Day 4 – A sunny day and no rain at all! We stayed closer the condo today, focusing on the area around Kilauea. It is on the Northeast coast and has the western most lighthouse of the US – Kilauea Point. That’s also the most northerly point of the Hawaiian islands. It’s both a historical park and a wildlife refuge managed by the National Park Service. Another great opportunity to use my Golden Age Pass and get Mary and me in for free!
We had great views and saw lots of sea birds.

Next up was a reserved, paid tour of Na Aini Kai Botanical garden – an extravaganza of bronze statues of little mainland kids in tropical garden settings. All created by two rich retirees with a penchant for gardening. The owner,83, still lives on the 250 acres of former sugar cane fields. Her husband, who built or supervised all of the gardens and structures, died last year. But she carries on with her staff of 40 full time gardeners. The public can view the place with a volunteer led tour costing from $30 to $40. We did the 3 hour $40 tour (each) and got to see and hear about the owner’s whims about where the pool, the maze, the lagoon, the tea house, the waterfalls should go. We saw lots of Norman Rockwell-esk bronze sculptures of endearing mid 20th century children innocently enjoying being kids in a garden setting. Many vignettes were created with certain sculptures in mind. Mary surprisingly to me, loved them! Also surprising to learn was that the owner didn’t particularly like real children! There is also a bronze statue of her late husband.



I’m planning on a water day tomorrow with kayaking, snorkeling and beach-y times!