A Month in Kona - getting settled

Like many who have ever visited Hawaii, we've long fantasized about moving there some day. To get a better idea of what it would be like, we've rented a friend's house in Puako on the Kona side of the Big Island for the month of March 2018.  Leaving home around 4am we arrive at the San Jose Airport well before dawn.  We've used some of our Alaska Air credits to upgrade our seats to Premium Economy, which means we get extra leg room, early boarding, and as many drinks as we care for.

Dawn coming up as we board our flight

OK - let's get this show on the road

Being so early in the morning, we really aren't interested in the free booze, so we simply make ourselves comfortable until take off.  However, the two women seated across from Peter order their drinks right away and even more frequently through the flight.  Apparently, they are on a long awaited vacation and are busy celebrating.

Peter with drinking ladies sitting across the aisle

We're off into the light of early dawn flying over San Jose

About five hours later we're coming in for a landing at Kona International Airport.

Reefs off shore from the airport

First sighting of land

The lava around KOA looks like an overcooked brownie

After picking up the rental car followed by "Marti's ritual lunch" (as Peter calls it) at the Harbor House, we head up the hill to Costco.  The Costco in Kona is stocked with lots of items you won't see too much on the mainland, like aloha shirts, surfboards, and LOTS of spam - in fact whole pallets' full of different flavors of spam. Hawaiians love spam. Munchies online magazine says Hawaiians consume 7 million cans of spam a year, which averages out to approximately 5 cans of spam for each man, woman and child on the islands. They even have an annual Spam Jam street festival in Waikiki. Only in Hawaii!

Not being true islanders, we skip the spam and move onto the staples we'll be needing for our month's stay. Then we go the Farmers Markets around Waimea,where we pick up veggies. Locals tell us to try out the garden stand in Kawaihae for fruits and flowers.  It's operated by a sweet Filipino family, who are wonderful to do business with.

Costco spam for sale

Waimea Farmers Market

Garden Stand in Kawaihae

Before leaving Waimea, we stop for lunch at the Noodle Club in the Parker Ranch Center.

Parker Ranch dogs patiently waiting

Spam can reincarnated as a sugar holder at Noodle Club

By late afternoon, we make it to Julie & Al's place - our home for the next month.

Home Sweet Home in Puako

Julie's comment on politics

The lava reefs just across the street

Ken and Karen from the Vancouver area of Canada have been staying in the house for the month of February. They have graciously invited us to share it with them for one night before their plane takes off tomorrow. We get such a kick out of these Canadians - their wry views of US politics are hilarious. After getting everything put away, Ken gives us Mai Tais and a run down on how the house works.  I then kick back for awhile for a breather after our early morning flight (adjusting for the time zone change, we got up at 2am HST).

We're stocked for fruits, snacks and rum drinks

Love the local flowers

Ahh - some time for a break

After resting, Peter and I explore the neighborhood with some coaching from Ken.  It's clear the local residents very much value their neighborhood.

From what? Tourists? Developers?

Puako needs more speed bumps

Turtles abound on the reef and on mailboxes

When our friends Al & Julie first moved here in the early 2000's, Puako was a much quieter neighborhood. Like many other areas in Hawaii, over the years developers moved in and the property values sky rocketed. Today Puako's a mix of old surfer/fishing shacks, with family homes, and fancy new mansions.

Nice family home

Former surfer shack?

Pricey mansion

At the far end of the street is a popular dive site. In 2014, Kona experienced an especially long heat wave that caused bleaching of many of the cauliflower type corals. Fortunately, the corals are on the mend, but it takes a long time for them to come back. Below a coral researcher (she's carrying the white matrices) is emerging from the keyhole entrance after working with a group of university students from the mainland.

Coral researcher with students after checking the health of the coral reef

In the evening we join John and Karen for our first sunset. The Puako reef is home for many green sea turtles who thrive in the shallow tide pools.

This turtle is snoozing with its head in the water

a path to the reef

Turtle checking out its surroundings

Clouds blanket Kohala mountain at sunset

The next morning we all wake up rested and looking forward to a nice day together.

Morning light on palm trees

Sunrise/strawberry papayas for breakfast

Good morning gecko

Later John and Karen show us one of their favorite nearby spots - Mau'umae Beach. It's a great uncrowded beach for swimming and snorkeling.

Mau'umae Beach That evening Peter takes John and Karen to the airport where their plane will take them back to chilly Vancouver BC. We've had a great time together and look forward to catching up with them again next spring.

Sequoia National Monument CA

As we climb up the Panamint Mountains out of Death Valley we are treated to a rare sprinkling of rain as well as jets buzzing low overhead practicing their maneuvers from the nearby Naval Air Weapons Station. We turn south on Hwy 395 and then west onto 9 Mile Canyon Road, which winds its way upward to Kennedy Meadows Campground, located on the southern part of the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT). This campground is often used as a starting off (or ending point) for hikers. Just to confuse everybody, there is another more northern Kennedy Meadows Campground also on the PCT. Both two campgrounds are welcome stops for hikers for mail and provisions.

Joshua Trees and sculptures welcome us to Owens Valley

Almost there for our night's camping

The campground is due to close down in just a few days and we appear to be the only ones here, so we get the pick of any campsite we want. Late that night we spot a car making the rounds. At first, we believe it's some late arrivals, but as the car stays awhile in different spots our imaginations get the best of us making us nervous as to what these people are up to. Soon we realize they are just servicing the toilets. We laugh at ourselves for thinking the worst.

Last daylight on surrounding peaks

Morning at our campsite

As we leave, we stop at the Kennedy Meadows General Store. The manager there is grateful we have stopped to pay our camping fee as it seems he sees many people trying to dodge paying. He's also glad to see just about anybody at all as the season is almost over. He tells us only one south bound hiker was  in the campground besides us (guess were weren't alone after all). He estimates about 2100 PCT hikers have been through here for the 2017 season, which is several times more than the usual 500 per year before the book and movie Wild came out.

We ask him about the common misunderstanding by Easterners that the PCT is easier to hike than the Appalacian Trail. He laughs and says he's also heard that one before.  This misconception comes from the fact the AT does have more altitude gain overall than the PCT, because hikers are constantly going up and down several hills each day before reaching camp. On the PCT hikers go up and down one high mountain pass each day. What they don't realize is the Sierras are much higher and more rugged than anything on the AT.  Ahhh - mystery solved.

We get back on the road, which is now called Sherman Pass heading west towards home. Sherman Pass runs through both the Sequoia National Forest and Sequoia National Monument. It's a beautiful road without many other vehicles, but also very narrow with sharp curves. We can easily see why it's the least traveled pass over the Sierras.

View at the top of Sherman Pass

Despite being named after the mighty Sequoia Tree, we see precious few of them from the road. Mostly we see Ponderosa Pines. Still it's a gorgeous fall day with colorful trees and lovely waterways.

Ponderosa Pines

Sequoia on the right

Mountain stream

Kern River

Granite outcrop

Kern River

Fall colors

Side stream

Almost out of the mountains

As we near the bottom of Sherman Pass, we see evidence of forest fires, some older and one very large and recent burn that destroyed just about everything in its wake. Later we stop at the Porterville Ranger Station. Turns out the ranger at the information desk originally comes from the Hopi Mesas (small world). We tell him that we have just come from there and ask him how he ended up in Porterville. He responds that the traditional life of the Hopis is difficult often involving an hours long hike each couple of days just to haul water.  Although he misses his family, he is happy to be living in a home with modern conveniences. He tells us the recent burn we drove through happened last year when a drunk drove a car over the embankment late at night after the bars closed. The car burst into flames immediately killing the driver and sparking the forest fire.  It happened late in the dry season with high down-slopping winds whipping the fire up into a blasting inferno. It was a beast to put out and was only eventually tamed by the advent of the rainy season.

We also ask him about not seeing many sequoia trees.  He laughs and says they are mostly only in several well known groves. In fact, he shows us a map of the area which has every sequoia tree marked. Of course we buy it immediately after thanking him for so freely sharing his knowledge.

The remains of a nasty Kern fire

Older burn at peaks

In many places, all that's left is rocks and ash

It's only a few hours drive to home and we are soon driving over the golden hills signaling the beginnings of the Coastal Range.