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Aloha, part 2

All things must come to an end, and so too did our Hawai'ian vacation. The last 3 days were every bit as busy as the previous.

The day after the lu'au, we drove up to the north coast of the island. We started out at Anaeho'omalu Bay (that's A-Bay to you haoles) where the beach was nice but the snorkeling sucked. We saw some petroglyphs after lunch and then drove up to Hapuna Beach State Park. The surf was up and the sand soft, but we didn't stay long. We crossed the northern neck over to Honoka'a and then down to the Waipio Valley (below, with Maui in the distance). We didn't go all the way down into the valley, since that would have been like climbing Everest on the way out. Next time. From Waipio, we drove into Kamuela (Waimea) and saw Jake Shimabukuro live in concert!


The following day, we rented a couple of kayaks and paddled across Kealakekua Bay to the State Historical Park and the Captain Cook monument. Captain James Cook commanded several voyages for the Royal Navy in the late 1700's, "discovering" the Hawai'ian archipelago in 1778 and naming them The Sandwich Isles. (Trivia: On his first trip to the Pacific, Cook commanded a ship named 'Endeavour' after which NASA named one of its space shuttles. On his second and third voyages, he was accompanied by another ship, 'Discovery' after which NASA named another shuttle.) Captain Cook met his fate at the hands of the native Hawai'ians at this spot on 14 February, 1779. In any case, the north end of the bay where the monument stands is only accessible from the water (hence the kayaks) and makes for some great snorkeling. The only downside is the 45-minute paddle BACK across the bay. That night we went to another lu'au. Unfortunately, the nicest thing I can say about that evening was the company.

Our last day on the island was a blur. We went to the international marketplace for gifts and souvenirs, to the drugstore to develop film, to Wal-Mart for more souvenirs, back to the farmer's market for even more souvenirs... with all that crap, it's amazing that we managed to repack our suitcases. For a while there it looked like we were going to have to leave some stuff behind. We took an overnight flight back to the mainland and made our goodbyes in Phoenix. After nine and half days together, I know Beth was glad to finally be rid of me and get back to her family. The price for that, however, was going from 82-degree weather on the island to 28-degree weather at home.

Just as aloha means hello, it also means goodbye.
We now return you to your "regular" blogging.

posted by tinyhands @ 11:59 PM