I have the best intentions of writing, and then something always messes it up. Last night it was my internet connection, which was a bit spotty in my friends' house, and I finally gave up, because the bluetooth keyboard was giving me fits.
Today I got up around 6:30 - the rest of the household was getting up, even though it is Sunday, because they have pretty early days on the other days of the week. I had breakfast in a bowl the size of a small mixing bowl - since I have girls, I forget how much prepubescent boys eat - and the family were cracking macadamia nuts to roast that they had gathered from a local tree. I didn't know they had two layers of shells.
I did some ringweaving (2 by my side for part of the time, at least, keeping up a running commentary) and then dressed for church, and put my laundry in the dryer for a touch-up. I had done a small load the night before and hanging it dry didn't quite do it overnight. Then L and the boys and I left for church around 8. A stayed home. It was weird, watching football before church (not that I normally watch football anytime).
The church was a little open-sided United Methodist church that had about 150 people. As a visitor, I got a macrame lei along with an explanation of what the various knots signified. The lady pastor had just gotten back from a trip to India, apparently. Part of the service was dedicated to reading names of people who had died this year, and names of veterans. There was a 3-piece band (keys, clarinet, and brass) and a singer. They had a big hymnal, and a smaller, soft-sided one that had a lot of songs I recognized from the 80s and 90s. At one point there was a Samoan choir who sang in English and then in Samoan. I had a flash back of the Zambian churches I had attended, and a brief vision of the church universal, everyone singing and dancing and participating in worship in their own ways. Stunning.
After the service we drove back to the house and got ready for L and my trip to the Volcanoes National Park. We are staying overnight. It was a 2+ hour drive up and down and around winding roads. We stopped at "Punalu'u, the southernmost bakery in the USA." We looked around, but didn't buy anything. But we had lunch in their little shaded pavilion. We also stopped at a couple of lookouts and at a black sand beach. It was so windy that I had to hold my phone with two hands to take a picture. At the beach there were turtles sunning themselves. There were beautiful formations of the hardened lava as well.
We got to the park and it was raining lightly. We checked in at the Volcano House (where we're staying tonight) and then walked across the street to the Visitors' Center. We watched a 20-minute movie on the formation of the islands, and then spoke to a ranger about possible hikes for tomorrow. The rangers are all so friendly. I found that at the parks out west as well.
We went back to the car and drove out to the Jaggar Museum overlooking the Kilauea Caldera and the Halemau'uma'u Crater. Just as we got there, the sun came out for a few minutes (though it was still windy and rather chilly, comparatively) and made a lovely rainbow extending down into the crater. We stayed for part of a ranger talk, but then got hungry and decided to find some food.
We drove about a mile out of the park to the Kilauea Lodge, which turned out to be an excellent choice. It was a B&B built from an old YMCA camp, and the interior had a great deal of charm and ambiance, as well as a fireplace. We were wet and cold from the quick-soaking rain, so we were glad to be indoors and ready to eat. We got panko-coconut encrusted brie with three-grain bread, brandied apples and mango salsa, and we both got the same entree - chicken tuscany with grapes and wine-cream sauce, rice and veggies. It was soooooooo good, and we were very happy with our restaurant choice.
Now we are in our crater-view room, but it's raining pretty hard and there isn't much crater viewing going on. Just as well - I'm tired. See you tomorrow.
Good night, and blessings
w
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