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!

I’m not a serious bucket list kind of guy but I’ve already chalked up two items on this trip. The first was riding on the outside of a cable car in San Francisco yesterday with Esme. Then this afternoon I found myself swimming at Waikiki Beach with a pretty girl (Esme, that is) and with Diamond Head in the background. Esme and I hit the beach right after checking in to the Waikiki Resort Hotel. The water was delightful: pleasantly warm yet refreshing with light wave action within the area protected by a breakwater. Tomorrow is surfing lesson day but surfing isn’t on my bucket list. It’s not happening for this old guy I’m afraid.

This has been a travel day, pretty much uneventful except for a thirty-minute delay in leaving San Francisco. United claims it took that long to clean the cabin. That, plus a long wait for our bag put us at 4 PM reaching the hotel. But we got checked in with our tour guide, Mel, and at the front desk with plenty of time for our quick dip.

Dinner at 5:30 was a buffet affair. After, Mel and his co-guide Mike gave an introduction that emphasized Hawaiian heritage. They both have native blood and will be bringing Hawaiian and Polynesian culture to this experience. They particularly emphasized the importance of grandchildren (moopunas) )learning from their grandparents (kupunas).

The ice breaker exercise was for grandparents to introduce their grandkids and then for the grandkids to introduce their grandparents. Esme said, “These are my grandparents Jon and Judy. They travel a lot.” Pretty much sums us up, I’d say.

Tomorrow is surfing in the morning and then our self-propelled visit to Pearl Harbor in the afternoon.

Our hotel, the Hotel Riu Plaza, has a great breakfast buffet, which got us going after a pretty good night’s sleep (“One of you guys really snores,” reported Esme without naming names). That got us ready for our 8:00 AM pickup for the Muir Woods trip.

Our van took us and a half dozen or so others over the Golden Gate Bridge to a viewing area on the far side for photos. Then up over the third-highest mountain in the Bay Area (Mt Tamalpais) to the Muir Woods entrance and parking lot. Our Guide, Jerry, showed us the way to the park ticket office. Our Golden Pass got all three of us in without fee.

Jerry the guide, by the way, is a font of knowledge about all things San Francisco. His narrative was nonstop going and coming and while some, including the four-year-old in the group, might have found it excessive, Judy and I at least enjoyed it.

Muir Woods, as you probably know, is home to coastal redwoods that are the tallest living things going. (The giant sequoias are bigger around but not as tall.} Despite being in prime tourist season the crowds, while significant, didn’t detract from the atmosphere these trees and the surrounding vegetation create. Esme was active with her phone and my camera taking pictures to capture the experience.

It turns out that 95% of the redwoods had been cut down to build Victorian mansions in San Francisco. Most of these were destroyed in the 1906 earthquake. The remaining five percent had been purchased for preservation following the guidance of the naturalist John Muir. After the quake the San Francisco city fathers seized the protected land claiming eminent domain. Muir’s friend, President Teddy Roosevelt intervened and the land became part of the national park system.

After the Muir Woods tour Jerry took us to Sausalito for what turned into a one-hour lunch stop. We ate sandwiches at a neat deli featuring sour dough bread.

 Sausalito was a shipyard where Liberty Ships were produced, one every 21 days. “Rosie the Riveter” came to symbolize the women who built these workhorses of WWII. My dad,  Lt jg Phil Rick, commanded a Liberty Ship in the South Pacific. The Antelope had taken a Japanese torpedo before he took over. It had no engines nor any armament and was towed from one spot to another while waiting repairs. It was officially designated as a “hulk.”

 Sausalito was famous in the 1950s as home to a number of Beatnik poets, including Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg, Hippies invaded in the 1960s and today it remains an active arts center.

We came back from our trip for some hotel downtime before setting out for our afternoon adventures.

A San Francisco cable car ride had always been on my bucket list – fairly near the bottom of the barrel but still something I’d aspired to since becoming addicted to the Rice-R-Roni jingle (“The San Francisco Treat”). Now I’d move up the list. It’s a great way to see San Francisco especially if you hang on to the outside of the car, up and down the hills, as Esme and I did. We went out the Mason Street line, getting on near our hotel and getting off near Union Square. Judy and I stayed at the St. Francis hotel right on Union Square on our previous trip.

Judy made friends with our car driver who, at the end of the line, escorted us to the Hyde Street line for the return. This meant we skipped another 45 minute of standing in line. And this way we saw a different part of the city on the way back. We got off at Lombard Street – the iconic crooked street. Then it was a 15 minute hike back down hill to the hotel to prepare for dinner.

I made reservations for 6:15 at Cioppino’s, an Italian seafood restaurant near Fisherman’s Wharf. We split a Caesar’s salad. Esme had fettuccini alfredo, Nana attacked and emerged victorious from her encounter with a huge Dungeness crab. I had the signature dish – Cioppino, an Italian fish stew featuring crab, shrimp, mussels and other unidentified swimming objects. Really good grub, setting us up for the coming week of pineapple and poi in Hawaii.

One thing we’ve learned about Esme so far is that she loves to shop. The Muir Woods gift shop was a big attraction for Esme and Nana too. Esme, however, spends most of her time shopping for others. “I think Griffin would really like this.”; “This is Perfect for Mom; “I’m getting this for Dad” and so on. 

So we’re back home at the Riu, ready for bed and our flight to Honolulu in the morning. We’re all excited to meet our fellow travelers at the welcome dinner tomorrow night.