Church didn't start until 11 a.m. on October 23, 2016, so Dave and I took an early morning walk along the Old Hawaiian Trail, near the Mauna Kea Resort. The Trail was a monument to the Big Island Planning Commission. Islets of volcanic rock containing crumbling walls and caves of the ancient Hawaiians remained, stubbornly, amidst the ultra green of the resort's golf course.
We paused by a beautifully preserved ancient Hawaiian fish pool. The Hawaiians stocked such pools with fish for the aristocrats' dinners.
We also walked the trail to ancient Hawaiian petroglyphs near the Fairmont Orchid Hotel, north of Kona. The entire Kona coast is spectacular.
We always enjoy attending Church in foreign places. In addition to the audience responding "Aloha!" to the "Aloha!" greetings of each speaker, the fire alarm went off while the sacrament was being served. It kept ringing, intermittently, throughout Sacrament Meeting. We were impressed with the discipline of the congregation. There were virtually no snickers, and reverence prevailed despite the shrieking of the alarm!
Waimea is the site of the Parker Ranch, which used to cover thousands of acres of upland Big Island. We saw steers in the fields as we drove along, and our guidebook recommended "Village Burger" as the place to eat. We tried the mushroom burgers with crispy fries and we were converted.
Our Sunday drive was along the north coast of the Big Island, with its wild surf and cliffs plunging into the sea. I promised myself to return someday and ride a jeep down into the remote Waipio Valley, rather than just savoring a tantalizing view of it.
We spent our week in Hawaii hunting the perfect "malasada," or Portuguese donut. The Big Island has traces of many cultures, from the days that the sugar plantations imported workers from around the world--Portugal, Japan, China, the Philippines. Our guidebook said the best malasadas were at "Tex's," in Honokaa, along the north coast. We stopped at Tex's twice, and each time we were told, "The donuts will be out of the oven in 30 minutes." There were crowds patiently waiting, but patience while on a vacation is not one of my talents. We finally bought malasadas in the southernmost town of the Big Island--and decided they were not worth the wait!
The Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden, northwest of Hilo, was a highlight of our trip. It was lush and jungly, with brilliantly colored tropical flowers, fern and bromeliad collections, waterfalls, and a walkway down to the crashing sea.
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