Day 2

Hawaii Day 2

simple hut

walls, mostly of stone

Sure glad that Jesus lived.  He taught forgiveness.  If you study some of the ancient cultures that held pagan beliefs (not just Hawaii, but the Americas, Europe, Asia, and others) the civilizations had some pretty brutal rituals and punishments.  Today we visited a “place of refuge”, a community built to accept those who have committed a “kapu” or sin which may have been as minor as looking at the king or crossing the king’s path well after he had traveled through.  The punishment was death but if the transgressor could get to the place of refuge, his kapu would be forgiven and he/she could again go back to his village.  The display was simple, indicative of their simple life.  The ancients in the tropics didn’t need much; some shade, a place to lie down, and perhaps some sea walls to protect from high waves during storms.  The walls are impressive here, some along the shore but many jutting far inland.  There are plenty of stones here to make the walls.

barb out in the bay

could be a large white male

We drove down to Honounau Bay for some snorkeling.  I was proud of Barb as she jumped right in.  As a young adult she was fearful of the water but those many snorkel trips in Thailand had captured her zeal to explore the beautiful reefs.  The diving here was not great, but nice.  Entries into the water can be difficult as you are leaving from lava.  Getting out is harder as the waves can crash you against the rock.  In between time, however, you hover weightless, in serene-like state, watching the colorful fish frolic through the coral.

We did stop by to view the Captain Cook memorial marking the spot of his death in 1779.  It can only be accessed by boat, horseback, or a long 4 mile hike.  We had no time to approach the site today but if we do it will be via kayak.  The cliff above the bay where the memorial sits holds many secrets.  Kings and royalty had their bones stored within the crevices in the sheer face.  Since the family wanted to keep the location of the bones secret, after the bones were deposited, the rope lowering the man down the rock face, was cut, dropping him to his death.  A secret kept.

Kona Hawaii

morning cofee on lanai

sea turtle in front of condo

It seems like just a few days since we were enjoying the shores of Lake Oconee. Barb and I usually try to spread out our adventures but a promo to Kona by Alaska Air made this trip very doable now. We landed in Kona on Wednesday and we were glad that the tour books had warned us not to judge the Big Island by the topography around the airport. We landed on lava beds amid sparse and dried up vegetation reminiscent of some of the volcanic areas in central WA. After renting a Jeep we drove the few miles into Kona. Our condo (through our time share plan) sits 30 yards from the rocky (lava) beach with a small sand beach down the way. We don’t want to move from this place but we were told that this unit is temporary; we need to move Saturday to a condo in the same complex.



We have enjoyed the primordial sound of the waves as they permeate our condo, even our bedroom, and the reintroduction to tropical fruit. If you have eaten a CA strawberry, picked green, ripened during shipment and compared it to a strawberry that you have picked from the vine, then you can imagine how the bananas and pineapples taste here. They are a bouquet to the mouth. Add to that our revisiting the fruit that we grew to love when we lived in Thailand, the mangos, the papaya, the “hairy strawberry” the rambutan, all available at the local farmers’ market just a mile away. Barb and I also try to save by “cooking in”. Yesterday we visited the local fish market and bought mahi mahi and some ahi. I grilled the mahi mahi last night and it was scrumptious. Our intense exploration of the Big Island begins today. So many beaches and an active volcano, and so little time.

from condo lanai, sunset as cruise ship departs

roads to the sites are often rough

ancient hawaiian road through a lava field

Oconee finish

The rest of the week was spent enjoying time with Ben, Penny and dogs in their comfortable setting on the lake.  The highlight was an hour long cruise down the lake for a lunch at the Ritz Carlton.

Crab dinner

Obedient Louie and Charlie

Ben and Vicki prpare the boat.

Captain Penny

Ben is serious about his wake boarding.

Skimming across the lake toward the Ritz.

Atlanta

Ben's Office

Penny's new store is in the bottom floor of a new apartment village.

Barb in the fountain at Olympic Park

We spent one day in Atlanta visiting the CNN complex, Olympic Park, Ben's office and Penny's new store scheduled to open in the spring.  Her second store is situated in the bottom floor of a huge new apartment complex.  Right now the store is a bare shell.  Penny gets the keys next week and will work through the winter in creating Boogaloos 2.

Explore GA coutryside

October 18

As Ben and Penny left for work Monday a.m., we began to explore the area around the lake.  Madison is one of our favorite towns and we enjoyed taking Vicki and Ed through one of the museum homes and learning more about the early 1800's to present southern culture.

We also traveled into Stone Mountain, now an amusement park and tribute to the Confederacy.  On our way to the mountain we visited the town of Boswick, a center of cotton farming in that part of Georgia.  The harvesting was nearing completion and the local gin was in full production.  The farm girls enjoyed talking with Jim, the local farmer who owns the gin.

Back to Oconee

October 18  Monday
Flew into Atlanta on Thursday with Barb's sister Vicki and her husband Ed.  We met Ben and Penny for dinner before heading east to Lake Oconee.  Ben and Penny's retreat continues to be just that for us.  With temps in the 80's, we spent much of Friday, Saturday and Sunday outside.  Ben was fighting the flu Friday and Saturday, and Penny was fighting it on Sunday.  However, we were still able to spend some time Sunday on the lake.  Today we are visiting one of our most favorite towns, Madison, Georgia which is just a few miles from B and P's lake home.  The town, spared the scorched earth policy of Sherman's march to the sea, has several homes and buildings from the early 1800's.  We plan to spend another week in this area.

Ben, waveboarding behind the boat...

Home

Arrived home Saturday afternoon after spending two nights in Lacrosse.  We had the opportunity to visit with all the E WA sibs and their spouses, visit the Selbu cemetery, and even watch a nephew's daughter play a basketball game in my high school gym.  You can "go back" but it is never the same.  So many things change, most for the good.

Again, Barb and I are so thankful for the experience.  Another National Park is "checked off" our list, another rendezvous with good friends and family, and another safe trip into the exploration of the Creation.  Our RV has opened up so many opportunities, opportunities that are beyond our expectations.

Picnic lunch at Whitefish Lake the day before leaving MT.