Tuesday, November 21st
Monday, November 20th
We arrive at the Hilo airport around 11pm. It's dark.
Tuesday, November 21st
We are awakened by an insurance agent waiting at the door.
Tuesdays are snorkeling day. There was a high surf warning so the
water was rather cloudy.
You could barely see the turtles in front of your face.
After swimming there's time to relax. There's lots of time to relax
in Hawaii.
Carmenita agrees.
Wednesday, November 22nd
Wednesday was a good day to take a walk through the yard.
Here we see a day lilly.
Some pineapple trees.
Some pretty red ginger.
Coffee trees. In a couple of years Juan Valdez and his donkey will
be coming by to help harvest.
Some wild orchids.
Orange hibiscus.
A yellow rhododendron.
A green tamborine growing on a tangerine tree.
Hawaiian red pepper plants. Didn't try eating any so I can't tell you
whether they're hot or not.
Medinilla or Rose Grape.
Koko prepares to mow the lawn.
Pink hibiscus.
White with red hibiscus.
Purple leafy ti plants.
Birds of paradise. Or are they bird of paradises? I guess it's
neither as I hear they're actually Parrot's Beak Haliconias. Anyway,
they look like Bird of Paridise flowers to me.
Croton.
Broken pumice rock in the back forty reveals the lava tubes below.
Large ones can be dangerous.
Sego palm.
Marilyn poses in front of the elephant's ear plant.
Tangerine tree buds.
Darlene and Marilyn examine the fig tree.
A closer view of the fig tree.
The beans have sprouted. These were planted yesterday. By tomorrow
morning they'll be eleven feet tall. By next week we'll climb their
stocks to the giant's home where we'll retrieve the goose that lays
the golden eggs.
Papaya trees.
Ginger grows in the adjacent planter.
Koko is a loving puppy dog.
To some people. Other people look like they might be dinner.
A wood rose bush with orange flowers. They're closed at this time of day.
Back to the pinapple trees.
Palms line the driveway.
Centipede grass will crawl across the cinder "soil" and make a fairly
plush lawn when it's done.
Fronds of the Norfolk pine tree.
The rain water flows off the roof into the catchment system.
Thursday, November 23rd
Carmenita gets ready for some table scraps, but we all know they're
not really scraps.
The girls get the finishing touches ready for the table.
Whoops, forgot to get a picture of that fantasic turkey. Ron refused
to cook up another one for the camera. Kill joy.
At least I got a picture of the dessert.
Ron talks politics or something...
... with Coreen while waiting for those pies to be cut.
Friday, November 24th
Koko stays home and guards her '67 Baracuda while we head to the
volcano.
Ron blocks a great shot of the crater.
Ahhh, that's better.
The natives have left an offering to Pele. Maybe he'll bring more
soccer matches to the islands.
The view here is only enhanced.
The stinky sulphur gas fumes out of the field here.
Ron and Marilyn gaze off to the sea and into the future.
Something must be funny. I probably have mustard on my chin.
The road stretches across the relatively new acreage to the ocean.
The lava pours into the ocean down the coast.
Some photographers apparently aren't bright enough to read signs.
Others stand safely behind the retaining wall.
The view that direction is more interesting anyway.
New arches will form as soon as a few more of these rocks break
off and fall into the ocean.
It'll take a whole lot of stupid photographers, but they'll knock it
down eventually.
Heading back up the hill. This flow occurred back in the '70s.
Some sort of berry bush takes root in the chaos.
Here we have a hole where the lava wrapped itself around a tree and
cooled enough to solidify and then burned the tree up.
New life grabs hold in a hole from another tree.
On the way back to the ranch we stopped off at the orchid joint.
This, however, would be an anthurium.
They had a number of exotic orchids growing there, as well.
The submarine diving officer
Sunday, November 27th
We head to the northeast end of the island to allow the surveyer to survey a damaged ship container in the town of Hawi and then do some sightseeing on the way back.
I believe Gilligan's lagoon is just around the corner here.
Another attempt at wind power.
On a clear day you can see Maui from here. That's it in the distance.
There's more green on this side of the island.
Pololu Valley. If I had a cheeseburger this would be paradise.
Here at KeoKea Beach Park
there were some surfers preparing to slam themselves into the rocks.
This is more my speed.
It's range land over here.
Darlene and Marilyn find themselves a real man at the Parker Ranch
store in Waimea.
Tuesday, November 28th
Tuesday is snorkeling day, but Ken has a cold so isn't able to
take any pictures. Darlene said the water was clear, however,
and the fish seemed to be bigger.
Wednesday, November 29th
Time to go. When we get home they'll send us a pineapple like this.
The last one we got was really good. Can't wait for another.