Contra Costa Times
We motored the Zodiac into Kealakekua Bay around noon, the sun gleaming off what I'd been looking for: The Captain Cook monument, its ivory surface and vertical shape sharply contrasting the green foliage background.
It marks the spot on the Big Island where one of the world's great explorers, Captain James Cook, met the initially welcoming Hawaiian people in 1779 — the first encounter between Hawaiians and the Western world. It began a long, often rocky relationship that more than a century later resulted in American rule of Hawaii and a two-part "Brady Bunch" episode featuring Vincent Price.
It's also where the natives killed Cook rather brutally after a disagreement over a boat.
But never mind the ugliness. Because the bay is one of the best snorkeling spots on the island (only minutes later I'd be scrambling to see a manta ray disappearing into the depths), the area was relatively full of people.
The Cook monument is no more than a square encompassing about 400 square feet and accessible on land by a rugged trail. It also is said to be the only non-embassy in the United States that sits on land owned by the British government.
Well, that did it. My ancestry is British. I've never actually been there, but my brand new third-degree sunburn assured me that, at the very least, my skin was very British. I asked the boss of our Sea Quest tour boat, the very entertaining Captain Liam Powers, how we would get the boat to shore.
"We don't," he said, adding that doing so would destroy the pristine coral.
"Can I swim there?" I asked.
"No."
"Wade?"
"No."
"But I'm kind of British," I pleaded.
Powers just smiled. Maybe the British thing doesn't go so far in Hawaii anymore.
That was the only thing that didn't work on our seven-day adventure exploring the Big Island. My wife and I experienced probably the best of our half dozen-plus Hawaiian trips.
Strong start
While autumn on the mainland may not scream vacation, it makes perfect sense in Hawaii. The weather is warm and mostly mild. The prices are relatively reasonable. There's far less waiting for that restaurant table facing the sunset and far more room for give-and-take with tour guides. And with school back in session, you have fewer children in the way when gazing into a volcano.
You need at least a week to properly see the Big Island, the biggest in the Hawaiian chain. We traveled from Kailua Kona around the southern tip to Hilo in the east, then around the northern tip to the resort area of Waikoloa. The pace was constantly brisk.
The Sea Quest snorkeling tour was the best of four Hawaii snorkeling trips I've taken. It covered three sites in five hours, including the aforementioned Kealakekua Bay and Honaunau Bay, near the historic Place of Refuge. The latter is where we encountered a 5-foot white tip reef shark, casually swimming toward us near a coral wall. The water was so clear, it felt like we were swimming in the fish tunnel at an aquarium.
With only minutes left on the trip, Captain Powers found a pod of spinner dolphins, which he estimated at 100 strong. A number of babies were learning to jump and spin like their mothers. One, Powers estimated, was only days old.
The Place of Refuge itself lies on what was royal grounds in Kona, with a handful of thatched buildings, guarded by giant tikis (for Hunter S. Thompson fans, this was where he allegedly hid at the end of "The Curse of Lono"). A massive, 16th century stone wall survives, ensconcing the area considered a sanctuary for ancient Hawaiians. It's also one of the best sea turtle viewing sites in Kona. My wife almost stepped on one.
