Monday 26th January
Last walk down the corridor at the hotel that is full of copies of Pacific artefacts.


These fans made of feathers are a traditional Hawaiian craft.



Snow on Mauna Kea as we drive past with temperatures in the high seventies. Locals go 'Truck Skiing' which involves driving skiers up the mountain in 4x4's and then collecting them at the bottom and repeating it - there are no ski lifts. They also transport snow down to the beach to build snowmen there.

The World Botanical Gardens and Umauma falls were very impressive.

http://www.wbgi.com/

This bark on this tree looked painted but it wasn't.

We walked the mile long Rain Forest Walk.

The bamboo in the arboretum was huge and very noisy.

Jack Fruit is a local plant.

Chocolate beans on this tree had little seeds inside but didn't smell of chocolate.

There were lots of beautiful orchids in the trees.

Tomorrow we fly to Honolulu.

Sunday January 25th

First thing we explored the other side of the hotel complex and arrived at the dolphin pool just as they were being fed.

A bit further along we were looking out to sea when had several sightings of a whale leaping out of the ocean just a few hundred yards offshore. We were more interested in watching it rather than getting a photo, this is the view.

Traditionally visitors leave names outlined in coral on the black lava - here's our 'Hawaiian grafitti'

We walked down the coast and found a small secluded beach, with beautiful clear warm water. We spent most of the day here; sunbathing, paddling and exploring the rock pools.

The beach is covered with pieces of pink and white coral and minute shells.

Part way along the coastal walk was this driftwood swing, perfect for sitting and watching the ocean.

Saturday 24th January
This morning we drove to Hilo, on the other side of the island, to see the farmers' market.
There was lots of produce, flowers, gifts and clothing.

A few miles south if Hilo is Kilauea, an active volcano, which we went to see. We drove around the crater rim and were amazed by the steam vents and the way we could go right up to them.

http://www.nps.gov/havo



Further around we visited The Jagger Museum where we got an even closer look at the crater. Some of the rim road further on was closed because of increased volcanic action.

At one part of the rim we walked down through rainforest jungle to reach the Kilauea Iki Crater.

We were able to walk across the active crater floor as the lava has cooled sufficiently.

Around the floor there are active steam vents but plants are gaining a foothold here.

Nearby was a short trail through protected rainforest where you are able to walk through a lava tube.

Water was dripping from the ceiling and some ferns and epiphites are growing near the entrances.

Friday 23rd January
We opened the curtains to discover one of the gardeners climbing a palm tree just outside our balcony. He climbed up using spikes on his shoes and a rope round the tree. He used a big machete to trim it back, then abseiled down.

We spent the morning relaxing by the pools in the sunshine - 85 degrees.

In the afternoon we drove to Hapuna Beach, one of the top 10 beaches of the world and spent an hour or two paddlind in the ocean, watching the surf boarders and enjoying the afternoon sunshine.

Later in the aftetnoon we walked over part of a 150 year old lava flow to view some petroglyphs created by Hawaiian islanders.

Just before dinner in the local square we watched a Lion Dance to welcome the Chinese New Year.

At the end of day, the sunset was the most amazing shade of pink.

Thursday 22nd January
Lovely hot day in the 80's but a bit windy - the foyer in our section is open air and has fountains and full sized trees.

We walked round part of the complex passing the hotel lagoon and bay just outside.

We found a good place for Glenys to relax by the ocean.

Guests travel from place to place in the hotel by boat, on footpaths by the lagoon or by covered walkways decorated wirh Oriental artwork.

After picking up a hire car we drove South to get a feeling of the island - the roadside is amazingly colourful with lots of exotic flowers and palm trees.

We spotted several gardens with oranges growing on trees.

Wednesday 21st January
Good flight from Houston to Denver where we had a 3 hour wait. There was a good view of the snow on the Rocky mountains in the distance

San Francisco was cloudy with rain but once we got out over the Pacific, the weather changed for the better and the view above the clouds was beautiful.

Glenys won the competition on the plane to guess the time it would take to get half way to Hawaii - she was 7 seconds out, and won a box of Macademia nuts and some applause in the plane.

Aloha! The temperature was in the 80's when we landed at 8.30pm - the baggage claim was in the open air.
The hotel complex is huge and after checking in we took a boat to our reception area.

Tuesday 20th January
We watched the Presidential inauguration down in the lobby with lots of American people who clapped and cheered after the oath was taken. We listened to the Presidential address on the cab radio as we drove to The Johnson Space Center.
http://www.spacecenter.org/
As soon as we got in we boarded the NASA tram tour which took us around the complex to the Mission Control Building. We enjoyed a very interesting presentation and talk.


The second stop was at the Astronaut Training Centre where we saw working mock-ups of the International Space Station and three space shuttles.

The final stop was at the Saturn 5 shed where there is a full sized moon rocket. It is HUGE.

We spent the rest of the day in the IMAX theatre and the Starship Gallery Museum. There were very few people there so we were able to have a real hands on experience. Alan was very good at landing the space shuttle on the simulator.

Tomorrow three leg flight to Hawaii.

Monday 19th January
Travelled to downtown Houston. All very quiet because it is Martin Luther King Day which is like a Bank Holiday. The wind was so strong at one point near the river that we were almost blown off our feet at the street corner.


We wallked across town to Discovery Green Park where there were lots of families, an ice rink, a pool, fountains and this unusual sculpture.

Further on was a shelter made from recycled number plates and wing mirrors. Everything in the park is eco-friendly. There was lots of building work going on in the area.

We explored the Tunnel system which is underground streets with shops, cafes and other businesses. In some places there are skywalks which are bridges that connect buildings as well as the Tunnel system.

Back at the hotel we walked down to the nearby shops and you can see that the locals here don't do much walking as the sidewalk is very overgrown.

Sunday 18th January
At half past eight we watched the first of the Houston marathon runners go past from our room window. After breakfast we returned and they were still going past but more slowly.


We took a cab down to the Museum of Natural Sciences where we spent a couple of hours enjoying the exhibits, especially the oil and the gemstones sections.
www.hmns.org


After the museum visit we strolled over to Hermann Park and relaxed in the sunshine by the central pool where people were enjoying the warm Sunday afternoon.

Nearby was The Japanese Garden which was beautifully laid out and very calm and tranquil.

On the way back we walked around McGovern Lake and noted that fishing was only allowed to those under 12 and over 65, those outside the age of responsibility.