Jon's last full day in Paradise

Being his last day, you could assume that we'd be out the door and on the road heading towards fun as soon as the sun crested the horizon. Or possibly before. You would, however, be wrong. It was another lazy morning, marked by indecision on what to do. Snorkel? Swim? Something non-beach related? In the end all water sports fell into the rejected pile because of the high surf. But we wanted to show Jon something special so off we drove, south past Kealakekua to Pu'uhonua o Honaunau (The Place of Refuge) National Historic Park.

Like the place of refuge in Waipio Valley, this area was a sanctuary in Hawaii's past. All sorts of things can be seen at this park but we focused on the tide pools. Jon got his requisite sea turtle sighting among plenty of other sea creatures. The waves accosting the shore were big, tossing spray onto us, the water at times dashing up higher and faster than we expected leaving us with wet feet. No one got pulled into the ocean, and only once did I worry that Jon, focused on getting good pictures, would be sucked in from the ledge he stood upon.

The shore in this area is awesome. Lava rock abuts the ocean, dropping down in sheer "cliffs" that can be seen when the water recedes. Because of the bluntness of the shore, waves crash loudly and send spray high up into the air. Sea urchins, sea slugs, a couple of eels, crabs and snails and I forget what else all fell prey to our cameras. A large pool sits along the edge of the ocean, into which The C and I plopped to refresh ourselves in the chilly water. 

Somehow lunch time walked up, checked us out and kept walking, an act left undiscovered for a couple of hours. By the time we gathered ourselves and left it was after 3pm and hunger left us weak. So weak that The C needed to be carried out fireman style. Fortunately the Kona Brewing Company continues to have tasty delicious and fairly nutritious food and beer. Without it I fear we'd have been lost.