A New Year's Eve to Remember

Changing time zones gave me three extra hours of 2010 and I enjoyed every last minute of the year. I woke up New Years Eve morning and lay in bed a while listening to the ocean breeze. It finally called me out of bed to go watch the waves from a lounge chair by the water.



Have you ever watched a coconut tree? Its mesmerizing. I soaked up the ocean waves and the waving palm fronds while I checked out the paddle boarders taking on the early morning surf.



After a while I decided to explore the tide pools that were connected to the beach. I was fascinated with the sea life growing in and around the lava rocks. Each hole in the rock was filled with a spiky plant or animal of some kind.



There were fish swimming in and out as the tide rose and filled the pools. The rocks were soft underwater where they had been covered with something like algae, but were rough above the water.



After a delicious breakfast of eggs and avocado, pineapple and toast, I set out to explore the south side of Kona.



My drive down the road led me past amazing views of the ocean on one side and the mountain side on the other. If there is one thing to say about the Big Island's landscape, it is that it is very diverse. As you drive you pass through lava fields that transition to green rolling hills, that transition to tall redwoods, that transition to rain forest. I found this church on hillside that didn't really look much like I had imagined Hawaii to look like from home.



I went snorkeling at a place called city of refuge. As I maneuvered over the black lava rocks into the water, I slipped and stumbled and finally just put my head in the water in an attempt to swim. The moment my goggles were submerged I entered another world. It was so beautiful. The water was deep and clear and I could see yellow schools of fish swimming all around me. The coral made a colorful home for equally colorful fish. I found myself wandering farther and farther from shore without being aware of my surroundings and completely engaged in the world below me. I wish I had a picture of the magical world of the city of refuge, but maybe you will just have to go there and see it for yourself.



I had worked up quite an appetite so I decided to check out a place called the poke (pohkay) shack near my condo. I didn't know what poke is, but I heard this was a good place so I ventured in. I soon realized that poke meant raw, cut up fish, which sounded a little scary, but when in Hawaii...

I turned out to be fresh and delicious and I am craving some as I am writing this.




I was lucky enough to be set up with some friends of friends who were also visiting the area. When I called to see what they were up to, they invited me to a local families house for New Years. It was so much fun.



It started with an amazing feast of anything Hawaiian you could ever dream up. I tried everything.



At about 8:00 pm they started setting off fire works. There were boxes and boxes of fireworks and they went off all night. Snappers, sparklers, firecrackers, wizzers, poppers, they had everything.




When it got close to midnight they started preparing for the finale. There was a giant strand of fireworks that were draped from a closeline.







At about 20 min to midnight they set it off and it went off until the magical hour. As the last bangs and pops greeted the new year, the sky filled with the kind of fireworks we pay to see here in the mainland.



It was some show. I couldn't stop laughing with delight. When we finally made it home, my head hit the pillow and I don't remember anything until I woke up in 2011.

Here's a little taste of Hawaiian New Year. I'm sorry that I can only share the fireworks and not the feast!