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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.

Rest day. Stayed put.

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.

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.

Eruption from Halemaʻumaʻu crater, with Venus looking on, from the Volcano House (Volcanoes National Park lodge) before stepping inside for dinner.

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.).

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.

Watered our plants back in Minneapolis without getting out of bed in Kona.

Tiki shrine in our Kona rental. If Dwight sets up something similar in our Minneapolis home, I’ll call a neurologist.

Took an obligatory sunset shot.

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.

Posted Hawaii Snow Day.

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.

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.

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.

Dinner tonight: tip-the-fridge galette, with a tip-the-fridge salad on the side. Tomorrow we travel.