Hawaii - Day 4

DAY 4

This is the last day I promise!

We spent the morning hanging by the 

(salt water) pool reading and doing sudoku.

Here's a glimpse of my view from my pool chair.  

Palm trees just make me happy.

North of Kona they have a long stretch of lava

graffiti (made with white rocks) along side the road.  

 Matt and I thought it would be fun to leave our mark 

on the Big Island too.  So if you ever go to the Big Island, 

look on the east side of Highway 19 between 

mile marker 93 and 94 and you should see this...

Those who broke ancient Hawaii's law - perhaps 

by treading on the shadow of a chief, or fishing in the 

wrong season - could expect execution unless they fled (swam) 

to this sanctuary called "Place of Refuge".  If successful, they would 

escape execution and be given a second chance.  Thank goodness

our judicial system doesn't work this way today.

thi

Matt looks just like them doesn't he?

We also had the opportunity to see the Kona Hawaii Temple.

It was absolutely beautiful at night.

We had a fabulous time in Hawaii!  We are so 

incredibly lucky to have such great friends who 

willing watched our three little ones while we were 

partying it up.  We love you guys!    

Hawaii - Day Three

DAY 3

At the beach!

We spent the morning at Hapuna Beach

soaking up the rays.  It is said

to be rated one of the top 10 

beaches in the U.S.
  

We are probably the only people

that carry around a camera with a

tripod everywhere we go.  Sometimes

I think we're a little crazy but in the end 

I'm always glad to have the memories

captured in photographs.  It's a good

thing because I have a terrible memory! 

 

  

While I chilled on the beach, Matt enjoyed the

waves and went body boarding.  It was pretty

rough out there and was tossed around a few

times paying the price with bruised ribs.

 Then we drove to Kona to do some souvenir shopping.

Along the way we stopped to get some shave ice.  

I was dying to try some to see if it compared to 

JoJo's Shave Ice in Kauai.  Not even close!  

It was truly disappointing.  At least I will be in

Kauai in May to quench my Hawaiian shave ice desire.

  

We thought our shave ice was big but you 

should have seen the LARGE.

 

  

  

I loved the contrast between the black

lava rocks and the blue water. 

Gorgeous!

 

 

  

 

This photo reminds me of Hawaii.  Us watching

the local surfers while the sun sets. 

  

What's Hawaii without a romantic kiss at sunset.

 

We didn't do much better for dinner this night either.

We ate at Outback Steakhouse (Cheese Fries!)

and then hit a movie - She's Just Not That Into You.

Hawaii - Day Two

DAY 2

We started the day driving from the west side of the island to the east side.  Our first stop was to Akaka Falls.  A beautiful 420 foot waterfall.

We came across this much smaller waterfall along the path to Akaka. Ah, the beauty of nature!

Along the way to/from the falls I saw these Banyan trees and fell in love with them.  They are monstrous trees with huge solid canopies and complex root systems.  Of course this picture doesn't do them justice to their size so just take my word for it.

 

Next we headed south to the volcano.  Honestly, I can't remember it's name but that's pretty par for the course with all Hawaiian names.  It's not my forte. This is a steam vent from the volcano.  It's warmth felt good (it was pretty cold up there) until you walked away feeling damp.   

This was about as exciting as our volcano experience got.  It was still neat but we were a little disappointed that we didn't get to see any lava flowing.

I was really hoping to see something like this... 

Or this...

But instead we got this...

And this.  How can you be upset when you get the opportunity to see a cloud shaped like a dog?

The hardened lava was pretty cool though.

We also hiked through the rain forest to a... 

Lava tube.

Nature is pretty amazing.

We ended the day with dinner at Macaroni Grill -- again. Oh, I could have eaten there every day!  Although I did feel a little guilty.  Afterall, we are in Hawaii.   Shouldn't I try something a little more authentic? But then again, why mess with something you know you love? 

Hawaii - Day One

Well, it's been a week since Matt and I got back from Hawaii and I'm think I'm ready to post now.
The laundry is done, Valentine's Day is past, the school parties are over, Matt has edited the
photos and I've come to terms with the fact that Hawaii is gone and done.  Well, kind of...

DAY 1

 

When we first arrived, we checked into our hotel - Waikoloa Beach Marriott.

It was very nice and not very busy so it felt like we had the resort to ourselves.

  

  

For some reason, they thought it was our anniversary and had 

some chocolate covered strawberries sent to our room.  We didn't correct them : )

  

 That night we headed to the Luau.  

What's Hawaii without a good Luau?  

  

And sipped on some tropical drinks like virgin strawberry daiquiris.

  

Then we all headed outside to watch them dig up the pig from the pit.

I'm not sure why we went because it was disgusting!  I don't know

how anyone could eat the pork at the Luau after seeing that

poor pigs carcass lying there so lifeless and helpless.  After that

I haven't been able to eat bacon - the only meat I would eat

in my vegetarian diet. 
  

This is the second Luau we have been too in Hawaii and we've 

decided that we don't like Hawaiian buffet food.  We both

picked at what we had knowing we would get something

to eat after the show.  

Then the show began...

   

It ended with a fire dancer which was the best part of 

the whole evening.  Just amazing!

  

As we were driving up to our hotel I squealed in delight to see

that my favorite restaurant was right next door.

The Macaroni Gill!  So this is where we ran to after

the Luau.  So fabulous!

 

 And thus ended our first day in Hawaii.