Close, But No Che-gar

Whenever I go roaming from home, I'm on the lookout for Che.

In Hawaii, my mission was no different.

However, after nine days on the Big Island, I didn't spot my Che.

But I did run across a life-size version of his good buddy, Fidel. For this trip, I guess he'll have to suffice.

Our Hawaiian Celebrity Sighting

During our recent trip to the Big Island of Hawaii, we spent an afternoon and evening touring Volcano National Park.

We got hungry though, and looking for snacks, we left the park behind and headed into the nearest town, which is named (appropriately enough) "Volcano."

There, in the aisles of the itty bitty grocery store, while scrounging for potato chips and chocolate, we had a celebrity sighting.

Hubby spied Jason Scott Lee, who played the role of Bruce Lee in the movie Dragon. He also starred in real-life adaption of The Jungle Book and was the voice of "David" in the cartoon, Lilo and Stitch.

He overheard us talking about him and smiled our way. Then he graciously agreed to a photo op and I snapped this picture.

We didn't bombard him with questions, but did learn that he lives nearby. After a little bit of googling once home, I found a fairly recent (2005) profile of him in the Honolulu paper.

You can go here to read it -- and to coax you into doing so, I'll drop this tidbit: His home lacks a toilet.

Wow Waipio

We covered a lot of ground in our eight days here on Hawaii. We made it to three of the Big Island's four corners.

Since our first little road trip took us to the north-east tip of the island where the road ends at the Pololu Valley, we thought it appropriate to take a morning and drive to the north-west tip, to the other place where the road ends, and overlook the Waipio Valley.

Glad we did. Wow.

Look Out! It's Hot!

I accomplished my Hawaiian mission. I got to see lava in action.

We headed to the southern end of the Big Island hoping to see some spewing orange.

The trip was a bit of a gamble as it required a few hours in the car and we wouldn't know whether or not we'd see the molten stuff until the sun went down.

But we lucked out! We saw Mount Kilauea angry and alive!

Hawaiian Cowboys

We played at being "paniolos" today. Paniolo, we've learned since landing here, is the Hawaiian word for cowboy.

We headed to Na'alapa Stables, high up on the green grasslands of the big island's northern tip.

For almost three hours we rode through endless fields and herds of cattle. And we also stared in wonder at the blue blue sea as it melded into the sky. It seemed as if the two met somewhere out there well below us.

End of the Road & Rainbow

We went looking for the end of the road.

We drove up to the tippy tippy northern point of the big island today. Since we're staying on the western side of the island, the Kona side, we set our sights on the Pololu Valley Lookout, a spot where the road literally ends.

It was a lovely drive for an afternoon adventure. During our little road trip, we came across a private beach, a dead pig, a field of wind turbines, free fudge, an organic macadamia nut stand and a statue of King Kamehameha.

We drove with the top down in our rented convertible. This made it easy for us to catch some rays while we watched the terrain change from fields of nothing but black-black lava rock, to high mounds of earth covered with rainforest vegetation.

And finally, the road dead-ended at the edge of a cliff, the land beyond it too dense, too deep and too undeveloped to offer much in the way of potential highway construction.

We admired the view and then turned the car around, heading back toward our rented digs.

Our mountain top road was so high up that we were above the clouds. And as we descended, a rainbow formed above us and we found ourselves looking - literally - at the end of the rainbow!

Ocean Rider Seahorses

First I saw sea turtles down at the sea shore. Now I'm seeing seahorses down by the sea shore.

I had no idea my time in Hawaii was going to mimic a nursery rhyme.

I picked up a brochure pushing the Ocean Rider Seahorse Farm at the Kona Airport. I grabbed it because it showed a couple of young kids sticking their hands into a bucket and holding seahorses.

Since we were going to be vacationing here on the big island with my family, which includes one such young person, I thought this place might hold some appeal.

Turns out, it did hold some appeal ... although it's quite possible it appealed more to me than to her.

The knowledgeable guide included lots of information about seahorse mating, seahorse eating, seahorse habitat and seahorse endangerment that was surely over the head of a two year old.

But they were still fun to look at ... and touch!

Seeing Sea Turtles in Hawaii

Here we are in sunny Hawaii, Hawaii. That's right. We're on the big island, the island of Hawaii itself.

I haven't found my hot lava yet, but I have found sea turtles ... and completely by accident.

During a morning walk on Anaehoomalu Beach, we stumbled upon not one, not two, not three but FOUR sea turtles come ashore for some sun bathing.

Hawaii Bound

We are Hawaii bound. My next postings will be coming to you live from the big island.

My mother planned this trip. I've not looked at a book or web site or magazine article to figure out what to do.

I'm hoping to see some lava. Red, orange, hot, liquid lava.

Check back if you want to know whether or not I find any!