Heading Back ro Oregon

I had a flight that departed at 7 am and it was still dark in Honolulu. Eli left a on aa 8 am flight and Mark had one more day in Honolulu. 

Mark did a run in Tasha's neighborhood and took a picture of these signs.  

Mark had an overnight flight back to the mainland. Tasha was a wonderful hostess and tour guide for our time in Hawaii. 

 

A Day on the North Shore

Today was the last day in O'ahu for Eli and me. We headed to the famous North Shore with a picnic lunch and beach towels. We stopped for a visit at a coffee plantation and then happened upon a surfing competition at Hale'iwa Alli's Beach Park. It was a great place to eat lunch and watch the competition. As you can see they start children young on surf boards!

 

 

We ended our time together at the Barefoot Beach Cafe near Waikiki. Another glorious sunset. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Waikiki and the Univsity of Hawaii

 Monday morning Tasha, Mark and Eli headed to Waikiki Beach and and I stated home. 

In the afternoon Tasha's friend Connie gave ua a tour of the University of Hawaii campus. Connie got both her undergraduate and law degree at UH. Tasha has campaigned for her neices and nephews to attend there but none have but it was fun to see the campus.

 

We ended the day with a Rook game at Tasha's condo.

 

Iolani Palace Tour

Iolani Palace was the home of Hawaiʻi’s last reigning monarchs and served as the official royal residence and the residence of the Kingdom’s political and social life until the overthrow of the monarchy in 1893. It is op of evening tours the last weekend of December. 

  

A Morning in Hilo

 This morning we saw Rainbow Falls and Mark, Eli and Tasha walked in at vocanic cave that is open to the public but has warnings to enter at your own risk. You have to provide your own light and the path is very uneven so I opted out of this activity.

We walked around Hilo and visited the open air market.  So many wonderful tropical fruits for sale. We had an afternoon flight back to Honolulu.

Exploring the south areas of Hawaii Island

Today we drove south to the Black Sand Beach. We took a picnic lunch and had a lovely spot in the shade to relax. Large sea turtles were on the beach and also plenty were in the water for swimmers to see. After lunch we headed to Green Sand Beach and hiked round trip about six miles to get there and back. The day ended at the sunset at the southern most point of the US. On our way back to our rental house we stopped at the Volcano National Park and could see some lave bubbling up in the dark.

 

Rental House in the Rain Forest

Our  rentatl house was in in the rain forest so that meant it was a bit cold. Jackets were needed! The hot tub was a nice perk after a day of hiking.

Volcano National Park

Today we headed up to Volcano National Park, The volcano had a large lava eruption on Dec. 23 but we saw lots of steam coming from the vents, We visited an extinct lava tunnel and hiked across a crater. Altogether we hiked a little more than 9 miles, 

Christmas 2025 in Hawaii

Mark came from Silver Spring, Md, Eli, Mark’s son arrived from LA and I flew in from Portland, Or to spend Christmas with Tasha in Honolulu where she lives. We had a very tasty breakfast at Tasha's condo and then at mid-afternoon we flew to Hilo on the the big island of Hawaii. We rented a house only 3 miles from Volcano National Park. We found one one small place in Hilo that served yummy Thai food and ate our Christmas dinner there. Then it was off to Safeway to stock up on groceries before we headed up the highway with a 4000 ft. elevation to our rental house In Volcano, HI