I wore a long sleeved shirt to bed at least 4 nights.We had only two days in the low 80s which seemed pretty warm. I got up one night when there was a howling gale with lots of rain to shut the windows which the owners requested we do. The second floor is where we all gathered together to eat, play games, talk, do puzzles and play Gin. Nasima took command of making the evening meals using fruit and veggies from a Farmer's Market in Hilo. The meals were delicious and we all appreciated her efforts in the kitchen. Kai's main job turned out to be caring for Cora. She loves Cora so much she was happy to do it.
The older boys went bike riding a few times and Aaron took the boys swimming often.
I got a kick out of James who took on a thousand piece puzzle of a peacock. He finished it by staying up all night the day before we flew home. None of us thought he'd make it. But he had the resolve to do it. One thing we did not do is watch TV. Wait, there was one exception. Sue is a fanatical "Survivor" fan, so she caught two programs in Hawaii.
Of course the main feature of the Big Island is the five main volcanoes, with Mannu Loa and Mauna Kea being the twin giants of Hawaii. If measured from its base deep under water Mannu Loa would be a taller than Mount Everest by about 10,000.' They call it the Big Island because all the other islands would fit with in its outline, and Mannu Loa fits that Big category as well, in spades. We visited the unique "hole" volcano that is between the twin towers at the Kilauea Crater and Volcano National park. You could see the almost perfect circle of the hole, which was created when the above-ground volcano collapsed into itself becoming this smoking hole with steam vents in the same neighborhood. When Sue saw it in 2005 you could see molten lava inside but from the distance we were looking at it the stuff in interior looked gray and inert. There is a vast black and gray field for miles all around the hole. Nasima found a great book on the volcanoes in the Jaggar Museum in the park. She also accidentally broke my 10 year old Fiji camera by letting it drop on cement. It doesn't appear to be fixable. It severed me well for a long time. I took a rest in the Van and even snoozed for a while the rest of them walked around on the lava fields. When I asked Sue do the volcanoes threaten the population, like Mannu Loa might blow big-time at some point, like Mount St. Helen did? She said the Hawaii volcanoes don't blow, they ooze at fissure points. In short, one can have more peace of mind than in California with all its earthquakes, as they wait for "the Big One."
End of part one
I had a mishap on the plane: I fell forward on the narrow aisle on the way to the bathroom. Kai and some other woman lugged me to the bathroom to see what the damage was, which was two bloodied knees. (Later I saw all the bruises.) The gal with Kai was an ER nurse who happened to be on the plane. Lucky me. They bandaged my knees and that was that that. On the way out of the plane several Passengers gave me a pat on the back and wished me luck after my dramatic spill, which apparently added some excitement to the flight.
Uncle Billy's was a rather rundown hotel that needed some serious updating. But we all got the rest we needed. The two vehicles we rented were Chrysler products, a Town and Country van and a T & C suburban. Aaron, an aggressive driver, drove the black T & C Suburban. James, Nasima's husband, drove the van. Most of the time he followed Aaron as he was a more cautious driver. Most of the time I went along with the van because it was the "non-talk" vehicle. I needed a rest from all the chatter and the high-pitched noises of the three boys. Going with Aaron was more fun. In any case, I sat back and enjoyed the ride. Sue enjoyed being with the kids who were too rambunctious for me.
The VRBO was fine and well situated. Clustered with about two hundred houses on the easternmost tip of the big Island, a place called Champagne Cove. Sue made a good choice for ten people. There was a lanai porch on the second floor that stretched the length of the house which faced due east, along with 75 yd path down to the ocean and a black sand beach. The swimming pool proved to cold to swim in, although Conner braved it once. Palm trees circled the pool, as did various species of flowers. There was an outdoor shower made out of lava rock. Between the pool and beach there was a band of lava rock, and plenty of it. The house was aired-out by the trade winds that came through the dozen open windows on L-shaped lanai porch. It wasn't quite as warm as I thought it would be. I wore a long sleeved shirt to bed at least 4 nights.We had only two days in the low 80s which seemed pretty warm. I got up one night when there was a howling gale with lots of rain to shut the windows which the owners requested we do. The second floor is where we all gathered together to eat, play games, talk, do puzzles and play Gin. Nasima took command of making the evening meals using fruit and veggies from a Farmer's Market in Hilo. The meals were delicious and we all appreciated her efforts in the kitchen. Kai's main job turned out to be caring for Cora. She loves Cora so much she was happy to do it.
The older boys went bike riding a few times and Aaron took the boys swimming often.
I got a kick out of James who took on a thousand piece puzzle of a peacock. He finished it by staying up all night the day before we flew home. None of us thought he'd make it. But he had the resolve to do it. One thing we did not do is watch TV. Wait, there was one exception. Sue is a fanatical "Survivor" fan, so she caught two programs in Hawaii.
Of course the main feature of the Big Island is the five main volcanoes, with Mannu Loa and Mauna Kea being the twin giants of Hawaii. If measured from its base deep under water Mannu Loa would be a taller than Mount Everest by about 10,000.' They call it the Big Island because all the other islands would fit with in its outline, and Mannu Loa fits that Big category as well, in spades. We visited the unique "hole" volcano that is between the twin towers at the Kilauea Crater and Volcano National park. You could see the almost perfect circle of the hole, which was created when the above-ground volcano collapsed into itself becoming this smoking hole with steam vents in the same neighborhood. When Sue saw it in 2005 you could see molten lava inside but from the distance we were looking at it the stuff in interior looked gray and inert. There is a vast black and gray field for miles all around the hole. Nasima found a great book on the volcanoes in the Jaggar Museum in the park. She also accidentally broke my 10 year old Fiji camera by letting it drop on cement. It doesn't appear to be fixable. It severed me well for a long time. I took a rest in the Van and even snoozed for a while the rest of them walked around on the lava fields. When I asked Sue do the volcanoes threaten the population, like Mannu Loa might blow big-time at some point, like Mount St. Helen did? She said the Hawaii volcanoes don't blow, they ooze at fissure points. In short, one can have more peace of mind than in California with all its earthquakes, as they wait for "the Big One."
End of part one
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