Monthly Archives: April 2015

Lots of Lava

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Hona Hua, the the very local restaurant in front of our rooms, is where we had breakfast. The menu has spam and lots of gravy offered. We picked up a few bakery items for lunch at the local bakery and stopped at a black sand beach on the way to the Volcano National Park. After checking into our b & b, the Volcano Inn and I found a quilt store tucked away in the town of Volcano. We drove the Chain of Craters Road all the way to the end where lava covered the road in 1969 and then walked through the Thurston Lava Tube, an air pocket through the lava. Very eerie. Lava everywhere!!
We had a spectacular dinner at “The Restaurant at the End of the Universe” as Andre called it. The Volcano House is inside the park and we watched the active volcano venting, not erupting at the moment, from our table. It was an amazing sight.

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Green Sand Beach

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After checking out of the hotel and finding some great Hawaiian coffee, we took off for Naalehu, Patty’s Motel and the Green Sand Beach. imageimageimage Green sand is formed from a crystal called olivine, that precipitates out of lava rock. The beach, one of two in the world, was literally green, in a beautiful cove. My geologist will attest to it. We hiked 3 miles (6 round trip) to the beach over lava roads, next to the crashing surf. It was a great day and Andre was thrilled to actually see it.  This area is the southernmost point in the U.S. We are in totally rural Hawaii.  There is not much in the town except churches, a couple of restaurants, a kava shop and a Hawaiian bread bakery that we will check out tomorrow on our way to Volcano.

Meandering In Hilo

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The farmers market wad great; lots of crafts and fruits and veggies. We bought stuff for lunch.
After that we tried researching genealogy at the Historical Records Office. It turned out to be the Mormon offices. They had computers and it was all free but We had to say a prayer and were asked if we were members (of the church) at least 10 times. We found several new facts about the family and one long story about one relative who was in the court of Queen Emma and turned down Kamehameha V for his hand in marriage, so he banished her. She married a coachman instead. What a soap opera. I have the long detailed version that is documented in Honolulu archives if anybody is interested, I can send it to you. The other shock was that the Colonel Buffandeau, who married my great great aunt was bankrupt and shot himself in the head while walking down the street in San Francisco. This was in 1877. Very sad.
A hike to a beach near the botanical gardens for lunch and back to Hilo for shopping and rest before dinner

The Big Island Adventure Begins

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Andre and I landed safely in Hilo last night. We were exhausted after being cooped up in airports and planes ALL day. We got the car, a four wheel Ford Focus, and checked in at Uncle Billy’s. Two great rooms across the hall from each other. Right on the bay. I went to sleep to tree frogs croaking and the sound of the surf. We went for a walk (in the rain/mist. There is water everywhere, ponds, ocean, water from the sky. I wish California had some of this. Today is a beautiful day to start our adventure, farmers market and some geneological hunting for the mysterious Laura Becquette, my great aunt, who came to Hawaii in the Late 1800’s.image
The photo was taken from the balcony of my room.