We were all up around six and cycled through the shower. I’m sure mom was tired it had been a long day of travel on Sunday. We stopped at Starbucks for Haupia lattes and turned up the Hamakua coast toward Waimea. We took the scenic route and drove down to Laupahoehoe point where we took time to read the news postings about the Laupahoehoe elementary school that was taken out 4/1/1946 by a tsunami with loss of many children and teachers lives, the heroic rescues of children and teachers who floated out at sea for up to 27 hours before being rescued, and the parents refusal to out the kids back I school until it was relocated to a higher elevation. Our next stop was the Waipi’o valley overlook, we are kind of disappointed that we never made it down there on a hike, but at least we have seen it from above twice now. It is so fun to see all the farms back in there and try to picture it in the times of Hawaiian kings as it’s original name is “Valley of the Kings”.
Our next stop was Tex Drive in for hot Malasadas which were a “melt in your mouth” hit. As the kids talk about next time we go to the beach, or Tex’ or the volcano, I don’t think they truly (nor I) relize there probably won’t be a next time. We only have a week left, a week!
We stopped at the Burger and Taco place we have been trying to get to but have always managed to miss their business hours. They were crowded and we could hardly get in the door that is always a good sign. We got our food to go and while we waited we snacked on this pineapple whip and that is frozen pineapple blended up like icecream and the below watermelon whip that was less solid and more like a drink.
We ate at the nearby Spencer Beach park and took our oportunity to swim in the warm gentle surf.
We showed grandma our favorite lava tube, but due to rain it wasn’t overly warm and so Caleb is the only one who got in.
Across the path the sea turtles were feeding and playing in the water near the rocky shore. We sat and watched them a short while and then walked back to the car.
We grabbed dinner at the Golden Arches drive through….seriously mostly we were just thirsty and around here it is the same charge for water as soda and ice tea. There was a car accident ahead ofus and the traffic came to a stop. The darkness closed in and night had claimed the sky….there would be no stopping at South Point or Punalu’u, but that is exactly what we need for our final stop. We could see the Orange glow from the highway, I had never noticed that before. Kilauea’s crator was like a giant fire pit with it’s soft warm glow. The air was cool, but warm than it has been the other times we have been up there. The was not wind. We wrapped up in blankets and sat in the dark on the stone wall and just watched. The sky was full of stars, if only it hadn’t been so late and such a long day we could have sat in the therapeutic silence longer, maybe a lot longer. Yes, we haven’t even left and I am already starting to miss this place.
Owens Endeavors 