February 5, 2023
After missing their plane on the 4th,, my daughter and her kids arrived the following day, the 5th! (see my previous post – “Expecting Company” for the explanation)
I rode the bus into Kona to meet them. I was not confident about my truck, so I rented a car for the time they were here.
The line at the car agency was longer than usual.
The two teenagers wanted to go to the beach, so the next day, we went to Punalu’u Black Sand Beach.
Punalu’u Black Sand Beach
On the way to the beach, we stopped at the overlook and took pictures.
We were not the only ones there. There were also some “residents” sunning themselves on the beach.
The teenage girls wasted no time in getting into the water,
while Parker was a bit more hesitant.
He did get in, eventually
and he joined the girls out in deeper water
while mom stood on shore anxiously watching
The two girls enjoyed laying out on the black sand beach and sitting on the rocks at the water’s edge.
They even got wet a few times while sitting there, as the waves lapped up onto the rocks.
No waves were harmed in taking these photos!
Hawaii Volcanoes National Park
The next day, we drove over to the Volcano National Park.
The only part of the park the girls were interested in was the entry sign!
We walked through the visitor center, only because Grandpa insisted that they had to!
Then off to see waterfalls!
Rainbow Falls
After the visitors center, we drove into Hilo and went to Rainbow Falls.
After looking over the edge at the falls, the girls asked, “Can we go down there?”
After being told that they could not go to the bottom of the falls, they lost interest in it!
Instead, they found a huge banyan tree.
They basically got lost up in the branches of this tree.
Kukio Beach
The next day, the kids wanted a whte sand beach, just for something different than the black sand at Punalu’u. I remembered that the lighter colored sand beaches were on the Kona side of the island. In fact there was one there, in front of a resort that was quite wide and very sandy.
We drove up past Kona to the Four Seasons Resort where Kukio Beach is located. I seemed to recall a long wide stretch of tan sandy beach in front of a resort, and I thought that this was the one that I remembered.
I was wrong. But they still enjoyed it all the same.
The girls went snorkeling out into the bay while Parker hung around the shore line looking at all the sea urchins. A couple of times, he was even had a turtle bump up against the back of his legs as he was knee deep in the water.
The girls enjoyed using the lounge chairs set out by the resort. I was sure that someone would come tell them that they could not use them, but teenage girls get away with all kinds of things!
Today is Alyssandra’s birthday! On the way back to Naalehu, we stopped at Kona to get a birthday cake!
After a late dinner, we had birthday cake!
Earthquake!
The girls wanted to see the sunrise at the beach.
The closest beach is Punalu’u Beach which is a 15 to 20 minute drive away!
The sun comes up at about 5:30 AM
That means that we would have to leave at 5AM to be at the beach for sunrise.
After explaining this to them, they looked at me as if to say, “And so, your point IS???”
My point is, that we would need to wake up at 4:30AM! “OK!”
They had the truck at Ahi where they were staying, and would use it to get to and from Holowai!
I was up at 4AM and walked over to Ahi.
As I walked down Ahi Road towards the property, I saw the two girls were in the truck heading my way. Alyssandra was driving. Parker ran up the driveway and got in the truck just before they pulled away.
I stopped them and told Alyssandra that I would drive. She is not old enough to have a driver’s license and I did not think it wise for her to drive past the Police station to get to Punalu’u Beach!
I drove out towards Wakea Road when Sienna asked, “Grandpa, Where are you taking us?”
“To the beach!” I said. “Last night, that’s where you said you wanted to go!”
“What about Mom?” Both girls asked.
“What about her?” I replied, “I assumed she was not coming, since she did not get in the truck!”
“She was going to meet us over at your place!”
“What?”
“She’s walking over to your place!”
We turn around and head back. By now, the sun is almost up!
After picking her up, we head down to the beach. As we pass the overlook on the other side of Naalehu, the sun is already up! We missed the sunrise at the beach!
Turns out, it was not the sunrise they were interested in! They just wanted to be at the beach as early as possible!
We were there with no towels, no drinking water, no food. So. I left them there and returned to the property to get stuff to spend the day at the beach.
While they frolicked in the ocean, I stopped off at the Punalu’u Bakery for malasadas – a large type of doughnut, with no hole!
Immediately after paying, the building started shaking. Things began falling off the shelves onto the floor. At first the others in the bakery just stood there looking at each other. Then they all started hurrying to the exits!
We had just had an earthquake. It only lasted for a few seconds, ten or fifteen. the initial reports were that it measured 6.0, but later it was downgraded to 5.7! The power was out in some of the businesses in Naalehu.
I tried to get a bag of ice from the gas station/convenience store, but their doors were locked and the power was off! So I went to the hardware store. Alyssandra texted me that they needed some tweezers! After an earthquake, they needed tweezers?!?!
At the hardware store, the door was closed, but not locked, so I pushed it open. There were more items on the floor than on the shelves! Three people came rushing up to tell me they were closed. I said,”I just need a bag of ice!” One girl went to get the ice. I asked about tweezers. They had some hanging on a display right next to the cash register, which still functioned as they had power!
Back at the beach, the lifeguards were not letting anyone get in the water. They were concerned that there might be a tsunami caused by the earthquake, and were advising everyone to stay out of the water. Also, in rushing to get out of the water after the earthquake, Sienna stepped on a sea urchin and filled her foot with spines! Ouch! We decided to leave!
The kids wanted to go back to Hilo to the banyan tree!
When we got there, there was a woman who had called the park rangers and told them that there were people beyond the signs telling visitors not to go to the river.
And that there were people climbing in the banyan trees!
a real busy-body, buttinski!
This spooked the kids so they didn’t want to stay. They didn’t want to get yelled at!
Instead, we went and got shaved ice!
Before returning to Naalehu!
They had to pack, because they were leaving the next day. Their plane was at 8AM, so we were up at 4:30 again in order to get to the airport in Kona in time to check in and go through TSA security. I did not want them to miss their flight!
TTFN
TropicalCastaway 