Hawaii, Day 2: Punalu'u Bake Shop, Punalu'u Black Sand Beach Park, Hawai'i Volcanoes, and South Point - Monday, March 10, 2025

This morning, we headed out at 7:30 am for Punalu'u Bake Shop in Na'alehu, Hawaii on the Big Island. The goal? Arrive before the bakery opens and get in line for ono (delicious) treats.

We had time to walk around the grounds to enjoy the smell of fresh baked goods. They have a small garden area with a pond and gazebos. 

Darren and Bob at Punalu'u Bake Shop,
the "Southernmost Bakery in the USA." 

I love this place!

We arrived early enough to beat the crowds, although the bakery opened while we were using the restrooms and reading signs in their display case. That was enough time for a line of 12 people to form in front of us. There were plenty of treats for everyone!

A mural of a Hawaiian luau.

The pond outside Punalu'u Bake Shop.

The Bake Shop is on the left,
gazebos are on the right.

Heliconia collinsiana.

A Fortnight Lily.

The bakery display case had mostly Chocolate
Bismarck Malasadas, my favorite!

In addition to the Bismarck Malasada, I had a cinnamon roll. Bob had a Lilikoi Malasada that didn't have any filling in it. Darren and Bob each had a peach-pineapple turnover. Darren also enjoyed a Bismarck Malasada.

We continued our drive toward Hawaii'i Volcanoes National Park. The next stop was Punalu'u Black Sand Beach Park. In addition to the beautiful black sand crescent beach, this park is known for its green sea turtles. This stop was very picturesque AND we saw green sea turtles swimming in the surf close to shore. There were numerous turtle heads or backs visible as the turtles swam around the bay.

Legend of Kauila and the Sea Turtles of Punalu'u.

Artist's rendering of Kauila and the green
sea turtle

Warnings and rules at the Black Sand Beach.
Darren and Bob are walking along the beach.

Scenery at Punalu'u Black Sand Beach Park.

Bob and Darren on the crescent-shaped
black sand beach.

This is a delightful park to visit.

A green sea turtle napping in a tidepool.
They can stay underwater for three to six hours!

Punalu'u Black Sand Beach Park.

Our next stop was Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park. The road climbs up the slope of the Mauna Loa volcano to about 4,500'. The rain came.

Upon entering the national park, we were on the Kilauea volcano. We made a quick stop at the temporary visitor center at Kilauea Military Camp. (The regular visitor center is undergoing renovation.) I bought a cheap poncho because it was pouring rain and I was in shorts! Plus, it was chilly.

For our first "vista," we traveled a short distance to the Halema'uma'u Crater. A couple of days ago, the lava was fountaining to 400'. Today, we only saw steam plumes coming from the floor of the crater. 

Steam vents in the floor of Halema'ma'u Crater.

Steam vents in the floor of
Halema'ma'u Crater.

A yellow finch adds a pop of color
to the landscape, but blends in.

The crater overlook was at the end of the road. We went back to the steam vent displays. The area smelled like sulphur, it was raining steadily, and Bob and Darren got out to look. They were back in the car within 45 seconds.

We decided to drive down the Chain of Craters Road to the ocean. Our next stop was a hike through Thurston Lava Tube. Again, the rain was coming down pretty hard. The cave offered a short reprieve from getting wet. I was pretty well protected by my poncho, although it looked like I was wearing a ghostly hijab; not my best look. LOL.

Darren and Bob at the entrance to 
Thurston Lava Tube.

Bob and I are almost inside the 
lava tube.

The Thurston Lava Tube. It's hard 
to see in there!

Continuing along the Chain of Craters Road, we stopped at Muliwai a Pele Overlook. The lava here has interesting patterns. Be sure to read the website link.

Muliwai a Pele Overlook - lava patterns.

Muliwai a Pele Overlook on the Chain of Craters
Road, Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park.

Lava channel at Muliwai a Pele Overlook.

Muliwai a Pele Overlook.

Darren at Muliwai a Pele Overlook.

At the bottom of the Chain of Craters Road, near the Sea Arch parking lot, we stopped at a roadside pullout. Much to our surprise and delight, we saw juvenile humpback whales circling, spouting, and showing their flukes. It looked like they were circling to trap fish. It's called "bubbling" because the fish go to the top of the water and the whales go underneath and scoop them up from beneath. The water gets all roiled up.

A humpback whale spouting just offshore!

 

The circular roiling water on the left is 
where the whales are "bubbling."

Two juvenile humpback whales.

Two juvenile humpback whales. I
barely caught the fluke of one of them.

From the ocean, there was only one way to go...up the mountain. On the way to the top, we stopped to look at an old crater. There was a pretty ohia bush on the rim.

An old crater on Kilauea.

An ohia shrub.

It was time to eat and we were going past the Punalu'u Bake Shop on the way back to the resort. Guess what? We stopped for lunch and more goodies! Hell, yeah!

We saved an impressive piece of the Big Island for last today: South Point, the southernmost point of the United States. The startling water color runs from  sapphire to aqua. 

Things to look for here are the cliff jumpers and the fisherpeople. Bob used to cliff jump from here whenever we visited. Today, we got to see five people jump off. 

In the past, to get out of the water, jumpers would climb up an old iron ladder. In fact, there was a hoist attached to the green metal structure where people used to lower sea kayaks up and down the cliff or hauled up big fish like ahi and barracuda. But, the ladder broke. Now, anyone wanting to jump in and go for a swim has to climb up the rocks to get out.

Bob (in foreground) wistfully watches 
cliff jumpers. 

Another cliff jumper.

Looking down the collapsed roof of a lava
tube to the ocean below.

I didn't get a photo of how people fish here. They have huge, sturdy fishing poles and tie a big, black plastic garbage bag onto their line. The wind catches the garbage bag like a sail and takes the line farther out into the ocean. I guess they catch bigger fish out there.

I could not get my videos to load into my blog, but you can find them on my Facebook page.

We enjoyed all aspects of the day, a little bit of everything! The Big Island is so pretty and so diverse. You feel like you can get away from it all out here. 

Kahaluu-Keauhou, Hawaii - Sunday, March 9, 2025

Day 1 of our Hawaiian vacation: This morning we slept in to make up for the long travel time yesterday, along with the change of time zone. After breakfast, Darren left the timeshare early to rent snorkel equipment from the resort activity center for him to use during the week.

We all went to the Kona Farmer's Market. All the yummies were there. We came home with strawberry papayas, Maui Gold pineapple, broccoli, leaf lettuce, tomatoes, apple bananas, and a huge butter avocado.

Next stop, Long's Drug Store to buy reef-safe suntan lotion and other items. We drove across the parking lot to Sack and Save for ahi tuna and mixed greens.

Once we put our purchases away in the timeshare, we walked one-half mile to Kahalu'u Beach Park. The weather was perfect, the water was clear, and there were warm-water areas in the bay. The tide was coming in so the water level was good for snorkeling. 

Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, chips and salsa, and apples were gobbled down after snorkeling. The guys napped while I identified fish on the internet.

The fish I identified were Yellow Tang, Moorish Idol, Bullethead Parrotfish, Reef Triggerfish (humuhumunukunukuapua'a - Hawaii's state fish), Black Triggerfish, Boxfish, Stripebelly Pufferfish, Sailfin Tang, Convict Tang, Hawaiian Sargeant, Saddle Wrasse, Spotted Coral Blenny, Squarespot Goatfish, Damselfish, and Ember Parrotish.

In the evening, Darren treated Bob and me to tropical drinks at the resort's pool bar. He had a virgin Chi Chi or Pina Colada. Bob and I had Blue Hawaiis.

Darren and Bob enjoying tropical drinks
at the pool bar, Kona Coast Resort, Big Island.

The view from our room at Kona Coast Resort.

This pool below our room is supposed to be the "Quiet Pool." It was for a couple of evenings, but then families on spring break descended upon it and it was quite noisy! The pool at the pool bar is supposed to be the noisy one because the rooms aren't very close to it. However, it was very crowded and some of them discovered the uncrowded "quiet" pool.

The view from our balcony. 

We finished our ahi dinner and enjoyed
the sunset.

The sunset from our balcony!

This was a lovely, relaxing, first full day of vacation. The rest of the week will be hectic for Bob and Darren. Bob is so excited to show Darren all the sights!

I plan to stay at the resort, use the hot tub, read magazines, and see movies! I've already been to the places Bob and Darren are going. I'll go out with them in a few days.

Two Weeks on the Big Island, Hawaii, Starting Wednesday, March 5, 2025

Hawaii, here we come! First, Bob and I visited Las Vegas, Nevada, for two days. We wanted to see Laura, Nancy, and Steven. When Bob's Mom Louise passed away in December 2024, she left many photographs and albums. 

I had my hair done on Wednesday before we left San Antonio.

Short and sassy hair for Hawaii.

March 7-8: The siblings spent Thursday and Friday perusing family photos while reminiscing about growing up in Hawaii and California. The photos were sorted into piles for distribution to the people who would love them the most. Stories were shared and people in the photos needed to be identified. 

Thursday night, Bob and I had drinks and dinner at Peppermill Restaurant and Fireside Lounge with our great friends, Pat & Kevin, who we met on our RV Caravan trip to Alaska in 2022. We discussed their upcoming travel to major-league baseball stadiums and our trip with them to the Canadian Rockies in the summer of 2026. Great fun!

Friday night, before we flew to Hawaii, the family had a wonderful dinner at King's Fish House at The District at Green Valley Ranch. We shared oysters, and Bob and I each had Macadamia-nut-crusted halibut. 

Steven and Nancy are purchasing our share of Louise's house. They moved to Las Vegas from Hawaii a few weeks ago, and have been remodeling and modernizing the house. They have a beautiful vision of what it will look like when it is done. When we go back in early May, we can see the progress they've made! 

At 6 am Saturday morning, we returned our Las Vegas rental car offsite from the major rental car garage. This necessitated an extra shuttle ride to get to our terminal. Thankfully, we gave ourselves three hours to get to our gate. (When the airport is exceptionally busy, it is recommended you give yourselves four hours!)

When we arrived at the transfer point to take a second shuttle to the Hawaiian Airlines terminal, we asked the workers at the shuttle station which shuttle bus we should take. At two different times, the workers told us to take Shuttle #1, which we did. When we arrived at that location, we found out it was the wrong terminal. We needed Shuttle #3, but none of the employees we talked to could tell us exactly how to find it. 

We were tired and frustrated, and dragging around lots of luggage. We had to walk across six lanes of airport terminal traffic, through one terminal, and out the back side of it. There were directions to shuttle #3 here. We had to haul our luggage across a parking lot to get to it. The bus driver was so nice. She waited for us and I was in tears by that time. She assured us she would get us to the Hawaiian Airlines terminal. I swallowed down the tears and put on my big girl panties. The line to go through security was ridiculously long, but it moved right along. We made it to our gate with time left to eat breakfast.

Our flight to Honolulu was uneventful. From Honolulu, we took a short hop to Kona on the Big Island. We met Darren Medlin who arrived at the same time we did, even though he was on a different airline, picked up the rental car, had an early dinner at the harbor, and grocery-shopped on our way to the timeshare. All of us were exhausted by that point. 

This mural, a replica of an old Aloha Airlines map
of Hawaii, was in the Hawaiian Airlines terminal.

Bob snapped this unique photo of a rainbow over
downtown Honolulu as we flew to the Big Island!

Our pile of luggage while waiting for our rental car
to show up. It was super busy here!

Our timeshare at the Kona Coast Resort for the week was a large one-bedroom unit with a hide-a-bed in the living room. To our dismay, this unit only had one bathroom, which we managed to share.

This vacation was much needed. In the months before this vacation all three of us had a lot of stressors:

• In September 2024, while we were on our 3-1/2 month summer trip to the Canadian Rockies, Bob's mom Louise took a turn for the worse and was put in a skilled nursing facility. Bob flew from Calgary, Alberta, to Las Vegas, NV, on September 12, to help his sister care for his mom. I drove him from Fairmont Hot Springs, B.C. to Calgary for his flight. It was a three-hour and 15-minute drive in each direction. He returned to Calgary on September 19. I did the round-trip drive again to pick him up. I stayed at the campground in Fairmont Hot Springs while he was gone to hold down the fort and take care of the kitties. We cut our vacation short by four days and returned to San Antonio on October 10.
• On October 22, Bob flew to Las Vegas to help his sister and Mom. His sister had been caring for Louise since she was discharged from the skilled nursing facility on October 2. Bob flew home on October 28.
• Susan Medlin (Darren's wife and my best friend) had a rapid decline in her health due to ALS - Lou Gehrig's Disease. She was diagnosed in October 2024, but had symptoms for two years before that. Darren was caring for her by himself as her muscles deteriorated. I was able to help care for her for the last months of her life in San Antonio, Texas, and Bend, Oregon. It was an honor to be there with her and her family. 
  
  

  

  Susan accepting West Texas Trail Walkers
  Special Award for 2024.

  
  
• We decided to sell our manufactured home in San Antonio in November 2024 and move to Oregon permanently. We thought we'd have until April to sell our place, but we had a buyer within two weeks! And she wanted to move in by January 14, 2025. Yikes! 
  
  This necessitated finding a place to live in our 5th wheel until we could find a place to move in Oregon. Darren and Susan had a paved, full-hook-up RV site on their property and they graciously invited us to move there. That made it very easy to help care for Susan!
  
  

  

  Our RV site at the Medlin's property.

  
  

  

  Our RV site at the Medlin's property.

  
  

  

  Our RV site at the Medlin's property.

  
  
• My sister Janyce visited us from Dec. 3-10. We had a really nice time. We saw "My Penguin Friend" and "Flow" movies; both were excellent. Bob took Jan and me to see Christopher Cross in concert.
  
  

  

  Bob, Janyce, and I are at the Sunken Garden
  Theater in San Antonio to see Christopher Cross.

  
  

  

  Christopher Cross's concert at the 
  Sunken Garden Theater.

  
  We also attended a Christmas party.
  
  I took Jan to Six Flags Fiesta Texas for the Christmas show and then we did a Christmas lights walk along the RiverWalk in downtown San Antonio.
  
  

  

  "The Majesty of Christmas" show at 
  Six Flags Fiesta Texas, San Antonio.

  
  

  

  Janyce and I are at Six Flags Fiesta Texas
  in San Antonio.

  
  

  

  Janyce imitates the abominable snowman. 

  
  

  

  Janyce loves giraffes, so she chose to 
  ride one on the carousel.

  
  

  

  Christmas parade boats line up along the 
  San Antonio RiverWalk.

  
  

  

  San Antonio RiverWalk's gorgeous
  Christmas lights.

  
  

  

  San Antonio RiverWalk's gorgeous
  Christmas lights.

  
  

  

  An illuminated tree at La Villita,
  San Antonio, Texas.

  
  We found a great day to hike to the top of Enchanted Rock north of Fredericksburg, and that night we saw "Illuminate" at San Antonio Botanical Gardens.
  

  

  Janyce is partway up the trail to the
  top of Enchanted Rock.

  
  

  

  The lower part of the trail to the top of
  Enchanted Rock in Texas.

  
  

  

  This is not an easy trail and it will 
  challenge you!

  
  

  

  Hoodoos on the Enchanted Rock Summit Trail,
  north of Fredericksburg, Texas.

  
  

  

  Janyce at Enchanted Rock's summit.

  
  

  

  The view from the summit of Enchanted Rock
  north of Fredericksburg, Texas.

  
  

  

  "Illuminate" at San Antonio Botanical Gardens.

  
  

  

  "Illuminate" at San Antonio Botanical Gardens.
  
  

• Bob spent time with his mom and sister in Las Vegas from Dec. 19-23. His mom passed away Dec. 22.
• January 4, Bob and I did a one-day road trip to spend time with Kris and Rich Jost in the Houston area. We showed them local sites, had lunch, and then returned to San Antonio. It was a wonderful visit, but too quick.
  
  

  

  The view from the top of the San Jacinto
  Monument.

  
  

  

  San Jacinto Monument State Historic Site.
  Rich Jost, Susan Alton, and Bob Alton.

  
  
• January 9-11, we flew to Oregon to find our new home. We put in an offer on a double-wide manufactured home on a double-wide lot in Sutherlin, Oregon. The offer was accepted.

Our double-wide manufactured home
on a double lot.

The informal living room. 

The open-floor-plan kitchen.

• Bob's sister-in-law Rosemarie passed away unexpectedly in January. She was in a single-car accident caused by a stroke. Bob was named the executor of her estate and is trying to get everything squared away. 
• We packed all our furniture and belongings in early January, putting most of them in storage until we move to Oregon. We moved into our 5th wheel on January 14 and live on the Medlin's property.
• On January 16, I started working for Susan Medlin through the VA as a Companion Caregiver. 
• January 25 through January 29, Darren and I drove Susan to Bend, Oregon. Darren rented a three-bedroom, two-bathroom, ADA-accessible home close to the Bend hospice. It served as their family's home for three weeks.
  
  

  

  Our ADA-accessible VRBO in Bend, Oregon.

  

  Our ADA-accessible VRBO in Bend, Oregon.

  
  

  

  Susan in the living room of the VRBO in Bend, Oregon.

  

  This was my room in the VRBO.

  
  Susan's family visited her over three weeks: her sister Betsey and brother-in-law John; her two brothers Steve and Mike; son and daughter-in-law Kyle & Megan, and their son Travis. The hospice doctors, nurses, and caregivers were wonderful and helped in every way they could. Susan passed away on Sunday, Feb. 16, surrounded by family.
  
  

  

  The living room in Bend: Steve, Kyle, Megan, 
  Darren, Travis, and Susan.

  
  

  

  Travis, Mike, Megan, Kyle, and Steve.

  
  

  

  Kyle, Travis, Steve, Susan, Darren, Mike, 
  and Megan.

  
  

  

  A beautiful bouquet for Susan Medlin
  from John and Sheila McClellan, Florida.

  
  

  

  We received quite a bit of snow in Bend, Oregon.
  Kyle and Travis had to shovel snow for a few days.

  
  

  

  Anniversary and Valentine's flowers.

  
  

  

  SURPRISE! Kyle, Megan, and Travis decorated
  the living room for Valentine's Day

• Megan and I flew home on Feb. 19. Darren, Kyle, and Travis drove back to San Antonio.

We invited Darren to spend a week with us at our timeshare in Hawaii for rest and recuperation. The next few blogs will detail the sightseeing we did.