From Seagulls to Roosters

Judy.  In Vancouver and in Victoria, we were awakened each morning to the sound of seagulls—not quite as nice as waves crashing, but I did get used to it after awhile, and actually rather enjoyed it. Now we are on the Big Island of Hawaii, staying with our friends in Ocean View, in probably the most NON-touristy area of the state, and are awakened each morning by: roosters!

We took the Clipper from Victoria to Seattle, where my friend and former student Jason met us and drove us to his condo on Lake Washington. Staying with Jason was a real gift; he provided us with a combination of quiet time and sightseeing. That afternoon, we just crashed.

In the evening, we met three of Jason’s friends for dinner at a Thai restaurant—I love a good fusion restaurant, and I had “Salmon in Heat”, Northwest salmon served in a spicy curry sauce. Delicious! Jason’s friends, Jeff, Chris, and Casey, had all done quite a bit of traveling, and gave us some great suggestions of places to visit. Really lovely evening; great guys.

We had planned to take some long walks along the lake, but the wind blowing in from the hundreds of fires all over the Northwest filled the air with smoke and fine ash. With no air conditioning, Jason, like everyone else, leaves his windows open in summer. Ash had even come in through the screens for a dusting on furniture and sheets. Both the moon and sun took on an eerie orange color, and I could feel it in my throat and eyes. With the hurricanes in the south and the fires in the north, it felt quite apocalyptic!

So, what to do? Hit up the wineries, of course! We went to two: Novelty Hill/Januik and Sparkman, and, needless to say, left with our favorites.

The next day Ted stayed at the condo to do some paperwork while Jason took me to see the Pike Place Market, gum wall, and on a drive around the beautiful neighborhoods of Seattle. We even got in a small walk in one of the myriad parks by the water. Beautiful city—just so sad for the fires and the smoke.

Jason had kindly taken off work—he’s a market designer (ask me how proud I am of this former high school set designer)—and, aside from a conference call and a few emails, devoted the time to us. It was terrific to spend time with him again, and to get to know him as an adult. We made dinner that evening and polished off two of the bottles of wine—Sparkman Birdie. It’s hard to find, but if you do, I highly recommend it.

On our last day we had lunch with a view of the water (not sure you can escape that in Seattle) and got to sit outside since the smoke was clearing a bit, before Jason drove us to the airport for our flight to Kona, Hawaii. Three days is a good time. As Benjamin Franklin said, “Fish and visitors smell after three days.”

However, we’ve ignored that rule before, and are certainly doing that right now.

After landing in Kona, we drove south on the Big Island for an hour and a half, to the tiny town of Ocean View. Our former rector has a great gig here. The small church, mostly laity-led, hosts volunteer priests for a period of several weeks to serve at the little church. They are provided with a house and a car and lots of love. Doug and Carolyn have been good friends for about twenty-five years, since I was on the search committee group that first interviewed Doug while they were in Florida. Carolyn and I became great friends, and had established a regular Margarita and Crazy Taco evening to share news and settle the affairs of the world.

The house here has two bedrooms, and they have invited us and other couples to claim a week and visit. This is rural, lava-ground Hawaii, hence the sound of the roosters waking us each morning. Below us and beside the church is a small coffee-roasting facility. From the lanai outside our room, we can see the ocean while we smell the delicious coffee being roasted.

We attended a potluck at the tiny church and were delighted to meet a kind and diverse group of people. Its motto is “Little church—big heart”, and it is true. They have a shower and soup ministry on Saturdays for those who have no hot water or no running water at all and a wifi ministry for those without. The building is used

St. Jude's

weekdays as a senior center.  On Sunday, the Bishop was in attendance for the confirmation of eight people, some of whom came to the church originally just to use the shower.

Carolyn took us up the Kona road to see some really interesting spots: the Place of Refuge, a sacred area to the Hawaiians, where, if you could reach it during war, you could remain safe (remarkable to think kings actually respected that), and where we learned some facts about their lives prior to Cook’s arrival. 

Place of Refuge

(We also spotted a sea turtle, which camouflaged itself by looking like one of the many lava rocks.) We visited the Painted Church, where an early missionary painted Bible stories on the walls—much like stained glass windows in Europe—to teach the Island converts. AND, we hit up The Coffee Shack, TWICE, for yummy coffee, juices, and desserts.

Saturday Ted and I drove up to Hilo to the market. Wow! So many fruits and juices we didn’t know and now we do! Along the road it’s amazing to see the land change so quickly from lava fields to a lush rain forest. As we approached Volcano National Park early in the morning, there were rain clouds coupled with steam and smoke from the volcano, in an incredibly powerful show of force. No way I could catch a photo of that!

We stopped at Akatsuka Orchid Gardens for a breathtaking look at those flowers and stopped to photograph wild bamboo orchids along the side of the road. The staff at Akatsuka is fantastic. A wonderful saleswoman helped us pick out an orchid for Ted's dad, and, when we asked, recommended Ohelo Cafe in the town of Volcano for a super lunch. She was right. 

As we approached the lava field area, Ted pulled off to a beach area and we watched the waves pound the rocky coast. I could have stood there for hours.

On Sunday at the church, the Bishop presided for the confirmation. What a friendly church! We were given leis made by Fay, one of the new confirmands, then given shell leis as guests! These folks certainly make guests feel welcome!

After another potluck for lunch, Carolyn and Doug took us to South Point, the Southernmost point in the US, where we watched young people jump into the ocean. From there we drove to the Black Sand Beach, where we spotted another Honu (sea turtle), then back through a beautiful sunset to a comfort meal—homemade spaghetti, and bed after a full and wonderful day.

Nene

Monday Ted and I drove to Volcanoes National Park. We saw Nenes, hiked a bit, drove to the sea arch, spotted petroglyphs, watched the steam from the lava flowing into the ocean, and got a good look at the live volcano at night.

Tuesday we all went to Two Step, a popular snorkeling beach. Carolyn floated in the water, Ted and I snorkeled (and saw some truly beautiful fish as well as more honu), and Doug sat in the shade and watched us! Ted and I then drove up to The Coffee Shack, which he declares has the best coffee he ever tasted. This was our third visit…

Wednesday we drove to Kona (with one last stop at The Coffee Shack), checked into our hotel and grabbed lunch at Huggo’s on the Rocks, as suggested by my childhood friend and former Kona dweller, Linda. Doug and Carolyn drove up to meet us, and we went to the Kapuna Hula Festival (for dancers over 55) to see Fay (the maker of the

Fay

leis) and the team from their church perform. Watching real hula is humbling, and to see senior performers, some of whom have been dancing since they were barely walking, was beautiful. Plus, there is a tradition that for major events, the royal court representatives attend in a procession and gifts are given with song. It was unlike anything I've seen before.

And on Thursday we head to Honolulu. The week here on the Big Island has been fascinating. We saw a Hawaii we never expected to—Carolyn calls it “the real Hawaii”, since in the southern part of the island, there are really no tourist areas. Outside their back door, abandoned cars littered a field. We were awakened each morning by roosters from the houses around us. The little church houses a mobile health care clinic on Wednesdays, in addition to the shower and soup ministry and senior citizen center. All of these things take place in one small room with the altar and one end and a kitchen at the other, and an outside shower in the back. I’m so glad we saw this first; it’s a reminder that even paradise has a dark side, but it isn't bad at all. The back page of the church service booklet sums it up: