From the Southern Cross to the North Star – Stargazing on Mauna Kea

We had booked a tour with Mauna Kea Summit Adventures for the trip up to the 13, 700 foot top of the second highest mountain on the Big Island. (The biggest is Mauna Loa, located to the south and which is, by the way, the second largest volcano in the Solar system. The largest is on Mars.) At 4 PM we were picked up at the Starbucks in the Queens Shops plaza a short distance down the road from the hotel. It was an hour and twenty minute ride up the slopes of Mauna Kea through some extremely dry country.

Pat, our guide and driver and owner of the tour company, said it had not rained in a year and most of the animals were dying off. All that was left were the Hawaiian owls, one of which we saw, and the wild donkeys.

The wild donkeys are feral, having been released by coffee growers in favor of tractors. They have multiplied (a male is called a jack, and a female a jenny). As developers came in they planned to thin or eliminate the herds, but an animal rights group formed a program called “Save our Asses” to get a more humane population control method. So the jacks and jennies are kept separate as best they can. It may be working because we never saw a donkey.

We stopped for dinner at the Onizuka Visitors Center at 9000 feet. The guide pointed out that there would be other groups there, mostly Japanese tourists and mostly women for some reason. There is a new Japanese telescope at the top of Mauna Kea, and they all want to see it.

Before we left the visitor center we took a short walk to see a blooming Silversword plant. they only grow at high altitudes in Hawaii and bloom after 20 to 50 years one time and then die. The blooming process takes about 6 months.

From there we did the last eight miles or so to the top, one of the steepest roads I can ever remember and pretty rough in some spots. Climbing 4700 feet in 8 miles has to be steep. We got to the 13,800 foot summit in time to see the 12 telescopes, covering everything from infrared, through visible light to millimeter wavelength radiation.

Kathy even had a sighting of an astronomer.

It was slightly below 40 degrees at the summit with a 15 knot wind which put the wind chill below freezing. Fortunately Mauna Kea Adventures supplied parkas and gloves.

At sunset we watched the sun go below the clouds and also the shadow of the mountain stretch far out to the east.

Then Pat said we had to start down for an appointment at around 7:30. So we headed partway down the steep road and pulled into a branch road and got out in time to see one of the highlights of the trip. To our right was the Southern Cross and to our left was the North Star. This is one of the few place on earth you can see both at the same time. Pat pointed out a moving light coming out of the Southern Cross, it was the International Space Station (ISS). We watched it fly under the moon and followed it until it disappeared over the north east horizon.

From there we headed down to an open area at about 9000 feet. Two 11 inch telescopes were set up and we got to look at several celestial features, including omega Centauri, a globular cluster of stars that looks like grains of salt on a black table, the Ring Nebula, which looks like a green smoke ring, the craters on the Moon and most impressive, the Rings of Saturn plus two of its moons including Titan and one of the other 61 moons.

We headed down the mountain and got back to the Marriott about 11:30PM.

Kona on the Big Island

We got into Kona airport and immediately started to explore. We drove to Holuakoa, about 1000 feet up the side of Mauna Kea. This is an old Hawaiian town that has become something of an artist’s colony amid the many coffee farms. We went in for lunch at the Holuakoa Gardens, which bills itself as a “slow food” restaurant, using only environmentally sustainable products and locally grown food. The food was fabulous; the chef was trained in Europe. We were the only customers since it was mid afternoon. We followed up with cappuccinos at the Holuakoa Café, which was the original restaurant and was adjacent.

Across the street a short distance was the Inaba’s Kona hotel, a big pink building that seemed to be a hangout for guys that primarily hung around. Don’t know if there is any family tie to Carrie Ann Inaba of Dancing With the Stars, but being Hawaii there probably is. The whole town was a trip.

On the way down the mountain we stopped at Blue Sky Coffee for a tasting and to buy some genuine Kona coffee. Coffee tasting rooms were everywhere. We also checked out the coffee beans on the tree.

We checked in at the Marriott Waikoloa, which was located on Anaeho’omalu Bay and Beach, known locally as A-Bay. It was a long crescent shaped sand beach interspersed with outcrops of black volcanic rock. We took an early evening walk along the beach to see the sunset, and while admiring the beach nearly tripped over a beached sea turtle. We saw nearly a dozen in the course of the walk, including a group of eight that we missed on the way out but found on the way back.

They blend in well if you aren’t looking for them. According to a professional photographer we ran into out there, they beach at night to avoid predators that tend to feed at night, sharks I guess.

The next morning we were out with our snorkel gear and found several turtles in very shallow water near the hotel.

Also at our hotel was a planning conference for what looked like a training exercise involving the US Air Force and the Indian Air Force. We saw several officers from both countries, including a USAF 4-star general. They had four conference rooms in use. Not bad duty.

Views Under and Over the Water in Maui

We got up early to take advantage of the calmer water at Ulua beach. We snorkeled for a while, photographing the Humuhumu repeatedly. There were also many red spiny creatures in the coral, sea urchins we think. I wouldn't want to step on one. There was a group of SCUBA divers, a class or a tour in the same area. One was coaxing a small octopus out from under a rock.

The remainder of the day was spent either around the pool (Jim) or shopping (Kathy).

We also checked out the Serenity Pool at the Marriott, it is also an infinity pool, very nice. The serenity part comes from it being restricted to 18 years old and up.

That evening we went to dinner at Capische, a restaurant in the Hotel Wiamea – a beautiful boutique hotel, which we later found out was in foreclosure- up on the hill overlooking the Wiamea area. It had some very dramatic architecture, including a deep chasm in the lobby area.

The restaurant was highly recommended. The view from the porch where we were seated was awesome. If you weren't there for sunset, the garden table settings were very private and intimate. The food was very good but no match for Mama’s Fish house. We did get great sunset views though. The next morning we made it out for one more snorkel at Ulua Beach and then packed up and headed for the airport and the Big Island. It was interesting when we arrived at Maui Airport to a huge cloud of billowing black smoke. It raised a little concern that someone had done something untoward with an airplane, but it turned out to be the monthly drill for the fire and rescue team.

The House of the Sun

Saturday June 20th, 1970 we got married. Forty years later, its Sunday, June 20th, 2010 and we are up at 2:30AM to get on the road by 3 AM to meet the sunrise at the top of Haleakala, the House of the Sun. We stopped by the front desk to get a "Haleakala Survival Kit", basically a cooler with pastries, fruit, juice and most importantly a thermos of coffee.

We headed out on the 90 minute drive to the summit, eventually falling in with about three cars on the winding mountain road. We figured we were ahead of the crowd. WRONG! When we reached the summit we found one of the last three parking spaces available in the summit lot (which holds about 30 cars). But we found a space and walked (slowly at 10,023 feet) up to the summit to watch the sun come up on our 40th anniversary.

This makes it a third time, we celebrated our 25th, 30th and now our 40th on top of Haleakala. I guess its habit forming, plus its a beautiful, unique setting. It was about 41 degrees at sunrise but there was not much wind so it didn't feel as cold as it had on previous trips.

Regardless, we are getting more practical as we get older and after the sun went up we had no problem enjoying our coffee and breakfast in the comfort of the car. When we were younger we braved the elements as we ate. Maybe we're smarter now.

As we drove down we stopped for some of the expansive views of the crater and of central Maui, even saw a cruise ship pulling into Kahului. Unfortunately by the time we stopped to photograph it he was bow on and was harder to see. We had a great view of Mauna Kea on the big island, 80 miles away. In the photograph of the cinder cone above, Mauna Kea appears as a low dark triangle just above the clouds. The drive down makes it look like you are descending into the clouds.

We stopped at the Hosmer Grove nature trail. The first part was full of trees from the rest of the world, Eucalyptus from Australia, cedars from Japan and North America and parts of Asia.

We did a little birdwatching with a local photographer on the Nature Trail. We mentioned the Victorino for Council political signs we had seen. He told us that was Shane Victorino's Dad. Shane Victorino, "the Flyin' Hawaiian" plays center field for the Phillies.

After we got down we headed to Keokea, where we had breakfast (again) which was excellent. One of the interesting things about upcountry Hawaii is a rather relaxed building code system. Grandmas is a restaurant, but the restrooms are located a "short ways down the street"; more like a quarter mile, at a county park. Quaint.

After we got back to the Marriott Waimea, at about noon, it already seemed like we had been up a long time. That evening we had our anniversary dinner at Mama's Fish House, a gift from Doug and Martha for our 40th. It is right on the beach with a sunset view. Everything about this restaurant is as good as it could be. This is the best restaurant on Maui, and could well be the best restaurant in Hawaii. Even the flower arrangements around the dining rooms were amazing.

Start to finish it was a great 40th anniversary celebration. Here's to 40 more just like it.

Maui Once Around

Friday we got up late and walked to Ulua Beach, a short distance from the Marriott, where we did a little snorkeling and found the requisite Humuhumunukunukuapua'a swimming by, and tried to get his photo. The problem with midday snorkeling is that the wind comes up after noon and underwater visibility degrades. We will be back for an early morning snorkel.

We walked down the beach a short way and passed the former Renaissance hotel where we celebrated our 25th Anniversary. Sometime in the last 15 years an attempt was made to go condominium or timeshare with the property. Unfortunately the conversion process got caught in the economy crunch and the place is now have finished and abandoned. And it is in a beautiful location right on the water.

Since it got windy and cloudy in Wialea we thought it was a good opportunity to explore for quilt stores and wend our way up to Lahaina. We drove through Kihei on what used to be the main road, it has been supplemented by a faster 4 lane road half a mile inland so all the places near the water don't have to deal with as much traffic. When we got to Lahaina it was sunny and HOT. We had a late lunch at the Lahaina Fish Co. on the water overlooking a wrecked sailboat on the reef.

Saturday we got up early for the fabled drive to Hana. Our first stop, after a quick visit to the Kaluhui Walmart for supplies and a McMuffin at the McDonalds within, was at Twin Falls. we hiked to the waterfall - a very pleasant walk with many flowers along the way. including a number of shampoo ginger. The yellow part of the bud apparently is a natural shampoo when you crush it.

After we got back we had a pineapple-banana smoothie at the stand, located in an old school bus. Mark had said it was the best smoothie he ever had and we agree!

From there we negotiated the many turns, switchbacks, and narrow bridges. Our next stop was the Ke'anae Peninsula, a very small town that has preserved (informally) some of old Hawaii. We parked among some walking trees and watched the surf pound the black lava rocks. On the way out we stopped at Aunty Sandy's, a small family run food stand whose specialty was banana bread, made from the local apple-bananas. It was excellent! So far the trip had been a culinary success.

We arrived in Hana, the first stop being at the Wai'anapanapa State Park. We checked out the black sand beach and the lava tube. A woman tourist asked Kathy why the sand was black. Kathy explained that it was basically ground up volcanic rock, like all the black rock surrounding the beach. The lady was surprised, saying "Are there volcanoes around here?" Kathy got out of the discussion gracefully somehow. Volcanoes? Hawaii? Hello???

We had lunch at the Hana Ranch and visited the Hasegawa Store, which pretty much is the only store in Hana. It is celebrating its 100th year in 2010. From there we headed to the Red Sand Beach.

The Red Sand Beach is secluded and beautiful. the seclusion is largely due to the trail to reach it. It is short, maybe a quarter mile, but it is truly treacherous. Not the place to make a misstep. If you don't fall off the cliff, the rocks will likely cut you to ribbons. The beauty of the beach is that it is like a pool protected by a rock barrier from the open sea. Jim swam around the area. the sand is only on the beach, the rest of the bottom is uneven rocks, but as always the water is wonderful. We also watched a guy jumping about 45 feet off the rocks into the water just outside the protected area.

After the red sand beach we drove through town and found the hotel we had stayed in 15 years ago. From there we continued around to the Ohe'o gulch portion of Haleakela National Park. We had visited there before and by now it was getting past 5 pm so we asked the Ranger about the road across the south side of Maui. She said it was passable and probably notably better than when we had driven it 10 years ago, so we elected to continue around, through the section where the rental car companies don't want you to go. Some of the roads are spectacular, along cliffs over the ocean and only one and a half cars wide. There was more paved road than 10 years ago, but much of it is 90% patches and 10% original road, so it is a rough ride, but straighter than the north side road to Hana.

After driving about 20 miles on narrow winding roads, we came upon this sign.. Thanks.

Along the way we got a couple of glimpses of Mongooses (Mongeese? spellchecker says no) crossing the road. One was a mother and juvenile. They are too fast to photograph. We were also treated to some rainbows over the ocean. Those we were fast enough to capture on camera.

Some where around 120 miles from when we left we closed the loop and arrived back in Kahului, completing the circuit of East Maui.

Underwater photos and off to Maui

We finally got our underwater camera photos back - and realize how addicted we are to the instant gratification of a digital camera. We used a disposable film camera and tried out a cheap reusable digital. Unfortunately the cheap part came through, it could take a good picture but it required about a 10 pound push to snap the shutter resulting in excessive shaking and hit or miss picture quality. You get what you pay for and fortunately we got it back by returning the camera.


Anyway, we got a few unusual pictures off of Napali. Here is our buddy the monk seal, notice Kathy's nice pink nail polish.

Kathy managed to capture the sea turtle cruising by.

And then there was this tourist...We also caught a very colorful reef fish in the Queen's Bath, perhaps waiting for a high tide so he could move on. He is in the upper right part of the frame.















So today we had to say goodbye to the Punana Aloha cottage on Anini beach, it was fabulous, as was the north side of Kauai.






Steve Perry, Priscilla and Glen's friend who took care of the car logistics for us, rode with us to the airport. It was very interesting hearing about the island from someone who lives there. We mentioned to Steve that we had gone into Hanalei to photograph the African Tulip tree near Black Pot beach. He tactfully pointed out that it was a Royal Poinciana tree and showed us some actual African Tulip trees enroute to the airport. (Thanks, Steve. I corrected yesterday's blog). Both are beautiful trees.

We stopped for Kathy to photograph a lotus flower we had seen a dinner earlier in the week. It was closed then, only opening in the daytime.

We thank Priscilla and Glen so much for the use of the Jeep, it was great.


We took Hawaiian Airline to Kahului Airport in Maui via Honolulu. Maui is much more developed than Kauai, very different but still beautiful in its own way. We checked in to the Wailea Beach Marriott and watched the sun set over the island of Lanai.