And with the few brain cells I have left, I'm going to tackle the penultimate blog entry.
I wonder how many of you are asking, "was it worth adding on the extension just to tour the Big Island?
The answer is yes, emphatically yes, even 'though there was not a chicken or rooster in site.
Hawaiian Brian took us on our 225 mile tour around the island, and it sounds exhausting, and it WAS exhausting, but it was worth every single second spent on that coach bus..and especially, NOT on that coach bus.
The small, comfortable bus consisted of the ten of us from Collette Tours plus a few additions.
The man and the woman in the front seat refused to get off the bus for the entire twelve hours, except for food and potty breaks.
I wanted them to adopt me, but the guy was kind of crabby.
He'd give me the evil eye every time I inadvertently made physical contact, which was every time I left the bus, which meant climbing over the leg he extended into the aisle.
I can't tell you if these were nice folks or not.
It simply doesn't matter.
Hawaiian Brian took us to our first stop, a coffee stop. I was grateful, because if you'll recall, I missed the one in Kauai 'cause I lost my now found cell phone.
I sipped chocolate macadamia nut coffee..doesn't that sound delish? But then I became overwhelmed by too many samples.
"Kona and coffee--the perfect match!"
We watched a coffee infomercial which included a trivia section, but I think I'm better at "Jeopardy!" than I am at coffee.
We were told poi would be on the lunch menu, and to be prepared that it'll feel "weird in your mouth."
It did..but it was better than kale, whichI also tried for the first time.
Our guide pointed to every plant, bush, and tree on this tour..he puts the "point" in poinsettia,
I thought this was going to be just another day, another reason to spend money in the gift shop, but it was so much more..
We got to see bright yellow fish cooling off in gentle waves.
There was humidity, yes, but there was also many photo ops! And there weren't crowds! Or cigarettes!
Our guide discussed the typical wild boar(been in their company many times at cocktail parties) and he reiterated so much that we already knew:
Hawaii has no snakes. They have no predators.
Golf courses are in.
Coffee is in.
Pineapples are almost out.
Sugar is out.
Captain Cook might have had his bones boiled for soup.
We saw Mark Twain's summer home.
We drove by the southernmost town in the U.S. (I don't recall the name..suffice to say it had twenty vowels, plus maybe a random consonant like a "k" or an "h.")
We were told that Roseanne Barr raises macadamia nuts on this island, but using the word "Roseanne" and "nuts" in the same sentence is redundant.
My mind drifted a little..are we going to suffer a similar fate to the Nebraskans we met in the hot tub yesterday? Who flew from Omaha to NEWARK and then to Seattle and then to Honolulu! ?? Fifteen hours in the air!! And even 'though they booked months in advance and were originally assigned econo-plus seats, they had to sit in the very back of this very crowded plane.
Aisles apart from each other.
In the middle seat.
We're flying to Denver tomorrow night. Mother Nature better cooperate before we head back to Newark Airport.
Anyway..back on track...
All of the stops today were magical.
Black sand beaches..the rim of a volcano..cascading falls.
We saw bursts of steam spurting up from so many places en route to the rim, and I say to Jim: "Let's make it to the engine room! The steel is only one inch thick!"
I was covered in vapors and I was in awe.
We were told that the year 2018 was both heaven and hell after the volcano erupted. Scientists and geologists track potential eruptions very carefully, but you know me..once I knew I eluded death by shark attack, I was braced to be engulfed by lava.
I looked like a steamed dumpling by the time I boarded the bus, but that was OK.
It was the experience of a lifetime.
We stopped in the Mauna Loa Nut shop but had no time to tour the factory, which might have been interesting. We saw a landing strip in Hilo where Air Force One would park when President Obama would visit the island.
We stopped at the Big Island Candy Shop and sciatica be damned..I turned into Usain Bolt to check it out.
As we were sampling our shared scoop of coffee ice cream, we talked a lot to Hoosiers Kate and Pat. I knew they were from South Bend, and even 'though Jim had forbidden me to discuss politics, I just had to send out feelers.
They are SOOOooooo in our camp.
I have no idea why I didn't pick that up from day one.
He's a retired college professor, and their son was a year behind(or was it ahead??) of Mayor Pete in school.
Pat regaled us with the story of meeting Pete and his then boyfriend Chas, and he told us about the friendship between Mayor Pete and Barack. I was hanging on his every word..or thought I was.
My notes are difficult to decipher. Nobody could read what I tried to write as the bus went down some rocky roads.
Kate told me I remind her of Melissa McCarthy, and unless she was implying that I looked like I could write or star in the movie "Tammy"..that was the compliment of a lifetime!
Anna and Mike, also from our original Collette group, were a little non-plussed about the waterfall.
Maybe it's because they live less than five miles from Niagara Falls.
We saw lava tubes and waterfalls and I fell more in love with Mother Nature than I already am.
I saw a definite letter "Y" in the mountains.
Rick found a bobby pin, which he is convinced is a gift from his mother from beyond. She wore them a lot: he finds them a lot.
And he was sure it was a sign that something amazing would be coming our way.
He was so right.
The ride back to the Sheraton was the most spectacular journey in my life. It was outwardly, surreal.
The sky was streaked with bright swaths of neon pink and neon red..of gold and yellow and blue. It was hard to see if we were looking at the ocean or the mountains or the sky.
Words could not describe the beauty.
Since the bus was relatively uncrowded, I had my own seat, behind Jim.
I was practically sobbing, saying things like "I can barely breathe!" and "oh God, oh God, oh God!"
I wouldn't be surprised if someone on the bus thought I snuck a vibrator on board.
It was the most stunning site I've ever seen in my life.
There was no way I was convinced it was real. That it was created by Mother Nature.
But it was, and it made this long journey worth every penny we spent.
Even if you've honeymooned in any other Hawaiian Island, it is worth it to visit the big one..just for this site at twilight.
A site that will last in your memory forever.
I may try to blog once more before departure.
What a perfect way to celebrate thirty year of being Jim Amster's wife!
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