Day Sixteen – Shopping or Scuba, Which One Should I Pick?

 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 

 
 

Today I was given a choice of Scuba diving or shopping. Which one should I do? Hmm. It is a tough choice. I love to shop, but in the end, I chose Scuba. Kim spent the day shopping. I went with the Waikiki Diving Center. I was picked up and taken to their shop to get our gear. We were doing two dives in 45 feet of water on a reef called Turtle Canyon. I originally wanted to do the morning wreck dive at 100 feet, but there was a miscommunication and I was going on the afternoon dive. They offered to move my dive to tomorrow, but I was OK with this dive. I was not sure I was ready for 100 feet yet, since I had not gone much deeper than 30 feet.

It was a short ride to our destination. We were parked almost a mile off shore, right by our hotel. There were some who were doing this dive for their first time and a group of us who had certification. Our guide got us in the water and started to take us around the reef. We immediately found two sea turtles. They were being serviced by the fish in the reef. The turtles have algae growing on them, so they need somebody to clean them periodically. The fish in the reef do it for them. The turtles come into the reef and the fish do the work. We saw several fish nibbling away at the turtles.

As we swam along, one of the sea turtles followed us. We stopped to take some pictures. He didn’t like being the center of attention. He swam off after a few minutes.

It was cool to be at the bottom rather than skimming along the top when we were snorkeling. Our guide would show us fish and unique coral formations as we went along. I was probably a little nervous and must have been breathing heavy. I used up my air much quicker than I wanted to. He brought me to the line and had me work my way back to the top. I jumped back in after setting up my equipment for the next dive. I snorkeled around a little to see some fish.

On our second dive, I worked hard to slow my breathing. It worked; I was down about ten minutes longer. Our guide pulled found an octopus and brought it to us. Initially, the octopus squirted ink all over the guide. In a few minutes, he ran out. The guide put the octopus on one of the other diver’s arm. The octopus quickly moved up his arm and tried to hide in his BC. As it moved up the arm, it must have pulled at his regulator and got it out of his mouth. It spooked him and he started to swim to the surface. The guide pulled him back down and got the octopus off of him. He then put it on my arm. When the octopus wrapped his tentacles around my arm, you could feel the suction on my arm. The guide pulled him off of my arm and put it on my head. I could feel it there, but all I could see was two tentacles draped over my mask.

We saw a moray eel. The guide coaxed it out of its hiding spot. I wasn’t sure I wanted to get close, but I wanted to get a picture.

I was running out of air and it was time to leave. I wanted to go back, but that was all there was for today. One of the couples on the dive was coming back tomorrow to do the wreck dive. I wish I could go!

After dinner, Kim and I took a long walk on the beach. I got some nice evening and night shots of Waikiki.

Day Fifteen – Touring Honolulu

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Our first tour of the morning is the Doris Duke Shangri-La. She was the sole heiress to the American Tobacco Company empire. During her lifetime, she loved to collect Islamic art. Over the course of fifty years, she built this house. On her honeymoon, which was a tour of the world, she fell in love with the Islamic style of architecture and art. Her last stop on the tour was Hawaii. She bought five acres around Diamond Head and built a new home. When she was in India, she had a bathroom and bedroom built with the patterns she had seen in the Taj Mahal and other places. The new house was designed around those two rooms. As she collected more items, she would renovate a room and display them.

It was very beautiful inside. We had hoped to tour the bedroom and bath, but they were off limits until restoration was completed. Apparently there is a termite problem and the rooms need to be taken apart. The Turkish room was the best. She had bought the two rooms from a home in Syria and had them reassembled here. The floor and lower wall had to be constructed. It took three years to construct.

When we returned from the visit, we went to the Honolulu Academy of Art. We were tired and had not eaten breakfast, so we toured quickly. We only went through the oriental rooms. It was a nice museum. I wish we had more time.

We were jonesin’ for some Chinese food and we were close to Chinatown. Or so we thought. The people at the museum told us it was about six to eight blocks. They were off by ten or more blocks. We walked about a mile or more. Once in Chinatown, Kim asked someone about a place to get good dumplings. Ever since our trip to China, I love to eat Chinese dumplings. Someone recommend a hole-in-the-wall place that served good food. It was the Happy Garden restaurant. It was a small place with maybe ten tables all packed into room for eight tables. Our waitresses did not speak much English, but I don’t think that was a big deal. We were given some dim sum dishes before we ordered sweet and sour pork. The dim sum comes in small bamboo steam bowls. The first dish had pork, but we were not really sure. We did say we wanted dumplings and some dumplings showed up. All of it was good.

On the way back we stopped and toured the Iolani Palace. It is the only royal palace in the United States. It was beautiful inside. We took the audio tour and they had some descendants of the last queen giving commentary. It was sad to hear about how the monarchy and the kingdom were overthrown to make Hawaii a territory of the US. When the last queen was forced to abdicate, a provincial government was put in place and they took over the palace. The furniture and items from the royal family were put up for auction and spread around the world. There is a group who is still trying to find the auctioned items and bring them back.

After the last queen abdicated, some supporters tried to launch a rebellion. It was quickly put down and the queen was imprisoned in a single room in the palace. For five years, she could not leave the room. It is another sad chapter of US expansionism.

The palace had electricity before the White House or Buckingham Palace. The kings and queens of Hawaii used to meet with heads of state from around the world. The last several kings and queens traveled the world extensively to promote Hawaii.

We decided to walk the entire day, thinking that we would not have that far to go. We must have gone at least eight miles before the day was done. I was in flip-flops and the last few miles were killing my feet.

When we got back to the hotel, we went for a dip in the ocean.

Day Fourteen – Back to the Big City

 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
It was sad to leave the Volcano Rainforest Retreat. Kim and I sat on the steps to take a last look at the area. This afternoon, we were trading the rainforest for concrete and skyscrapers. I don’t think I going to like it!

We arrived at the Royal Hawaiian, nicknamed the Pink Palace. It was the second big hotel built in Waikiki. Originally Waikiki was a swamp. Someone came along and filled the swamps and suddenly, it was being developed into a vacation getaway. The Royal Hawaiian was built in 1927. It is like an oasis in the concrete city around it. Upon check-in, I tried to get an ocean view, but she said they were all taken. We were upgraded to a bigger suite. It is huge. We tried something new this year. Instead of booking everything ourselves, we went through a travel agent to get a reduced rate on airfare. As part of the package, we got a reduced fare on the rooms at this hotel.

Part of the package we booked got us two free Mai Ties. We went to the beachside Tiki Bar to get them. They were much stronger and tastier than the ones we got at the luau. Kim didn’t want to drink all of hers, so I had to finish it. I was buzzed for a little while.

We also got dinner as part of the package. Kim got the swordfish dinner and I got a rib-eye that was as big as my head. This was clearly the best meal we have had on this vacation.

One of the things that really stood out as we walked in Waikiki was the noise of the city. We have not heard that much in the last two weeks. It was very quiet in the rainforest. The only noise was from the animals.

Day Thirteen – Saddle-Up Cowboy’s, We’ve Gone Ridin’ Again

 
 
 
 

 
 
 

Today was a surprise for Kim. She knew we were going horseback riding, but nothing else. I had originally wanted to do a cattle drive this year. During the winter, I stumbled upon a ranch on the Big Island that would allow you to drive cattle on their farm. When we arrived at the Dahana Ranch, we were paired with a family of four. The six of us were going to do the cattle drive. Our guide went over how to “ride” a horse. All of the other horseback rides we have been on were nose-to-tail, with the other two on this trip giving us some room to do our own thing. We really enjoyed this one because he did not want us to be in a line. It was great to make the horse do what we wanted.

Our first drive was on some rodeo stock that was easy to move. It took a little coordination between the riders to cover the herd and keep them moving in the direction we wanted them to go. Our guide tried to keep us focused and showed us where be if we were in the wrong spot. It was fairly easy to get them moved.

Our next herd was more difficult. We had cattle that were raised for food. According to our guide, they were lazy and fat. You really had to keep them moving. That was apparent the first few cows we came into contact with. You could get them to move, but they would stop immediately, especially the mothers with calves. I found that when I aimed my horses head directly on the cow’s hind quarter, the cows would get moving. It took a lot of work and in the beginning; I did not think we would make it. We finally got them moving. By the time they were rolling along without stopping, our drive was over.

It was awesome to have control of our own horse. I tried to take a path that was different than the rest. I would go away from the group and climb hills. The horse wanted to stay with the group, but I had to be persistent and he would go where I told him.

On the way back to the cabin, we stopped at Tako Taco in Waimea. We stopped there two days ago after our other horse ride. We got burritos that were huge. It was the only restaurant that we went back twice because we liked the food! They had a tomatillo pineapple salsa was great. There regular salsa was also good.

You might think the adventure on the trip was already done. Not so! Before lunch, I told Kim we needed to get gas before we went on the saddle Road. As we turned on, Kim reminded me and I looked at the gage and thought that we would make it. About half way, I started to think we would not make it! I turned off the air-conditioner to save a little gas. Once we were over the hump and starting to come down, I put it in neutral. I thought I would have to put it back into drive to get up the little hills we would encounter. Nope, we coasted for almost twenty miles. I we didn’t have to stop for the light right by the gas station, we could have coasted into the gas station! It was close. If it were a few more miles to the gas station, we would have been stuck.

If there is one thing that Jon likes more than shaved ice, it is beer. We stopped at the Mehana Brewery for some sampling. It was good beer. This is the only brewery that brews and bottles in Hawaii. The girl behind the taps knew her stuff, except that she initially said the Kolsh tasted like PBR. We bought a six to take with us.

Day Twelve – To the Bottom of the Crater

 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
We slept in a little today because our activities were close to the B&B. It was fully light when we awoke. It was beautiful outside. This is the best place we have stayed on this trip, so far. It is a rainforest outside our door.

Our first activity of the day was a hike around and through Kilauea Iki. It is a small volcano on the side of the big Kilauea caldera. It erupted last in 1959 and was a spectacular sight. We saw a film on the eruption at the visitor’s center. One of the most impressive was a video of the lava as it goes back into the magma chamber. It created a whirlpool, just like a toilet!

Our hike started with a walk around the crater rim. We descended down to the crater floor through some switchbacks and stairs. This was the easy part. Along the way, Kim had a book that described what we were seeing.

It was an abrupt change from the rainforest to the crater floor. The lava lake that was created during the 1959 eruption left a ledge of rock on the volcano walls. This was referred to as a “bathtub ring.” As we stepped off of the bathtub ring, we had to step across a region of broken lava. When the lava would flow back into the magma chamber, the solidified rock on top of the lava lake would drop and break. It would be like a lake in the winter that has an ice sheet on the top. If you were to empty out the water, the ice would crack and drop to the bottom of the lake. It was difficult to walk over this section.

Once we were out on the crater floor, the walking was easier. The solidified lava just laid on the bottom and cracked as it hit high spots. There was a trail that was easy to follow. Because so many people walk on the same path, it is worn into the lava rocks.

We could see smoke coming out from some holes on the crater floor. Rainwater seeps through the cracks and gets close to the magma below. It is heated and turns to steam. On area the book talked about is where they would drill to see how deep the rock was above the lava lake. It was not until 1988 that the lava below the crater floor was fully solidified.

The hike back up to the crater rim was not as easy as the hike down. There were many switchbacks to get us back to the top. It was a difficult climb. I was ready for the AC of the car as we drove to the visitor’s center.

We met our guides for the Pua Po‘o Lava Tube Hike. It is a special tour run by the park. The lava tube is hidden on the property and is in its natural state. The park wants to show it to the public, but it also wants to protect the tube from being destroyed. The Thurston Lava Tube is accessible by all and has a walkway through it. Over the years, it has been affected by the volume of people walking through it. Each week twelve lucky people get the chance to tour this cave. You have to call one week in advance and it fills very quickly. Kim called last week while I was up in the air getting my flying lesson. We were numbers ten and eleven. In fact, one of the couples was twelve and thirteen. His wife was on the alternate list. Luckily one person canceled, so she got to go. I wonder if he would have gone without her, if there was no cancelation.
We met our guides. The main guide has been doing this tour for thirteen years. He is a native Hawaiian and really explained the native culture and beliefs. It was very interesting to hear about how they felt about entering a lava tube. In the past, the chiefs and tribal elders would be buried in the lava tubes. With each new tube discovered, a cultural archeologist must enter and determine if there is a burial. Most Hawaiians do not want to enter, because they do not want to disturb the bones of the past.

On the walk to the lava tube, he talked about the eruptions and told some Hawaiian stories about the goddess Pele. As it turns out, some of the stories can be linked to an eruption in the 1400’s or 1500’s. In fact, the lava tube is from that eruption. It has been undisturbed until it was found in the 1970’s. The only evidence of humans, was some candle wax and a candy wrapper. The lava tube has only been open for fifteen years.

We had to put on a hard hat with a light. We looked line miners! We also had to wear gloves, in case we touched the walls.

To enter the lava tube, we had to descend an old aluminum ladder to the tube floor. We were entering through a “skylight.” A skylight is made when a small section of a tube roof collapses. It was rocky at the entrance, but we quickly came to the flat bottom. Our guide said that there was at least six different lava flows in this tube. He pointed out some bacteria on the wall. This is the main reason this cave is to be protected.

At one point he had us sit and turn out our flashlights. He told us about some of the customs of the early Hawaiians. He then told us about the dinner plate sized spiders that inhabit this tube. Once a few people gasped, he told us he was kidding. There spiders in the cave, but they are smaller than a flea. We found one on the wall on our way out.

We had a bit of a hike to get back to our car. Between the earlier hike and this one, Kim estimated that we walked about eight miles. We had not eaten since breakfast, so we went out for a big dinner.