The Big Island in 2021

We had a terrific trip to the Big Island back in April, and I decided better late than never to throw a few pics and comments up here. The trip will almost surely be the big trip of the year for us, the way things are going, although I guess you never know. Tempt fate on that, I will.

So, we stayed 11 days, which is a pretty good stay, but these days with work from home and all, more seemed apropos. I didn't work that much, despite idealistic intentions. In fact, I abandoned email after not too long.  

We had to get tested 72 hours before we went, which was both stressful, taxing, and somewhat pricey. Stressful, inasmuch as we had to hope for the best for not testing positive, and ruining our trip plans. Also, stressful, in figuring out where to go (Seattle, in a trailer somewhere by the Needle), and uploading the results correctly. Then there was the what if I have COVID and you don't discussion. This is Hawaii, after all. Pricey, as in probably $175 each. We both tested negative, and so the trip was on like a gong.

We were fortunate in our timing. I booked everything in the middle of winter, in darker days of COVID, based on refundable offers for the flight. Hawaii was pretty closed off for a long time in the first year of COVID. Quarantine requirements et al.  We got in just as things were starting to get going, and our car rental was still affordable, before the Islands started running out of cars and charging hundreds per day.

Onwards...half empty island means good times and open roads. One morning we drove right up to Hapuna Beach, one of the finer tourist beaches on the island. It is a very nice beach--but I say tourist because its not a secret. But we had space. Afterwards, we ordered a box of custom malasadas from a truck on the side of the road, and these were ridiculous. Guava, coconut, lillikoi, mango, and other Hawaiian fillings, hot, with special powders.

Then there was the Hilo trip, to the Farm Market there. We got there kind of late, after a day of visiting Farm Markets in smaller towns and Volcanoes National Park. We saw twisters developing over the live crater. The volcano crater was a few orders of magnitude wider than the last time we saw it in 2017 (I think), since the 'cano blew.

We basically stayed pretty still one day, and then the next we'd drive somewhere far off. We made it up to Hawi, a favorite little town of mine to the north, which sits across from Maui and Hana. Then there was a visit to the Place of Refuge, and we found this amazing roadside restaurant that makes the best Lau Lau and other Hawaiian foods we've found. 

Then there was the Painted Church, which Saint Father Damien helped found or visited--need to get my facts straight--but he was an amazing person, who lived with the lepers on Molokai later.  We found this Botanical Garden in Kona that had the most amazing places to sit and look at the ocean. Another place with religious ties, though no specific religion was represented. Loved the coffee there too.

I had hoped to run a race, but that was not in the cards. I have a hard time running over there, but I got in the habit of getting up at 4:30 or 5:00, before the sun was up, and got in my miles each day. Kona is an interesting place to run at that hour, as a few people are out and about, but its pretty quiet and you can see the Milky Way once you get out of town.  And then each day ended with a sunset over water...so Mother Nature was in the house the whole trip.

Someone asked why do we keep going to the same place?  The Big Island feels like a home away from home for us. Familiar, yet always revealing something new. This trip seemed to have a few pretty cool food discoveries, plus less people than normal. We feel fortunate to have made our escape. There will be other adventures, but we never regret time spent in Hawaii.

Wishing well to all my friends.