Preston visits Paradise

The Temple was closed for remodeling and cleaning for the month of April so this was the perfect time for Preston to come for a visit.  He arrived on a Monday evening at about 10:00 PM and we  left the next morning for Hilo.  We stopped to see the "Boiling Pots" (named for the bubbling water as it cascades over the falls).  With lots of recent rain, there was lots of boiling going on!  

In the photos below, you can see the falls that feed the "Boiling Pots"

Our next stop was at "Rainbow Falls" which are just down river from the "Boiling Pots".  They were pretty spectacular, also due to the recent rains.

After our visit to the falls, we stopped at Ken's House of Pancakes for breakfast.

Preston ordered the Happy Sumo breakfast which was delivered to our table with applause from the servers and a gong sounding notice that Happy Sumo was about to be eaten.  It was a huge breakfast!

Hal and I shared an order of Crab cakes Benedict and ate some of Preston's huge pancakes.  We all were very full when we finished eating!

Then we drove to see Akaka Falls and it was raining, so we were glad that we each had an umbrella!  We hiked the circular trail to see the falls from the viewpoint. 

Once again with all the rain, the falls were huge and powerful.

On our hike back to the car, we saw these smaller falls on a little river.

Next we drove to the Waipio Valley Lookout to see the view there, but with the rain and the clouds we couldn't see the much of anything. So we drove further north to see the Pololu Valley Lookout, but it was also cloudy, rainy and foggy.  We then drove on around the northern end of the island and on south to Kawaihae where we stopped for a pizza.

 Of course, we went to the Hamakua Macadamia Nut Company and enjoyed the many free samples there.

Above we have photos of a couple of "squirrels" eating nuts.

The next morning after breakfast, we headed north up the Kohala Coast.  On our drive, we stopped to see a lava tube that is right off highway.

We then stopped to tour the Puukohola Heiau National Park which is famous for the ancient temple (Heiau) built there, and for being the site of the battle that King Kamehameha fought and won, which led to his uniting of all the Hawaiian Islands.

Then since it was on the way, we stopped again at the Hamekua Nut Factory - this time we got to see the factory in operation.

It was interesting to see how some of the machinery worked.

It was also fun to see them make the macadamia nut brittle!

Of course we had to try a few more samples!

We continued our drive north and made a stop at the Lapakahi State Historical Park which features an old Hawaiian village.

Hal claimed this hut as his because it had his name and middle initial written on a plaque at the entrance.

This village was set in such a beautiful spot with the ocean, trees and grass as the backdrop.

We continued our journey and returned to the Pololu Valley Lookout, hoping for a better view than we had the day before. It was cloudy and overcast but the view was still beautiful.

Driving a little further south, we stopped at a park that had lovely views of the waves rolling and crashing against the lava rocks.

We next headed back north and then east for a lunch stop in Kapaau.  We also had to take a picture of Preston with the original King Kamehameha statue there.

 Then we headed south on Hwy. 19 to enjoy the beautiful scenery that is on the drive from Kapaau to Waimea.

The cloud formations were so interesting that afternoon and looked like steam rising from the ranch land.

The next morning we got an early start; this time we headed south to see the southern most point of the USA and then on to the volcano and other adventures.

You can see the lovely coastline in the background from this southern point.

We have admired this umbrella tree found along the South Point Road, so we stopped to take a picture of it.

On our way to the volcano, we stopped at the Punaluu Bakery and bought some Hawaiian guava bread and some apple cinnamon bread (they were both delicious).  Then we traveled on to the nearby Black Sand Beach.

After this stop, we drove into the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park to see the steam vents, the Thurston Lava Tube and the Kilauea Crater in the daylight.

          We took the short hike to see the lava
                                       tube.

Entering the lava tube.

We then took another short hike to see the crater from an observation point.

We left the volcano park and headed for Hilo to visit the Imiloa Astronomy Center of Hawaii.

Here we attended an interesting movie about the wild weather on the other planets in our solar system.

We then drove to the nearby Big Island Candy Company where we enjoyed some free samples and purchased some delicious macadamia nut rocky road candy (some of the best candy on the island).

Preston inside the candy company

Then we drove back to the Volcanoes National Park to view the volcano after dark.  When we arrived there, it was dusk and the crater was just beginning to glow.

We waited for dark just outside the Jaggar Museum.

The darker it became, the more visible the cauldron of the crater became.

This was the most active we had ever seen the Kilauea Volcano. We were so fortunate to get these views and pictures!  The volcano erupted with multiple fissures on May 2, 2018, less than a month after these photos were taken and the Volcanoes National Park was closed shortly after this eruption.  

The next morning, we drove to Napoopoo Park to go snorkeling.

This park has lots of colorful fish and is an enjoyable place to snorkel.

The two snorkels that you see in this photo are attached to Hal and Preston.

Me coming back after my snorkel adventure

We next visited the Painted Church which overlooks the bay where we went snorkeling.

               

A Belgian Priest - Father John Velghe - painted depictions from the Bible and the lives of the saints to use as a teaching tool.  The church was built in 1842.

We then stopped at our favorite place for fresh fish and chips and fish sandwiches - Keokis - the best we have found on the island.

The next day we went to another popular snorkeling site -Kahaluu Beach Park.

 The snorkeling here was also awesome!

Later that afternoon, we stopped at the temple to take some photos before we went out for dinner.

For dinner we went to the Fish Hopper which has delicious food!

Later that evening we went to the Sheraton Hotel to see if we could see manta rays but we didn't have any luck that night.

The next day we visited Puuhonua O Honaunau National Historical Park - also know as "The Place of Refuge".

There is a "living museum" with examples of Hawaiian handicrafts as well as the remains of the native village that was once there.

There were lots of bright yellow fish in the bay.

               Preston posing with the wooden images of ancient Hawaiian gods that alert everyone of the great mana (spiritual power) of this place of refuge for those who broke kapu, the sacred laws and beliefs of the culture.

We saw this scary looking water snake in one of the ponds on the property.

On another day, we drove north to Kalaoa Beach to look for sea turtles and pretty views of the ocean.

All too soon, it was time for Preston to return home.  We had one last dinner together before we took him to the airport.

Goodbyes are never fun, but we did enjoy having this opportunity to spend some time together!  

Aloha Preston