Captain James Cook (7 November 1728 – 14 February 1779) was a British explorer, navigator, cartographer, and captain in the Royal Navy. Cook made detailed maps of Newfoundland prior to making three voyages to the Pacific Ocean, during which he achieved the first recorded European contact with the eastern coastline of Australia and the Hawaiian Islands, and the first recorded circumnavigation of New Zealand.
Two ways to Captain Cook Monument – by foot or by sea. No road will take you there, no view from afar.
Hitched a ride with Sis & hubby in their SUV rental. Drove south past Kona, took the Mamalahoa Bypass ’til it dead-ended on State Highway 11. 2 miles from Kealakekua, one mile from Captain Cook – Ka’awaloa Trail tucked away on the right.
2 mile/2000ft scramble thru tropical fern, Palm & tall grasses. Not lush like the Island’s Hilo shore, but plenty of variety from Colorado winter. Flowers, nuts & fruit gave way to volcanic rock. Kealakekua Bay still a mile away, sharp descent to the salt water inlet. Pic-snapped Cook’s elusive Monument, then shed some clothes. Hiking pants & shirt on a nearby log. Swimming in January!
BEST SNORKELING on the Big Island. Yesterday was fun – this site, truly a hidden gem. Schools of yellow tang visible to the eye, hanging near shore. Everything amplified. Bigger fish, larger numbers. WOW!
2 mile/2000ft hike return. UP,UP, UP – 2000ft UP. Hit it hard, paced strong. ALL IN this day – killed it!
Farm-to-table lunch, luau dinner tonite. Livin’ B-I-G, absolutely no regrets 🙂
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- Ka’awaloa Trail
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- 2 miles/2000ft down
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- tall tropical grasses
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- stunning volcanic coastline
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- British explorer & cartographer commanded three Pacific voyages
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- best snorkeling on the Island
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- another Big Island Day 🌺
Kealakekua Bay
Saturday: road warrior. Sunday: ocean explorer.
Ok ok not so much exploring, as adventuring under the sea – SNORKEL Day. Christmas present from Ash & Tom 🙂
Sunday a.m. start, 30-minute drive to Kona, party of 6 reservation. Only my 2nd time snorkeling – both times in Hawaii. Lucky in life. Boarded a small catamaran from the pier. Laid-back island adventure, entirely on Hawaiian time now 🌺
Air temp: low 70’s. Water temp: the same. Sunshine. Pretty much perfect.
Things to Note: Pawai Bay has an excellent variety of tropical reef fish and dramatic terrain, with ledges, caves, shallow shelves and steep drop-offs; and all coral encrusted lava formations. Depths vary from 3-4 feet on the shallow ledges to blue water where the bottom disappears at 100 feet. Average is about 18 feet.
Our crew, Anglo & Hawaiian, bantered back-n-forth but both had a great knowledge of the reef.
Lotta talk ’bout ‘Tonys’ – local term for tiger sharks (as in Frosted Flakes’ mascot: Tony the Tiger). More sharks off the Big Island than others in the Hawaiian chain. Who knew? Luckily, no fins this day.
Triggerfish, Yellow tang, Parrotfish, Bannerfish, Hawaiian Sergeant Fish, Cauliflower Coral – but NO sharks (or eels or barracuda…or anything else with teeth – LOL>). 3 hours, 2 reefs, FRESH PINEAPPLE snack break. FAAANNNTASTIC!
Late lunch at Kona Brewing Company. Taste highlight: Sweet Potato Pie. 2nd purple vegetable I’d eaten this trip (Sis ordered Poi the night before). HUGE fan of purple Okinawan sweet potato (not so much for pasty Poi).
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- Kona, Hawaii ☼
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- Hawaiian time 🌺
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- Wonder Twins snorkeling adventure
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- Pawai Bay
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- DOLPHINS!
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- Sweet Potato SPLURGE
Solo evening plans.
Local trail, petroglyphs, Hawaiian ocean sunset. Otherwise known as: ”lost at night on a lava field”. 2-mile jog morphed into a 6-mile night hike – with only an iPhone for light. Dropped a pin on my Google map, jumped a rock fence off the 7th green on a ritzy golf course, bushwhacked quarter-mile to a residential road. Phone-a-friend rescue, Foodland-rendezvoused in nearby Puako (thanks Stephen).
Hiking Captain Cook in the a.m. – 2 miles/2000ft down, 2 miles/2000ft UP. Just another Big Island Day 🌺
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- Waikoloa Petroglyph Preserve
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- rough lava-rock trek
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- lights OUT
After a string of frigid cold days, switched Tuesday hike day to Wednesday on the premise of warmer temps. Rolled the dice/took a chance. Happy to report 9NEWS’ Amelia Earhart landed this one!
Early to rise, easy highway drive, sunny skies south to Colorado Springs. By the time I hit Castle Rock (30 minutes south of Denver), day temps soared over 20, most snow gone/completely disappeared. Appears the Springs must have missed our Christmas Eve wallop. Trailhead parked before 9am. Backpack-ready, rockin’ winter layers – destination: Manitou Incline. Next mile straight UP – 2,000ft elevation gain over a single mile. You want to kick off a Resolution, this is the place to go 🙂
UP UP UP. Last trekked the Incline in December 2014. That day caught the sunrise with a group of local runners. Enough impression to make this year’s post-Christmas checklist.
Beautiful sunshiny day. Went thru 2 bottles of water before reaching the Incline’s Christmas tree summit. From there it’s an easy 3 mile trek down Barr Trail. LOVE LOVE this country ❤
Home before 2 or….grab lunch inside a 1953 Boeing KC-97 tanker. No brainer, right?
Built in 1953, this magnificent airplane refueled aircraft throughout the world. Forty-two passengers can actually eat in the plane of the 275-seat restaurant. …displaying 100’s of pictures, memorabilia and rare artifacts, Solo’s offers a flight through aviation history.
Burgers/fries – menu nothing special – but the experience itself, well worth the visit.
Day half over. Evening plans? Heck yeah. Forest mushroom soup is back at Cracovia (our area’s Polish restaurant). Not sure where they pick local mushrooms in December, but luckily Ash’s Tom caught the social media alert. Restaurant still dressed in holiday spirit, enjoyed Cracovia’s last 2 bowls of mushroom soup. FAAANNNNTASTIC!
Entrée choice? Go with the bratwurst. Personally don’t eat pork but envied Tom’s brat sizzling tableside.
Nite ended with dessert – all good diets wait ‘til after the holidays, right? 🙂
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- warm weather Wednesday
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- post-Christmas EXTREME
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- rockin’ winter layers
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- UP UP UP
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- Christmas tree summit
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- 2,000ft elevation gain
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- 1953 Boeing KC-97 tanker
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- Forest Mushroom Soup is back!
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- sizzlin’ bratwurst
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- all good diets wait ‘til after the holidays, right? 🙂
Manitou Incline ’17
