Day 1 - Kailua-Kona

Well, it rained some more this morning, and, though we were up early, we only departed at about 9:30 am to do some grocery shopping at Safeway - breakfast items and some other staples. Always amazed how expensive food is on Hawaii, even the local fruit and baking goods! Stopped by at Walmart as well, since they have a good "Hawaiian souvenirs" department, before we drove into downtown Kailua- Kona, the second-largest settlement on the Island of Hawaii after Hilo. 

 

 

 

The community was established by King Kamehameha I. as his seat of government when he was chief of Kona before he consolidated the archipelago in 1795. It was later designated as the capital of the newly unified Kingdom of Hawai'i, and, later moved to Lahaina, then to Honolulu. 

The Huliheʻe Palace (right pic) is located on Ali'i Drive, the main axle along the waterfront, lined with restaurants, shops, little malls and bars (photos above). It was the former vacation home of Hawaiian royalty and originally built out of lava rock in the first half of the 19th century. 

Kailua-Kona is located on the western slopes of the Hualālai volcano next to the ocean. Thanks to the airport and its central location it is now the activity hub of the west coast of the Big Island. Cruiseships anchor here (none present today), but most guests stay north of town, where all the white sand beaches and the big tourists' resorts are located. In Kailua itself black lava is dominating and, Ironmen (the triathlon) starts here.

Kaloko-Honokohau National Historic Park with its royal fishponds (left photo) was our next stop. Closeby the airport, this is an old Hawaiian settlement on the beach, where, in addition, Green Sea Turtles are under protection. Walked the trail down to the famous fish traps and petroglyphs. Some of the coastal pools provided an underground water source and two fishponds and a fishtrap were used for food production. Remains of kahua (house site platforms), ki‘i pōhaku (petroglyphs), heiau (temples), graves, and a network of historic trails are to be seen.

Still being tired from our long flight yesterday, we ended our explorations early: In the late afternoon we drove to Kona Brewing - which turned 30 this year! - for Happy hour with pineapple/BBQ-pork/goat cheese pizza and an IPA. Wouldn't necessarily eat this kind of pizza at home, but it fits well with Hawaii,,, and, it tasted yummy!

 

Back "at home", in our cottage, we studied the surrounding plants a bit further (on the left pic a Crinum Asiaticum - a lily), caught up with work, took a nap and enjoyed a beautiful sunset. Below the view from our patio.

Aloha!

This was my view this morning from bed at 6:30 am ,,, not too bad,,, like in a tropical rain forest. We have our own "island cottage", surrounded by tropical plants, and with many windows. Bathroom is partly open. Outside: around 80 deg F, but ,,, cloudy!!! On our previous two visits on this island, in Feb. and Oct., and, it's not been as warm and humid, but mostly sunny. We'll see how it turns out. 

All night the Coqui frogs were croaking, but slept okay, about 7 hours, with some interruptions. The coqui is a small tree frog with a round body. Their distinctive “ko-kee” sound is loud and consistant. They are found on ground level, in trees and bushes, and, are considered invasive by the government, since they came from Puerto Rico and do not have natural predators on Hawaii. Eating huge quantities of insects causes the loss of insects as pollinators among other things.

Foto: https://dlnr.hawaii.gov/hisc/info/invasive-species-profiles/coqui

In the morning, birds took over and frogs went to sleep. And, we got up much too early, longing for coffee,,, but, now it's even raining!

Yesterday, our plane departed SFO about 1.5 hours delayed, and arrived one hour late, at 8:40 pm. Smooth flight, and, again, center seat stayed empty! 80 deg F (27 C) when we arrived at Kailua Kona, an "open-air" airport, very humid. Luggage arrived quickly, took the shuttle bus to the rental car facility, and, even there we got our car at Alamo's in a jiffy. To our surprise, they even had a "choice line" of SUVs and we chose a pretty new Nissan Rogue. 

The drive to our first AirBnB only took about 15 min, but neighborhood roads were pitch-dark and drive up to our designated parking a bit steep,,, Found the entrance, code on key-pad worked, and, in we were! After about 28 hours on the road/in the air, we were pooped, unpacked, sat a bit on the patio and called it a day.

In the air again ,,,

Our 80th trip to the U.S.A.! Escaping our very icky weather for the last two weeks, was really enticing! All went smooth on our way over to the airport, MUC, 1:20 hours drive without real traffic jams, which has become a rarity! Left our car in a new parking garage (which has offered a good rate when booking long in advance), took the bus to the terminal building and all went quick there. 

Plane departed on time, and, again, we were fortunate and the middle seat between us wasn't taken. This fact, and, Eco Plus gave us some more space to stretch out. The B777-200 was about 80 % full, there was the usual "chicken or pasta", an "afternoon snack" (pic) - more wrapping than contents – and a dry pizza-dough something before landing. Flight was long - almost 12 hours -, but okay. We flew an extremely northernly route today and into SFO via Canada down the coast.

Watched some of famous French chef Julia Child's TV series, read some Mark Twain (about Hawaii) and, eventually, arrived on time in cloudy, windy San Francisco. Flew over the Oakland Bay Bridge and downtown on the photo below.

From landing to our new gate it didn't quite take us 30 minutes - new record time! Went through immigration (with Global Entry) in minutes, luggage came 5 minutes later. MUC should take that as an example!

 

 

 

 

Inspected SFO's new outdoor terrace (above), but it was pretty windy. Had time to burn since our plane to Kona (Big Island) was about 45 min. delayed. Checked and answered emails, got us coffee and waited. Another 6 hours to go!

Adiós Tucson!

Last Day ,,, not too happy about flying home! Packed our luggage, had breakfast in the hotel, loaded the car, and, out we drove for some more sightseeing: first, the Tucson Botanical Gardens, an urban oasis. This garden was founded in 1964 by horticulturist and collector, Harrison G. Yocum. In 1974, Tucson Botanical Gardens attained its current location at the historic Porter Family property, surrounding their house. Especially beautiful there are the cacti gardens, arranged for regions, but there are also other sections of the garden, which is not too big, but very instructive. Fish below is made form garbage which was found along the Oregon Coast by an environmental organisation:

Ever seen tulips and cacti together?

Next stop: the not-so-well known place, a hidden gem: The Tucson Desert Art Museum. Location isn’t terrific (part of a strip mall), but contents are! At the core of this private museum (founded by James E. Conley, Jr.) is one of the Southwest’s premier collections of Navajo and Hopi pre-1940s textiles, chief’s blankets, Navajo saddle blankets, art textiles and Yei weavings. Also, the paintings (Dixon, Bierstadt, Moran, Corot, etc.) are of high quality and there are interesting changing exhibitions, were well worth the drive. 

We were hesitant first: should we still do lunch before driving to the airport? Didn't want to be get there too late. But, we did the right thing and went to our pre-arranged dinner at Zio Peppe. Location (and interior) were not too spectacular, but food was terrific! We met the chef/owner and enjoyed "Birria Pizza" (birria is the equivalent to pulled pork, slowly roasted, juicy beef served with consommé to dip in), and,  it’s not common to put on a pizza! In addition we had delicious pasta dish with meat balls, ricotta and a spicy tomato sauce with tequilla. Creative, tasty food, and, not too expensive neither! What a great finale of our trip!

Other than expected, it was true that Tucson Airport is very convenient! Rental Car return is located in one big center, adjacent to the airport. Just walked over to check-in, dropped our luggage and went through security. A matter of not quite 30 minutes all the way to the gate. Flight was on time, packed, but smooth, a short 1:35 hours to Denver, from where we flew directly to Munich (9:30 hours).

Driven almost 1.000 mi. only in AZ, seen a lot, experienced a lot, love the landscape! We'll be back!

"La Fiesta de Los Vaqueros" - part 2, rodeo

 

This was the 99th Tucson Rodeo this year. We walked back from the parade grandstands to the rodeo arena (about 3 mi.), picked up our media credentials, had lunch and explored the grounds. Then, at noon, the Junior Rodeo competitions (for kids) started, including popular Mutton Baskin’ (sheep riding, photo below), barrel racing, bull riding for boys, roping.

 

The main event (above inspection of the arena) followed at 2 pm in the afternoon with an official Opening Ceremony –  the presentation of all the military divisions’ flags and the U.S. flag, a prayer and the National Anthem (pics below):

 

Then the competition traditionally (same with all rodeos) starts with Bareback Riding and ends with Bull Riding. Inbetween there is Steer Wrestling, Saddle Bronc Riding, Tie-down and Team Roping and Barrel Racing (only for cowgirls). Bull Riding is one of the most popular competition for viewers and media (probably the most dangerous, too), and, they have their own Bull Riding Association and their own competitions as well. Lot of money involved! 

Bareback and Saddle Bronc competitors above

Steer Wrestling

Team Roping

Tie-down Roping

Barrel Racers below:

,,, and Bull Riding:

Rodeo cowboys  have a tough life. They travel around, from rodeo to rodeo, during the season, to win price money at events like the one in Tucson, which is given by big sponsors like Jack Daniels, Coors or Wrangler. There is more money to earn at the big/prestigious events, less at smaller ones. By taking part successfully and winning, rodeo cowboys get into a ranking, and, simplified: the best ones end up in Las Vegas at the Finals Rodeo in December.

Being successful first of all means to complete the chore, which means to stay on the animal for 8 seconds and deliver a good performance (provided, rider gets a good bucking horse alloted, read below) or to rope or catch an anmial as quick as possible. Also, in barrel race, ladies have to circle three barrels and the best time counts. Staying healthy is another main factor: broken bones and other injuries are nothing unusual and cowboys invest a lot of time in taping, bandaging, stretching and getting prepared properly for the short ride (see above).

Usually, the big rodeos - e.g. Houston, San Antonio, Cheyenne, Calgary, Pendleton - go over several days and have a declared winner every day, plus an „all-around cowboy“ for the event. Around a rodeo there is usually either a stock show or/and a fair with rides, food vendors, vendors, bars/saloons, dances or concerts going on.

  

Professional Rodeo is controversely discussed, but for sure a popular sport in the Western part of the U.S.A. and Canada rooting in the cowboy work on ranches. Of course, there are people saying it is mis-treatment of livestock, but, on the other hand, watching the horses and bulls in the pen, which were designated to „buck“ or to be caught in the competitions, you can’t avoid the impression, that those animals are healthy, well taken care for and lively. No scars, shiny fur, strong and fit.

Fact is that there are special breeders for rodeo livestock, meaning bucking horses, bulls and calves. There are strict PRCA (Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association) rules that ensure humane treatment of the „animal athletes“. BTW: half of the score (in bucking competitions) go to the horse/bull, half to the cowboy. There are veterinarians present, and, animals are checked on their health before the competition.

And, consider this: the average bucking horse or bull works less than 5 minutes per year in the rodeo arena. A ride takes 8 seconds and each horse just is used once in each rodeo and gets rest inbetween competitions. Injuries are rare and most animals reach high age being kept in very comfy conditions, fed with quality feed and treated with care. They are very valuable to the owner and sell for high prices. Not every regular ranch horse (and, especially not cattle) has such a good life. Same for jumping or dressage horses (which are highly admired in our country), or, dogs at dog races.

It's been a fun day, we enjoyed it and plan to be back for the 100th rodeo!