Kona to Volcano – 23 January, 2019

Today we drove from Kona along the Hawaii Belt Road (highway 11) to the little town of Volcano. Our first stop was at South Kona Fruit stand. We each had an apple banana and we shared a cup of Kona coffee made from beans grown on their farm.

Next we did a two mile hike in Manuka State Park. It was a good hike except for a few parts that were over lava flows on loose rock.

The highlight of the day was our drive down Road to the Sea, a very rough dirt and rock road through a very rugged lava field. The six miles from the highway to the beach took about an hour and the last mile absolutely required four wheel drive. We only saw one other car on the whole road going in. The black sand beach at the end of the road was deserted and exceptionally beautiful. In the green area at the back of the beach there was even some shade and a picnic table. It felt like we were the only people for miles around.

When we got back on the highway we drove around the south west corner of the island and into Hawaii Volcano National Park. We are staying a bit outside a little town called Volcano Acres Ranch B & B. For dinner we went into town and had the best meal of the trip so far at Kilauea Lodge.

Hawaii – the Kona Coast

Duke and I are at the beginning of a two week Hawaiian adventure. We flew into the Kona airport yesterday and have been soaking up the beauty and warmth ever since.

This is Duke’s first time in Hawaii. So our trip here means he has now visited all fifty U.S. states. I was last here in 1980. My first trip to Hawaii was in 1964 with my family on our first trip to Australia when I was 11. This is me and my brother and sisters.

Duke and I are staying for our first two nights here in a condo at Kanaloa at Kona.

This morning we started exploring. We visited Kealakekua Bay. In the picture below you can see the Captain Cook Monument in the distance.

From there we went to Pu’uhonua o Honaunau National Histotic Park and Place of Refuge. The parking lot and visitor center were closed because of the shutdown but we were able to park outside, walk in and explore.

Close by we stopped at the Painted Church.

When we got back to our condo we took a swim.

For dinner we ate at Sam Choy’s. I had my first lava flow and Duke had a pine colada.

We each had fresh fish for our main course.

Franklin Pierce: New Hampshire’s Favorite Son by Peter A. Wallner

I am working on reading a book about each of our presidents. You can see the ones I have read so far here.

Franklin Pierce our 14th president was an interesting man whose political life was based on preserving the union. This book only covers Pierce’s life up to his inauguration. Although it took me six months to read I found the book compelling. Pierce was 47 when he was elected, the youngest president up until his time. The previous biography of Pierce prior to Wallner’s book was published in 1931 and Wallner uses new sources and modern research to describe the life and times of Pierce. Here are a couple quotes from the introduction.

“The reality of the man did not seem to fit the reputation, and maybe it is the reputation that needs to be reconsidered in light of the reality of Franklin Pierce’s life and career.”

“His failings in these early years, and they were many, are consistent with the inability of the second party system to deal with the single-issue movements such as abolitionism and temperance and their moralistic, divisive, and often extralegal propensities.”

The most tragic thing about Pierce’s life is that he and his wife had three children all of whom died before he became president. The most horrifying death was that of his ten year old son Benny who was seated right behind his parents when he was killed in a train accident on the way to Washington for the inauguration.

Camping in Nevada’s New State Park – Walker River State Recreation Area

Duke and I just got back from a two night camping trip in Nevada’s newest State Park, the Walker River State Recreation Area. The park just opened this summer. It is made up of four units along the east fork of the Walker River. The units are not contiguous. The first night we camped in the Pitchfork unit in the Riverbend Campground. The campground is less than two hours south of Reno. It has nice bathrooms with flush toilets and showers. I loved the setting, especially with the fall colors.

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We had yummy Guiness stew for dinner.  Once it got really dark we enjoyed the amazing number of stars and the view of the Milky Way that you can only see when you are away from city lights.

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The park includes a 5.6 mile stretch of the Walker river that is open for floating or kayaking. I think it would be fun to rent a kayak and make the trip some time.

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During the days we had beautiful fall weather. The only problem was that the nights were cold. The first night it got down to 27 degrees!

The next morning we packed up and moved about 45 miles down dirt roads to the Bighorn Campground in the Nine Mile Ranch unit of the park. It is a rustic campground with brand new pit toilets. Each camp site is well separated and right along the river. We were the only ones camping there and overnight it got very cold – down to 18 degrees! Other than the cold it was a wonderful place to camp.

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We had good sleeping bags and lots of blankets but it was hard to get up in the morning. Even the water in our five gallon container was frozen! The temperature warmed up pretty fast once the sun came up.

When we warmed up we packed up and headed home. Along the way we stopped for lunch at Rosie’s Place a great Mexican restaurant in Wellington.

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The End of our Trip – Reykjavik to San Francisco to Home

Friday morning we set out early to see a bit of Iceland before catching our 3:00 flight to San Francisco. We stopped at the Gullfoss Warterfall. The weather was windy and cold and the walkways were a bit icy. It is a pretty amazing waterfall.

Next we stopped at Geysir. Our tourist map calls it the best known geyser in the world because it leant it’s name to the English language to describe a periodically spouting hot spring.

The Keriō volcanic crater was our next stop.

We still had a bit of time so we stopped for a coffee in Reykjavik.

Our flight was uneventful. We were through immigration in San Francisco in about ten minutes and then caught BART to Walnut Creek where we had a special welcome!

Yesterday I attended and thoroughly enjoyed a New England Historical Genealogical Society all day conference in Oakland. One of the speakers was a genealogy rockstar Robert Charles Anderson.

This morning we caught. Amtrak home to Reno. It was a great trip. We plans to do our next big trip in the Spring. We are still deciding exactly where to go.