Sea mist rolled in as we went for a walk between flights at Los Angeles LAX. In the foreground, a metro line is under construction, eclipsing the instantly recognizable Theme Building. LA is a great city to explore using transit, but, for us, not today.
Breakfast view, Kona rental apartment. When we were on Hawaii Big Island in March 2020, Covid restrictions meant we had to change our plans and return home before staying here. The owners let us move the reservation twice. Now, we’re picking up our 2020 trip where we left off.
Hiked, labs, Target run, late lunch in beach bar, nap. Life is good. Labs: Waited near palm trees for a blood draw to build the case to be accepted into a phase 2 clinical study. Grateful I can travel while staying on top of my prostate cancer.
Today, Dwight’s mom couldn’t find her recipe for lefse, a Christmas staple for Norwegian descendants. He forwarded a scan of the recipe she uses from our digital recipe book.
Tiki shrine in our Kona rental. If Dwight sets up something similar in our Minneapolis home, I’ll call a neurologist.
Watered our plants back in Minneapolis without getting out of bed in Kona.
Threw together lunch to eat back in our apartment with items from Safeway’s deli. The Spam musubi and steamed pork bun are definitely Hawaiian (tilting to Asia). The broccoli salad is more midwestern: cruciferous is appreciated. The Spam, from Austin, Minnesota, has gone native.
It was a good half-day hike from here (3,000 ft. above the Kona Coast), a continuous uphill walk to the top of this ~100,000 year-old volcanic cone, Puʻuwaʻaʻwaʻa. At the top we were comfortable in shorts and tees looking towards snow-capped Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa (13,000+ ft.).
Eruption from Halemaʻumaʻu crater, with Venus looking on, from the Volcano House (Volcanoes National Park lodge) before stepping inside for dinner.
One view today, standing at about 4,000 feet, front to back: —Ohia (native) trees; —Kilauea Iki (crater): we walked across the lava lake formed in 1959;—Kilauea, one of the world’s most active volcanoes, slowly erupting, volcanic gases rising; —Mauna Loa (mountain), 13,677 feet.
In today’s ear worm, I’m Nellie, from rural Arkansas, in “South Pacific.” Wonder how I'd feelLivin' on a hillside,Lookin' on an ocean,Beautiful and still.…I'm a little hick. We’ve stayed in this B&B several times: we’re the only guests until Friday. The owner is the best.
Hiked down to the spot where Captain James Cook met his demise when he violently tried to induce 'good behavior among the natives.' Every time we hike this hot, dusty in-and-out trail it seems to get steeper. It’s one of those hikes you’re happy to start and grateful to finish.
It was a hot hike on pāhoehoe (smooth, ropy lava), Puʻuhonua o Hōnaunau National Park.
Hiked Pit Crater Trail, up to a tree-filled volcanic crater. The hike took us through miles of lush meadows, contrasting with our lava hikes this past week. The trail is a recent (2018) addition to Volcanoes National Park, and new to us.
On our way to the airport, KOA, stopped to hike one more trail across 'a'ā (stony, rough lava) at Kaloko-Honokohau National Historical Park. At Honolulu HNL we'll board an overnight nonstop flight home to MSP.