Today was our last day at the Hilton Waikoloa on the Big Island of Hawai'i.
We began our day much as the other days of this trip with breakfast at the Big Island Breakfast Buffet at the Waters Edge Ballroom.
After that, we collected the car and drove down to the petroglyph fields on the hotel property. There are a lot of petroglyphs visible from the "King's Path" near the golf course and shopping area on Waikoloa Beach Drive. Andrew and I (and Baba) drove down and parked near the King's Shops. There was a foot path to the petroglyph field, but Baba decided not to walk that and headed back to the General Store in the King's Shops. This was probably a good idea as the path was treacherous even for US to walk, I cannot imagine him having much luck.
But anyway... Andrew and I walked about half a mile along the path that the ancient Hawaiians had built and used in the 1400's, which is pretty amazing! There are hundreds of petroglyphs along this path and once you know what you're looking for, they're very easy to find. The engineers of the hotel property did a great job leaving this area untouched and natural. Along the way, some newer additions have been made... ahem... This was really horrible to see, but I can imagine it would be close to impossible to completely protect against it without either making the area inaccessible or having someone there 24/7 watching the area. It is, in effect, a natural outdoor museum though - like some many things one can find in national parks et cetera, so one would think that it would not be impossible to protect against vandals...
But I digress... Andrew and I agreed - these were pretty amazing and we're really glad we took the time to go see them.
We took some time to explore the King's Shops after having our fill of history, then left the hotel property for our last "assignment" for this island.
The last time the Montross family came to the islands was a short five months after my grandmother passed away. When I was younger, my grandparents and I would visit Hawaii for two weeks every summer and the trip prior to this one was the first my grandfather had made since our trips with my grandmother. It was obviously a special trip for him, and allowed him some closure and time to reminisce on all the great memories he had here with his wife.
There's a tradition here of taking white rocks and coral found on the beaches and using it to write messages or draw pictures on the dark lava rock that covers much of the island. The last time he was here, my grandfather (with help from my Aunt, Uncle and Dad) wrote out my grandmother's initials with these white coral pieces.
Today, we found the spot where my grandmother's initials are written - still untouched after a year and a half. I really didn't expect them to be altered - it seems as though both locals and tourists respect these monuments to other folk's loved ones or memories pretty well and I've seen some with dates going back 20 years or more.
This afternoon, I went down to the Lagoon and laid out in the sun for a while, then Baba, Andrew and I played a round of put-put golf at the Seaside Putting Course before dinner.
I made reservations for the three of us at the Kamuela Provision Company near the Lagoon Tower in our hotel. We were there for the famous 180-second sunset, though it was a bit more cloudy tonight. There were about half a dozen whales in the vicinity providing entertainment as well. There is nothing more beautiful then waves crashing on the shore, a gorgeous sunset, and those gentle giants spy-hopping and breaching in the background.
For dinner, Baba and Andrew both had fresh-caught fish and I had a Maui Onion encrusted chicken breast with a fantastic mustard sauce and sweet potato hash. For desert - we all had ice cream.
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As I mentioned, this is our last night in Waikoloa. Our flight to O'ahu is tomorrow morning at about 10. I don't think we'll have internet access as readily on the next island, so my posts probably won't be as frequent. I do plan on writing every day though, I just may have to post them all together.
Aloha Oe - Until we meet again! :)
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