The Adventures of Sunsette -- Texas Travels, Part II— Apr. 12

[Lejays17]

Oh wow, amazing photos.

Loved the plane / airport ones, and the gorgeous flora.

The almost-your-name shop, with attendant cat.

So cute with the little surfboards again.


Looking forward to more adventures!

[davidd]

Screeching midnight roosters! That means "country" in Hawaii! When we first moved to Hawaii, there were lots of chickens in the neighborhood. Because... uhm... there was a huge illegal cock-fighting operation (called "chicken fights" in Hawaii) in the neighborhood. When you see the "chickens" in the yards in Hawaii, it is not usually for eggs or eating.

Nine airports? Was that total, or one way? That sounds... not fun. Although it looks like some of the airports were interesting; just maybe not six hour worth of interesting.

I see one of those "welcoming" signs there behind the black & white cat! Yeah, those "kapu" and "private property" and "beware of dog" signs seem to be a fixture on da Big Island.

Two-thousand photos, huh?

How long was the trip? Or, more specifically, how many days were you in Hawaii? Must have been about ten days, huh?

[dargosmydaddy]

Sunsette and co. really need to have their own travel book series or blog or something! So cool to learn about traveling to Hawaii from a doll's perspective

[fishy]

Sunsette and co. really need to have their own travel book series or blog or something! So cool to learn about traveling to Hawaii from a doll's perspective

DOLL TRAVEL PICTURE BOOK.

Seriously, DO IT.

I can help if you need it- I've published on Amazon.

It's the kind of cute, quirky thing people really like.

[Elfy]

What a great set of photos. I’m 3rding 4thing? The idea of the doll travel book. Hope some of our shots from our upcoming trip to Tasmania turn out as well.

[Alliecat]

"Hi everyone!
"We're hanging out on a Sunday night listening to Kupaoa and mum's done another 'quick and dirty' batch edit on some more photos, so here we are to share them with you.  davidd... ugh... we didn't hear about chicken fights...  And it was 20 days, with a couple for travel.
"We love the idea of a book, but mum says books are a pretty hard sell.  She's still got a box of local-photography-guide books that she hoped the tourists would go for, and, well... she's still got a bunch.  That said, we would be over the moon if someone paid us to travel and report on our adventures.  We're taking applications."


"Here we are on our way over the saddle road from Kona to Hilo.  It was a gorgeous day and we could see all the mountains....  wow."



"We shared this stop on one of our dispatches, the recreation area about halfway across the island."

"Now, we got seriously Left Behind here...  Mum went on a helicopter tour that she said was EPIC... and WE DIDN'T GET TO GO!!!  They weren't allowed to bring bags or even a hat, and with the seat harness we couldn't ride in pockets either.  So we have to just look at the pictures too."


"We like aircraft almost as much as we like boats.
Is this a sexy machine or what??"



"This is last spring's lava flow.  Mum was glued to the computer for daily updates at the time, and she was pretty excited to actually be there flying over it.  In the distance, Fissure Eight... the monster itself... with which Mum came face-to-face, so to speak, a little later."



"...and this is Pu'u O'o, the active vent.  It's sleeping now... just a gentle steam rising from it... for now.  They looked right down it."



"We're back in Kona.  This is Kanaloa Octopus Farm.  'Sauerkraut' tried to pull mum into the tank.  (This is not mum's hand!)  She says they are unbelievably strong."



"We watched the surf for a bit at Wawaloli Beach Park."



"Little sailors pay their respects.  This is Kealakekua Bay, where Captain James Cook was killed in 1779.  Early in his career he mapped the entrance of the St. Lawrence River, not too far from here.  He died in a colossal clash of cultures that still echoes in Hawaii today.  On the other side of the bay behind us is a monument.  It's the tiniest white speck on the shore right above Alo's head.  There's also a heiau and Hawaiian royalty buried in the cliffs.  So lots of echoes, and we took some time here to listen to them."



"Mum.  PLEASE.  !!!!!   We could put a sail on it..."
"I dunno, girls.  Is it pono to take stuff here?  Besides, how would I pack that?  Customs would take it anyway.  Better just take a picture and put it back where we found it...."
""Auwe!!!""



"We went on to Pu'uhonua O Honaunau, a sacred and historic site which was a place of refuge for defeated warriors and those who broke kapu (the many laws)."



"These guys are watching over Keone'ele cove, where only chiefs were allowed to land canoes.  It's still kapu to walk on the beach if honu -- sea turtles -- are resting there."



"It's a beautiful and peaceful spot.  It's fun to imagine what it was like with all the people who lived here."



"And here's mum's sand souvenir from there."



"Next day!  We're on our way to Hilo again by the south route this time, and we'll soon have circumnavigated the whole island except for the top corner, because mum took the coastal road back the other day.  We wanted more pictures but she didn't want to be finishing in the dark so we didn't stop many places and traffic was a bit crazy.  (We ended up finishing the drive in the dark in a downpour all the same.)  
ANYway, here we are on the overlook to Ka Lae, the southernmost point in Hawaii."



"Spot us in the picture??"



"Our visit was cut short because mum had to return the car and meet someone, and it rained, and a lot of the roads were still closed in the park.  We were bummed not getting to see Halema'uma'u to compare with mum's photos from last time she was there.  But, here we are at Kilauea Iki."

"Thanks for reading along.  Next time we'll tell you how we found a perfect corner of paradise with a magic garden...
Love, Sunsette"

[davidd]

I wanna go back to my little grass shack in Kealakekua Hawai'i.... So you didn't swim across the bay to see the Cook monument up close? At least you saw it from far away. That's a spot I never managed to visit on the Big Island.

So that's the Saddle Road, now, huh? Not so very long ago, the Saddle Road was considered so rough, winding, and dangerous that rental car agencies recommended against taking that route, and they would not send assistance if you had a breakdown.

Twenty days and a helicopter tour? Wow! Fun! You pulled out all the stops on this trip!

"We ended up finishing the drive in the dark in a downpour all the same."     Because... Hilo side!  (Note for anyone planning a trip to Hawaii: it always rains in Hilo!)

This was a fun Big Island travelog! I'll be looking forward to seeing where the girls and mum go... or went... next!

[Elfy]

Maybe you could convince Allie to do a spot the mini book?

[neon_jellyfish]

Oh wow. That was one awesome travel log!

[Lejays17]

Oh wow! Amazing travelogue there. Particularly liked the helicopter shots of the lava flows, very striking.

And the little coconut boat!!

[Offgenemi]

the little coconut boat is super adorable. i am jealous of the helicopter trip. i am sure i would be very nervous to go on it. but it seems like this is a good place to take such a trip. the girls had so much fun together with you

[dargosmydaddy]

I'm not likely to ever get to Hawaii, so I'm enjoying these vicarious travels. Sunsette is a great narrator

[GreysPrincess]

The octopus farm seems really cool!

I think I’d be staying on the ground with the girls! I love seeing aerial pictures of scenery but I’m terrified of heights “in person!”

[Alliecat]

"Mahalo nui for reading, you guys!  We're having fun sharing our adventures with you.  Offgenemi and Greys...  Mum says it was just like sitting in your living room with surround video.... smoooooooth as you can imagine.  
"davidd... nope, no swimming.... Mum says we probably float better than she does.  Last time Mum was in Hawaii, you were not allowed to take rental cars on the Saddle Road at all.  Or to Hana.  (I'm not sure how they'd find out...?)  And the downpour was between Waimea and Kona, and it was horrible.  Mum had to pull over several times because on top of the rain, the windshield was dangerously smeary inside, and she literally couldn't see anything beyond it."

"After our week of touristing, Mum went to a women's retreat, on a multimillion-dollar estate on a hillside near Hilo, off the grid; and that's why we disappeared for a week.  We have to say we thought this was the most perfect spot on earth.  No bugs, a February that's never colder than 52F (Mum thought it was funny that the others were cold)... and flowers... so many flowers, and growing things, everywhere.  And, a magic garden."


"Mum's lei made our room smell nice for the whole week."



"This is the magic garden...."






"...and here it is at night, when it was utterly peaceful, except for the palm fronds gently clacking and the little frogs calling across the garden, asking each other, 'ko-KEEE?'"



"Flowers... flowers everywhere..."



"...and many little corners to ex-plore..."



"...with we-sized trees."












"We found a sleeping fairy."






"There was sunrise meditation overlooking the Pacific in the distance."



"Checking out the paper-bark eucalyptus."



"It was soft and spongy!"



"This little guy came out for a drink..."



"...but he was much too shy to pose with us."



"Ex-ploring the grounds, we found this swing."



"Well this is pretty perfect."
"Uh huh."
"You suppose Mum would let us stay for ever...?"
"...."


"Now, those who don't like a lot of text can scroll on through the pretty pictures, but for those who like talk story, we've got a good one for you.
"We already thought this garden might be the most perfect spot on earth, but then something quite magical happened. Not at first though…
"First, Aloalo earned her certification for stunt falls, as many of the PrettyTiny Film Company crew do -- not always on purpose. She fell out of this tree -- a good 5 feet."



"Mum had fits, but fortunately she landed on the soft moss around the tree and not the lava rock border.  Mum dusted her off and straightened her hair and determined she was OK, so we moved on to our next spot.  But, one of Alo's kupe'e came off.  Mum didn't notice until she set up for our next shot, but you can see in this picture that the left wrist one is missing."



"Mum hadn't seen it where Alo fell, and now her whole outfit was completely unbalanced.  Mum went back and looked for it.  Our photo session fizzled as she spent the rest of the free time crawling around on the moss and looking in all the plants.  She looked in the axils of the tree (which were VERY sharp); she looked around under the tree; she looked under the plants; she looked in the leaf clusters of the plants, and she looked out to the lava rock border.  Nothing.  Mum was so mad!  Now she was going to have to ask the community whether anyone would give up their Aloalo's garlands, and who would do that unless they'd rebodied her?, and maybe not even then...  Or, she was going to have to look for matching fabric and try to make one.  (Remember, Mum does not sew.)  Unlikely she'd find a match, so she'd have to find some similar fabric in a very tiny quantity and make FOUR of them.
"She crawled around for ages, got right down with her head on the moss looking along the ground to see if anything stuck up.  No luck.  She even went back out that night with a flashlight, and spent more time poking around, hoping a bit of glitter on the fabric would catch the light. Aside from it being so small, the biggest problem is that the kupe'e is exactly the same colour as the moss. Finally, she gave up, thoroughly annoyed, and went to bed.  It was very windy. Mum gave the garland up for lost.

...

"Then, the magic thing happened.  Next day, Mum was walking back to her room; she happened to glance down completely at random as she turned onto the lanai, and Alo's garland was right there at the entrance on the lava rock border.  That tiny green thing stood out on the black rock like a little beacon.  Mum couldn't believe it.  The garden gave it back to us!
"Mum says, maybe it's cos we trod lightly there and respect da aina; or maybe it's because she asked Pele, whose home we were near (...I'm not sure whether Pele is a reliable person to ask for favours or not?)…  But, that garland was absolutely not there and then it was. The wind blew exactly the right way in the right direction and then it didn't blow any farther.
"Mum put the garlands away in her suitcase so we didn't lose any more, but now Aloalo can dance again in her complete outfit."



"Make of it what you will.
Love, Sunsette"

[Elfy]

Great story. So glad Alo got her garland back, and I adore some of those photo, the ones meditating on and off swing, the sleeping fairy and Sunsette peeking through the holes in the leaf.