Hawaii Part 4

On Friday, we woke up bright and early and drove up to the north Kohala part of the island for our Zipline Adventure!  Neither of us had done more than 1 zipline attached to a ropes course before, so we were excited!

The course consisted of 9 ziplines, several bridges, and 2 rappelling points.  It POURED rain for the entire first half of the course, but still we had a blast!  The course was nestled in a forest so our views were beautiful.

The last zip was a 'double' zip so Ked and I could race - of course he won with more body weight :)  If it weren't so overcast, you'd be able to see the ocean at the top of this pic.

Next up - a wonderful plate lunch (mahi mahi for me and pork for Kedron) and then the King Kamehameha statue.  This was the king who united the Hawaiian islands, and he lived on the Big Island; plus his birthday celebration had just happened, so he's kind of a big deal, we found.

Then it was off to the Pololou Valley overlook.  Interestingly, this was maybe 5 miles away from our zipline location and they got no rain at all.  Gotta love Hawaiian weather.  This might have been the prettiest overlook on the island, but it's hard to compare mostly equally beautiful places, we found! This one was not quite as easy to capture on film.

We hiked down the black sand beach.  Black sand is common on the Big Island; it's a result of residual lava breaking down and washing back up on shore.  This was also not a place for swimming due to strong waves and rip currents.

The hike down to the beach was kind of treacherous and difficult. Before our descent, we'd seen a young, fit couple coming back up, barely sweating (they had more of a 'glisten' about them) and I asked them if it was worth the hike down.  They said yes, and in fact, they'd gone down, then up over the next ridge, and all the way back.  WELL, give that couple 10 years and maybe they will huff, puff, and sweat profusely on the difficult walk back up like we did!  It was by far the most difficult hike of our trip. I'm glad we did it, and now I won't be doing it again!!

Hawaii Part 3

Here are some more pics from our drive down (and back up) the Hamakua Coast.  We took a 4 mile 'scenic road' detour and were not disappointed.

We stumbled upon Onomea Bay, which was gorgeous!  We quickly found out that photos don't always capture the natural beauty of this island.

 We hiked down to the bay - definitely NOT a place to swim with the roaring and crashing waves!

Further up the coast, we spotted  Laupahoehoe (lau-puh-HO-ay-HO-ay, we got pretty good at the Hawaiian pronunciations this week!) Park.  This was the site of a deadly tsunami in the 1950's where over 20 schoolchildren were killed.  We drove down to the park and could tell this was where the locals hung out.  It was VERY windy, though, and their tents were quite interesting.  They would have a regular tent and then another tent-like structure over it, either like an army tent or one of those big enclosed picnic tent things. Guess you need double the protection from the wind!  Again, swimming was discouraged due to the waves, yet several local kids were enjoying the water in the boat ramp area.

Next up:  Waipio Valley- at the northern point of the Hamakua Coast.  Now THIS view was spectacular!  While all the views are amazing, this one is actually one of the easier ones to capture on film.  Hiking down into the valley was discouraged due to the spiritual significance of this place;  several island kings lived here years ago.  Currently there is a commune residing in the valley, and you must be invited down into the valley if you want to explore.

 Kedron had not yet even entered the water by this point in our trip, so it was time to check out a beach!  The Big Island is not really known for its spectacular beaches, as it is the youngest of the islands and beaches have not had as long to form due to erosion, wind, waves, etc.  In addition, it is hard to find a white sand beach on this island (more on that later).  But Kedron found us a good one here:  Hapuna Beach.  This was probably the best overall swim spot; some waves but not unsafe ones, great sand, and the absence of jagged lava rocks :) Can I just say, though, to the women of the world:  If you have handfuls upon handfuls of skin and various tissue spilling out from over your tiny bikini bottoms, it might be time to consider a one piece swimsuit.  Let's keep in mind that we all look better in clothing that fits us properly!!

After a full day, we were ready to relax a bit.  We ventured to a nearby resort that has a free Polynesian show, complete with fire dancing.  And, of course, coconut bras :)

Hawaii Part 2

On Thursday we headed  for the Hamakua Coast, which was (in my opinion) the most beautiful part of the Big Island.  This part is on the windward side of the island, and some parts on this coast get up to 200 inches of rain per year!  After seeing so much desert on our resort side, it was a welcome sight to see this coast.  Now THIS is what you think of when you think of Hawaii - lush vegetation, flowers, etc.

After about an hour drive, we arrived at Akaka Falls State Park.  It was a very beautiful and easy (paved) hike to the falls.

On our walk to see the Falls, I kept thinking of how everything reminded me of the TV show LOST (filmed in Hawaii) - especially this spooky tree:

Here is Akaka Falls:  a 400 foot waterfall.  Gorgeous!

 

We'd heard about this great smoothie shop called "What's Shakin" which was not far from the falls.  It's kind of out in the middle of nowhere but 10 minutes after opening for the day, several cars were already there.  The woman who owns the shop has 20 acres where she grows all her own fruit.  The smoothies were a little pricey (around $7 each) but were certainly the best smoothies we'd ever had.  YUM!!

Stay tuned for more gorgeous pics from the Hamakua Coast. . .

Hawaii Trip Part 1

 Kedron and I left on July 17th for a week on the Big Island of Hawaii!!  Kedron had a 1st Year Conference to attend for work, and since this summer is our 10th wedding anniversary, we decided to make a special trip of it.

After 3 long flights, we landed in Kona on the Big Island (known as Hawaii).  Contrary to (somewhat) popular belief, the main city of Honolulu is NOT on the Big Island; it's on Oahu.  The Big Island is not really the most popular tourist destination (I'm guessing it sits 4th after Oahu, Maui, and Kauai??).  It is twice as big as all the other islands combined, and therefore it does not feel as packed with tourists.  Our resort was on the leeward side of the island.  This side gets only 5-10 inches of rain per year, so it is quite desert-like once you get outside of the resort areas.  Believe me, they work hard to keep that 'grass' in the picture below growing!!  This was the view from our deck; we could overlook the resort pools and also the ocean!

 (yes, I know your jealousy rate is rising now. . .)

Kedron enjoyed his conference for 2 days, while Rachel shopped and relaxed by the water.  Our first major trip was to the observatory at Mauna Kea volcano.  The Big Island is made up of 5 major volcanoes that have 'grown' together through the years.  Mauna Kea is the tallest.  Actually, if measured from the ocean floor, it is the tallest mountain in the world!  We did not go all the way to the summit; they had a nice observatory point where they do free nightly stargazing.  We arrived via a roller coaster they call a road, and drove up THROUGH THE CLOUDS to reach the the observation point.  We watched the sun go down and then the staff set up their telescopes so we could view Saturn, Venus, and the moon.  It was a very nice event, except that both Kedron and I got stuck in line behind people trying to hold their iPhones up to the telescope lenses to take a picture.. . .. you can imagine how well that went over with the Bardwells.

Here are some photos taken from our perch above the clouds:

The first of many 'selfies' taken (I had never head the term 'selfie' until this trip; am I even spelling it right??)

Really?

Micah was hungry tonight so I told him to get himself a snack:

Micah:  Can I have Chips Ahoy?
Me:  No.
Micah:  Can I have a breath mint?
Me:  Sure.
Eli, interjecting:  I need a breath mint too!
Me, doubtful:  I don't think you need a breath mint.
Eli, grabbing his throat:  But. .. my breath hurts a little.