Hawaii, part 5

And then, we finally made it to Pu'uhonua O Honaunau National Historical Park. This is a sacred place that was a place of refuge for defeated Hawaiian warriors and those sentenced to death for violating kapu, the code of conduct.

This sanctuary was protected by Lono, the God of Life, as the native Hawaiians believed. Once you made it here, no physical harm could be done to you.

There used to be several platforms built from rocks on which dances and songs were performed.

We can still see what life was like back in those days. Here is a hut for canoe making. They were very resourceful and used whatever they could find in nature.

Alright, let's go check out our next AirBnb. This is on the western part of Hawaii island. This property has several papaya trees growing. What a view!

I also stopped by a fruit stand and bought a cacao fruit. This is what chocolate is made from. Let's open it up and have a nice big bite of choc--

Wow, this is not what I expected at all. It's very fibrous, and white, and has a slightly sweet taste. A lot of work has to go into this before it turns into chocolate.

For breakfast, we had a scrumptious meal with fresh fruit from the backyard! Yes, there are banana trees here also! I've gained quite a few pounds on this trip.. but it's been worth it.

We highly recommend this place if you visit. It's called Hale Hoola: http://www.hale-hoola.com/

I've really enjoyed my time in Hawaii and I hoped you liked following along.

I'll leave you with a nice sunset view...

Hawaii, part 4

Hi there! Glad you could make it to the BIG ISLAND of HAWAII! We are staying at this cute little AirBnb on the island and --

"WELL HELLO THERE!" a familiar voice said.

"Let me guess. It's Droopy," I replied.

"Looks like we're booked at the same AirBnb! It's pretty cool and has a loft with ladder access," he said.

"Oh, that sounds beary cool!" I said.

Now let's take a ride out to the Hawaii Volcano National Park. There are a lot of steam vents on the way to the volcano like the ones you see here. Be careful when walking around! Some people have fallen in and gotten hurt, or worse...yikes.

Here we are at the Kīlauea Volcano viewpoint. Unfortunately, the volcano stopped erupting 3 days before we arrived, so there was no flowing lava to see either during the day nor at night. *sigh* But that's how it is with Mother Nature - we have no way of controlling it! This just means that we will have to come back again to see it in action.  😉

There also happened to be a hula performance going on in the park! We were lucky to see it.

Then, we drove around the southern part of the island and stopped at Black Sand Beach. Yep, the sand here is black alright!

The shores are made of black volcanic rock. Be careful! They are extremely sharp and feel like broken glass if you fall on them.

Hey, wait! I see something interesting over there. It looks like a few large smooth rocks... or is it?

They are actually Hawaiian green sea turtles! The Hawaiian name is honu and they symbolize wisdom and good luck. They are an endangered species. This part of the beach has been roped off to allow them to come onto shore and rest. Maybe they will lay eggs here.

He or she seems to be sleeping - how cute! I will have to tell Ooogie I saw some of his relatives.

Here is a cool shot from a different part of the beach.

We drove around some more and saw more beautiful scenic views!

Stay tuned for our last and final stop on this Hawaii trip!

Hawaii, part 2

Next on our trip, we are going to visit the Dole Plantation, home of delicious pineapples!

I just love pineapples, don't you? I can't wait to pick a fresh one off of a tree -- hey wait, huh?

What's this? Pineapples don't grow on trees?

Are you telling me they grow from the ground, like this? Wow, I didn't know that. That is beary cool!

And apparently you can grow your own pineapple at home from leftover pineapple crown.

Hmm... it says pineapples take anywhere from 18-24 months to grow, and take up to 2-3 feet in space. That's a lot of work! I think I'll just go to the supermarket.

"HEY! NICE SHIRT!" a voice called out.

It was Droopy, who was also wearing a Hawaiian print shirt.

"Hi Droopy, fancy meeting you here," I replied. (For first-time readers, Droopy and I seem to have the same travel agent.)

"You gotta try the Dole Whip ice cream in the gift shop!" he said, as he ran to join his tour group.

Do you know what this is? It's a papaya tree! These fruits are not easy to grow where we live, so we were very excited to see one doing so well.

And this! Do you know what this is?

Here's a closer look. Any guesses?

If you said cacao, you're right! The seeds of the cacao fruit are used to make a delicious treat -- chocolate!

Now let's check out the gift shop, where you can buy anything and everything pineapple related! Pineapple pillows, pineapple shirts, pineapple art, pineapple candy, pineapple umbrellas, pineapple socks... you get the idea.

There are also pineapple bears!

Stay tuned for the next part of our trip. When will we see some nice beaches?