Kona Adventure - Part 8 - The People

UPDATE: Kristen is on her way home from the hospital in a few minutes - after numerous tests all day long, they have come to the same conclusion that the Urgent Care doctor did yesterday afternoon - inflamed muscles. We don't know how or why, but it seems better than pericarditis! Thanks for your prayers again - please continue to pray that the pain will disappear, no matter what is causing it. She can't take anything besides anti-inflammatories because of nursing.

BREAKING NEWS: Kristen went to the ER last night with chest pains, which she'd been having off and on since Friday. They admitted her with a diagnosis of pericarditis (inflammation of the sack around the heart). What next??? Please pray!

When we're on a trip, DC and I like to really absorb the culture of the place we're visiting. We tend to run the other direction when we see a tour bus coming. Of course, we do visit the shops to pick up little things for the grandkids, and we do some of the packaged excursions that take us to places we couldn't go on our own, but mainly we tool around on our own, exploring and discovering. Because of this, we meet very interesting people - other travelers, people who have moved to Hawaii from the mainland, people who have lived there forever.

DC loves to snorkel. I am aquaphobic, but not to the extent that I can't enjoy an excursion ON the water, fortunately. He's willing to pay for two tickets in order for me to go along on the snorkeling adventure. I sit in the boat and read, or just watch, or talk to the captain. Mostly that's what I did this time. (Getting in and out of the boat did pose a challenge, though, with my injured foot and knee!)

Captain Chuck led us on a wonderful day trip to Captain Cook's Cove, where the other 5 people snorkeled in a beautiful setting.

That's DC out there - hope you can see him!

Chuck had lived in Hawaii for 27 years and had a great knowledge of the land and the water. He took us into sea caves where there were tremendous blow-holes. He took us into little coves that many do not get to see.

He fed us a delicious snack of fresh fruit and cookies, then created a little souvenir for each of us from palm leaves.

When DC made our travel arrangements, the agent got us a deal with our rental car that included two nights at Uncle Billy's Hotel. We had already made our own housing arrangements, so we just ignored that offer. We were walking down the street in the shopping area on the beach of Kona when we happened upon this hotel. We'd walked by it several times before, but had never noticed the name. When we realized it was the place we could have stayed for two nights, we were glad we hadn't taken them up on it - it was a bit run down, and way too close to the "action."



Several days later we were having a fruit smoothie at one of the little shops in this area. We were greeted by an elderly gentleman who rolled up in his wheelchair and engaged us in conversation. He had on an "Uncle Billy" cap, and we thought it was a souvenir type cap. We had such a great conversation with this gentleman - he was quite the entrepeneur and he told us great stories of his long life on the island, beginning in Hilo and ending in Kona. He owned the whole shopping center, and had lived in a nice apartment above the shops, overlooking the sea, until he could not care for himself any longer. He was Uncle Billy himself. He told us all about his family. He told us about the planting of trees in Hilo years ago along the main street through town, all of which had been named for a famous politician or military person - many of whom were there to be honored. He planted one of these trees himself. He was a really interesting and delightful man.

Another day we were looking for DC's major souvenir. DC is addicted to koa wood - a tree that is native to the islands. The wood has the most beautiful color and grain. We happened upon a little shop in a tiny town up above Kona, near where we stayed. He fell in love with a hand-carved miniature canoe paddle. The shop owner and his wife were the artists - he was the carver and she was the photographer and painter. The painting depicts his work, her work, and their wedding hats. The picture of Mel is autographed for DC. The small round piece is a tiny oil lamp which we found in another little shop.

STILL MORE TO COME!!