Delta didn't call my Grandfather or anything, they just cancelled our flight. None of us in our party were let in on this trick until the day of the flight. Apparently Delta used to make daily flights from SLC International to Kona International, but they cut back to two flights a week...without telling anyone. I guess this is how a company going into bankruptcy treats its customers. Or maybe this is how they got to bankruptcy? So after a nice lunch with Grandpa and Uncle Max, we came back to Provo and played games with Jayson and Felicia (upstairs neighbors) until much too late. But we were on vacation, right? That's what you're supposed to do on vacation.
After one day's delay, we finally left for Kona on the Big Island on Thursday at around noon. The plane ride was long, as are most long flights, but Rebecca got a good view of the ocean and we got to the Islands right as the sun set. Our first hotel had beautiful grounds and was right on the coast of Kona, set in a tide pool where there was good snorkling and sea turtles always come by in the morning. We woke up early on Friday morning and raced outside to see two sea turtles basking in the early sun. We walked right up to them (there are signs everywhere telling you to keep at least 15 feet from the sea turtles, so we kept SOME distance) and took some pictures and video.
One of the best sites we saw on our trip was on the first day. We drove down to the Place of Refuge on the southwestern coast of the Big Island. This place is a replication (or is it renovation) of an actual place of refuge as they had existed for centuries. These places were for those who had committed crimes and came to a place of refuge for sanctuary and a place to "turn their lives around." It was one of the most beautiful places I have seen in my life. There was a sacredness to the beach and the land that can't be described.
The rest of the day we spent going clockwise around the top of the Big Island to Hilo. We stopped at some places in Kona, visiting the first Christian Chapel and King Kamehameha's summer palace on our way out to Waimea. The weather turned drastically colder and wetter; my Father spent some time in Waimea on his mission and he can tell you how cold it is there (in comparison to the rest of the island, of course). After finding the chapel where my father lived for some time on his mission, we continued on our path to Hilo. We stopped at the Akaka falls; it was alright but a bit overrated if you ask my opinion. Rebecca's theory is that a waterfall's beauty is mostly dependent on the context of the waterfall's location and how close you can get to it. I've never been impressed with Niagra Falls. I wasn't impressed with Akaka Falls. I still think that the best waterfalls I've ever been to was the place we went with the Bradshaws in the Olympic National Forest.
Our third day we started early and tried to find Volcanoes National Park, overshot it and ended up on the Black Sandy beaches on the southern part of the Big Island. Black sandy beaches are a bit creepy, because you can't see what's in the water, but it turned out that we were swimming with some more sea turtles and we didn't know it until one climbed up onto the water right next to us. Rebecca kept falling over in the water and cutting herself on the rocks because the current was so strong. After about an hour, we moved on to South Point. Neither of us were quite enthused about going to it at first (I mean, I've been MUCH further south than that), but the beauty of the place was nice. The water was very blue and the waves crashed against the cliffs. It was a peaceful place.
Then we went back to the Volcanoes. However, since Karl and Angela went to the Volcanoes last year, the lava flow has shifted to the far side of the park, approximately an eight mile hike. Since Grandpa can't make that, we didn't want to leave him in the car for the length of time it would have taken us to hike that distance. So we just stood out on the cooled flows and watched the steam plume rise in the distance. And we saw a couple other fun things in the park.
So, now I'm going to take a break from writing and let Rebecca continue the second half.
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