Hawaii, Day 1

We arrived in the afternoon, me in my all-weather heavy black coat, and walked into the humid, balmy Kona airport. I'd had a few hours home for the first time since May- flying in from Boston. Not a problem- Hawaii was a good choice for Christmas.

After a stop at Costco (the same as any I've ever seen, but with all tropical shirts in the men's section) for the week's worth of food, we drove north up the West coast.

Our first stop, in accordance with tradition, was a beach for swimming. We chose Wailea, which proved, as our guidebook suggested, to be the locals' gem: a small, sandy cove with some snorkeling at one end. After luncheoning on Costco rotisserie, naan, and hummus, we dove in. It wasn't hot out by any means, but the ocean managed to be both warm and refreshing. Ryan, Dana, and I spotted a beach just around the rocks, and decided to swim to it. I had goggles, Ryan a snorkel, and Dana nothing at all for her face. Upon our approach, Dana helped us discover that there was a great deal of brain coral not far below the surface. In fact, on closer inspection, we were basically surrounded by it- so we decided to turn back.

A short drive later, we arrived at Spencer Beach and set up camp. Our tents (one for us kids, one for Rick and Eileen) had a nice view of the beach (though there were other tents closer to the water). Rick and I walked past the beach and locals on the basketball court to climb the interwoven trees at the beach's far end. I taught myself to climb a palm tree: both arms around the back of the trunk, and both feet pushing upward.

After sunset, we made a short night hike up to a Heiau, a stacked-rock plateau which was the site of thousands of human sacrifices to Pele, the volcano goddess.

Upon our return, the picnic shelter was host to a rehearsal for some traditional dancers- involving stick-dancing and zydeco. We Texas two-stepped outside and played cards until bedtime.