Friday, April 19, 2013
Thursday, April 18, 2013
Paradise Day 2 ~ Beach Hopping!
We took our poi from the night before and our papaya and mango from the farmers market, grabbed some rice and headed to the beach for breakfast!
Seriously could it get any better! The sand here was crushed lava rock and sea shell bits.
We pretended to be kids in the tide pools and I got to show Dan a couple creatures we use to find at my grandma's beach growing up.
Mollusks in the lava rock grooves...
Sea slug...
Sea urchins.
So this was our first beach of the day!
We then went back to town and did some shopping at the farmers market, more fruit, kukui nut necklaces... Then we stopped by a local hamburger joint Dan loves and then headed north of town to another beach!
Our first try was closed but we scored on the second one!!
We went out near the end of these rocks and got to see a sea turtle swimming around! Swimming with sea turtles!!!!
I picked up coral and some more tiny sea shells and found this funny seaweed. I called it grape seaweed!
One and a half more days worth of photos coming soon!
Aloha!
Tuesday, April 16, 2013
Hawaii Day 1 - Paradise!
5 hours in a plane all by myself...CRAZY! The sun was setting as we came into Kona.
This is the view I woke up to with all the island birds singing.
When Dan picked me up from the airport he had a beautiful plumaria lei for me. It could not have smelled any sweeter!
He also brought me this bunch of local flowers he bought at the farmers market. Amazing!
After a breakfast called a Loco Moco which is a common Hawaiian breakfast we headed out of Kona but quickly had to stop when I spotted this local fabric shop!!! Yes I went fabric shopping in Hawaii!!
It wasn't long before the lush plant life gave way to the lava fields.
Our first (scheduled) stop was at South Point, the most southern point in the United States.
It was a shelf and so (crazy) people were jumping off the cliff into the water. Here is a place just a few feet away from the cliff edge where the water comes through a tunnel.
The black lava rock and the white coral contrast nicely! ;)
It was so windy near south point that the trees grow like this!
And then we made it! Our goal was Kilauea! It was foggy and rainy up there (45,000-ish feet elevation). This was one caldera that you can hike across with steam rising from some spots, we decided not to blow out my knees on the first day as you had to hike nearly strait down and up to get in and out.
But we did hike around it through the giant fern tree forest and rain forest to the large lava tube in the park. It was awesome to walk through it!
Next we stopped at the steam vents, where the earth is so hot that steam comes up from the ground. The ground is hot to the touch and so these wild orchids grow there!! Beautiful!!
And then we made it! I STOOD ON A VOLCANO!!! I STOOD ON KILAUEA!!!!!
The different paintings portraying Madam Pele were one of my favorites in all the visitor centers. I wish I could have brought them all home!
After driving all the way back to Kona (2+ hours) we stoped at a place I had scoped out before the trip. A place to eat traditional Hawaiian foods!
This is ono (fish), taro cooked in coconut milk, and purple sweet potatoes. To drink we had kava which does in fact make your lips and tongue feel a little tingly/numb. The food was AMAZINGLY yummy!!
We also had some poi which is taro root prepared a different way. We saved some for the next morning's breakfast...
stay tuned for the next instalment of photos!!
Friday, March 29, 2013
Scouting
Growing up Girl Scouts was a big part of my life. I've always loved being outdoors so that was a given but Girl Scouts also exposed me to other things that did not come as naturally (like talking to people when selling cookies)! But I did not grow up with any boys around and so Boy Scouts was always a mysterious event outside my radar. So I married an Eagle Scout. And had two boys! ;) And so I got thrown into the world of Cub Scouting 6 years ago! But this year? This year we are back on my territory!
My sweet Fern is a Brownie!
Cub Scouts is still going strong with Jake, he's a Bear this year.
But here is a new scouting adventure! Boy Scouts! Overnighters without Dad! 12-18 year old boys with FIRE!
I'm excited to share this adventure with Fern, its been 17 years since I've worn my Girl Scout pins and sold cookies. But I have to say its great!
And watching Fern enjoy Brownies is the best part!
I am already planning in 3-ish years of having our family scouting photo (in uniform of course), Leili will be a Brownie, Fern a Junior, Jake a Weblos/Boy Scout, Riley a seasoned Boy Scout, Dan an adult leader, and myself! Once a Girl Scout Always a Girl Scout!
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