For the second year in a row, we were in Kona for St. Patrick’s Day. Aline, Dave, Todd, and I went to Quinn’s. Although not as “happening” as last year, there were lots of fun people, lively music, and good food.
On one of our road trips, we travelled south to visit The Painted Church (a.k.a. St. Benedict Roman Catholic Church). The church in its current location was built in 1899.
A cemetery surrounds the small church on the hillside overlooking the ocean.
Six scenes are painted on the wood side walls within the church. These were painted in the early 1900s by the Father of the church who was a self-taught artist.
The painted scenes within the church were used as teaching tools as many people at the that time could not read or write.
St Francis of Assisi receiving the stigmata.
Cain and Abel-with great anguish and violence.
Temptation of Jesus. The devil is being cast down along with a crown, a scepter and bags of money.
A couple of times walking by one of the restaurants near our condo, we saw a truck parked out front with a huge fish wrapped in ice taking up the entire truck bed. Todd talked to the fisherman who goes out almost daily. This marlin weighed 383 lbs.
On the Saturday prior to the Hawaiian Prince Kuhio holiday, the Daughters of Hawaii hold a fundraiser at Hulihe`e Palace. The palace is free to tour and artisans populate the grounds. The highlight is the entertainment with traditional songs and dances being performed.
I booked an Island Circle Tour with Big Island Air on a Cessna for us on our 3rd week here, but after they rebooked us twice for different reasons, we ended up going on our final week and for sunset (an upgrade).
What a great experience! Our pilot/tour guide, Darryl was professional, friendly, and very informative. We headed north to where the coastline isn’t accessible by car (no roads).
After the sugar mills shut down, a Japanese company leased thousands of acres of land and planted fast-growing Eucalyptus trees for lumber. The timber is mainly shipped to China where it’s made into a variety of products including plywood, pallets, industrial flooring, and furniture frames.
It was amazing getting an aerial view of the Island and seeing the differences in landscape, from desert to semi-desert to evergreen forests, to rainforests….
Once again, we got to visit Volcano National Park, but we saw it from a whole new perspective. The ring of fire in the Caldera was stunning.
Looks like Pele is smiling up at us !
Sometimes a little un-nerving looking out and seeing a helicopter right below us.
The flow into the ocean is blocked a bit now, but we were still able to see the lava through the plume of steam.
As we travelled south and rounded the island towards the west, it became quite voggy. Vog is made up of volcanic gases and dust and it is prevalent in this area because of the active volcano and the trade winds.
We completed our flight just as the sun was setting. Wow!
A couple of days after our plane ride, we did the Big Island Duck Boat Adventure with Dave and Aline. (Note that this also had to be rebooked due to ocean swells…. flexibility while travelling is a must…). The Hydra-Terra is a state-of-the-art amphibious tour bus.
This was a lot of fun! We travelled up Ali’I Drive where historical buildings and places were pointed out, and we played a trivia game for a fun way to learn more about Hawaii and the Big Island. Along the route, we greeted people and used our duck whistles. So silly…
The water part was excellent. I thought we would just hang out in the habour, but we went out into the ocean and travelled up the coast a bit.
We passed a few boaters, had a great view of the coastline, and saw some ancient fishing ponds.
The excursion was informative and lots of fun!
The past couple of Thursdays have been pool nights.
We met up with Doug and a few of his friends, fun times are had by all!
Dave said he hadn’t played in years, yet I think he and Aline were scamming us judging by the moves they used so he could make his shot.
Hawaii life is lanai life. There is so much to see…. Locals on the rocks fishing, crabbing, and Opihi hunting.
Kids surfing and boggie-boarding in the waves.
Watersports.
Birds coming to visit.
….And always the beautiful sunset.
We love Hawaii life…already booked for next year.