OK the good news: I snorkeled in the clear waters of Honaunau, pristine corals, colorful fish, turtles, incredibly beautiful… then a nice whole family swim – Leilani in a floatie far out into the at Ho’okena bay, I got to see an entire movie (Peaceful Warrior, by Dan Millman), we got to see the lava – from a great distance – and we did one (!!!) very nice hike, and another short walk on a petty nature trail. Totals about 7 hours. The trip did not make the list of my 3 worst vacations. Oh, and more good news. We took some nice pictures (but not of a smiling baby). Leilani did not poop her diaper on the trip. And we are back now…
The bad news: We drove almost 600 miles in 6 days, and stayed in 4 different places. Most of my time in the car, it seems was spend calming the upset baby (Leilani hates the carseat, and driving in general, she likes flying though) or being upset because Leilani was screaming, or fearing the cops because she was not in the carseat but on my lap. Leilani’s being upset did not just vanish getting out of the car… she missed her laying down and nursing naps, got overly tired and screamed at the top of her lungs at bedtime, stressed (loudly) about the hot Kona sun (94F – 34C) when Andy wanted to look at the Puako petroglyphs – we turned around. We wanted to see the lavaflow up close and I chickened out – 4 mile round trip over uneven lava, return in the darkness. Andy did not get to see the Pu’u Loa petroglyphs either, another unshaded lava hike. We actually went to a lot of beautiful places, but did not have enough time to really see them, hike them, explore them. The Volcanoes cabins (at Namakani Paio) were filthy, cramped and expensive.
The conclusion: I’ll plan the next trip, not California, which we will change the planning together, but the one after. We’ll stay 3-4 nights in one place, limit driving to about 1 hour on most days, do more hiking, swimming, snorchling, playing instead. Andy can take one of these 3-4 days off family and drive around and explore on his own.
Leilani, Andy and Mauna Kea at the saddle:
Snorkeling at “Two-Step” right near Honaunau place of refuge heiau:
Sunset at Ho’okena Beach:
Ho’okena swimming:
Black sand baby:
Lava entering the ocean:
Lava watchers:
Cabin at Volcano National Park (Namakani Paio campground):
Thumbs down:
