March 13...... the end is near

We fly out at 10:30 pm so have a long day if being homeless.

Managed to fit everything back in our luggage.....barely... and as everything will need to be washed anyway....I packed like a racoon on Crack!!

Breakfast at the golf course...one last amazing view 

To town again for a walk...our last Apple Bananas....chocolate covered macadamia nuts...pineapple shaved ice..( had to try before we left)...

And a final dinner at our favoirite place....Romano Macaroni Grill....we pulled up to the bar and were waiting for the same Bartender to wait on us....same guy as last time......if he didn't prepare our Margaritas without asking and welcomed us with our drinks... 

....after an amazing meal....we realized the 4 welcome back drinks were on the house!! What a great send-off!!!

Thought this was funny.... no cash accepted....except a tip!

Our last Apple Bananas....was looking forward to eating them until we lost them.... while checking in.....boo hoo!

Safely in Vancouver and a mad dash to the connecting flight as we were 45 minutes late leaving Hawaii as the luggage loader broke down and it all had to be done by hand....I still hate flying and vow never to do it again....until the visions of a new holiday come into my mind...

And it's a wrap! Aloha!

March 12 - the day before the last day...

Well yes, another warm morning....27-28 degrees almost every day...we could get used to this for sure.

Last day of taste testing of fruit....Canistel....aka Egg Fruit.... and the inside texture reminds me of overcooked dry egg yolk...yuk! 

Kailua Kona cruise ship day!

Off to the beach to search for more turtles. Didn't take long. 

This Ole dog decided to enjoy the sun on the road and was not planning on moving.

Found a great beach that we could drive right up and find a spot under the trees to chill for a few hours.....tide pools to play in and more turtles and chickens.

George making friends

These guys speared a small octopus and planned to eat him for dinner....poor little guy! At least he managed to inflict some pain and discomfort on the guys arm before he died!

Happy hour at our favourite place, Macaroni's .....appies.... the best margarittas ever and some Trump bashing with some Americans. 

When people find out we are from Canada... they apologize for the Orange P@$&!!!!!

Then the reason we came was for a  free Fireshow!

Fire show!

Fire thrower

 

Aloha!

March 11- Mauna Kea...brrrr

Yes, another beautiful day in Hawaii.

Given time anything will grow on lava rock!

The volcano has started to erupt again this morning...episode 13.....we will not venture out that way, only watch on the live stream.

Star fruit test...by the time you scoop out the seeds there is not much fruit left to eat. It's texture is similar to the chocolate pudding fruit, slightly sweet....

Pool and gecko time.......

Gecko dining on a flower

Who you looking at???

And a much awaited Lucy update!

Puppy Love

Lunch at the local golf course with an amazing view.

Off to Mauna Kea..... the reason I packed gloves, scarf and puffer coat.... to Hawaii!!! George packed less but he is more tolerable of cold than I am.

Half way stop ..... we layered up!

So after we arrived at the Visitor centre we were asked to stay for 30 minutes to get used to the altitude at 9,200 feet above sea level. It is very common to experience altitude sickness. Then they stop you to make sure you have a 4x4 and know how to drive it. From the Visitor Centre you drive 4 miles on gravel and then 4 miles on  paved roads up to 13, 803 feet above sea level...brutal on the body. We certainly felt light headed.

Mauna Kea has 40% less oxygen than sea

level and 40% less air pressure than sea

level and we felt this pretty early on.

Beautiful views all the way up!

Then we made it!

-2  celcius....brrrr with a 15 km wind.... not what you think in Hawaii!

George looks a wee bit cold!!!

We had time before sunset so drove around and had a Hawaiian snowball fight

The summit of Mauna Kea hosts the

world's largest astronomical observatory, with telescopes operated by astronomers from eleven countries.

So on our way up, we saw 2 people walking their bikes...they were at about the 5 mile mark from the Visitor centre...man, we thought these crazy people... they can never make it to the top....

Then after sitting at the top waiting for sunset...I saw the wheels of a bike....i could not believe it...I had to go out into the freezing weather to see if it was them.... and it was!!!

Turns out they were from  Bulgaria and they had riden from Hilo this morning....12 hours! 

This ride is considered one of the most

extreme cycling climbs in the world. From

the beach in Hilo to the telescopes at the

summit it's 4,200m of altitude gain in one

continuous climb of nearly 70km. 

I mean we were feeling it by riding in a Jeep to the top, this was crazy!

The sunset was cool ....like really cool...brrr

We thought we would stargaze while up there.... but it was too early...and almost a full moon... so we just decided to find a pullout and with wine glasses in tow we had a toast to the coldest place in Hawaii!

We heard crackling of a water bottle on the way but thought it was just a few bottles crackling... no.. just one that looked like it was stepped on!

Cheers!