Hawaii- Part 2

On our 3rd day in Volcano, HI, we decided to back track a little bit and check out two different beaches- the black sand beach and the green sand beach.

We went to the black sand beach first because if you get there early enough, it was noted that you would see plenty of sea turtles coming in for breakfast. And we definitely saw plenty of sea turtles- at least 7 or 8.

I dont think I remembered Sea Turtles having this type of tail but I got a little giggle out of watching it wiggle around when they moved. 

The good news about getting up REALLY early on vacation is that we seemed to be one step ahead of other tourist. Right as we were leaving here, the tour buses started swarming in and we were gladly getting out of their way!

Our next stop was the green sand beach. It's located at the Southern most tip of the United States (not to be mistaken with the Key West spot which is the southern most tip in the continental US). As you pull up to Southpoint, the first thing you see is the spot where people cliff dive and also jump into the blow hole. I hadn't even worn my bathing suit because I was literally breaking out in a sweat just thinking about Thomas doing it (I had researched it before hand so I knew that it would be there and that it was an option). But after getting there and seeing Thomas and others make the jump- and also confirming that the ladder was still in working order, I decided to make the jump myself. It was definitely one of the scariest things I've ever done, but Im so glad I did it! The only unpleasant part was that even though I covered my nose, I was literally blowing out sea water for a good 30 minutes after. At some point, I probably stopped covering my nose on the way down- but in my defense, as your jumping, it feels like FOREVER before you finally hit the water. From what research I've done, it was about a 40ft jump. 

I only jumped off the cliff- but Thomas also made the jump into the blow hole which was even more terrifying. I was glad that he only did it one time and was able to capture a few cool photo's.

This is one of my favorite pictures of the trip. I just think it's a cool shot of where the blow hole leads out of the cave and into the sea. And can I tell you how rickity that ladder was? I took one look at the bolts holding it together and I think I practically sprinted to the top. 

After our cliff diving experience, we drove over to a secluded cliff, had a little picnic, and then drove over to the edge of the hike/drive to Green Sand Beach. We weren't really sure what to expect here. We had read online that the 3 mile drive was impossible unless you had a 4 wheel drive vehicle. We were originally planning the do the 3 mile walk- but decided it would be worth trying to drive it. It was definitely an adventure! it was basically a series of 10 trails inter-twinning the entire way- so it was really a game of picking the best route the entire time and weaving back and forth (ie: which way will we not get stuck). It was a slow journey- but it would probably have been a much more miserable/dusty walk. 

I really have no pictures that do it justice. You'l just have to take my word for it :)

Once you finally make it to the Green Sand Beach, it's literally like your coming upon an Oasis. It was so beautiful.

We did a little swimming and snorkeling and then we made the 3 mile journey back to the main road. I would definitely recommend this "off the beaten path" attraction to people- but not if you decide to walk it! There is no shade for the entire 6 mile journey and we felt really awful for people attempting to do it. The funny part was that a lot of people made the walk there and then decided to pay the locals to give them a ride back. There were a few locals there- and it was evident they do that on a daily basis to make a little $$. 

The next day (Tuesday) was our last day on the Big Island. We woke up and decided to try and catch the sunrise over the caldera, but unfortunately it was too cloudy. However, the one cool thing was that we were the only ones there and had the viewing area to ourselves. It was so quiet that you could hear the crackle of the lava below. 

On our journey back to Kailua-Kona airport, we took a different route and decided to head North over the top perimeter of the Island. We went through a town called Hilo where we stopped at a local laundry mat and refreshed our wardrobe. Remember how I said Volcano was rainy? Because of that, we couldn't get any of our wet items to dry due to the wet muggy climate. 

It was definitely an experience since we were not really familiar with laundry mat protocal and also because we rolled right in there with our suitcases (tourist siting, anyone?). 

Of course we captured it on camera :)

After our little side trip to the laundry mat, we traveled through Hilo and on towards Akaka Falls. It was a very cool waterfall to see- and we even found a small cafe to have lunch in nearby. 

Thomas really worked up a thirst after our long walk to the falls.

After we saw the waterfall, we really needed to make a bee line straight to the airport. We weren't exactly sure how quickly we needed to get there for our trip to Maui- and we also needed to find a gas station to fill up our rental car. We were in a desperate search for a car wash as well, which we were never able to find. We did not want there to be any evidence that we had taken the car on the route to the green sand beach! We had talked with another couple at the green sand beach and their rental company has specifically ask them not to. Oh well- we were never able to find one so we wiped the jeep down the best we could and hoped that the little noise coming from the shocks wouldn't sound itself in front of the rental car return employee :)

Stay tuned for Part 3- the final leg of our journey in Maui. 

Hawaii- Part 1

After so much planning and prep, it's hard to believe that our vacation has come and gone. But we had a great time and definitely made some great memories! I'm probably the only one that will enjoy re-reading these memories, but better to catalog them now while the memories are still fresh! :)

We flew out of Atlanta on Friday, June 28th. It was a long day of travel and waiting. And some how we managed to have no window on either flight (I blame Thomas for that one). It was very disappointing- especially for our flight getting into Hawaii.

We arrived in Hawaii around 7pm (1am eastern time) and for our first night, we decided to use AirBNB. If you've never used it, check it out! This is our second time using the service and we've had 2 great experiences (the first was in Venice, Italy). We only had a short drive to our AirBNB home where we promptly crashed for the night.

The next morning, however, we were up very early and ready to take on the day. We hadn't fully been able to appreciate our accommodations the night before due to sleep deprivation- so we took the morning to walk around the property and take a few pictures. AirBNB rentals range from renting a bedroom to renting a full home or apartment. This particular rental was a private suite in someones home. And it was great. We had our own little private patio and we were very close to the local town. Not to mention that the homeowners were very nice and helpful. Check it out if your ever looking to stay close to the Kailua-Kona Airport- it's called Carrie's Cottage.

This is Liko, their family dog. He was very sweet to join us for an early cup of coffee!

We decided to venture into the little village of Kona for breakfast and groceries (to take to our next destination). Our airBNB host recommended a little place right on the water and it turned out to be a great choice. 

We were a little hungry.. and wanted to try everything.. I'm sure that's evident :)

After breakfast, we went back to our AirBNB home, packed up our belongings, and left for our journey to Volcano, HI (which is on the other side of the Big Island- the east side). The Big Island is fairly underdeveloped so there is really only one highway to use to get to the other side and it skirts the perimeter of the island. I think, overall, the drive was about 3 hours. However, we stopped many many times in between :)

Our one major stop was at Mamalahoa Hot Tubs and Spa. I figured it was the first day of vacation- we might as well start out with a nice massage, right? This place was very cool. Our time there included a 1 hour salt water hot tub and private outdoor shower followed by a 1 hour outdoor massage. In hindsight, 1 hour of hot tub time is A LOT when it's hot outside, but we still enjoyed the experience.

Our own personal tiki hut!

After our time at Mamalahoa, we stopped at a few antique stores and an expresso/snack bar and then we made the rest of the journey to Volcano. 

We rented a Jeep on the Big Island, which ended up being a lot of fun! 

We arrived in Volcano around 6:00pm and we had just enough time to get checked into our cottage, cook dinner, and meet our cottage owner. These cottages were another lucky find and ended up being a great choice (I dont know who planned this vacation, but they did a GREAT job ;)). They are called Volcano Places. This one in particular is Kate's Cottage. The owners, Kathryn and Kenneth Grout, built them themselves.

We loved this outdoor porch and spent a lot of time out here reading and playing yatzee! :)

The average temperature in Volcano is mid 70's and fairly rainy. It's also 4,000 ft above sea level- and only a mile or so from the National Park where Mt. Kileaua Volcano sits. 

On Sunday, we woke up and went to the local Farmers Market (only held on Sunday's so we were very lucky to get to go to this!). It was a great experience. We bought homemade pastries, jellies, coffee, produce, and enjoyed a little people watching! We also came across this fire station that we thought was pretty neat. Only I would notice that they were using a Blaze truck as their regular/everyday fire truck :)

The farmers market started at 6:00am and we were there.... right at 6am. We were still adjusting to our new sleep schedule. After leaving there, we headed directly to Hawaii Volcano National Park where we spent an entire day exploring. We started out at near the top of the volcano, and then we made our way down the mountain (Crater Rim Dr.) and explored many other things along the way (lava tubes, craters, sea cliffs created by the lava rock, and steam vents). Overall, I think our favorite was seeing the cliffs- albeit a bit scary because the water was very rough below and the cliffs have been known to break apart in areas.

Killing a little time before the Visitor Center opened

Lava Rock fields were everywhere- and I mean everywhere!

Notice where all the different lava flows came down the mountain

For dinner this night, we went to a restaurant in the national park that had spectacular views of the Volcano's caldera. The food left a little to be imagined, but the experience was nice. What your seeing is not the lava itself, but the reflection of the lava off the sides of the caldera. 

Stay tuned for Parts 2 and 3!

Anticipation

I've NEVER been good at being patient. Getting to Christmas morning is excruciating. As well as birthdays, vacations, and any other occasion that involves surprises or fun. Not only that- but it's extremely hard for me to not want to tell everyone what I've gotten them for said occasion. Especially Thomas. Since we don't see our parents everyday or talk to them everyday, that's a little easier. But having Thomas here.. looking at me.. it just blurts right out! And he, of course, finds this very funny.

I'm also extremely impulsive when it comes to making purchases. This has GREATLY improved over the years as I've become an adult and have been forced to budget- but I still have my weak moments where I want something here and now! I blame Tony Tinsley. He most definitely gave me that impulsive/impatient gene.

So it should come as no surprise that I am in extreme anticipation about our upcoming Hawaii trip. To the point that I'm pretty sure I passed the obnoxious level WEEKS ago. If I bring up the phrase Hawaii in our household, I know Thomas is trying to be nice, but Im definitely getting a slight look of annoyance.

He has been extremely busy with work this year. He's been traveling a lot and even working on the weekends when he needs to. Therefore, I've taken the bull by the horns and done all of the planning for this trip. He's usually the planner- so its definitely unusual for me to do all the planning. But I've really enjoyed doing the research and planning activities for us. And I guess that's why I'm so excited- I know exactly what we have to look forward to!

I've got a little bit of a lighter load this summer with the kids doing various Summer Camps- yet I cant seem to focus on getting anything done (not Hawaii related that is). I'm having to force myself to complete other task. Otherwise, I find myself sitting in front of this computer. Looking up pictures. Watching videos. Checking the weather. Checking our Itinerary. Repeat.

So here's hoping that I can make it through the next 10 days without causing all of my Facebook friends to remove me from their news feed.

And feel free to follow us on Instagram and Facebook on our exciting upcoming adventure! (that is, if I haven't already been deleted from said news feed)