:::Yawn::: Your turn!

We've been going, going, going, and today I was gone. We left our hotel this morning to tour the Iolani Palace, which was the official residence of the soverign nation of Hawaii's last two monarchs -- King Kalakaua, who built the Palace in 1882, and his sister and successor, Queen Lili`uokalani.

The palace was closed.

And it was hot, and I was tired... soooo tired, after an entire summer-on-the-go. I had crashed. So Eric and I went to the movies. Yes... we went to a dark, air-conditioned theater and saw Hairspray. It was the right movie and the right time; we laughed & laughed. We laughed whenever Christopher Walken came on screen, before he said his lines. We tapped our feet and wiggled in our seats with the music. It was good.

Then we went swimming at Waikiki. The beach at Waikiki didn't become so famous for nothing. It's crowded, but it's beautiful.

Tomorrow we're hanging out with Luana (yay!) and Sunday we fly home.

Here are a few pics:


We visited another rain forest in Volcano National Park. Loved it!


A rain forest can make the distinction between plant and animal seem kinda fuzzy.


We visited an orchid farm. Gorgeous!


The memorial at the sunken battleship Arizona at Pearl Harbor was more moving than we anticipated.


We spent more than hour navigating the World's Largest Maze in the hot, hot, sun.


Just another tourist!

I should have...

posted more stuff lately. So much has happened, and we're still very busy... I know I 'll never remember half the stuff we've done.

And now it's time to go again!

Having a great time. Wish you (my three regular readers) were here!

All's Well

We left the Big Island with Hurricane Flossie at our heels -- much ado about nothing, if you ask me. I'm glad that there's no advance warning of earthquakes. I live in earthquake country, and all the frenzied folks buying water and batteries would just irritate me.

We've arrive in Hilo and will soon explore!

Aloha Continues

We left Kailiua-Kona and stayed a few nights in the cattle country where it was lush, green, and cool. We kept returning to Hapuna , though – because, really, if you’re just a few miles from one of the nicest beaches in the world, how do you stay away?



We went to the fancyshmancy restaurant in Waimea. It was good, but no better than the every day places we frequent in the Bay Area.

Yesterday, after spending a few hours at Hapuna, we moved camp to Hilo. We stopped along the way for a short hike to Akaka Falls. Another climate! This was a rain forest, with amazing foliage and flowers…wide banana leaves as tall as I am, bamboo, Jurassic-looking-ferns, wild orchids, and flowers in every color you can imagine. Wow!




I’m starting to feel worn out from all of the travel. It’s been a long & wonderful summer, and I’ve been going, going, going. I'm starting to feel kinda gone, but it’s okay. Summer's nearly over and there's more to see and do, including a visit with Yoko and Luana! Yay! This summer hasn’t been restful, but it’s been good.

Today: A Volcano!

Tomorrow: Fly to Oahu!

More Aloha

Yesterday we went to Pu'uhonua o Honaunau, a national historic park. There are ruins of royal grounds there. It was once an important residence of the ali'i. Very cool, but even more interesting to me was the pu'uhonua, or Place of Refuge.


This cove was the royal canoe landing. No commoners allowed!

There's a massive stone wall that still stands, behind which was a sanctuary for noncombatants in times of war, defeated warriors, or people who broke the kapu (sacred laws). Noncombatants and defeated warriors were allowed to remain until the war was over, and then were allowed to live, showing alligiance to whichever side won the war.

If people who broke the law were able to make it to the sanctuary, they were absolved of their sins and allowed to return home without punishment. Wow!

In the afternoon we went to the beach a Kekaha Kai State Park. It was gorgeous, of course -- the water was that amazing crystal turquoise that I've only seen in Hawaii and the Caribbean -- but BOY was it a trek! I wouldn't recommend it unless you're driving an off-road vehicle. Plus, there was a daunting (for me, anyway) scramble across a lava bed in the heat of the sun.

It made the water feel especially nice, though.

We had a great dinner at a local place. I had a classic teriyaki beef plate lunch. I love a Hawaiian plate lunch!

We're leaving our super comfy condo today and moving to the other side of the island. First we'll spend a few hours a Hapuna, though. It's about as nice as beach can be.

2 Pics

A life of danger and adventure.



Pololu Valley Lookout on the big island.

Aloha

Kailua-Kona is bee you tea full. We spent the day at Hapuna Beach, where Eric spent several winters some years ago. It's still very nice -- crystal blue water and white sands.

Boy oh boy am I tired. Sunburned and tired.

More later!

Brrrrrrrrr

Damn, it's cold in Oakland, California.

I think I'll go to Hawaii!

Wow.

We arrived home last night from our two weeks on the road -- two weeks and we slept in ten different cities. It was a wonderful trip... so much to see & do, and so many lovely hours with Eric.

A funny thing happened on the way to accomplish the mission, part B. I largely stopped caring!

Initially I wanted to go back to the places I'd been. I wanted to visit my father's old home town and spend time at the cemetery in Balmorhea. Mission accomplished and it was a more powerful experience than I had anticipated. It was a good.

I also wanted to go to Long Beach, California -- the place I often refer to as "the scene of the crime". It's no secret to any of my three regular readers that I didn't have a very good time there. I wanted to see where I'd been, and maybe confront a ghost or two.

I discovered that if there are ghosts there, they are as common & harmless as dust bunnies.


Just another house in Long Beach, CA

I walked around my old schools, drove by the house where I lived. It was all pretty and tidy. I loved the weather, loved the flowers everywhere, loved being there with Eric and telling him my stories. Some of the stories were sad, but I wasn't sad.

It was a sunny day, and I was there with my adorable husband.

So... we scraped the boohooing over the past and spent two hardcore days at Disneyland. I hadn't been in over twenty years. It was wonderfully nostalgic and there was so much that was "new to me" that it totally rocked. Here's what I have to say about spending 48 hours in Disneyland every twenty years: Wheeeeeeeeeee!


It's actually a big world, but the ride is still good fun.


Since we've been home all I've done is sleep. We are exhausted, and we leave for Hawaii on Tuesday.

What a summer!

Fifteen, do I hear sixteen?

Today is our fifteenth wedding anniversary. It's been a good, good, day. Even my worst days have been made better by Eric. And the best days... well.. who has words to describe days like that?

I just asked Eric if he had anything to say to the blogosphere, and he asked me to read what I had already written. I did. And this is what he had to say:

That's all she wrote.

I guess it is!