WE CROSSED HAWAII YESTERDAY for the last time. We'll be spending the next two weeks in our “Tropical Garden Apartment” perched on the slopes of Hualālai with fantastic views of the coast. Our ground-floor AirBnB isn’t as large as the last one and the standard double bed is a tight squeeze. But the place has all the bells and whistles that we require—a great kitchen, comfy furniture, good wifi and copious quantities of hot water. Our hostess, Priscilla, greeted us like a favorite auntie and already we feel at home.
Everything we need including a $1,000,000 view
Ready—Set—Cook!
Before we left we made a final stop at Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. We hadn’t yet seen the Hawaiian Hawk nor did we have decent photos of Hawaii’s state bird, the endangered Nene—we had seen several flying overhead but none up close. And while we were in the neighborhood we wanted another look at Kilauea. As it turns out Pele, the capricious Volcano Goddess, was taking it easy. What had been flowing lava last week was only billowing steam.
Pele's Day Off
Nene, the State Bird of Hawaii
We had better luck with the hawk—still no photo but we did catch one gliding overhead as we were approaching the Park. The nene were even more cooperative. We saw several pairs plucking grass from the lava fields and standing sentry at the Steam Vents parking lot.
No Diving!
Sunset at Mid-day? Must be artistic license
While waiting for three-o'clock check-in time at Pricilla’s we took a walk along the rocky beach near the airport. Besides the usual families, kids and sun-bunnies I noticed this guy painting au plein air. He may have talent but the scene in front of him bore no resemblance to his painting. Artistic license?
