Normally, I wouldn't think about going to Hawaii in August/early September because the Oregon country that I live in hums with a deep beauty during the late summer.

This year, plans changed as my son got married on August 26 on a lovely Kona Big Island beach. I was his best man, so not going was not an option. It worked out perfectly. The wedding was simply beautiful as my son Steen and Hallie Conlan exchanged vows, barefoot at sunset, at Kekaha Kai State Park Beach.

THE QUIET TIME

I discovered that late summer is a perfect time to be in Hawaii, as it is the lull period between robust tourist seasons. It is the brief interim when the locals get a break from the vibrant tourism that envelops our 50th state throughout the year. “Often, this is the time that we take our personal vacations,'' says Marlina Lee, Big Island resident and co-owner of Gertrude's Jazz Club in downtown Kailua-Kona.

It is the quietest time of the year for Hawaii. High school, elementary school and college students are back in school before and after Labor Day. Often, Hawaiians travel during this eye of the tourism storm, or they stay home to relax and play catch-up on projects. And the weather was perfect. But then again, the weather always seems to be perfect in Hawaii.

WESTERN FIRES

This year, the forest fires of the Northwest were horrific and lingering. The very places that I enjoy in August and September were filled with smoke. Hawaii was the perfect vacation escape from the smoke. Friends kept sending me messages to 'stay put' in the Hawaii land of eternal summer. I didn't disappoint them.

Prior to my Portland, Oregon departure, I spent three nights and four days in the Columbia Gorge. The Columbia Gorge fire, started by a callous and careless teen with firecrackers, still burns as I write these words. The very place where I camped is possibly charred beyond recognition.

THE GREAT ECLIPSE

Although this is a travel story about Hawaii, it is also a story about the Great Solar Eclipse of 2017. I had the pleasure of being in the epicenter of this phenomenon, which will not take place in my neck of the woods again in my lifetime.

My friend Mary Jane and I left the comfy confines of the J Spear Ranch, outside Paisley, Oregon, the day before the eclipse to visit another friend, the acclaimed author Rick Steber, who has a home along McKay Creek, outside Prinville, Oregon.

In the early hours of August 21, I left Steber's place for Madras, OR, where thousands of people had gathered from all over the country and the world to witness this total solar eclipse spectacle. As I drove through Madras in the early hours, I saw that the town was quiet, yet bursting from its’ seams in preparation for the 10am event. Camping sites and trailer camps were everywhere on both sides of Highway 26; farmers fields and pastures had been turned into temporary cities. I found a quiet spot around 2am above Deschutes River Canyon and slipped into the back of my camper for a few hours of sleep. Upon awakening, I made some extra stiff coffee and proceeded back to Madras where I documented people preparing for the once-in-a-lifetime event in the sky.

I was not in a mood to be around all these folks for the eclipse itself, so after documenting the crowds, I drove back into the canyon and found a quiet and solitary place. I set up my three cameras, waited and then released a volley of photographic documentation as though I were in some epic battle. The full eclipse of the sun would last only two minutes. The eerie morning landscape darkened, unlike anything I'd ever witnessed during the full eclipse phase. A surreality briefly possessed the land and sky-scape. The world was absolutely quiet and undisturbed for those two minutes. Not one vehicle came by. I saw birds fly into and roost in the nearby trees. It was like documenting birth and death simultaneously as I documented the sun and moon dance as the moon passed between the earth and sun. There was an aurora around the moon from the sun unlike anything that I've ever witnessed.

As soon as the sun slipped out from the moon's full shadow, the highway became alive again, and crazy, as this main artery road to Portland started pulsating like rush hour. I quickly stored away my gear and joined the exit pilgrimage. At times, bumper to bumper, I traveled with the exodus until I was close to Mount Hood and Government Camp where I decided to exit and then headed toward the city of Hood River. There was no traffic whatsoever on this route. Eventually I found a camping spot along West Hood River.

ROYAL KONA

Big Island - Royal Kona

After spending four days on the river, I drove to Portland, spent the night at a niece's place, then flew to the Big Island the following day.

My Maui sister Nancy picked me up at the Kona International Airport and drove us to the www.royalkona.com where we would spend nearly a week on the 12-acre property. We had a wonderful room with a lanai that overlooked the lovely swimming pool and the beautiful Pacific. From our room we were also able to view the Voyager of the Pacific Luau with dance and music celebrating the native Hawaiian culture. The Royal Kona also has a saltwater lagoon which is fun for snorkeling and relaxing. There is a large tennis club, a spa and fitness center on the property. The Royal Kona's open air bar is fabulous and features an everyday Happy Hour when mai tais are $5. The easy couches in the open air hallway between the bar and restaurant are wonderful for luxuriating with a good book. This is a great place to catch unforgettable Hawaii sunsets. The Royal Kona is perfectly located for strolls along the waterfront of downtown Kailua-Kona.

Royal Kona rates are around $150 a night, but shop for some good rate deals, such as through Costco.

SON'S MARRIAGE

SON'S MARRIAGE

Little did I know that the beach at Kekaha Kai State Park, which my son and Hallie had chosen for their wedding, is the very beach which I had fallen in love during my spring 2017 Big Island journey (http://highonadventure.com/hoa17may/larry/spring-in-hawaii.htm). Located between mile-marker 90 and 91 on the Kona Coast Highway, the one-and-a-half-mile road to this beach is rough and tumble, the kind that the car rental companies do not want you to drive on. The 1600-acre state park has several wonderful beaches and some great lava rock tide-pools which are fun to explore. The visibility is not the greatest here as there are several fresh water springs that mix with the pristine ocean saltwater. Sea turtles (honu) frequent the tide-pools. Nearby Makalawena Beach is known as the locals’ beach. It can be reached by a trek through a lava field.

Eight of us attended the simple wedding. We deeply missed JJ, Steen's mom and my wife who had passed in 1999. Her spirit was in the air of the ceremony, in the waves of the Pacific, on the beach and in our hearts. After the ceremony and photography, we toasted the new union with Hennessy cognac, a tradition from Vietnam, as my niece Alexandria, who performed the ceremony, is half Vietnamese. Sis, as we call her, and Steen are first cousins. They were 12-year seniors together from high school.

The wedding dinner was held at Four Seasons Resort's Ulu Grill (https://www.fourseasons.com/hualalai/dining/restaurants/ulu_ocean_grill/), a short drive north of the state park. The food was superb and will place a dent in your pocketbook. The location is lovely, as you can dine outside beside the beach with the hypnotic cadence of the surf as natural background music.

KONA STAY

The newlyweds spent their initial honeymoon at the www.sheratonkona.com, followed by a week at a niece's nearby condo. During their stay on the island, they did their own thing, but on occasion joined the rest of the wedding party and island friends for beach and dining experiences. Steen, Hallie and I really enjoyed Kahalu'u Beach Park (https://www.explore-the-big-island.com/kahaluu-beach.html) that offers some of the best snorkeling on the Big Island. All of the beaches north and south of Kailua-Kona are worth visiting. Friends Lynette, Debra and I had a great day at Two-Step Beach, located next to Pu'uhonua o Honaunau National Historic Park. My sis, Nancy, Lynette and I one day went to the Champagne Ponds south of Hilo to swim and snorkel.

Practically every Kailua-Kona bar/restaurant has a Happy Hour. Among our favorites is the Kona Canoe Club which has a 2-5pm Happy Hour, including chicken sliders for $2.95, shrimp buckets, $8.95, $3.95 house wine and margaritas. The www.dapokeshack.com is worth a visit for fresh-caught tuna with a variety of poke marinates. www.umekespoke808.com is Steen and Hallie's favorite place to dine on poke. My new favorite place in Kailua-Kona is Gertrude's Jazz Bar (www.gertrudesjazzbar.com) where you can get great food, drink, music and dancing. It is the only jazz bar on the Big Island. It is co-owned by Lynette Shirley's first cousin Greg Shirley and his girlfriend Marlina Lee (and her daughter).

One day Lynette and I went to the Labor Day Parker Ranch Rodeo in Waimea, then snorkeled at Lapakahi State Park. The rodeo events of the paniola cowboys and cowgirls of the islands is filled with rich traditions, lots of action and skills. By all means, go to one of these events if they coincide with your island visit.

In a period of three weeks, I experienced the Great Solar Eclipse in Oregon, my only child's wedding in Hawaii and a deep love of memorable and deeply appreciated Hawaiian experiences.