July Fun with Our Son and Family: Part 2

Art wanted to take the family to the Big Island where he grew up. They're changing the Big Island name to Hawaii Island. I hear news broadcasters calling it Hawaii Island. However locals still refer to our biggest, youngest island as the Big Island.

We landed in Hilo, visited relatives, had Loco Moco at Cafe 100 and then went to Rainbow Falls. Everybody goes to Rainbow Falls when they go to Hilo. The grandsons managed to find this HUGE banyan tree that Art says he'd never known about. And yes, just like their dad would have done when he was little, they shimmied up the tree while holding on to the aerial prop roots.

We spent the night at the Kilauea Military Camp in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. 

In the morning, Keola and family went hiking at Kilauea Crater while Art and I relaxed.

When they returned, we headed out to Pu'uhonua o Honaunau National Historical Park which used to be called City of Refuge. 

This is from the Pu'uhonua o Honaunau National Historical Park website:

"Imagine you had just broken the sacred laws, the kapu, and the only punishment was death. Your only chance of survival is to elude your pursuers and reach the Puʻuhonua, a place of refuge. The Puʻuhonua protected the kapu breaker, defeated warriors, as well as civilians during the time of battle. No physical harm could come to those who reached the boundaries of the Puʻuhonua."

We also visited Black Sands Beach. The boys loved seeing the sea turtles there.

When we returned to Oahu, we had a pot luck party so Keola and family could spend time with their uncle, aunt and cousins. I ordered this 1/2 sheet of Dream cake which was really too big, but froze amazingly well. 

Do you remember the song, "Happy Together" by the Turtles? I thought this was appropriate for our party. I have a feeling it was lost on the younger members of our family though.

Throughout their stay in Hawaii, they tried to spend time at every beach on the island and there are many.

They enjoyed going to Byodo-In Temple in Kaneohe and ringing the giant bell.

For our grandson, JK's birthday, friends recommended Wai Kai in Ewa Beach. It's a water park along the ocean front. They had a glorious time. Our daughter-in-law kindly rented a cabana for Art and me to be comfortable out of the sun.

I'm sorry I had to laugh because RK developed this fascination for burrs that are annoyingly all over the place as the weeds proliferate easily. We gave him a little plastic bottle so he could collect those sharp burrs that stick to your socks and shoes. He was a little disappointed that it wouldn't be a good idea for him to bring it to the next country where they would be living. 

One of the things JK asked of me was to teach him how to make a teriyaki marinade. This is RK helping his brother grate a ginger root. JK then soaked the chicken in the marinade for about 5-6 hours and placed it on a pan to broil. It would taste even better if they had grilled it. But it was still delicious and we had a wonderful dinner.

JK's birthday is a few days before mine and they'd already celebrated it happily with a lei and balloon. JK passed the lei and balloon on to me for my birthday. We managed to celebrate several birthdays during their stay.

And then it was time for them to leave. The time had absolutely flown by and it was difficult to see them off at the airport again.

But then our daughter, Tiffany texted us a couple of weeks ago saying that they'd be coming to visit us in January.

Yay!!! 😀 

POSTSCRIPT: Would you believe that balloon is still flying over our dining table?  I smile whenever I look at it.