Today was our last day in Hawaii. We had only a few hours this morning to soak in a few last glimpses of our glorious Kealakekua Bay views and gorge ourselves on fresh-picked mangos (I ate two) before we had to leave for the airport.
For as long as I can remember I’ve had blackeyed peas and greens on New Years Day. In Southern lore the peas are for luck and the greens for money. It seems to have worked well for us in the past so I wasn’t about to let a little thing like being 3600 miles from home stand in the way of tradition.
We had a relatively lazy New Year’s Eve today. It seems as if we’ve been going non-stop thus far so it was a nice change of pace to lounge around all morning. No early-morning boat rides or submarines, no late night lu’aus to attend.
Today is our 10th anniversary. Marla and I were married December 29th, 1996 during a blizzard in Seattle. It seems only fitting, then, that we would celebrate in sunny Hawaii with a submarine ride and a lu’au, don’t you think?
I woke us up at the crack of dawn today for our whale watching tour. Sound familiar? That’s because we did the same thing yesterday morning. This attempt, though, we arrived at the right time, the right place and the right day.
I woke us up at the crack of dawn today for our whale watching tour only to discover once we arrived that the tour wasn’t until tomorrow. We ended up driving to Hapuna Beach and had a wonderful time playing in the sand.
Volcanoes have been a life-long fascination of mine so you can imagine that I was excited to visit Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. We arrived with just enough time for a few minutes in the Visitor Center and a short hike before hunting for flowing lava.
Looking out the back windows of the house you can see what looks like a fantastic surfing spot just to the south of Kealakekua Bay. There are three long breaks a few hundred yards off shore and I’ve watched a dozen folks surfing through the binoculars in the mornings.
Happy Holidays from Hawaii!
We spend the morning touring coffee farms and The Painted Church. The afternoon is spent frolicking at Ke’ei beach and ends with spectacular sunset. Who could ask for more?