I just had enough time to get familiar with my condo and settle in with a little WiFi email checking when Allison called and let me know they had finished the reception, cake cutting, toasts, clothes changing, etc., and were headed to the bar. Met up with A&L again and was talking to her father before we left for Humpy’s Big Island Alehouse about his day. He’s been out body surfing on what passes for a beach in Kona and got flipped over then pulled under the water by the strong undertow and bashed his head/neck area. Someone was there to quickly pull him out or he would have drowned. He was dazed and wasn’t in charge of his facilities just after it happened. Later, he was talking to a guy at the rental shop I think? And the guy told him that they have a couple tourists a year have almost the same thing happen to them but they end up paralyzed due to a broken neck or back, or worse yet, dead. Yikes! That could have been a very bad ending to a very happy event.
After getting everyone all ready, we wandered down to the bar for a few. It was within walking distance from their condo. Humpy’s Big Island Alehouse. Huge place. Lots of TVs big seating area and a bandstand. Just a DJ that night but, everyone got up to dance and celebrate the wedding. We didn’t get out of there until 4AM. And I headed home nice and toasty.
Allison kibitzing.
I told Allison that this big statue was of Kon Tiki. And if she kissed it on the nose, it would bring her good fortune and fertility in her marriage. Total bunk, but she bought it since I can be persuasive sometimes. Just did it for the pictures of course. Hah!
Allison kissing Big Kahuna or Kon Tiki…whatever.
Talked Allison’s new sister (?) into doing it too.
Silly gurls.
The next morning, I woke up in my nice condo and was able to get a good look. First I tried to spot the ocean from the deck. No luck. Like I said last post, I could hear it. So, I took a walk around and found the ocean finally. No beach to speak of, of course that’s true of much of Hawaii, the beaches are all made of lava. But there was a nice laundry room. That’s about it. No common room, no lending library, no pool. Well, no big deal, still had a day to hang out with Allison and Leo and family.
The kitchen, breakfast bar.
Bedroom & living room.
Then we have my deck overlooking other buildings.
And looking inland.
This was the day when A&E were leaving on their honeymoon and all and I met them down at Huggo’s On the Rocks bar for an hour or two before their flight. It was still early in the day when we said goodbye, and on the spur of the moment, as I was driving back to my condo, I thought, “What the hell, I’ll just head up to the volcano”. Still wearing my beach clothes. I did have my camera though. I’d spent some time on-line and had a map of the island. Even though it’s called the big island, you can pretty much circumnavigate it in one day. Which I planned to do.
Off I go, passing some famous beaches, noting the palm trees, and stopping along the way at an old fashioned auto store to see if they might have some paint I could use. No luck.
The volcano area is a national reserve or park or something. Lots of places to stop and view gas vents and stuff. Overlooks. You know the stuff, except there were lots of jungle looking areas along the roadway. As I headed up into the hills, (volcanoes are mountains ya know), it was clouding up. And getting pretty cool. When I arrived, it was cold, drizzly, and windy. Damn. Wearing a light shirt, sandals (no socks), and shorts. Brrrr. No umbrella. AND THEN IT RAINED. Hard. Off and on. Had to run between views, then dive back into my car to go to the next overlook or attraction. The most spectacular view was the caldera, and here the rain, cold, and wind kind of diminished my pleasure of the volcano a little. Had to run back into the building there at the overlook a couple times to dry off and warm up.
First stop, a lava field. Cool.
Highway drops over to follow the eastern coast for several miles. There’s a black sand beach around this area.
Oooo, ocean breakers and stuff. Beautiful weather at the start of the journey.
Some famous cove. Can’t remember the name.
Here’s the visitors center at the volcano. Pretty neat. Had lots of touristy stuff for sale. I did buy a map since they pleaded with me to help support the site.
A few miles up the road we find this vent thingy.
Hot vapors gushing out of this hole. Stinky too.
Then, off to the main overlook. Thing is still active, as you can see.
Close up of the moonscape in the caldera.
Main vent. Quite a ways away from where the overlook is. This is at my cameras max telephoto.
And here at normal focal length.
Clouds everywhere starting to roll back in.
From a different overlook.
This is just part of the caldera and the solidified lava that not so long ago was a bubbling morass. Of course if you’d been here then, you’d have had to have worn a protective suit.
Another shot of the caldera.
It was fascinating. Weather was getting a little blustery around this time.
A few miles drive around the caldera gives another view of how big this thing is.
That’s all hardened lava there. You can hike down there, but by this time it was raining pretty steadily and if I’d had some gear, I would have taken that hike. But it was a little too cold for me.
Imagine what that would have looked like all red hot and bubbly.
Here’s a picture of what it did look like. See the gal in the rain poncho? Not something I had at the time.
Then on the way around the other coast of the island, another lava field.
And finally, got to an ancient area of the island that has grass, cows, sheep, etc. There’s a big town on the west coast of Hawaii, forget the name, opposite Kona. When I got there, it was down pouring rain. Wasn’t much to see anyway, so I just stayed on the circle route road and headed back to Kona. Kona is on the dry side of the island and doesn’t get as much rain so it’s much more touristy. Thing about the road on this side back over to Kona is that it’s built, as you can imagine, on lava. Uppy, downy, lefty, righty. For a couple hours. It’s basically a farming road that’s been co-opted by tourists like me. As I crested another hill after a torturous drive, it was a relief to see Kona off in the distance from the hillside I was on.
And a half hour later, back at my condo, quick dinner, watched a little TV, read, then bed.
See you next time with more from Hawaii.