Day 2 - July 4 - 19.7 miles
For some people, July 4 is all about red, white, and blue, fireworks, hots dogs and hamburgers. For Shawn and me, it's all about honu (Hawaiian green sea turtles) and shave ice. For the second year in a row, we spent July 4th at the Mauna Lani resort enjoying "Turtle Independence Day." It's a celebration of this endangered species that has rebounded so well since gaining protected status.
The Mauna Lani receives turtle hatchlings from Sea Life Park on Oahu and raises them its saltwater ponds. When the turtles are big and strong enough they get to participate in Turtle Indpendence Day and are released into the Pacific.
My contemporaries (fellow thirty-somethings) tell me that when they were young, seeing turtles on the beach was a rarity. Now, Shawn and I see them regularly, sunning on rocks and swimming in the water. Their beauty is a normal part of our beach experience. He knows not to touch and has learned about their nesting habits. So, while I love celebrating the honu on July 4th, I get more of a kick just being around them as part of my everyday life.
What makes the day truly special for me is seeing the hula kahiko, or ancient hula, that makes up part of the ceremonies (which is understandable since hula is my Sweet Thing No. 11). This year a dance and chant from the 14th century was one of the pieces performed by Halau O Kupa Aina. Take your stereotypes of hula as grass skirts and sultriness and throw them aside. This dance form is a prayer and a lesson in the culture and history of the people of Hawai'i. That's why I knew I wanted to study it even before I arrived on the Big Island. Now, I've had an opportunity to taste how rich this art form is - the layers of protocol that govern your interaction with your kumu hula and with nature, the meanings of the songs and the movements, the smidgeon of Hawaiian language I've managed to learn. It's all been a rewarding and humbling experience ...
For Shawn, I'm thinking his favorite part of Turtle Independence Day is the shave ice. I grew up calling them snow cones in New York, but it's the same concept: ice chips and syrup in a cup. Not an ounce of nutritional value, but oh so delicious. He sees a shave ice booth, and it's a given he'll ask for one. My sweet tooth has been passed on and every so often I loosen up and let him indulge.
We started the day at the Mauna Kea resort, biked to the Mauna Lani, and ended our day's ride at Kiholo, a new spot for both of us. Shawn camped for the first time, an experience that in the end - and only in the end - he deemed fun!
Day 3 - July 5 - 19.3 Miles
Somehow I managed to make it from Kiholo to Kailua-Kona. The road rose and fell like waves for the entire three days of this journey and by Saturday when I saw the 9,000-th hill I had to pedal up, I just about lost it.
What was cool, though, was seeing lots of other bikers on the road. I'm often a solitary figure in Waimea, but during this stretch I saw lots of sleek, fast, and did I mention fast cyclists streaking by. I bumped into one at a rest stop just outside Kona to ask if they were all practicing for the upcoming Ironman competition, that's how snazzy they looked. He said some were, but many were just athletic people who enjoyed biking and participated in the shorter triathlons and races held on the island.
They all were friendly and lovely and it was comforting to have them on the road. Shawn and I stopped for our usual breaks, and many an inquiry was made into our well being.
Playing airplane on the lava field was a great part of this leg of the journey. The pot of gold at the end was arriving at our friends' home for rest and recuperation. I've hydrated, eaten like an ox, and soothed my sunburn, so back on the road we go!
