Just A Bakery A Volcano And A Sea Turtle . . .

Who is ready to see an active volcano?

I am!

So its time to get back in the car and hit highway 11 for the two hour"ish" drive to Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.

But before we get to the volcano lets stop at the Punalu'u Bake Shop for some delicious Hawaiian sweet bread sandwiches and treats.   

Punalu'u Bake Shop is the southern most bakery in the United States.  Loyal Readers may remember my friend Wendy and I visited this bakery about four years ago.

I got the liliko'i-glazed malasada.

There are beautifully manicured gardens to enjoy at the bake shop.

We made it!

If you look really hard you can see the volcanic fumes coming from the volcano in the top middle part of the picture.

Just Mom in the rain forest.

About to enter the lava tube.

Walking through the lava tube.

The interior walls of the lava tube.

Exiting the lava tube.

Important to note that Just Dad was out of the car and leading the walk.

Best sign EVER!  BATHROOM!

Moss growth on the trees.

Steam Vents.  Be careful that steam is HOT!

Kilauea Caldera with volcanic fumes from Halema'uma'u rising.

A volcano and a rainbow in the same spot!  

On the way back to the resort we stopped at Punalu'u Black Sand Beach where we got to experience sea turtles resting on the shore!

Rover's cousin from under the sea.

Two Turtles resting.

Watch this guy pull himself out of the water!

Just Another Day Another Island . . .

Another day another Island!

Since my last post we have switched Islands Loyal Readers.   We are now on the Big Island of Hawaii in the town of Kona.

We were treated to a beautiful sunset behind the palm trees on the first evening!

On Sunday morning we went to church at St. Michael The Archangel a.k.a. "The Church In The Tent."

In 1990 I went to mass at this church with my high school.  So forgive me when I drove right past the place where I thought the church was located because I didn't see "the church."  The reason I didn't see the church was because in 2010 the church that I knew was taken down because it was deemed structurally unsafe after the October 15, 2006 6.7 magnitude earthquake that struck the Kiholo Bay.

Now mass is held under a tent in the parking lot.

The good news is apparently they have just raised enough funds to start the rebuilding of the physical church.

After mass we went to breakfast at "the blue book" recommended Island Lava Java where I ordered the very decadent Guava Bread Pudding French Toast served with triple berry compote, vanilla bean anglaise and toasted macadamia nuts.  I could not finish this dish on my own.

Totally Low Cal Right?

To work off breakfast we walked along Ali'i Drive and window shopped down town Kona.

After shopping we drove over to St. Peter's By The Sea Catholic Church which is known on the Island as "Little Blue Church."

While the church was locked; I was still able to take this photo of the etched glass window which is located behind the altar in the church.

Tree reflection in the etched glass window of St. Peter's By The Sea.

We wrapped up the day by attending the Island Breeze Lu'au at Courtyard Marriott King Kamehameha's Kona Beach Hotel.

The kalua pua'a (pork) is removed from the imu.

The Royal Court arrives at the beachfront.

The dances of Tahiti.

The dances of Hawaii.

The Fire Dance of Samoa.

Just Coconuts . . .

Our fourth day on Kauai started out trying to find the Kountry Kitchen in Kapa'a.  This was another recommendation from the "blue book" for a "dandy place to get breakfast."

When we finally found the Kountry Kitchen there was already a crowd waiting in line ahead of us.  Fortunately the wait was less than thirty minutes.  As we waited I watched as more and more people walked up carrying the same "blue book" I had.

I now determined that places and activities featured in Andrew Doughty's "Revealed" books are the equivalent of being picked as one of Oprah's favorite things.  If there is a crowd, it's probably in the book.

At the Kountry Kitchen I got the egg sandwich with hash browns and it was quite good.  If you get a chance, order something that will allow you to try the coconut syrup that is on the table.  It was delicious.

After finishing our breakfast we took a stroll through parts of Kapa'a and ended up at an outdoor market which featured Fresh Ice Cold Coconuts.

The "Ice Cold" part is subject to interpretation as yes, the coconuts were in an ice chest, but their actual temperature was room temperature at best.

I am a huge fan of the Vita Coco brand of coconut water and I really wanted to know if drinking straight out of a coconut would taste the same.

In my humble opinion; it was pretty darn close.

After drinking an unbelievable amount of water out of the coconut; the young man selling the coconuts said to come back and he would slice the coconut open so that we could eat the "meat."

I wasn't so sure about the "meat" of a coconut.

But I was willing to try it anyway.   The fresh coconut tasted more mild than dry coconut, but I really didn't think I could eat all of it so I offered my coconut "meat" to a little Asian couple nearby.  They were more then willing to finish off my coconut.

After the outdoor market we made our way up to Wailua Falls; which according to the "blue book" is "the easiest falls on the island to access."