Magic Monday

This is our 8th year running trips in Hawaii and our 5th year in the Treadwell House in Puako, on the South Kohala Coast, about 40 minutes north of Kona. The Treadwell House is a cross between scandinavian and polynesian architecture, with a number of “pods” on a raised platform. There are 4 guest rooms and an “Ohana”, sort of an in-law apartment separated from the larger platform. Both ocean and mountain breezes flow through the hale (house) all day, keeping it nice and cool. It has a large living area with a really big daybed called a punee. It’s just steps to a sand beach framed with kiawe trees. We love it here. 

This morning we woke to blustery onshore mountain winds, but it left the inside of Waialea Bay flat calm, and the water was crystal clear. We had a nice little swim, overseen by a turtle and a lot of pretty fish. Heather took stroke videos, which I reviewed later with the guests. Most of us had a second breakfast. 

Sandwiches for lunch included tomatoes, the quality of which we only enjoy in Maine for about 2 weeks a year. We settled into the place, taking naps, reading, and reviewing the aforementioned stroke videos. Then we packed our bags for a trip to the Kona Pier. 

The fabled Ironman Triathlon Championship is held in Kona every year in October, and the swimming course is a popular spot year-round, lined with marker buoys of various shapes and sizes for the first half, then a long stretch with no markers until the turnaround buoy. We jumped in for a one hour out-and-back swim here today in preparation for a longer, 2.7 mile swim later in the week. The afternoon wind and swell made for rough going but everyone faced what we were offered. Charlie had an impressive swim with the expert and customized guiding of Kekau, while Heather, Ryan and I scattered ourselves throughout the rest of the group. Some of our swimmers returned a bit green under the gills from the choppy conditions, but all recovered quickly, satisfied with the effort.

Back at the hale, we were soon joined by a local halau, a group of people who keep Hawaiian culture alive with music, stories, and hula dance. We have them perform for us every year now, and we are always impressed with the dedication and beauty of it all. Heather’s photos will tell the story better than I can here. 

Clare and Dan worked all day to put on a Hawaiian luau feast for us. Originally intended for a child’s first birthday celebration, these events have been re-created by resort hotels most in a tacky fashion, where the tourists make jokes about poi tasting like wallpaper paste. Quite the contrary and in a moving explanation for us, as Clare shares the significance of poi to the Hawaiians, and also how to best enjoy it as a condiment of sorts. Kailua pork and cabbage, purple sweet potato curry, lomi-lomi-salmon, and rice filled our bellies. To which we promptly added liliquoi cheesecake. We rolled into our beds, knowing we’ll swim off these calories tomorrow. The breezes do their thing. We sleep the good and aloha filled sleep.

Hopper

Sunset is magical here, whether from the beach or filtered through the beautiful twisting kiawi trees.