Thursday, January 24, 2008
Tuesday, September 05, 2006
Day 11, Monday. Made it early to PDX. The ride has not arrived, so Jen leaves her luggage and rides the MAX straight to work while the rest of the group "watch" the luggage and wait for pick up.
Day 10: Sunday. Calvary Community Church in the morning, got our usual aloha kisses from the pastor. Relaxed at the Resort pool in the afternoon, packed and cleaned, hunted geckos for close up photos, then time for coconuts and smoothies! Threat level ORANGE at the airport, lost ID should make for interesting air travel. Security let me through with the condition of a "pat down" which was rather minimal due to the amount of clothing necessary for Hawaiian warm weather! Short layover in Honolulu was spent "sleeping" on the rough carpeted floor at the gate. Attempted a red eye night's sleep in preparation for arriving in PDX at 7am and going straight to work for a full day.
Sunday, August 27, 2006
Day 9: Saturday. Since the swells were big yesterday, we headed up to Hapuna Beach this morning and were delighted to find waves big enough to ride! Lydia has found a new favorite activity and spent every second perfecting the art of riding the waves. The morning was good because there were less people and the late morning was good because the waves were bigger! We went to Cafe Pesto for dinner then shopping in downtown Kona and Walmart. In the evening we enjoyed the sunset from our resort!
Saturday, August 26, 2006
Day 8: Friday. We spend the day kayaking and snorkeling at the Captain Cook Monument. The whole time we have been in Hawaii there has been no surf... until today! Big ocean surges made for an interesting kayak experience, especially when getting in and out of the water. We saw TWO big manna rays while paddling over to Captain Cook! In the late afternoon we dropped the kayaks back at the rental place in downtown Kona then enjoyed some shaved ice, filled with soft serve ice cream. Lydia and Beka swam and watched a movie in the evening while Jill and Jen go to church to listen to Gord Whyte then shop for groceries. At some point along the way I have somehow managed to lose my tiny wallet, including ID. Complications abound and Troy is OH SO VERY HELPFUL once again. Thanks for the hours of chaos filled assistance from afar, Troy!
YUM we enjoy shaved ice in downtown Kailua-Kona. They put creamy soft serve ice cream into the center of the shaved ice which adds unique delicious flavor.
Friday, August 25, 2006
Day 7: Thursday. Goal: travel from Volcano to Kona, arriving in time to freshen up and unpack before the weekly YWAM meeting. We stop briefly by Black Sands Beach, the Volcano and the southernmost bakery in the United States. I see friends from DTS and Slingshot at the meeting and afterwards we enjoy a delicious coconut ice cream cake at the Big Island Grill!
Day 6: Wednesday, my 25th birthday. This was a long day exploring the Puna area. We started with spending a couple hours at Champagne Pond, snorkeling with the turtles and playing with little transparent shrimp swimming near the rocks. The pool was heated by the volcanic activity and very comfortable for a long swim. We then visited the Lava Swimming Pool where waves crash into a protected area... and many other fun places. Puna is my favorite part of the island and always a great adventure. The often overcast or rainy area stayed sunny for us all day in the midst of tropical rainforest! At the end of the day we stopped in the town of Pahoa to visit Zachary and Heather Jeans, friends from Portland who moved to Pahoa a couple years ago to start a church. Another delicious dinner at Thai Thai in the town of Volcano made for a yummy end to a well enjoyed birthday. Just think- I could have been at home working!
Tide Pools, great for snorkeling. We snorkeled with manna rays while exploring several of the pools!
This pool at Isaac Hale Park is naturally heated to about 90 degrees by the volcanic activity. Wonderful swim and a nice view of the surfers!
I saw people picking little red fruit from trees and wanted to try some... YUM. Tastes like a cross between a guava and an apple!
Lydia and me at the natural steam vents in Puna, one of my favorite places to visit. The rain water trickles down into the hot lava then evaporates from the heat of the still active volcanic area. The steam is scentless, better than a spa!
Day 5: Tuesday. Phase two of the 2006 Big Island Adventure begins in the truck, headed north toward the lush valleys. We grab some delicious pastries on our way to Waipeo Valley, one of my favorite spots on the whole island! Larry 4WDs the truck all the way down the steep road into the valley and parks right by a river. A curious wild horse comes over to us, hoping for food. Sunny weather caused the river to be low enough to cross (first time in a couple years!) so we walked all the way on the black sand beach to the distant part of the valley, then turned inland on a trail leading to the distant waterfalls. We climbed up to the fourth waterfall and pool before turning back to lower ground. We gave a hitch hiking girl a ride up the steep road out of Waipeo, then drove east around the top of the island towards Hilo. Larry's connection for housing landed us in the town of Volcano, which has my favorite restaurant on the island, Thai Thai. That night we slept in a house that could easily be mistaken for a small museum, with the fancy architecture and antiques.
We hiked way into Waipeo Valley, all the way to a bunch of waterfalls each with their own pool. This is us in the bottom pool.
Monday, August 21, 2006
Day 4: Monday. This morning we went to the University of the Nations for worship. Stopped by Milepost 88, an old favorite spot that has been transformed into an easily accessible paridise! Kiholo Bay took up most of the day, we walked alot and saw many turtles. The water is so teal! Hit the boutique on the way back to The Resort, where we will soon be eating dinner then heading down to the harbor to watch the sunset. Might have to wait a couple nights before being able to post more pics- we are going to Puna for a couple nights!
Sunday, August 20, 2006
Day 3: Sunday. This morning we went to Solid Rock Church, then lunch and snorkeling at the National Reserve. Grabbed lots of mango and guava along the road to Kings Mansion, where there were ripe avacados, limes and bananas. Between the farmer's market on Saturday morning and all the random fruit picking today, we are loaded up! Lydia eats bananas like a monkey so we should have no problem eating the abundant supply! Stopped by Costco on the way back to our little resort for dinner supplies. Larry had to help scare away a wild boar from beside our hut, then Beka, Lydia and he went swimming to cool off for the night. Highlight of today: fruit. Of course snorkeling was great, too. Still working on fixing the nightmare tan lines- if you haven't noticed yet, just check out my legs. Ooops!
This is our "hut" with outdoor bathroom, shower and tub! I had a steaming hot shower last night under the stars and it was sensational!
August 20, 2006: Day One! Went to the market this morning to stock up on fruit. Got papaya, mango, bananas, lychee, avacado... YUM. Went snorkeling up north in the late morning to early afternoon and saw lots of fish and turtles. Lydia did GREAT for her first time out there, even with a fin that kept coming loose! Spent some time relaxing in the sun for a while to dry off and then head to the Hilton... the long way to avoid a new fee for guest parking. Swimming in pools and exploring filled up the afternoon, then came time for Cafe Pesto Kahlua Pig Pizza! Watched the sunset on the way back to our private resort. They watch Ya Ya Sisterhood and relax while I do the downloading, sorting, selecting and posting of photos!
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