Friday, March 26, 2010

Our Krazy Kona Trip!

Last week, we got an opportunity to go to HAWAII!! It was so exciting. We have both never been and that is one of the places we both have wanted to go to for a long time. It was kind of a last minute trip with a couple of our very generous friends who had invited us to go with them so we could split expenses. It also came at a great time for us, as I was now 20 weeks and feeling much better than I did in my 1st trimester. We felt like this was our last Hoorah, before our little Bean comes. And what a great Hoorah it was! We went to the "Big Island" of Kona, Hawaii and stayed for 4 days and 5 nights. We had a blast with out friends and with each other, just enjoying being away from it all, taking in the many sights, and relaxing. When we flew into the open-air airport (just lovely, by the way!) it was a beautiful sunny day in Kona.
We had so much fun! Here are some pics of some of our adventures!
On top of the Jagger Museum lookout over Mount Kilauea, there was an extreme amount of CO2 gas being emitted at the time (NOT good for me or baby) so we took a few pics and left, most of the park was closed off because of this - bummer! (although we did get to see the glow of lava in the crater at night!)
Bekah & Ryan underneath an amazing tree where the roots would grow back into the tree system! It was huge!

Me, enjoying a locally grown banana, delish!

Mike & I at some tide pools on the Hilo side of the island, water was a little too cold for snorkeling that day, but they were pretty cool to see.

Mike relaxing after enjoying the waves at Hapuna beach.
**Fun fact! ; The Island of Kona has lots of different colored sand: Black, green, salt & pepper, and white. However, all the white sand was brought to Kona on barges transported from Mexico and California.
Ha! Ok this picture will always make me laugh because we were walking along and were just going to take a quick snap shot of ourselves, when this total island, surfer dude was like "hey I'll take your picture!" I was a little leery letting a complete stranger hold my camera, but all his surfing gear was there so we were ok with it. Mike gave him the camera and he kept taking a lot of pics and having us move one way or another. He kept saying crazy things and was just a little bit too happy...., when Mike went to get our camera, he got a whiff of whatever the guy had been smoking. Our suspicions were confirmed. Definately a laid-back local. It was hilarious.

Mike & I got to go on this amazing snorkel adventure on our last night in Kona. We went out on this boat at sunset to swim with giant MANTA RAYS! They were so beautiful, we got to see like 4 or 5 different manta rays. We went with other snorkelers and divers. The guides gave us underwater flashlights which we used to attract plankton, which manta rays eat. Then they would come and do flips and barrel rolls right in front of your face! It was intense! They were so beautiful and amazing! The biggest one wat probably 9-10 feet across their wings! We tried not to touch them (it can hurt them) but one touched Mike's leg and another my stomach. Definately one of the coolest things we did in Kona!


We also got to go visit the grounds of the Kona Hawaii temple, we went at night and then again before we went to the airport, it was so beautiful and lovely!

Out for a walk on a lovely day in Kona.

We found some coconuts along the sides of the road in Hilo.


We had just finished a little hike through a lava tube cave. Very cool, although I did see a couple of bats, that was a little creepy.

We had just hiked to the top of this waterfall, it was so fun, but very wet! The path was not paved, it was just a jungle path, with moss, branches, and mud. Yikes, my poncho was in shreds by the time we got back to the car. I think I got more wet wearing it, than not. I wish I would have taken a picture of it!


After a long day of sightseeing the volcano, waterfalls, and the lava tube, we tried some local cuisine. Moco Loco is the name of this interesting dish. It is rice, a hamburger patty, brown gravy, & an egg on top. I was skeptical, but it was actually really good!

I always wanted to swing on a vine!

Rainbow falls - one of the beautiful waterfalls we saw on our trip.


1 comment:

Jenni said...

OK you don't even look pregnant! no fair! LOL

And I'm totally jealous of your trip to hawaii. That looked like soooooo much fun! So glad you guys got to go. What a great memory to have.