Sunday: Pu'ukohola Heiau National Historic Site

 
After leaving Lapakahi on Sunday morning, we headed south to Pu'ukohola Heiau National Historic Site: one of the best-preserved and most significant heiau (temple) sites in Hawaii.

This was much more touristy than the previous site we visited. The visitor's center had a little film and plenty of displays. And bathrooms :o)

konane = Hawaiian checkers

In 1790 a prophet told King Kamehameha to build a heiau on top of Pu'ukohola and dedicate it to the war god. By doing so, the king would achieve his goal of conquering the Hawaiian Islands. The prophecy came true in 1810. The newest temple sits along "whale hill" and was built by Kamehameha.

No one can enter now unless they're performing an authentic holy Hawaiian ritual. There is an older temple below that and an older one still that is submerged offshore.

Gravity holds the walls together and they were all assembled by hand over the course of a year. Historians believe that thousands of workers formed a human chain 30 miles long to hand-pass the rocks used for the heiau.

The royal courtyard is still there near the beach, the ground flattened from decades of footfalls. 

 
Next to that, there's a bay of shallow water filled with... sharks. Apparently sharks usually avoid shallow, sun-drenched water, but not here. Their presence has been observed in these dark waters for centuries.

Can you count the fins circling in the water?

As my dad pointed out, it's hard to believe that all of this was happening around the same time the US capital moved from Philadelphia to DC and Lewis and Clark began their expedition up the Mississippi!

Sunday: Lapakahi State Historical Park

We all woke up fairly early on Sunday thanks to the time change. We had a leisurely hotel breakfast buffett (including Kona coffee) to start our day!

What a view to wake up to!

Juices: papaya, pineapple, orange, and a mixture of all three.

The Big Island is deceptively large. It actually takes more than 6 hours to drive around without stopping. There's a lot to do so we had to be quite selective and hit the priorities early on. On Sunday, we hit two historical spots on the Kohala Coast. The first stop was Lapakahi State Historical Park.

The park preserves the ruins of the once-thriving fishing village of Koai'e, which dates as far back as the 15th century.

We took the 1-mile self-guided hiking loop around the windy coast.

I would love to have this view out my front door!

The coast here is a designated Marine Life Conservation District and it was flawless.

We saw carved lava rocks used to dry ocean water and gather salt as well as traditional games.

But more than anything, the rugged coast was a feast for the eyes and I can't imagine picking a better spot for a fishing village.

Despite the wind, the crashing waves were spellbinding and we even saw a few whale splashes in the distance. What a great adventure to start our trip off with!

Last Saturday

If I had known how wonderful Hawaii was going to be, I would've been up without an alarm on Saturday! As it was, Ross and I got up around 6:30 AM and headed to the airport by 7 AM. Not too bad for a morning flight. The time change was also in our favor on the flight west.

We met up with my parents in Denver and boarded the second flight together. We passed over the Southwest US and before I knew it, it was all water below us.

This isn't too profound, but most of the 6 hour flight was over water. That's a lot of water. I tried to picture a large swimming pool below us, or even the biggest lake I'd seen, and they would still look like droplets of water or puddles compared to the ocean. That's an unfathomable amount of water!

We knew we were starting out descent when we could see coral reefs below the clouds.

Equally impressive, we then saw a mountain top above the clouds!

Before we knew it, we were in Hawaii!

The airport tarmac was in the middle of a lava field and the building itself was just a cluster of open-air pavilions, which was bizarre. But I LOVED Hawaii at first sight! When we stepped out onto the tarmac, it wasn't nearly as humid as we expected it to be. Just plain warm and perfect.

After grabbing out luggage, we picked up our rental car and headed into Kona for 5 PM Mass.

Mass was under a perma-tent while the church raises money for a new building. I actually thought it was really cool for a service to take place like that right on a busy street! People walking near the beach a block away could hear the songs and prayers. Surely it was somewhat reminiscent of Jesus preaching to the crowds on the shores as well.

After Mass, we walked a few blocks to the Kona Inn to eat fresh seafood and witness our first Hawaiian sunset over the water. The food was pretty darn good (Mom, Dad, and I had fish and Ross had a Hawaiian BBQ pulled pork sandwich) but the view was even better.

What a great way to begin our vacation!

After that, we headed to the hotel. I can't believe I didn't take a picture when we walked in, but the lobby was open-air as well, with a wide view of the gardens, pool, and ocean below. Paradise!

Home Again, Home Again

It's hard to believe that less than 24 hours ago, I was 4 time zones away. It was noon and I was getting ready to eat lunch near the beach and head back out for one more round of paddleboarding. Kansas has never seemed so landlocked or monochromatic. Fortunately, I have rogue sand in the cuffs of my jeans, the lingering smell of saltwater in my hair, a faint tan line (Neutrogena SPF 80 is no joke), a suitcase full of dirty clothes, a surfboard rash, and 1,094 pictures to remind me that this time yesterday, I was in Hawaii!

I think traveling forces you to be happy about being home again, if for no other reason than to sit on a non-moving surface with more than 6 inches of space between you and the nearest warm body. Now if only I could figure out a way for me and everyone I love to make Hawaii home!

In other non-surprising news, stress and anxiety have returned after a truly blissful week off. But like my Dad said the other day, it wouldn't be a vacation unless you had something to take a vacation from! I am so blessed.