The Marriott Courtyard Kona is situated on a small bay with a sandy beach and a beginner’s snorkeling area. There’s also a freshwater pool for hotel guests. That’s where we spent the morning and afternoon.

First, after breakfast, a local scuba instructor gave us a lecture on the marine life we might encounter – a mind blowing list of native, endemic and invasive species found around the coral and rock formations of the Big Island. He also emphasized the importance of protecting coral, a living animal that’s quite sensitive to the mere touch of a flipper. Many sun tan lotions are harmful as well. Only those that use titanium or zinc are safe. We bought some here in Hawaii, thinking it would be safe. While it contains zinc, it also contains chemicals whose names are hard to pronounce and hence are bad for coral.

We snorkeled for an hour or more and did indeed see a number of fish varieties. Not much coral here, just lava rocks. I had my iPhone underwater case so you can see some examples in the pictures. Esme and her friends had fun taking pictures in the cove and in the pool.

Today was a preparation for the next two mornings, which will feature more snorkeling from a catamaran sailboat and then from zodiac boats.

The lu’au was a real production, stage for fewer than 1,000 guests but surely more than 500. Dinner was buffet style, set outdoors with multiple tables so feeding the multitudes was quite efficient. There was of course background music played and sung by a trio of two guitars and a ukulele, sort of reminiscent of Don Ho style of music.

The stage show started with traditional hula dance instruction for the guests, followed by a stage show of professional dancers, accompanied by the trio plus three percussionists and a MC. Dancing and culture of Polynesia was the focus. I’m not sure how “authentic” it all was, but who cares. The performance was really very good and entertaining.

Polynesia, by definition, is the area bounded by Hawaii, New Zealand and Easter Island. The commonality of culture across Polynesia was the focus. The show culminated with a fire dancer from Samoa that had to be seen to be believed.

Lots of time in the sun and a 7 AM report for duty to go snorkeling on a catamaran. Off to bed for all of us.

It’s no secret that the Hawaiian Island chain is nothing but a series of volcanic eruptions. The volcanoes have, over the past however many tens of millions of years, deposited untold amounts of molten lava to create the islands we enjoy today. There’s another volcanic eruption happening right now. It’s still 3,000 feet or so under the Pacific Ocean surface. In another 10 or 20 thousand years it will reach the surface to form yet another island. But then again, if history is any guide, the current islands will disappear under the surface in another 10 or 20 million years. It’s a process that’s been going on for 100s of millions of years. And of course 100 million years is an eye blink in the 4 billion year history of Planet Earth and 14 billion years since the Big Bang. I told our vulcanologist guide, Cheryl, today that it’s easier for me to understand a trillion dollars than it is to comprehend geological time.

Our day was spent driving south from Hilo along the length of the Big Island’s east coast and then north up the western side to Kona. Kona is actually due west of Hilo and google maps claims it’s a 1.5 hour drive on the direct road. But, hey, we’re on tour and the scenic route through the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park was well worth it.

The volcano we visited was Kilauea, a shield volcano on Mauna Loa’s eastern flank. Mauna Loa is the famous, 13,000 foot volcano that is visible from many parts of the Big Island. The viewpoint we stopped at has a tremendous overlook of the entire Kilauea summit caldera. Within the caldera is the Halema’uma’u crater. This crater was an active lava lake from 2008 through 2018. In May 2018 Kilauea erupted violently, causing significant property damage, filling Hawaii’s largest naturally fed freshwater lake and extending land a mile and a half into the ocean. Kilauea erupted most recently in June of this year. Darn, we missed it.

Incidentally, Mauna Loa is taller than Mount Everest, clocking in at 30,000 feet from base to summit. About 16,000 feet of that total is underwater, so Everest is the tallest if measured from sea level. Speaking of records, Kilauea is one of the most active and largest volcanoes on earth.

The volcanic eruption that made the news last November occurred on Mauna Loa, its first major eruption since 1984.

I’m no expert on volcanoes so I won’t go further for fear of getting it all wrong. But I will say it’s a fascinating subject and seeing it first hand was a real eye opener.

Our guide, Cheryl Giansecki, is a real expert vulcanologist, and gave us an excellent overview. One interesting aspect of her presentation was the impact volcanic activity has on plant life on the surface. Many plant species can’t stand the heat, literally, although some are more hardy than others. Once volcanic activity has completely obliterated an area with lava “pioneer” species, usually small wind born seeds, establish a foothold and over time build the soil that supports other, larger plant species.

After leaving the park we saw continual evidence of volcanic deposits along the highway. We stopped at Punalu’u Black Sand Beach, a striking result of volcanic activity. The black sand is basalt that is created when hot lava hits the ocean, exploding to create the sand. There were five endangered green turtles soaking up the rays while we were there.

Our hotel tonight is on the bay in Kona. Kona is a resort town and hosts a fairly continuous array of cruise ships that disgorge passengers during the day and then sail away to the next port of call that evening. The hotel is nice enough, but we’ll see how the touristy feel works out.

The next three days are dedicated to snorkeling in the morning and free afternoons for us to use as we wish.

Today was moving day: from Oahu to Hilo on the northeast coast of the Big Island. But that was just an interlude in the main events of the day.

First up, after breakfast, was a second surfing lesson for the grandkids. Same deal as before. One hour in the water with an instructor who’s main job seemed to be to propel each student into an appropriate wave. Esme said it became more of a hindrance. She’d rather do it herself. I took more pictures with my telephoto lens, cropped significantly to bring the surfers closer up. There’s a professional photographer floating around on a surfboard taking pictures but for $50 for a stick I’m going with my shots.

After landing, we got in the bus and drove maybe 30 minutes “up mountain” to the Kaumana Caves State Park. In November, 1880 the Muana Loa Volcano had one of its frequent eruptions. Rather than traveling on top of the ground as you see in all the magazine pictures, the lava in this one traveled underground. Flowing downhill, naturally, it took dead aim for the town of Hilo.By June 1881 the lava flow was within 5 miles of Hilo. Legend has it that Princess Ruth, Royal Governor of the island, went up on the mountain to pray to Pele, the goddess of fire, asking for deliverance. Sure enough, the lava flow stopped by August just 1.5 miles from town.

The tube is actually several miles long but we explored only maybe a quarter of a mile. We entered via a “window;” a point where the roof of the tube caved in, granting access. The ground is rough rocks, loose under foot at first then solid but still quite uneven. It’s home to a number of unique insect and plant species. The roots of trees above the tube have penetrated the rock and dangle into the tube, looking much like stalagmites. Judy elected to turn around early on. I, the bragging rights junkie that I am, went on in with the kids and a few other intrepid foolish kapunas.

Our hotel on the bay in Hilo is a beautiful setting and we have a beautiful room overlooking it all. We walked from here to Ken’s Pancake House for dinner. Along the way are a number of Banyon trees planted by visiting celebrities, mostly in the mid 1930s. Babe Ruth’s tree is directly in front of the hotel. Amelia Earhart’s is a little further on. It’s hard to believe that these trees, only 10 or so years older than I am, have grown to such enormous size. The pictures will show you what I mean.

Tomorrow, we drive to the other side of the island to Kona, visiting the Muana Loa volcano on the way. You’ve surely seen pictures of the eruption that occurred last November. Hopefully it will remain dormant for tomorrow.

A mixed bag today, giving us a full day of activity with no down time. But that’s what we’re here for, right? We can kick back and relax next week. Or maybe it’ll have to wait to the week after. We’ll see how the summer develops.

First up: a ride to 100 feet beneath the surface in a real submarine. The sub holds 64-passengers and navigates through a field of structures where fish and turtles like to congregate. The structures have been placed there by the sub company. They include blocks, cages of various configurations and two wings from a cast off inter-island airplane plus a fishing boat that met its demise in a fire. The crew tried to douse the flames with teriyaki sauce. Coupled with the smell of rotting fish bait, the hulk was sold for a dollar and sunk to attract fish and tourists.

It was an interesting ride but frankly, the number of fish we saw was small and fleeting. I’m looking forward to snorkeling to see fish and coral close up. But you can’t fault the sub company for trying.

We had free time from roughly 11 to 2 PM. Some caught an Uber to Diamond Head to climb to the crater but Esme elected to go shopping with some of her friends. Lots of window shopping and some work in the changing room. But shirts that Nana and I bought were the only real addition to the Waikiki economy. We decided on doing smoothies at the Haagen-Dazs store rather than a sit down meal.

The afternoon activity took us to a sustainable taro farm on the north shore of Oahu. Our hostess was a Filipino lady and her husband who, even though not native, have fully embraced traditional Hawaiian values as they relate to humans’ relationship to the environment. She’s a teacher and she drilled us in Hawaiian language phrases. They have observed that early Polynesian settlers of Hawaii lived in close harmony with their natural surroundings. Rather than striving to produce as much as possible, they took only what they needed, leaving the remainder for future needs.

While not advocating a return to the way of living that existed before the arrival of Captain Cook and subsequent Europeans and mainland US explorers, who brought their “modern” ways, they do believe that it is critical that we return to a more balanced relationship with the natural environment. She  lectured us on the many ways that the Hawaiian environment has deteriorated, in terms of species of plants, animals and marine life that have disappeared and the influx of invasive species. Correcting these problems is essential if we are to leave a world in which our children can survive. They are striving to implement that approach in their taro farm.

Taro is grown in shallow ponds. The water in the ponds comes from an artesian well on the property. We participated in helping with the farming effort by pulling out weeds encroaching on the ponds. Some of us waded in the ponds pulling the weeds. Others on shore raked and hauled off the weeds for composting. This activity demonstrated the Hawaiian value of helping one another.

Our hosts prepared our dinner meal. Pork sandwiches and poi, produced from their taro plants were the featured entrées. In keeping with another traditional Hawaiian value, the youngsters waited on their kupunas as (elders) before serving themselves.

Mel’s family tradition, held by many Hawaiians, is for elders to tell stories as an evening entertainment. One of our kupunas told a story that revolved around his mother. Judy has been asked to tell a story. Her subject will be Onawa.

Finally, we were introduced to a set of Hawaiian games and we were given a brief hula dancing lesson.

Tomorrow there’s one last surfing opportunity in the morning and then we’re off to the Big Island.

 

It’s hard to believe, but here we are, watching our granddaughter surf at Waikiki Beach and celebrating our 51^stwedding anniversary. The two events are related, and the first is the perfect way to celebrate the second. What greater accomplishment is there than to see the results of your marriage turn out such a fine young woman in the making. And it’s not just Esme, of course. We are equally blessed by having our kids, Jeff and Rebecca, and our other three grandkids, Reagan, Carter and Griffin result from our marriage. Not that we can claim that their accomplishments are the result of what we did. Each of the six are unique individuals and have and are navigating life on their own with only an occasional nudge and encouragement from us.

Our marriage is truly blessed by having them all in our lives.

The morning was devoted to surfing, first in a canoe and then surfboard instructions and practice. The day was warm with a steady, strong breeze. The instructors and equipment were excellent.

The canoe surfing was fun and something even old stick-in-the-mud grandparents could do. Six hearties paddle the outrigger canoe to the point where the waves are breaking and then accelerate to catch the wave just as a surf boarder would. Great fun especially for the front-most passenger, that would be me, who catches the brunt of the wave action in the face.

A few adults attempted surfing lessons but it was the kids who really got a lot out of the session. I captured a few photos to show what happened.

Lunch was buffet style at 12:30, which meant Judy, Esme and I could eat an run to squeeze in our trip to Pearl Harbor. Our Uber dropped us off a few minutes past 2 PM.

I’d signed us up for a guided audio tour that gave narration at various spots around the Pearl Harbor Memorial facility. But due to the sun exposure and activity level of the morning on the beach and due to the confusing setup of the tour (“Where’s 106 on the map? And what comes after 106.”) we didn’t get much out of it. There were several small museums dedicated to the events at Pearl Harbor that documented the events of December 7, 1941. And of course there is the Battleship Arizona memorial, reached by ship. We didn’t get reservations for the Arizona memorial but that was OK.

What really brought Pearl Harbor together for all three of us was the Virtual Reality theatre. Here you strap on goggles into which is projected three-dimensional images and an audio description. You can turn in your swivel chair to look in all directions. We first saw a VR session that showed the attack from the surface – what the U.S. forces experienced.

I was ready to purchase another show but the attendant who was going to take our money overheard Nana call Esme by name. “Esme? Is her name Esme? That’s my name!” She was so excited to find a fellow namesake that she gave us the remaining three shows for free. One gave the Japanese perspective from the cockpit of the attacking airplanes. Another gave a walking tour of the Arizona before it was hit. And the final one showed the Arizona underwater as it appears today.

All of us, especially Esme, got a much better feel for Pearl Harbor than the audio tour and museums could accomplish.

Dinner this evening was at a local hotel. Nana and I sat at a table with another grandmother plus Esme and four of her new-found friends. Esme came on this trip hoping and praying that she’d make some new friends. Mission accomplished!