Today Seth did some work on the computer while I read. We then headed out to the Ahalanui Park, which is a natural hot lava pool, nearby. We walked around the area before we decided to get in and try snorkeling. The water is definitely warm- around 90 degrees or so. The snorkeling wasn't the greatest, but you could see some fish close to the inflow of water. The pool used to be natural, but was privately owned and maintained with cement walls, and steps, etc. for a while, before the property was transferred to the state, and then became a park. I prefer the cooler lava pools (even though I get cold easily) to this pool, but it was a nice change of pace.
Next, we drove to Kehena Black Sand beach and walked around. The beach is gorgeous, though nudists hang out there, so we decided pictures weren't appropriate. Looks like a nice place to hang out and enjoy the waves (if you don't mind public nudity). We were, however, asked if we wanted to purchase some illegal substances from a non-nude beachgoer, which we politely declined. Otherwise, a pretty mellow, nice view, and secluded beach.
From here, we decided to check out the lava flow during the day. The trail out is on older lava flow, and has reflective stickers along the path. It was neat to see the grayish magma splatter during the day, having already seen it glowing at night. It's also interesting to see some of the houses that are surrounded by lava in the old Kalapana area.
We drove back to the house to change, before we headed out to do some snorkeling at the local tide pools. This was the best snorkeling we had done thus far! The water was clear, there were TONS of fish, TONS of different types of coral, and not many people. I was schooling along with the fish, and it was an amazing feeling. One fish that I saw was almost as long as I was. This was awesome!
We had a dinner invitation from a previous participant (they had also invited us over for 4th of July, but we were on the wrong side of the island). We brought some wine and the last of our brats and buns and headed over. We had a blast, and we even shot off some fireworks, until the neighbor cop came by and told us to cease and desist or we would be fined $500... oops. We were then treated to pineapple, banana smoothies for dessert. We enjoyed our visiting and definitely plan to stay in touch. The woman is now working for the county, while the man does contract work. The daughter is a substitute teacher working on her MS in teaching. There were also 3 kids running around, so it was lots of fun.
We had packed accordingly, and decided to head straight to the lava flow. We arrived after 11 p.m. and headed out. The view at night is gorgeous! We walked off trail to get a closer view of the flow, and really feel the heat. We stood for hours in awe of Pele. There were two other guys out there, one of whom was fairly crude about the eruption, but we couldn't tell if he was drunk, or just not quite normal... When we finally decided to make the trek back, around 2:20 a.m., we walked back a different way then we came in (for a change of scenery, and because the other guys went this way). We were walking over steam vents and areas where you could see the glow beneath you. It's harder to head this direction, since the lava is at your back, and the trail is not marked, but the one guy did a good job of heading in the right direction (Seth followed with the GPS). We even saw (and smelled) trees that had been burned out of their bases. The drunk/not normal guy fell at one point, and sliced up his hands pretty good (lava is really sharp), but we were lucky to have thought to pick up large sticks to act as third legs, as neither of us fell, though we both slipped a few times. I later joked that the guy slipping was Pele's revenge for making such crude comments. The view was awesome! We got back around 4 in the morning and went to sleep.
Today we slept in a bit and had eggs for breakfast with tofu to attempt to finish up some of the food we have left here before we head out.
We drove up to Hilo to go to the Imiloa Astronomy center, and were fortunate to get the Kama'aina discount (local discount), which saved us quite a bit of money. We enjoyed both of the shows in their theater, included the 3D show, with special 3D glasses. The center had lots of fun activities and displays geared towards kids, but fun for all ages, including the universe kitchen, where the universe was made in 5 minutes flat. The center has all of the displays in both english and Hawaiian, and is meant also as a cultural center, since the local people used their own knowledge to track their movement and the movement in the skies. In addition, there are great gardens outside with local and exotic plants labeled. There is also an area where they are working on constructing 2 wood canoes, like were used for the voyages between the South Pacific islands and Hawaii.
We decided to visit our old friend, Baker Tom, and purchase some malsadas. Today we tried the pineapple, a lemon bismark, a canadian bacon, and a pepperoni pizza. I love all his fruity ones, and the pepperoni pizza was pretty darn good too (especially warmed in the micro like he did for us). Having tried a number across the island (too many?), I really feel Baker Tom's malsadas are in their own league. Yum!
We ate our malsadas at Kaumana caves, before going in and exploring. My headlamp wore out, so we didn't explore all 2 miles of the caves, but still enjoyed the peaceful coolness of the caves.
We went back to the apartment, worked on arranging things in suitcases so they weren't heavier than 50 lbs, and went to sleep.
Our last day in Hawaii! Wow, this summer has gone fast! We spent the morning finishing packing, doing laundry, and getting ready to make the trek home. We said goodbye to the little area we called home for the last few days. I really liked the outdoor shower where you could shower with the stars twinkling and the coqui calling.
We plan to stop by a few areas on our drive up to Hilo before returning the car. Then we make the trek back from Hilo to Kona in the rental car and finally fly out of the Kona airport at 10:45 p.m. tonight, to arrive in Logan tomorrow around mid day.
We took the northern route around the island to get to Kona, and timed it perfectly to arrive at the Kona airport with just enough time to spare. We stopped by Baker Tom's for our last malsadas, but he had a good day and was sold out, so we settled for a couple of turnovers instead. Not as good as his malsadas, though the crust was perfectly flakey.
At the airport, we had a little bit of a hassle with our luggage as the registration woman didn't like the way the cooler was packed, even though I argued it was just as likely to fall apart as the cheap suitcases we own.... in the end, I had to sign a little form that claims the packaging isn't suitable for flying, thus, airplane company is not liable for any damages. To me, this just meant they can play hockey with it more than they already do... oh well, it wasn't worth it to waste time on the cooler.
The flight was uneventful, except that they don't show the movies on flights departing after 10 p.m., which was a bit of a bummer. They also now charge for on flight beverages... including water. Good thing we had our water bottle. Somewhere during the sleepless flight, we passed into Thursday, whether our bodies agreed with the time zones or not.
The flight from Phoenix to Salt Lake was overbooked, and they requested volunteers to be bumped in exchange for free roundtrip tickets to anywhere in the continental US. We signed up as volunteers, since this was one of few times we were flying, arriving at a respectable hour, and not needing to rush and do anything. We were looking forward to the free vouchers, but 2 people ended up not making their connection, so we made it on the original flight without the vouchers after all.
Beverages for sale on this flight as well- seems to be the new policy on their planes, according to the front of the in-flight magazine...
We sat on the runway for about an hour in the heat with no air on (auxiliary system wasn't working), but other than that, the flight was smooth sailing. I got smart and asked for a cup of ice (free), which I put in my water bottle and enjoyed as they melted... They'll probably start charging for ice too...
The cooler had a chunk taken out of it on the side (styrofoam), but no contents seemed to be missing. The inspectors took off the strap we had on it, put it inside, and then used their own straps to latch it down, which seemed to be the problem- that and juggling it onto the plane.
The shuttle ride back was pleasant, though we were stuck in a small traffic jam due to road construction. There was just one other passenger, who will be a master's student in economics this fall. He's from India originally, and this was his first visit to the US (except for a week in IL prior to UT to visit a sister). We gave him lots of dope about living in Logan and where to find apartments.
We came back to piles of mail, some dead plants, some thriving plants (succulents), and the realization that the summer is almost officially over.