Hawaii

After an arduous 10-hour plane flight from Ft Myers, we arrived at our daughter, Michele, and her boyfriend, Bryan's home in Kona, HI in time for a dinner snack and bed.  We awoke to a beautiful day in paradise.   Kahaluu Beach Park Snorkeling  was on the agenda.  The park is located just minutes away!  This turtle greeted us as we viewed the other colorful fish through our masks. Click to see Fish video posted Picasca Hawaii web album.

 Ho'o makaukau! Hoe hapai! Imua!  Our paddles dig into blue water as we help drive a double hull canoe with ten members of the Keauhou Canoe Club early one morning.  "Hut", calls the #3 paddler on the 14th stroke! "Hu", we answer on the 15th stroke and altogether switch sides, driving the big 45 foot canoe further out of Keauhou Bay and onto the ocean.  What a great group of folks. What a great way to start the day. Click to see Canoe video posted on Picasca Hawaii web album.

Later on we traveled to Captain Cook's monument On Board Hula Kai., a lovely boat that took us 17 miles down the coast.  We saw a whale breaching and whales chasing one another.  It's awe inspiring viewing these creatures who travel every year from Alaska to Hawaii to mate and bear their young.

Michele surprised us by taking off from work to drive us up the coastline by Kealakekua Bay , our final destination being
Volcano National Park.  She booked a night at the gorgeous
Volcano Village Lodge.   It was a very special place hidden in the rainforest - too pretty to describe!  She wanted us to experience the volcano at night and to see it's glow. The pictures just don't do it justice!  We then went for a wonderful dinner at another lodge in the area.  We were surprised how the volcano area had changed.  Almost 20 years ago, we visited and there were active lava flows not far from the road.  Now, most of the lava is underneath a crust and not very visible except at night near the volcano.  The ranger explained how the landscape is changing and growing on this young dynamic island.

One day we borrowed Bryan's jeep and traveled to Pololū Valley   Pololu Valley - Let's Go.  More beautiful scenery and landscapes with trecks along the coastline. 

In between all the fun, we caught up on missed epidoses of Downton Abbey.  Their wonderful neighbors also invited us for a lovely dinner.  Check out our Photos !