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

March Memories

March

This past month has gone by quickly!  Looking back, brings some great memories.  These past weeks at the temple have been busier than usual.  It is spring break in Hawaii and the Maui and Molokai saints have come to the temple along with our Big Island patrons. Some of our sessions have been very large for our small temple.  In last weeks Tuesday morning 8:00 AM endowment session we had 33 sisters and 28 brothers in attendance.  The ordinance rooms are made to seat 38 people - so, chairs were brought in and all that wished to attend were seated.  It was very crowded (don't tell Bruce Allcott - (Caldwell's former Fire Chief) but when they fly from Maui and Molakai and come to do their temple work, it is hard to turn them away.

Sister Hee, Sister Heinzen, Sister Okura, Sister Zabriski, me and Sister Walker

This photo was taken on the Saturday that the Maui/Molikai wards were at the temple.  We wanted to also take a picture of the men that day but if was hard to get them all together.  Maybe at another time!

This past Friday evening brought a sweet, tender and very spiritual experience for me.  Hal and I went to the last shift before the temple will be shutdown for the month of April for renovation and cleaning.  I was assigned to help in the baptistry. A young man and his parents were there and the father was baptizing his son when I entered the baptistry after prayer meeting.  They had come early so that they could do baptisms.  The young man is wheel chair bound and his father carefully baptized him for a number of names.  Then remarkably, the young man baptized his father.  It was amazing to see how the father worked with his son to achieve total immersion by duckin his head forward and sinking down in the font. The mother came to the railing to witness this sweet event.  I was not only touched by the love and devotion I felt from this family, but the spirit was there in abundance - I don't have words to describe all that I felt from both sides of the veil.  Then when they had completed the baptisms, the young man crawled from the font and then walked on his knees into the dressing room.  I had the privilege of offering them both towels.

After this family finished, a group of young people came from the Waikola Ward to do baptisms.  They were such cute kids and so eager to be baptized, confirmed and to help clean up the baptistry.  I love the new directive that allows them to be more involved.  It is wonderful to see the young Priests perform the baptisms for their peers.  They were so cheerful when I asked them to help clean the locker rooms.

After the last patrons left about 8:50 PM, we began to put furniture, scriptures many other items away so that the renovation crew can come in on Monday to do their work.

Hal and I will have 1 week off and then Preston will come to visit and we will have a week to spend with him.  We look forward to him coming!

Then the last 2 weeks of the closure, we are in charge of the intensive cleaning of the temple and having things ready for it to re-open on May 1st.

Our Exercise "Program"

Hal and I found a track at a nearby high school and we try to walk there as often as possible.  We  usually go in the late afternoon or early evening when it is not so hot and we like to watch the beautiful Kona sunsets as we walk.

On a few occasions when we arrived, there were some Hawaii kids were playing on their ukuleles and singing - it was awesome and I told them we liked it so they kept on singing!

Often when we go to walk, we can watch the high school kids practice sports as we make our way around the track.  We have seen football, soccer, La Crosse and track practises since we began walking last November.

The track is smooth and a good place to go!

I usually go around 5 times (a little over a mile) and then I stretch out while Hal goes an extra lap.

"P" Day Adventures

We have been trying to go to places we haven't been to before on our Preparation Day.  One Monday we drove North to Kalaola Beach Park to see some turtles.

They can be hard to spot because they blend in with the rocks and coral.

On another Monday we drove north again to the Kekaha Kai State Park.

 There was a beautiful beach there and many people  were boogie boarding.

Very near there, but on a different road (a very bumpy road) we drove down to the beach to see some Monk Seals.

 

 We saw a mother and her baby.

 We were told by the park attendant that there were only 5 monk seals on the island and an opportunity to see them was rare.  They blend in with the rocks and lava and were hard to pick out until they moved.

On still a different Monday, we drove south this time to Hookena Beach where dolphins are often seen.  We didn't see any dolphins that day but we did go snorkeling. The waves were strong, and getting into and out of the water was a bit of a challenge for two septuagenarians!

You can see Hal's head; it is the small spot with a snorkel - a bit left of center in the picture.

On yet another Monday, we went with the Walkers and the Zabriskis north to Kapaau where we enjoyed breakfast together.  After breakfast, we walked down the street to Vea's Polynesian Gift Shop.  Brother Vea is a sealer in the temple and always has a big, happy smile for everyone.

Brother Vea makes handcrafted wood and bone items as well as percussive hula instruments.

It was a rainy day but we still took a drive to visit some scenic overlook spots, including the Polou Valley Lookout.

We continued our drive through Kamuela along Highway 250 and enjoyed some pretty views of some ranch land and the ocean.

We then made our way to see Rainbow Falls and  the Boiling Pots. The photos above and below show the falls above Rainbow Falls and the Wailuku River which creates the falls and the Boiling Pots.

The photo below is of the "Boiling Pots" - named for the bubbling, boiling water as it flows over the rocks.

 After a stop for lunch in Honokaa at an Italian restaurant, we drove home.  It was a fun day with the other senior couples.

A Fun Home Evening

We gathered  at President and Sister Okura's home with the temple presidency and the other senior missionaries for dinner and a home evening.

 President Okura conducted the evening.

 
 Sister Okura is one of the nicest people I have ever known!

 The Presidency had prepared a delicious Italian dinner with a variety of pastas and sauces, meatballs, salad, brussel sprouts, garlic bread and a big variety of yummy desserts.

President Hee and Sister Okura

 After dinner, we relaxed checked on Family Search to see if and how we were related to one another and then played games.

 Hal was in charge of the games and he sat on a stool and directed the action.  We played Two Truths and a Lie.  In this game each person tells 2 things about themselves that are true and 1 thing that is a lie.  The others try to guess which thing told was the lie.  We had 2 teams (The Presidency against the missionaries) and scored 1 point for each correct guess.  The missionaries won!!  Then we took turns naming our favorite movie and one of our favorite songs.  With all of our phones, we were even able to pull up and play our songs.  These were good ways to get to know each other better.

 Sister and President Heinzen

 Elder and Sister Walker

Sister Hee and Elder Walker
The grand finales of the evening were a duet sung by President and Sister Okura and a solo sung by President Hee.  These musical numbers were a perfect end to a lovely evening.

Relief Society Anniversary Celebration

The theme for our ward Relief Society  Birthday celebration was: "Walk in her shoes".  The picture below shows the cute invitations we were each given.  

We were all asked to bring a pair of shoes to tell a story.  I brought some slippers I had received from a Hotel in Krasnoyarsk Russia that we had stayed in 30 or so times on our 2nd mission.  Hal kept all of the slippers we were given and brought them home with us back to Utah. Now we take them with us when we travel.

We had a short lesson on Family History and were given some resources and ideas to help us do it, and then we had "box lunches" for our dinner.  The boxes were filled with a delicious chicken curry and fruit salad sandwich on a croissant, chips, carrot slices and chocolate chip cookies for dessert.

I invited my cute neighbor, Sylvie.  Her husband passed away this past December and she and her 17 year old son live in an apartment 2 levels above us. We have had her over for dinner, taken treats and talked to her a little about the church.  She is a delightful person and really seemed to enjoy the evening.  She was very interested in learning about her family history.

General Conference

March ended and April began with the incredible 188th Session of General Conference and a Solemn Assembly to sustain our new prophet.

President Russell M. Nelson - truly a man of God!

The entire conference was historic and inspiring - what a wonderful way to begin a new era of the Church!

ALOHA!