Hawaii first

It's Tuesday morning. I'm at the round table on the patio, just over the fence from the pool, which is just over the fence from the lava beach and surf here at Kona Reef.. A little bird, bright yellow, with orange head, is jumping around next to me. Taking off my light-colored tank top (Now don't worry where this is going...) helps reduce the glare on my laptop screen (Not that I've gotten THAT dark a tan already). We did kick back by the pool for a while yesterday, taking it easy after our 3 hour flights down the coast to LA, 6-hour layover and 5-hour flight in to Kona, on the west side of the Big Island.
Kate, Juliet and I started in Seattle; Mom and Mary left from Portland. We ran into each other right away, in the Alaska terminal at LAX, where it took 2 bus rides, including driving out on to runways, to get to the American terminal, where time passed fairly quickly, including entertaining 5 & a half-month Juliet and frequently interacting with her admiring public.
The Kona airport is a casual open-air Hawaiian village-looking place. No doubt they still manage security requirements. We shuttled over to the Alamo car rental, where we picked out a cruiser-type Chevy. The luggage, including the stroller, was a tight fit, some of it on laps, but we got it all in. The drive from the airport is only about 15 minutes. But there are few addresses on buildings on Alli Drive. We stopped to ask a uniform standing out front of the Hard Rock Cafe. He didn't know the address where he works. But he found someone who did know that we were about a block from our destination. Busy place, Kona Reef. Not a parking place to be found. The after-hours security guy (We arrived about mid-night Hawaiian time--2 hours earlier than Pacific Standard) instructed me where to double-park. We got settled quickly in to our 1-bedroom with a Murphy bed plus a couple of couches in the front room, Mom and Mary in the bedroom, Kate and Juliet on the Murphy bed, one couch pushed next to the Murphy bed, to be ready for when Juliet becomes more mobile than rolling only from back to front or front to back, which may be this week, John getting the last couch and finding it plenty comfortable.

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https://get.google.com/albumarchive/102259876019428056805/album/AF1QipME3htQxfNtj_JAJDk-n4-B9Yy1NzfdMjM-DMGH

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It's now Wednesday morning. To recap Monday, besides pool time we made store runs to fill up the fridge, hearing that restaurants are expensive here. Indeed, local coffee at breakfast was $5/cup! But it was a wonderful view. Outside Costco, I sat will Juliet,decked out in a white bonnet. Of course we had a steady stream of admirers and she knew it!
Jenny came by and dropped off some toys and beach things. She and her family have migrated here, have a coffee farm south of Kona. Jenny is a good friend of Katie, my dental hygienist.
Chicken and pasta salad was delicious, here on our patio. Temperature is ideal, a freshening breeze most of of the time,
Yesterday (Tuesday), we went to Kahlalu'u Beach, about 4 miles south. Mom and Juliet got a place on the beach, mostly in the shade but also with umbrellas. Kate, Mary and I snorkeled. Lots of bright fish, some with different colors than I've seen in Mexican and Cuban waters. Some pretty coral. I happened on to a turtle. It didn't seem concerned, as I swan along side for a couple of minutes. After we got jut of the water we walked along the shore and took pictures of several turtles in the edge of the surf. Misfortune: Mary's underwater digital camera opened while she was snorkeling, so she fears it's ruined, after taking many wonderful pics, under water and above.
Wednesday is cruise ship day here in Kona. So, we figure it's the day to get out of town. We plan to drive to the Hilo side of the island, noted for it's greenery and rain.
Thursday morning. Our vacation is already about half spent! I knew it was going to be a long day, making the whole island circuit. At 9 a.m. we stopped by Costco on our way out of town yesterday morning, to see if they open earlier here, hoping to pick up a new digital camera for Mary. We then headed north. Following the guidebook (Hawaii--The Big Island Revealed) suggestion, we had breakfast at the Hawaiian Style Cafe in Waimea. The author got that one right--huge portions, including meat. Ranch country, pretty and fresh at 2500 ft. elevation.
We continued through lovely country, including vast stands of eucalypti. We took a short walk through rain forest to Akaka Falls, a 420-footer. Then to the Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden, a lush preserve that borders the beautiful ocean. While this part of the island is so green due to lots of rain, yesterday it was beautiful--sun and blue skies. The garden is on a steep hillside. Mom got lots of admiration for trooping around it. We'll be celebrating her 92nd birthday on Saturday!
Knowing we had a long trip back, we just skirted Hilo. It was a pretty town. We reached Hawaii Volcanoes Nat'l Park at about 5 p.m. We drove to 3 viewing places. Part of the crater rim drive is closed due to current volcanic activity and high levels of sulfur dioxide. It would have been a much longer trip if we had visited the Puna region, where hot lava can be seen, sometimes plummeting in to the ocean. Kate and I walked through a lava tube, a cave created when molten lava suddenly quit flowing, after the top had cooled and hardened. The below ground, hotter liquid magma flowed out, leaving the tube.
Back on our clockwise trip around the island, we skipped Black Sand and Green Sand Beaches, as well at South Point, as night was approaching. In the dark, it was a long 50 miles on curvy road back to Kona. We were all troopers but especially little Juliet, stuck in her car seat. Mercifully, after miles on NO signs of civilization on this only road around the southwest part of the island, we came upon a pizza place about 20 miles south of Kona. We got back in time for a dip in the pool/hot tub, before the 10 o'clock pool curfew. I previewed and saved pics to the laptop before another restful night on my couch-bed.
It's now Thursday afternoon. Mom is visiting the University of the Nations, a missionary endeavor,while the girls shop. I'm sitting with my right leg propped up—to discourage a new bleed. We went snorkeling today at Honaunau Bay, formerly known as the City of Refuge. Beautiful coral. After following a turtle for a while, I decided to go to shore with my underwater camera, as I'd taken the last picture and I didn't want to have to worry about dropping it. The lava shoreline looked okay and I thought I had only a slight bump climbing out. But, then I noticed a stream of blood running down my leg. Whatever I bumped (coral or lava) was very sharp—it filleted my knee open for about an inch. So, I get to play invalid. I hope it heals enough to go back in the water tomorrow.
I purchased internet access at the desk for the week. The signal isn't good enough here in the condo unit. After the sunset, I plan to hobble out by the pool, get on line, add this to my blog.