IMG_0059.JPGHere we are on the flight to Kona — direct from SFO, thankfully. Tess was nice enough to drop us off at the airport.
Owner Greg Ward
Immediately following Thanksgiving, we flew to Hawaii for two weeks vacation on the Big Island. We were joined there by our parents for the second week, which we spent on their very comfortable sofa-bed. This was also a good chance to hang out, snorkel and drive around together.
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Here we are on the flight to Kona — direct from
SFO, thankfully. Tess was nice enough to drop us off
at the airport.
Owner Greg Ward
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Naturally, the first thing we do after landing is go
to COSTCO. Spam, anyone?
Owner Elizabeth Addison
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Our room wasn’t quite ready when we arrived to
the resort — too many check–outs at the
same time we were told, so we wandered around the local
shopping plaza.
Owner Greg Ward
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There we were greeted by some friendly fake reindeer.
I can never get used to the idea of Christmas in Hawaii,
somehow....
Owner Greg Ward
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There wasn’t much of a sunset the first night
— too overcast, I guess.
Owner Greg Ward
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The rough rocks near the adjacent golf course are always
nice to visit. Still waiting for our room...
Owner Greg Ward
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Blowhole!
Owner Greg Ward
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We found a nice Thai place in Kailua–Kona for
dinner.
Owner Greg Ward
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We ate light, sharing a couple of items, but they were
very tasty.
Owner Elizabeth Addison
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Pine Tree Cafe
The following day, we caught lunch at our favorite local
hotspot on the way up to Saddle Road.
Owner Greg Ward
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This is like one of three or four menus.
Owner Elizabeth Addison
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I’ve been having fun with my new toy, the iPad
mini.
Owner Elizabeth Addison
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We each got rice fish bowls. Mine was spicy tuna, and
Eliz got some kind of cooked ahi (I think).
Owner Greg Ward
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We let the guy at Budget upsell us to a Ford hybrid
car. It’s fun seeing how far we can go on electric–only.
Owner Greg Ward
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The landscape is an odd mixture of lava, forest, and
brush.
Owner Greg Ward
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We stopped at a little knoll near the high point of
Saddle Road called Pu’u Huluhulu (not kidding).
Owner Elizabeth Addison
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Treemoss covered many of the smaller branches.
Owner Greg Ward
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Owner Elizabeth Addison
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This was the view from the top.
Owner Greg Ward
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The next stop was the Pu’u ’O’o trail,
which led (for us) halfway to the Mile–long Cave.
Owner Greg Ward
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Were it not November, we would have been allowed to
shoot (with bow & arrow) 1 pig, 1 goat, and 1 sheep
each (max.).
Owner Greg Ward
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The trail was mostly over lava fields like this one.
Owner Greg Ward
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I was told that the native trees evolved to flower in
their upper reaches, since they are pollinated by birds
rather than insects.
Owner Greg Ward
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Very pretty, anyway.
Owner Elizabeth Addison
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We saw a few i’iwis (honeycreepers), but it was
difficult to get a good photo.
Owner Greg Ward
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They were very active, guarding their territory.
Owner Greg Ward
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Tree!
Owner Greg Ward
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I like trees.
Owner Greg Ward
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The landscape was otherworldly.
Owner Elizabeth Addison
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Eliz was fascinated by these shiny black berries, which
reflected everything.
Owner Elizabeth Addison
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More top–flowering trees.
Owner Greg Ward
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Emerging from the forest.
Owner Greg Ward
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We saw many of these lava tubes, large and small.
Owner Greg Ward
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And a few watering holes just nestled in the lava.
Owner Greg Ward
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It’s Camera Guy!
Owner Elizabeth Addison
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Taking an HDR of the sunset.
Owner Elizabeth Addison
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Took me a few tries to get it right.
Owner Greg Ward
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This view of the sunset proved almost impossible to
reproduce due to its colors.
Owner Elizabeth Addison
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Elizabeth captured this better than I did, I think.
Owner Elizabeth Addison
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The next day, we went snorkeling at a local spot not
far from our resort.
Owner Greg Ward
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Angel Fish are popular in aquariums — probably
easier (and more legal) to keep than a lot of the other
reef fish we saw.
Owner Greg Ward
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Sister Sandy says this is a Rock Mover, which looks
very different when it grows up. Looked and moved just
like a piece of algae.
Owner Greg Ward
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Humuhumunukunukuapuaa
This *used* to be Hawaii’s state fish.
Owner Greg Ward
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Bougainvillea are found everywhere in Hawaii. Somehow,
they seem more colorful here.
Owner Greg Ward
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Now, THAT’S a big fern!
Owner Elizabeth Addison
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We walked next door to check out a historic site that’s
been "in restoration" since 2005 (at least)
when I first came to the Big Island.
Owner Greg Ward
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It was fun wandering around the tide pools looking for
petroglyphs.
Owner Greg Ward
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One of the guide books said there would be some, but
we couldn’t find them.
Owner Greg Ward
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The loincloth was probably a Christian introduction.
Owner Greg Ward
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This poor little puffer got trapped by the low tide.
Owner Greg Ward
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One of the more magnificent Banyan trees we’ve
seen was on this site.
Owner Greg Ward
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Eliz is a speck.
Owner Greg Ward
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The Outrigger Hotel, where I stayed with my daughters
in 2005, was closed and all its contents were being
sold.
Owner Greg Ward
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People were driving off with all sorts of stuff.
Owner Greg Ward
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The sunset was beautiful, seen here from the golf course
behind our condo.
Owner Greg Ward
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Sam Choy’s
Dinner was at Sam Choy’s, a local hotspot famous
for its poke (marinated fish).
Owner Greg Ward
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Owner Greg Ward
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Owner Elizabeth Addison
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That’s seared poke on the right, brie–filled
wontons with guava sauce on the left.
Owner Greg Ward
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After dinner, we drove to the Sheraton hotel nearby
to see if we could glimpse a giant manta.
Owner Greg Ward
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Giant Manta
We saw two — this is the larger one, skimming
the surface.
Owner Greg Ward
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The next day, we drove south to the Place of Refuge,
stopping at a small open market on the way, where we
bought some sourdough bread.
Owner Greg Ward
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This is a yellow saffron finch, of which there are many.
They’re fast and hard to catch on camera.
Owner Greg Ward
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Pu’uhonua o Honaunau, the Place of Refuge
Owner Greg Ward
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Scary guy.
Owner Elizabeth Addison
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Or maybe it’s a gal...
Owner Greg Ward
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Anyway, they’re a match made in hardwood.
Owner Elizabeth Addison
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This was an interesting totem — I wonder if it
was carved from a palm tree that stood there.
Owner Elizabeth Addison
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Nice dentistry!
Owner Elizabeth Addison
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The Hut of Worship
Owner Greg Ward
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Owner Greg Ward
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Owner Greg Ward
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They call this the Great Wall, not to be confused with
the one in China, which is larger in absolute terms
but perhaps not as large relative to the size of the
land mass it is found on.
Owner Greg Ward
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Sacred ponds, stocked with sacred fish for the sacred
fishermen.
Owner Greg Ward
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Traditional outrigger
Owner Greg Ward
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A green turtle, grazing near the bank.
Owner Greg Ward
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Another turtle, with Eliz in the background.
Owner Greg Ward
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What a lazy reptile!
Owner Greg Ward
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No comment.
Owner Elizabeth Addison
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On the way back, we stopped at the oldest coffee collective
on the island.
Owner Greg Ward
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They had many fruits and things to sample, which we
did.
Owner Greg Ward
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Dinner was from Da Poke Shack.
Owner Greg Ward
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Da Poke be awesome here, dude.
Owner Greg Ward
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Golf course sunset #2 (with sprinklers).
Owner Greg Ward
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On the way to the northern coast, we stopped in Waimea
for a local bite.
Owner Greg Ward
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We had a little trouble finding this place, which was
highly recommended.
Owner Greg Ward
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The nosh was fabulous, but they accidentally doubled
our order, so we had to take home half of it!
Owner Greg Ward
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Here we are at the trailhead for the Waipio Valley.
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It was a steep 1 mile road down to the valley, with
a 25% grade (average).
Owner Greg Ward
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We saw a family with small children climbing the last
steps to the top, with promises of ice cream egging
them on.
Owner Greg Ward
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We actually hitched a ride down most of the road, and
this was the sight that greeted us at the bottom.
Owner Greg Ward
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A typical homstead.
Owner Greg Ward
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At each fork in the road, we took the one that didn’t
say, "Tresspassers Will Be Shot."
Owner Elizabeth Addison
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We wanted to get to this amazingly tall waterfall in
the background, but were later told there was no route
to it that was legal and passable.
Owner Elizabeth Addison
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This was a much nicer home, apparently associated with
the family that runs the horseback tours we saw.
Owner Elizabeth Addison
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Not a bad place to be stabled, all things considered.
Owner Elizabeth Addison
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The animals seemed to be treated very well from what
we saw.
Owner Greg Ward
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The flowers seemed quite healthy as well.
Owner Greg Ward
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The first of many streams we crossed on our road.
Owner Greg Ward
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Owner Greg Ward
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We saw bunches of bananas.
Owner Elizabeth Addison
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The view from the road was magnificent.
Owner Elizabeth Addison
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Owner Greg Ward
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The horseback rides just circled the valley.
Owner Elizabeth Addison
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Eliz took this photo, along with many of these.
Owner Elizabeth Addison
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Owner Elizabeth Addison
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Owner Elizabeth Addison
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Many of the streams were redirected for irrigation,
which makes sense.
Owner Greg Ward
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Otherwise, they would just flood every road I suppose....
Owner Greg Ward
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It was all so lush, but we weren’t sure what the
land was being used for entirely.
Owner Elizabeth Addison
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Owner Elizabeth Addison
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The zig–zag line is the switchback trail we had
considered taking but didn’t. (Whew!)
Owner Elizabeth Addison
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This is the road to the beach.
Owner Greg Ward
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A truck that didn’t make it down the steep road
above, serving as a warning to those who might try it
in their 2–wheel drive vehicle. (We read that
the driver dove out early and was OK.)
Owner Greg Ward
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The black sand beach. (All of the white sand is brought
in from Florida, apparently, so only black beaches are
natural.)
Owner Greg Ward
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We saw a few intrepid surfers trying to get out in the
waves, some of which were quite high.
Owner Elizabeth Addison
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The road back was difficult, as expected, but we made
it.
Owner Greg Ward
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Feeling very good about ourselves (and very sweaty),
we watched the sunset back at the trailhead.
Owner Greg Ward
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This day we spent wandering the markets and downtown
Kona area.
Owner Greg Ward
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I’m probably the only one who finds this sort
of thing amusing, but it seemed like they had the "Summer
Dress Half Off" joke down to the last detail.
Owner Greg Ward
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Another yellow saffron finch
Owner Greg Ward
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Owner Greg Ward
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Here is the larger market we went to.
Owner Greg Ward
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They sold a lot of gift items as well as fresh, exotic
fruit.
Owner Greg Ward
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We picked up a couple bags of Rambutans, which taste
a bit like lychee nuts.
Owner Greg Ward
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We spotted a poster listing most of Hawaii’s specialty
fruits — I had no idea there were so many!
Owner Greg Ward
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We saw many geckos trying to keep the flies off.
Owner Greg Ward
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The proprietor of exotic jams even encouraged a frequenter
with taste samples.
Owner Greg Ward
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Another had a pair of more conventional companions amusing
customers.
Owner Greg Ward
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Not all of the businesses downtown were doing so well.
Notice all the empty slots.
Owner Greg Ward
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...which corresponded to empty storefronts.
Owner Greg Ward
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The funky stores seemed to be doing OK at least.
Owner Greg Ward
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This is one of the older resorts, which looked semi–occupied.
Room rates seemed to be reduced.
Owner Greg Ward
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We walked on to see the Ahuena–Heiau in the Kamakahonu
Bay. Say that three times with your mouth full of pretzels!
Owner Greg Ward
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Ahuena–Heiau
Ahuena–Heiau stands for "Hill of Fire,"
and is basically a reconstruction of an ancient Hawaiian
temple.
Owner Greg Ward
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The paddle–surfing craze seems to be going strong,
even if it’s not going particularly fast....
Owner Greg Ward
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Can’t wait to get back here during Happy Hour!
Owner Greg Ward
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To get to this part of Kona Bay, we had to walk through
some private resort properties along a path that (barely)
satisfied the state’s "public access"
requirements.
Owner Greg Ward
Comment Paul Allen’s "boat" in the background,
with submarine.
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This is Paul Allen’s boat (of Microsoft infamy),
with nearby scout submarine and on deck heliport.
Owner Greg Ward
Comment Paul Allen’s "boat" in the background,
with submarine.
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This is a spotted eel Eliz spotted. Actually, it was
already spotted. Nevermind.
Owner Greg Ward
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Sunset on Kailua Bay
Owner Greg Ward
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The next morning, we returned to our local snorkeling
spot with my parents this time.
Owner Greg Ward
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There were fewer clouds, so better lighting on our tropical
friends.
Owner Greg Ward
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Looks like a singer I know.
Owner Greg Ward
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Owner Greg Ward
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I saw some schools in the shallows as well.
Owner Greg Ward
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These are needlefish, I think — difficult to see
in amongst the waves.
Owner Greg Ward
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Owner Greg Ward
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Owner Greg Ward
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This was like a small family of fish that likedt o swim
together — they weren’t all the same size,
and I’m not sure they were even the same species.
Owner Greg Ward
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This was my favorite, and he liked the camera (or at
least liked attacking it). I have a cool video of him
as well.
Owner Greg Ward
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He had a monster mustache on him.
Owner Greg Ward
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Later in the day, we decided to go back to see if we
could find the petroglyphs that were supposed to live
next door to us.
Owner Greg Ward
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There are no signs to guide visitors, so we had to wander
the shallows in search of any suspicious markings.
Owner Elizabeth Addison
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There were quite a few rocks we had to hop in our quest.
Owner Greg Ward
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Finally, we found the spot — probably a few dozen
identifiable petroglyphs.
Owner Greg Ward
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We tried to put our toes into the frame to get a sense
of scale.
Owner Greg Ward
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Owner Elizabeth Addison
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Before dinner, we all piled in the car and drove up
to Holualoa for the annual Music & Light Festival.
Owner Greg Ward
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Santa was there talking to children about his miniature
outrigger pulled by eight tiny dolphins. There was
quite a queue.
Owner Greg Ward
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Yes folks, tamales and crepes, step right up, aloha!
Owner Elizabeth Addison
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Some of the galleries and places had free food and events
going on and were crowded.
Owner Greg Ward
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Others had eclectic artwork for sale.
Owner Greg Ward
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This was the bird artist’s gallery.
Owner Greg Ward
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Music wet from rock to pop harp, to Christmas carols.
Owner Elizabeth Addison
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The carolers performed once a year, judging by the harmonies.
Owner Greg Ward
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Church Fest
There was also a big recruiting drive at the church,
complete with jumping house and free bibles.
Owner Greg Ward
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For dinner, we went to a favorite local Japanese place,
Tashima.
Owner Greg Ward
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We were a little tired.
Owner Greg Ward
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The next day, we went to a better–marked set of
petroglyphs at Mauna Lani, the Puako site.
Owner Greg Ward
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Don’t mess with Dug and his paddle!
Owner Greg Ward
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Before they had water–ski shows, they had 3 guys
on a surfboard.
Owner Greg Ward
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Tossing Junior high.
Owner Elizabeth Addison
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This was one of the more unusual forms.
Owner Greg Ward
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This little fellow just wasn’t sure what he was
supposed to be.
Owner Greg Ward
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Ugh. Ate too much. (Alternate interpretation is a
turtle.)
Owner Greg Ward
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Antman!
Owner Greg Ward
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Quadruplets
Honey, I ran out of room on the stone before I got to
Charlie!
Owner Greg Ward
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We were a bit puzzled by this one, as deer and sheep
were a more recent introduction to the islands.
Owner Greg Ward
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As were aliens.
Owner Greg Ward
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The tree growth in the recent lava bed was quite a tangle,
and our path to the main petroglyph site led through
it.
Owner Elizabeth Addison
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This tree fell over, despite having its roots emedded
in stone.
Owner Greg Ward
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After maybe 10 or 15 minutes of walking, we arrived
to the main site.
Owner Elizabeth Addison
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It was cordened off to discourage tromping on the artwork.
Owner Elizabeth Addison
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Elizabeth took this photo (and many of these).
Owner Elizabeth Addison
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You could walk around the site along a path, whose boundaries
were fenced in places and marked by little stones in
others.
Owner Greg Ward
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This is a 180–degree panorama.
Owner Greg Ward
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Surrounding the main area, there were lots of scattered
petroglyphs that people had discovered and marked.
Owner Elizabeth Addison
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This was a common form, whose "appendages"
varied in length.
Owner Greg Ward
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This gives you an idea of the number of petroglyphs
— basically they were everywhere you looked at
this site.
Owner Greg Ward
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Probably a lizard.
Owner Greg Ward
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The sky was missing its usual cloud layer, allowing
one to see clear up to the observatory on Mona Kea.
Owner Greg Ward
Comment The Kona Observatory is just visible on top of the mountain.
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On the path back
Owner Elizabeth Addison
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It was warm and humid, but there was a bit of a breeze
once we were out of the forest.
Owner Greg Ward
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The following day, Eliz and I headed south to the town
of Volcano, stopping at the Painted Church in Captain
Cook on the way. It seemed to be painted off–white.
Owner Greg Ward
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They saved all the colorful paint for the interior.
Owner Greg Ward
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Super wide–angle
Owner Greg Ward
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Our second stop was in Na’alehu, at the Punalu’u
bakery, which specializes in sweet bread.
Owner Greg Ward
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Our third stop was at a black sand beach just past the
southern tip of the island.
Owner Greg Ward
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The interesting nature parts had less sand and more
rocks.
Owner Greg Ward
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If anyone knows what these are, please tell me. I’m
guessing it’s some kind of limpet.
Owner Greg Ward
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Eliz found a friendly green turtle.
Owner Elizabeth Addison
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I think he was singing.
Owner Elizabeth Addison
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About midafternoon, we arrived at the Volcano Guest
house, a lovely B&B Eliz found online just outside
Volcano Village.
Owner Greg Ward
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Situated in a rainforest, the bedding was a bit damp,
but the place was lovely.
Owner Greg Ward
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There were two rooms with a full kitchen, not that we
used it really.
Owner Greg Ward
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Across the drive was the breakfast lanai, complete with
hot tub. We wanted to try it out, but we’ll have
to do that on our next visit. We extended our stay
to two days, we liked it so much.
Owner Elizabeth Addison
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The grounds were amazing.
Owner Elizabeth Addison
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After checking in, we continued eastward to the county
lava viewing point. It’s incrediable to me that
people buy land and build here, but they do.
Owner Greg Ward
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The viewing point had moved considerably eastward since
our last visit in 2009. The lava had covered a large
portion of the road in 2010, we were told.
Owner Greg Ward
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We saw a nice sunset, but no lava.
Owner Greg Ward
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We even tried to book a hike out to the flow, but balked
at the $100/person pricetag. This is the little station
we would have left from had we done that.
Owner Greg Ward
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Someone said you can see the lava from the shore, but
I think we would have had to hike a couple of miles
to the point shown in the distance.
Owner Greg Ward
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We saw a few sprouting coconuts washed up on the beach,
like this one.
Owner Greg Ward
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The sunset through the clouds of steam was pretty cool,
though.
Owner Greg Ward
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We ended up driving back to Volcanoes National Park,
where we had a lovely picnic dinner overlooking the
Kilauea crater.
Owner Greg Ward
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Kilauea didn’t look quite as menacing the next
morning, when we decided to hike its southern neighbor,
Kilauea Iki.
Owner Greg Ward
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This is a non–native flower, we found out. It
shall remain nameless.
Owner Greg Ward
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The main vent at Kilauea Iki.
Owner Greg Ward
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The trail down to the crater basin was lovely and stepped.
Owner Greg Ward
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The crater erupted in 1959, and is considered dormant
at this point.
Owner Greg Ward
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There are still a few steam vents.
Owner Greg Ward
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Eliz was reading the map/brochure, which admonishes
visitors to watch their step.
Owner Greg Ward
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The trail leading up the opposite side of the crater
was lush and cool, thankfully.
Owner Greg Ward
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We visited the Thurston Lava Tube afterwards.
Owner Greg Ward
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There were busloads of people letting off in the parking
lot.
Owner Greg Ward
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This is an HDR view from the far end.
Owner Greg Ward
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The second half of the tube was closed this time. Eliz
remembered going in there in 2009.
Owner Greg Ward
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Parting shot (Eliz trying her hand at HDR)
Owner Elizabeth Addison
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For lunch, we went to Tedd & Sandy’s favorite
restaurant in the Universe, Thai Thai.
Owner Elizabeth Addison
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The decor and the food were fabulous.
Owner Greg Ward
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We ordered their special currey and Pad Thai. Both
were marvelous.
Owner Elizabeth Addison
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Afterwards, we drove east again to visit a beach we
heard about with hot springs. Along the way, we drove
through this fantastic rainforest, and had to stop to
check it out.
Owner Greg Ward
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The trees were probably 150 feet tall, with all sorts
of growth in the branches.
Owner Greg Ward
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Here we are at Ahalanui Park, a free county beach.
Owner Greg Ward
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The hot springs–fed pool was a lovely place to
relax, and we spent nearly an hour floating around amongst
the Russian visitors.
Owner Greg Ward
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Afterwards, we had in mind hiking along the water east
of the beach. The trail started out in a different
kind of rainforest, more lush than the one along the
road.
Owner Greg Ward
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It was a short stretch of path out to the ocean, but
incredibly diverse flora.
Owner Greg Ward
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I want to see this one on the HDR display.
Owner Greg Ward
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This is what we found on the other side of the forest.
The beach was quite rocky and difficult to navigate.
Owner Greg Ward
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At least Eliz wasn’t wearing her flip–flops.
Owner Greg Ward
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We gave up trying to follow the trail at this point.
Owner Greg Ward
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Heading back, we watched the sun set.
Owner Greg Ward
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Eliz took this one.
Owner Elizabeth Addison
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Despite the sun going down, a couple of surfers decided
to catch some waves.
Owner Elizabeth Addison
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For dinner, we stopped in the hippie village of Pahoa.
Owner Greg Ward
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Kaleo’s was a sort of burger bar, with live music
and excellent local fare.
Owner Greg Ward
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Never can get used to seeing Christmas trees...
Owner Greg Ward
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Our final day, we drove down Hilina Pali Road in Volcanoes
National Park. This is a collapsed hillside caused
by undermining lava flows.
Owner Greg Ward
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This is an old lava flow from the mid 1800’s,
which left bizarre features on the landscape.
Owner Greg Ward
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A tongue of lava.
Owner Greg Ward
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Every part was different, and Eliz and I spent the better
part of an hour wandering around and snapping photos.
Owner Greg Ward
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Lots of cracks to fall into.
Owner Greg Ward
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Over time, the color turns from black to this reddish
hue, maybe from sun exposure or rust(?)
Owner Greg Ward
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The final Hilina Pali lookout point was nothing as spectacular
as the views along the way.
Owner Greg Ward
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We may have been able to see more had we hiked out further,
but we were worried we might not make it back to Kailua–Kona
in time for our manta snorkeling adventure that evening.
Owner Greg Ward
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And, we wanted to make one more stop before driving
back, which was to an unmarked crater known as Devil’s
Throat. We followed this fissure to find it.
Owner Greg Ward
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There were some warning signs.
Owner Elizabeth Addison
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Largely ignored.
Owner Elizabeth Addison
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It was too big even for my super–wide angle, so
I had to take a pano of it. You don’t get a sense
of depth here, but it was almost 200 feet down to the
bottom.
Owner Greg Ward
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This is the boat that took us out to the manta ray feeding
grounds.
Owner Elizabeth Addison
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We saw a single manta on our boat trip, but he was very
attentive. Challenging to photograph due to the light,
but I got some nice video.
Owner Greg Ward
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For lunch the following day, we took my parents to a
famous cafe we had been wanting to visit in Captain
Cook, some miles south of us.
Owner Greg Ward
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The view and the food were memorable.
Owner Greg Ward
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Eliz & I split a seared ahi sandwich on pinapple
macademia nut bread with home–made kettle chips.
Owner Elizabeth Addison
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For dessert, we passed around a couple of pies, a Kona
lime pie and this was lilikoi cheesecake or something
like that — it was fantastic.
Owner Elizabeth Addison
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Eliz had the waitress take our picture.
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We then proceeded to the Peace Gardens, which we had
tried visiting earlier on a Monday, their day off.
Owner Greg Ward
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Twisted vines lined the entry way.
Owner Greg Ward
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An open greenhouse held a few planters and something
quite unexpected and unique...
Owner Greg Ward
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By special dispensation of the Dali Lama, the owners
had been allowed to preserve (for a few years) two Tibetan
sand sculptures created by monks of Dzongkar Choede.
Owner Greg Ward
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I had seen these before only in movies and documentaries,
as they are traditionally destroyed in a day or two
as testimony to the impermanence that marks physical
existence.
Owner Greg Ward
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Some of the details are visible here. They take days
to create.
Owner Greg Ward
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Another creator of finery, this lady was roughly the
size of my hand.
Owner Greg Ward
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We saw a few of these cardinals on the island, but they
were a challenge to capture.
Owner Greg Ward
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Most of the garden shrines had a spiritual theme, and
represented most of the major world religions and philosophies.
Owner Greg Ward
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I’m not sure which this god belonged to, but my
first guess would be Hindu.
Owner Elizabeth Addison
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Baby Jesus
The Baby Jesus tree blooms briefly once a year.
Owner Greg Ward
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Baby Jesus
Right around Christmastime.
Owner Elizabeth Addison
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Galaxy Garden
Another unique feature of the gardens is this topiary
modeled precisely on the Milky Way Galaxy.
Owner Greg Ward
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It was essentially a hibiscus garden, with some fine
specimens on the spiral arm we call home.
Owner Greg Ward
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Gravity Well
At the center was a fountain in the place of Cygnus
X–1, an apt representation of a gravity well (black
hole) with high energy jets perpendicular to the elliptical
plane.
Owner Greg Ward
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A few other random fountains were scattered about the
grounds.
Owner Greg Ward
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This was actually a lava tube on whose walls a few petroglyphs
were visible even from behind the fence.
Owner Greg Ward
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They had a pet parrot with lots of personality, named
Harry. They renamed it Harriet after it laid an egg.
Owner Greg Ward
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It had an uneasy relationship with the two kitties who
wandered the grounds.
Owner Greg Ward
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Owner Greg Ward
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Every night, the groundskeepers at the adjacent golf
course would set the sprinklers to discourage people
from walking out to watc the sunset. Everyone ignored
them.
Owner Greg Ward
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The next day, I decided to give boogie boarding a try.
We had been given free rent for a week when we signed
up for the manta ray tour.
Owner Elizabeth Addison
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That’s me, second from the right. I got clobbered
by another boarder and broke a toe that day.
Owner Elizabeth Addison
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Being unable to walk to the shore that night, I took
this from our balcony.
Owner Greg Ward
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Our last full day was spent driving up to the little
town of Hawi with my folks. We stopped in Waimea on
the way to show my parents the Hawaiian Style Cafe that
had so impressed us on our earlier jaunt.
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Owner Elizabeth Addison
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There was a lovely little gift shop next door, where
we spent some time shopping and picking up little stocking
stuffers for our kids.
Owner Greg Ward
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Elizabeth was driving.
Owner Greg Ward
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Here we are in Hawi. We got some ice cream and Eliz
picked up a lovely little outfit my mom found for her.
Owner Greg Ward
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Owner Greg Ward
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Eliz asked me to pose for her under this sign, which
she only let me read afterwards.
Owner Elizabeth Addison
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Another funky diner in a state of funky diners.
Owner Elizabeth Addison
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We finally got to see a rainbow, our first of the trip
on the last full day before flying home.
Owner Greg Ward
Page created Dec 11 2012 10:34:21a