Today’s color is yellow. An unused shot of yellow straw, yellow bee nucs, yellow bees, and a yellow tie-down strap in the back of our truck when we recently picked up a couple of nucs and other supplies. 📷🌈 #mbmay
vehicles
After we moved to the US in 2001, we bought a cute Volkswagen New Beetle car. #ThrowbackThursday
For the first time leaving the homestead this decade, I had a dental cleaning, then dropped off a package at the UPS store, Subway for lunch, feed store for chicken/duck/bird food, gas store for the truck’s food, and the post office to clear out the junk mail from the PO box. That’ll do me for a month or so.
Heading home with non-stop panting from the back seat. 🐕
A more recent event for this week’s throwback: three years ago we bought our truck, a “2016 Chevy Colorado 4WD Z71 Crew Long Box, V6 Automatic in Laser Blue”. It’s been very handy for hauling lumber, feed supplies, furniture, and more. #ThrowbackThursday
Fascinating patterns of frost on the car this morning. ❄️
Another picture from our NZ house: me mowing the front lawn for the first time, in 1998. Plus a bonus pic of bringing a tree home, sticking out the sunroof of our car, from 1999. #ThrowbackThursday
Home now. We picked up Rory from the pet resort on the way. She always pants so much in vehicles. 🐕
Gotta get gas for the mowers. #dejus365
Hawaii day 4
For our fourth day in Hawaii, we took to the road to explore the Big Island. We headed east from Kamuela to Hilo (a bit over an hour drive). It was interesting to watch the landscape change, from the barren lava fields around Kamuela, to increasing vegetation as we headed inland:
As we got higher, we entered the cloud level, and experienced rain for the first time here:
After a pitstop at a mall in Hilo to get coffee and a phone car charger, we headed south to the volcano national park (half an hour more).
We explored the visitor center and gallery (and got a necklace for Jenn), but much of it was closed:
We went to one of the viewpoints, and were excited to see familiar-looking trees, cousins of NZ’s pōhutukawa. The variety in Hawaii is called ōhiʻa lehua:
We also saw some familiar-looking tree ferns:
Here’s a view of the Kilauea Iki crater, somewhat obscured by foliage:
Our rental Jeep:
A glimpse of the crater from another viewpoint:
We then continued half an hour south to the Punalu’u black sand beach. The sand was very black and gritty, more so than it looks in this picture:
There were several turtles resting on the sand:
Selfie:
A nearby lily pond:
We headed east for half an hour, with a stop to fill up the gas, and another brief stop to look at a lava field:
Info sign:
Then to Mehe’s Ka’u Bar & Grill for a tasty BLT lunch:
Energy replenished, we headed 45 minutes north to Big Island Bees, where we tasted their honey, and bought some made from the lehua blossoms. Jenn had a fun chat with a couple of the staff there, comparing beekeeping in Oregon to Hawaii:
We had wanted to visit a cute village with arty shops, but they were mostly closed by the time we got there, so we continued an hour or so back to the resort, completing our 10 hour road trip around the island (including stoppage time). About 5 hours total driving time; it is a big island.
For dinner, we decided to go to a restaurant on the resort that wasn’t open previously, so Jenn could get some sushi. It was actually the same restaurant that we’ve been going to for the buffet breakfasts each day, but transformed to a nice dinner restaurant.
Here are some palm trees next to the patio:
My fillet mignon and potato main, and Jenn’s “dragon roll” sushi:
Setting sun:
Tasty cake dessert:
Torches after dark:
More torches, during a post-prandial stroll along the shore:
Finally, as we were settling down for bed, there were some surprise fireworks in the golf course next-door:
Only one day left!