LAVA LAVA LAVA

A few weeks ago, a lava pool formed at the top of the crater of Kilauea. Evidently this doesn't happen often. We bundled up and headed down along with the tons of other people from around the world to see this once in a lifetime event. It was freezing cold, drizzling rain, and tons of people but it was amazing. You could clearly see lava moving around and it would occasionally burp sending a big flame up. The very next day there was a pretty big eruption. Since then, the lava lake has descended and there hasn't been much exciting activity down there.

Surfing

I have always always always wanted to surf. When we took this opportunity in Hawaii, I said that was one thing I absolutely had to do while we were here. When the boys heard me talk about it, they begged. We all did it and loved it. I don't think we can leave Hawaii now. We are hooked.

 

He LOVED it

 

Heather was visiting and did it too. 

 

 

 

Check out those arms...maintaining his form. 

 

 

Everybody on the beach was watching this mini surfer.

 

Because the wipeouts are funny 

 

 

Only the cool kids throw up a shaka.

 

Madeline insisted on "surfing" too 

Beach 69

Some people say something good comes out of everything. I don't actually believe that for all cases. In our lost key situation (last post), I try to make myself feel better about all that money we wasted by looking at these pictures. The day we went back for our car was the most beautiful day. The skies were so clear.

 

 

This is the best panoramic picture my phone would take. Mauna Kea with it's snowy peek is on the left and the Kohala beaches are on the right. The mountains and valleys are so beautiful. 

As we were driving into Hawi, we could see Maui ahead. It pretty much just looks like the shadow of another mountain. 

This was the true gem of the trip though. Since we were on the west side of the island where the best beaches are, we decided to stop somewhere we had never been. We have since learned that this beach is called Beach 69. It is our favorite beach so far. The playing is great. There is plenty of shade. The snorkeling is just as good as the "best" snorkeling spots listed in the travelers guides. The waves are pretty good for the kids to ride. And the water is crystal clear. 

Evan can now climb above the top knotch of that rope. He would play there for hours. 

Supposedly the snorkeling around that lava island is incredible. 

He begs to ride waves all the time. He's become quite good at it too. 

He also wants to surf as much as I do. He "practices" every chance he can get. 

I'm not sure what the grumpy look on my face is about. 

Pololu Valley

I read about this wonderful valley, Pololu Valley near Hawi where you can hike down to a beautiful black sand beach. Naturally I HAD to go there. It was perfect weather. The hike was nice...not too strenuous or dangerous. The beach was amazing and very few people were down there. We met up with friends who were going. Read the bottom to find out the end of the story.

 

This is the view from about the halfway point. 

M and Baby S

Mr C was on ocean watch. The ripe currents are supposedly very dangerous down there. Swimming is not advised at this beach. 

M takes her clothes off everywhere we go 

I love this picture of the kids playing. This was about as far in as we would let them go. 

Like I said, very few people were down there. 

This gang will construct something out of anything. They had so much fun building. 

Supposedly, you should respect this island. "Aloha Aina" is a common term that means "love of land". Some say that if you move or take something, it is a curse or bad things will happen to you.

So we had the best time at Pololu Valley. As we were hiking back up to the car, Brian asked for the keys. I quickly said "I don't have them; you do." He reminded me that I was the last one that had them when I was getting things out of the trunk. A flash went through my head of dropping the keys into my beach bag which we decided last minute to put back in the trunk rather than carry all that way. Yep it was all my fault and boy have I beat myself up for it ever since.

 

So here we are with 3 kids no cell service and about 10 miles to the nearest town. Our friends were still in the valley with no cell service. So we start walking. We didn't get far when a very nice couple asked us if we wanted a ride. We squeezed into their sedan...yes, I, who never let my kids ride 2 miles without their carseats and is very cautious of whom drives them, let them sit in our laps in a strangers car. We get into town to find out the tow guy can't break into our trunk because there is no entry through the car. So we call a cab from Kona (about 45 minutes away) to pick us up and take us to the Kona airport to rent a car. We drove home, by this time, late at night. Got up early the next morning, took our spare keys to get our car and return the rental. It ended up being the most expensive, time consuming thing we've done on the island so far. Lesson learned: keep a spare key in a magnetic box on your car...or don't give me responsibility of the keys.



Volcano National Park

We got up a close look at one of the most active volcanoes on this island.

 

Stinky sulfur springs 

 Entering a lava tube, a place formed by flowing lava that cooled around the edges forming a cave. You can find a better description if you google it.

 

 

Down at the end of the park is the ocean. This beautiful structure was formed by wind and waves.

 

We were too tired and hungry to wait until dark to see the glow. One evening before we leave here, we'll go back to see the glowing crater.

Donkey Trail

One of our first adventures was this awesome hiking trail near the Botanical Gardens. My friend Amanda invited us to go with them. It begins as a pretty steep hike down the mountain.

Selfie 

This girl strips her clothes off ALL the time. At one point on this day, I turned around to find her sitting naked on a big rock using the bathroom. I suppose it appeared to be the perfect toilet.

The bottom of this mountain is so beautiful.

The boys collected coconuts for their "house". 

We let the boys be little Tarzans. 

When we got to the top at the other side, we had a pretty big scare. The path, as you walk back up, is along the side of a cliff. We got to the top. We were all talking and looking for whales while the kids were playing. Evan was running and tripped and rolled over the side of the cliff. This would have been about a 200 foot drop into the Pacific Ocean. God must have stepped in and threw a patch of viney grass for Evan to get caught in. As he wiggled to try to get up, the grass was tearing away from the edge. I threw Madeline behind me and went toward the edge after Evan. When my foot hit that grass, I realized there was nothing underneath it. My left foot fell and I leaned backward to pull my bodyweight back. I grabbed the collar of Evan's shirt and his hair, a lady grabbed my arm, and we pulled him out. All of this happened probably within 10 seconds but when it plays back in my head, it seems like forever. It was by far one of the scariest times of my life. Brian carried Evan the entire way back to the car. So we learned that these gorgeous cliffs on the side of the ocean, can be deceivingly dangerous.