Hawaiian Vacation, Part two

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.