Hawaii Day 5

We spent the morning at the hotel's beach and pool. Jenna had fun "making" poi on the beach,  like they did in the movie we watched at the Volcano. They had the USA World Cup game on at the pool--what a heartbreaking loss! We went North to a beach for lunch and spent the rest of the day there. There were little pools for the kids to play in and explore. There was snorkeling for the brave. There was a lot of shade and plenty of room to sit and explore. There was a sacred place to visit.  The were also a lot of turtles around, although I only saw one basking on a rock. I think this was a new favorite for the kids! We're staying in a Marriott over here in Kailua-Kona and there's just not the space we're used to. We have to pay $14/day to park,  there's no free breakfast, and the fridge is tiny. We're shipping every day for groceries. But... We're having fun!

Hawaii Day 4

Today was the Volcano National Park day.  I know I have a disillusioned idea of what a volcano really looks like, but I wasn't expecting to look down on the craters. The big one, Mauna Loa, wasn't ever visible to us--it was always covered by clouds. That's one that I wouldn't be looking down on. It's amazing to see the lava trails--rocks left in the wake. There are no active flows right now, at least any that are accessible. There is one, but you can only get to it by helicopter. This main crater that we went to has a lava lake in it and we could see steam rising. We could also see stream vents, releasing the pressure. It was a fun day! Since we have two cars right now, I took the younger the kids and drive down to the bottom of the island and around to Kailua-Kona. We were all sick--it was long stretches of huge hilly roads and then very windy Canyon-like roads. We got here at sunset. This is the dry side, but it rained and rained last night. It's more touristy over here and pretty, but it's not like the rainforest. I miss the coqui frogs and mist. We'll see what Day 5 brings!

Hawaii--The Triangle House

Our first stay was in The Triangle House in Pahoa. It was really shaped like a triangle! There was a little kitchen and dining area with a bed behind and a nice little patio area. The upstairs had a TV and more beds. There were lots of windows, with great views of the ocean, and some of the windows were stained glass. There were 3 geckos that we saw often in daylight hours and little black ants (that kept the fire ants away) that marched in if food was out. Being in the rain forest, rose things were elected and we enjoyed looking for the baby gecko or watching the other two chase each other around the walls. We really loved the space this place had and enjoyed it a lot!

Hawaii Day 3

Jon and Kendall went on a bird outing with a guide, so I took the other three to Hilo for the day. We went to Richardson Beach, a good swimming, snorkeling, and black sand area. It was more crowded than I thought it would be and black sand is overrated--it was pretty with green flecks when dry, but looked like mud when wet. Jarren was worried about the string surf signs, but after talking to the lifeguard, it was determined that the bay area was safe. He snorkeled the day away and had a blast. Jenna loved trying to catch little fish in her goggles and trying to avoid black crabs that blended in with the rocks. Kristen saw some puffer fish, but enjoyed just laying on the Beach. We went to a Japanese tea garden for a picnic lunch and spent some time exploring after that. Jarren and Jenna loved playing in the water with Driftwood and coconut fronds. We ended the night with watching The Lego Movie. It was a fun day!

Hawaii Day 2

We spent the morning snorkeling at some tide pools. Amazing! I had a little panic attack--I'm not the best swimmer and my hose keep getting water in it. I felt like I was going to die and would panic. It was so deep, so close to shore! Bedums and I stuck together after that while the others went for a long, long time. Between them, they saw an octopus, a bunch of eels, butterfly fish, moray, needle nose fish, coral, sea urchins, sea anemone, and much more. Later in the day, we went to McKenzie Park. There are steep lava cliffs that are beautiful, but dangerous (stay back from the crumbling edges). It's interesting--is like a rain forest in that area, yet there are lots of pine trees type trees. We also drove to the end of the road. About 20 years ago, the volcano erupted and covered the road. Vegetation is coming back through, but there are lot of big, black rocks still. We saw a man scaling up a coconut tree and knocking a coconut off. Fun! 

Hawaii Day 1

Travel to Hilo...
We flew all day long. Or so it seemed. The kids did really well. The two teens were at the back of the plane and the rest of us were toward the front. I packed some sandwiches and snacks for lunch, but it wasn't enough. As we were boarding,  a lady asked Buggins if he would hold something for a minute. I thought she was trying to dig out her boarding pass or something, but she was trying to sneak 3 carry on items on. The attendant caught her and got mad, making Jarren give the yoga may back. That was weird. We had a layover in Honolulu. Everyone was tired and hungry by then, but we were entertained by birds in the airport. We made it to Hilo and found they were out of vans, so we had to rent 2 cars. We're staying at the Triangle House near Pahoa.  We can see the ocean from the windows. It's beautiful and will suddenly rain, so that's probably why it's so green. There are two geckos living in this house with us. Cute!