We have returned from our blissful 11 night stay in beautiful Keauhou Bay on the Kona coast of the Big Island of Hawaii. We celebrated our 25th anniversary, attended the SSR meeting, and enjoyed the sub-tropical paradise. The pace of life is a contrast to the cost of living in Hawaii. I was shocked to see gas at $4.25 a gallon, only to return to Chicago to see the same price here. $5 a gallon is coming to a gas station near you soon.
We arrived at the Kona airport on Thursday and it took a bit of adjustment to see the stark lava landscape and all outdoor nature of the airport. After we fetched our luggage and rental car, we fired up the Garmond Nuvi and voila, it directed us from the airport to the Shearaton Resort at Keauhou-- ah technology! By the time we found the hotel, it was pouring rain. Warm rain, it was like taking a shower. We were very tired and out of sync with the time, so we retired early. The next morning after a fabulous breakfast in the hotel we spent the morning at the pool, and immediately sunburned our pallid flesh. Multiple applications of sun screen and tanning oil saved us from getting badly burned and we all three had a nice glow within a few hours. After the clouds rolled in we headed off to explore Honalo and Kahalu'u forest in search of coffee. We found the Blue Sky Kona coffee farm and enjoying tasting the coffee-- traditional Kona and the richer Peaberry varieties, and went on a guided tour of the farm with an introduction to the local vegetation-- calabash, bread fruit, banana trees surrounding the coffee trees, the coffee fruit still green this time of the year. We bought roasted coffee beans and some green Kona coffee to take home. At $20 a pound it seemed exorbitantly expensive, but a fun indulgence. After we left we crossed paths with a flock of wild turkeys walking across the road. we headed into the village of Kailua-Kona on Alii Drive. We blended right in with the rest of the tourists and enjoyed the busy resort village atmosphere-- seeking ice cream. We found several coffee shops, all selling 100% pure Kona coffee for $45 per pound. Our purchase at the coffee farm then seemed like a wise one. There were several barkers trying to get us to bundle our "activities" with a time-share presentation at a big discount. One gent described a combination deep sea fishing, volcano helicopter tour bundle for only $930 per person! What a bargain but we passed. We watched the outriggers and waves while Ryder enjoyed his ice cream. After we strolled to the doc, we learned that the outriggers with their six person crews were racing on the Ironman swim course. I couldn't imagine swimming in that surf. Wow.
The next morning we practiced snorkeling in the pool and then headed off to Kahulu'u to go snorkeling. The tide was out and the walk across the lava rocks to the water was really tough on our feet. But once we made it into the water, amazing! Within a few feet we could see dozens of different kinds of brightly colored fish and the corral creatures. Ryder is a strong swimmer, but it took him a while to get used to snorkeling. Salt water takes getting used to. Like baby's tears we kept saying. I stayed near his side and he would occasionally thrash around and use me as a float while he adjusted his gear. Even though it was cloudy our backs got sunburned floating on the water, looking down. We saw many big sea turtles near the shore.
On Sunday old family friends wholive in Hilo, and who happened to be celebrating their 35th anniversarythe next day, picked us up a the hotel and drove us north to Kona Village Resort at Ka'upulehu near Kihola bay. This was a real treat-- old Hawaii with thatched roof huts which were modern bungalows, but a fabulous feast of Asian and American breakfast foods. We ate and ate and enjoyed the seaside serenity. We saw seas turtles when we strolled on the secluded white and black sand beach. Then in marked contrast they drove us up to Wiakialoa where the
huge Hilton resort is-- Las Vegas style "grandeur" with a gondola, a monorail, 100s of acres of lawns, pools, cliffs, waterfalls, thousands of hotel rooms, a dolphin show, and on and on. Of course Ryder thought this was great but Karen and I were repulsed by the over-the-top ostentatiousness of the place. It was fun though, the parrot in the lobbyand sheer splendor, but mostly Don and Dina's excellent company made for a most enjoyable day.
On Monday we indulged in our only paid "activity"-- a submarine excursion in to Kailua bay. I've never been on a submarine before (except at the museum) so this was really exciting for us all. Seeing the ship wrecks and sea life was great though not at all colorful. Not a lot of light penetrates 100 feet of ocean. We did see a shark which was very cool. That evening we attended the Luau at the hotel, and that too was a lot of fun. A pig roast, poi, hulu dancers, fire dancers, a reenactment of the Hawaii myth of Pele, goddess of fire. It was a lot of fun. Those hulu dancers were ripped!
On Tuesday we visited the state park at the Pu'uhonua o Honaunau historical site, the city of refuge adjacent to the lovely deep clear water of "two step" not a beach, but lava flow into the water. It was easy to get in and we had an excellent time snorkeling. The water was absolutely clear and got very deep quickly. We had invested a few dollars in reef shoes, and this made our experience on the lava much more pleasant. Alas, the meeting started Tuesday afternoon, and continued through Friday, so we mostly stayed at the resort. Ryder really enjoyed the waterslide and the vast pool, and Karen had a wonderful time relaxing while I worked the meeting. Word started to get out about SIU as the SIU, UIUC and UIC colleagues all commingled at the meeting. I had been very circumspect about my interviews and potential for moving to Carbondale as Chairman of Physiology, but within a day at the meeting, all my UIC cronies had heard. It was a relief actually, to have the word out. As is usual at SSR we drank and talked a lot, and enjoyed the state of the art in reproductive sciences in a bucolic setting. This meeting will set the standard for splendor, if not science and amenities, that is for sure. The traditional bar-b-queue followed by the big dance was also a treat-- I played two songs with the band as per usual, the high point of my year!
We had wanted to go sea kayaking but didn't have a full day to spend, so we returned to the beach at Kahulu'u to snorkel and found that the tide was in and we could walk across the sand and step into the water with out shredding our feet. After Ryder and I snorkeled and shot up all the film in our underwater camera, he returned to the shore and I swam out towards the break water. The current carried me out and as I neared the wall, the abundance of sea life was so incredible that I barely noticed how shallow the water was. As the waves crashed over the wall I was nearly swept into the reef and I noticed how cold the current was. Yikes! I oriented myself relative to shore and swam in strong fast strokes back to the beach. I had traveled nearly a half mile out into the water with out knowing it! exciting! Especially for Karen who watched me disappear into the waves.
On Saturday we drove up to Monoa Kea to the observators which was spectacular. At 14,000 feet it was clear, sunny, and rather cool. While the park service made such a big deal of the altitutde, it really didn't affect us adversely. We could see Maui and the distant steam plume coming from Kilauea. And we were treated to a home cooked meal at Don and Dina's house! Sunday we visited Volcano national park. I had just finished reading Chasing Lava by We spent the weekend on the Hilo side of the island with our friends, touring the volcano park and the Kilauea caldera. The lushness of Hilo was quite a contrast to the stark landscape of Kona.Wendell Duffield, the story of a geologist's tour of duty at Hawaii Volcano Observatory, so it was very interesting to see the Jagger museum and the caldera in person. We drove all the way to the sea following the lava flow and then hiked to see the waves crashing into the cliffs and the steam where the lava met the water. Next trip we will hike in at night to see the glowing lava.
On Monday we enjoyed one last morning at the hotel finishing off our Hawaiian tans, then checked out, drove to Captain Cook for one last meal at Senor Willies, and then made it to the airport. It was so relaxed at the airport it was almost a pleasure to go through TSA and the USDA inspections. Even though My bag was 51 pounds but they didn't charge extra. We had a direct flight from Kona to O'Hare. It took a few days to get over the travel and time lag, but we returned to much nicer weather in Chicago than when we left. Alas, our tans are fading quick-- we must get to the pool soon. Good to be back but it was so nice being there. Mahalo to Hawaii!
