Are you ready for this?
Aaron and I are on our long-awaited honeymoon. We are staying with his brother, Adam and his wife, Julie (bless their hearts) in Laupahoehoe on the big island. Let me tell you about the typical parts of the day.
We get up with the sunrise, approximately 6:30 am. We put on some cool, colorful clothes since it's going to be 80 degrees. We go out into the yard and raid the fruit trees.
Starfruit, a favorite
Pomellos, like grapefruit!
Best lemons I've ever had
I got to cut some bananas to ripen on the porch
Pretty pink flowers (I don't eat them)
Then Adam and Julie take us on an adventure! We get home, eat, and I write about the day's adventures. As darkness falls, guess what we hear. Spring peepers! I guess they have a different name here, but let me tell you, it sounds like Clyde's field to me! That is certainly a welcome sound.
Now let me show you where we've been in the order we went.
Akaka Falls (We were still pretty white!)
Banyan Trees
Lots of sharks at Shark Bay
Hiking to Kiholo Bay for snorkeling
Swimming at Kua Beach was fricken awesome!
Inside a lava cave north of Kona on Highway 19
Help!!!
Pink flowers near Waipi'o Valley
What? I love pink flowers
Our descent into Pololu Valley
(Don't ask me about the hike back up)
The hills and flora of Pololu
And the crab, of course
A drive down Highway 200 "Saddle Road"
Entering active volcano area!
Two different lava flows from Kilauea
The lava took out the old road!
A whole new shore formed from this lava
The only trees we saw in this whole area
The lava took out the new road too!
The Kilauea Crater, still smokin'
A view from the top of the ridge
Aaron enjoying our hike to the crater
A purple fiddlehead!
The lava spurted from that reddish hole in the middle
I wanted to take a piece of Kilauea with me,
but Pele would curse me
Can you see the steam rising from this crater?
The sun behind the sulfur cloud
And the Kilauea Crater glowing at night
On our way to South Point
The trees grow into the constant wind
A video of the tide pool at South Point
Our desert hike to Green Sand Beach
Two miles later... Green Sand Beach!
The green sand formed from lava
Then we made it back to South Point, the southern most point in the U.S., where Aaron and Adam jumped off the 40 foot cliff into the ocean. Not me, boy!
Aaron takes the plunge
Turtle resting area.
Shhh! They're sleeping!
That's pretty much it so far. I'll spare you any jibber jabber. This took me long enough! Aloha!
Congratulations. We honeymooned on Maui. Returned to Oahu for our 25th. Hawaii is truly a land of stark contrasts. Unlike the U.P. where you typically have to wait for the season or at least the weather to change to see any changes, you can experience a wide range of contrasts in Hawaii by simply travelling a few miles. From rain forests to deserts, from moonscapes to fantastically beautiful pink flowers, all in an afternoon. We tend our yards by pulling weeds and raking leaves. Year round, Hawaiian gardeners begin the day by raking up the fallen flower petals lost the night before.
ReplyDeleteBreathtaking photos!
ReplyDeleteDon, you noted a few things that I didn't put in writing. I hope it was apparent by my pictures that this island is so different in just a few miles. I never expected to see desert land here! Even the temp cools down with higher elevation. And if it's raining where we are, just go to the other side, and it could be sunny! Thanks for your insight.
ReplyDeleteDid you see any cactus on The Big Island? It's all over the leeward side of the volcanic hills. Makes it look and feel just like Arizona. I'd love to visit again, just to see the volcanic action on The Big Island. Nothing like it on the other islands.
ReplyDeleteWant more!!!
ReplyDelete