Posted on by Sue DeMaggio · 3 Comments

Hawaiian birds we’ve seen

  • It’s mating season! The wings of the have white and they are really showing it off her!
  • He checked me out!
Saffron finches, yellow break cardinals, Java sparrow, zebra doves, common mynah, night heron, and the state bird, the Nene. This is the first time I’ve seen a small
Flock of them!
Of course, the feral chickens are everywhere, and we saw a plover or two
Posted on by Sue DeMaggio

Volcano destruction

After our night in Volcano, HI, we drove thru the Leilani Estates and down to the south eastern coast of the island to see the destruction of the Fissure 8 eruption in May of 2018. Over 700 homes were destroyed and miles of land covered with lava, floating into the sea to enlarge the island.

For for perspective, here is the USGS map of where we were. We drove over the 3 flows near MacKenzie on that road, and the Coastal pictures are from asking there. The black sand beach is at Isaac Hale Park, where you can see where the Flow met the ocean there to create more island.

We stopped for lunch at Pepe’s Kitchen, in Pahoa, a small typically Hawaiian town close to the Leilani Estates. We met the proprietor who told us a bit about the destruction and made us a Hawaiian boat, a traditional gift from the native to the foreigner to bring them back to Hawaii again! He also made the most Beautiful locomoco and blintzes.

  • Hawaiian Cacao
Posted on by Sue DeMaggio

Our Volcanos National Park trip

We decided to stay near Volcano, HI one night so we could take in more of the park and the devastation of the 2018 eruption in Leilani Estates. Our drive down the island of course had to include a stop at the Punalu’u Bakery and the black sand beach. Sorry, we gobbled down the malasadas before we could take a picture! They made a great dessert for our picnic lunch at the beach. Near Sea Mountain Resort, at the golf course, we saw a flock of Nene, Hawaii ‘s state bird.

Our next stop was the national park and the Kilauea volcano summit. Since the lava lake is low right now, the bases enjoyed and the glow at night were minimal, but still interesting!

Posted on by Sue DeMaggio · 3 Comments

The Bella VIDA

Visiting yacht, Vida, arrived this morning from Cabo, registered in Jamaica, owned by an LLC …. who do you imagine the real owner? Hints….. very tall, Florida man with a family, who is a sport fisherman. Enjoys Cabo and Costa Rica for fishing. That’s all I know, but fun to imagine who this might be.

Vida by Heesen

https://www.yachtcharterfleet.com/luxury-charter-yacht-51531/vida.htm

https://fortlauderdalemagazine.com/living-the-vida/ Check out the interior

For perspective, here they have lowered 1 of the 2 smaller boats the yacht carries, its fishing and tender boats! And zooming in you see how small the men look compared to the boat!
Posted on by Sue DeMaggio · 4 Comments

Dinner with friends!

Our chiropractor and her family are here in Kona! When we had our last appointment, just before we came to Hawaii in January, we mentioned our Diamond Resorts timeshare 75% off deal. Cecelia and Ed also have Diamond timeshare points, and we enticed them to check out the deal. What a cool moment, when she messaged us that they were here! We had a great dinner together at Umeke’s with them and daughters Kaitlyn and Hailee