Kayaking Kealakekua Bay

This morning we picked Leah up from her hotel in Kona, then we headed to Kealakekua Bay where Sarah had arranged for the rental of a 3-person kayak from Ehu & Kai Adventures. The really nice thing about this kayak rental company is that they are on the beach so there is no going to the rental place, tying a kayak to the top of your car, and finding somewhere to put it in the water. We were able to fit all 4 of us in the kayak; Sarah in the back, Leah in the front seat with Kaia sitting between her legs, and me in the center seat. (The photos are a little blurred because I broke the door for the charging port on my LifeProof phone case & it can't be replaced because the phone is so old they are no longer being made so the phone is in a dry bag.)

The kayak rental concession at the shoreline.

Sarah helps Kaia put on her life jacket.

(L to R) Kaia, Sarah, & Leah getting ready for kayaking.

Map of kayaking area.

Leah (with Kaia in her lap) paddles in the bow.

Sarah paddles in the stern.

When we got to the part of the bay with the best reef fish viewing Kaia refused to get in the water so I stayed in the kayak with her; Sarah & Leah went snorkeling and would come up every so often to describe a fish for me to identify. Kaia & I followed along so she could keep them in site. This worked very well for her. As we paddled back to the rental site, Kaia fell asleep in Leah's lap.

Kaia goes in to the water.

Kaia comes out of the water almost immediately.

Sarah & Leah get ready to go snorkeling.

We follow them as they snorkel around the edge of the bay.

Sarah pops up to check on Kaia.

Sarah & Leah finish their snorkeling trip.

Kaia on the shore at the end of the kayak trip.

The Saffron Finch woke me up early as usual, but that was OK since we had a fun-filled day ahead of us. I rolled out of bed about half an hour after birdrise.

Birdrise, 27 minutes before sunrise.

Time to get out of bed, 7 minutes after sunrise.

For breakfast Kaia insisted on toast with Bodacious Blackberry Jam. I think she also loves to say the name!

Yesterday we picked a bunch of Meyer Lemons. Here they are. The photo is a little fuzzy because I had the phone in the dry bag which keeps it dry but affects the picture quality. (The phone is already in the dry bag.)

 

As we were leaving the kayak rental, ʻAnakala Peter told us there was a great poke place in a few miles up the road called Reel Aloha Poke & Fish Co. His son runs the business! And it was good. Leah had a Poke Bowl with Hawaiian Time Poke & kim chee, Kaia & Sarah had the Poke Plate with Grandma's Poke, California Dreamin' Poke, edamame & shrimp, and I had a Poke Bowl with Shoyu Poke & ogo salad. We also got a container of poi. (The phone was still in the dry bag.)

Poke Bowl with Hawaiian time poke & kim chee.

What's left of the Poke Plate and poi.

What's left of my Poke Bowl.

As we were leaving Kealakekua Bay, my phone dinged; it was Bruce! They were visiting in Everett and went by my old house. He sent me photos of it. The new owner has made a couple of changes; the house is now a much darker color, there are posts on the porch, and a fancy bannister along the steps down to the sidewalk. The beautiful rhodies on either side of the front porch and the birch tree that used to provide shade for the living room during the summer were removed by the people I originally sold the house to; they said they were going to do a bunch of nice things to the house but did nothing except remove beautiful plants. 

My old neighborhood; 3 of these 4 houses have been repainted since I moved.

My former house.

Before we went to lunch, however, we walked through Puʻu Honua o Honaunau. It's been a very long time since I have been there; I don't ever remember there being a visitors center or numbered signs to guide you through the walk. This was also the 1st time I used the America the Beautiful Lifetime Senior Pass that I got in 2017 when Mary Ellen & Michael were visiting; Michael insisted I get one right then because in a little more than a month the price was going to increase from $10 to $80!

Introduction to Pu'u Honua o Honaunau.

There were a lot of educational signs.

At the canoe house.

Sea turtles nest on this beach during nesting season.

Kaia did not want a photo with the statues.

So Leah posed to the photo.

She didn't mind the statues, just didn't want her photo taken.

The heiau at Pu'u Honua o Honaunau.

Kaia decides to run ahead of us.

She was waiting for us on a bench at the end of the trail.

After lunch we dropped Sarah & Leah off at the Dollar Car Rental at the airport in Kona; they needed a car to go to their yoga retreat. It turns out it took over an hour before they got their car; there was a backlog of about 15 people ahead of them in line. Like my car, theirs was soaking wet when they got it.

Kaia & I headed back to the house; we had to feed Wiley. That was most of what Kaia talked about during the hour long drive back; it turns out she would very much love to have a cat but her father is allergic to cats. Wiley did not come popping out from under the ramp when we called; I think she wandered off in search of food since we did not provide any during the day. We did see Wiley's orange brother; Kaia named him Meyer Kitty Lemon because he is the color of the ripe Meyer Lemons! (see above)

No cats showed up when she called.

But we did see Meyer Kitty Lemon on the driveway.

Here's a better photo of Meyer Kitty Lemon.

Kaia put food out for Meyer Kitty Lemon.

But he did not come to eat while we watched.

After we unloaded the car, Kaia & I went to Sunshine True Value to pick up a couple of small stools; one for the bathroom and one to leave by the front door so Kaia can look out the screened window in the door to watch Wiley eating. They were all out of the small stools. So we went to Takata Store in the off chance that they might carry stools; they did not. But I did see some milk crates being used as part of their vegetable display. I explained the situation to the cashier and she went and asked if I could buy one; she came back with one and said it would be $8; I told her, Sold! I think this is actually a better solution; the milk crate is lighter than a stool and gives Kaia a little more height. It is also more stable than a stool might be.

Kaia insisted on having lunch for dinner. She wanted toast with peanut butter and Darla's blackberry jam again. I had leftover stir fry from last night. Because of the delay in getting the rental car Sarah & Leah were not going to be home until well after dinner, so we ate without them.

The Aix weather app forecast rain through the midafternoon here. But we had a fairly dry say today.

Twenty-four minutes after sunrise.

There were 61 new cases of COVID-19 reported today, bringing the total number of known cases up to 33,267. There were no new deaths so the death toll remains 488; currently 1215 cases are considered active. The 7-day new case average on Oʻahu is 63 with a 2.1% positivity rate.