Snorkeling Fools

My kids love to snorkel.

I don't know why this should surprise me, as so far they have loved boogie boarding, swimming in the ocean, splashing in the waves, and basically the beach in general. (However, they are not fans of visiting rocky beach areas where you just watch the waves crash into the shore. "Boring," D says.)

As you might guess, we went snorkeling this morning. I've been hesitant to do this, since I still worry a bit about the boys drifting away, drowning, etc. (All part of being a mom, I think. Perhaps I need a t-shirt: "I'm a mom, therefore I worry.") I also worried about my own skills in the water, which is probably the bigger part of my neurosis.

So, as I said, my kids had a great time. Both of them float like it's nothing, propel themselves all over the bay to look at various fish, and handle the snorkel mask and tube with no problems. Steve took a couple of tries to get the hang of it, but he's doing pretty well too. And me? Well, let's just say I'm destined to view other people's pictures of all the pretty fish they saw on their snorkeling and diving trips.

It's not that I'm bad at snorkeling. It's more that I can't seem to get started. Putting my face in the water, quite simply, freaks me out. Maybe it has to do with the fact that I can't wear my glasses when I try snorkeling, so I feel really disoriented from the start (like, walking into the water from the shore). But, it's not all about me, so right now I am happy that my kids have found another thing that they love.

After snorkeling today, we had lunch again at Quinn's Almost-by-the-Sea, which serves the best ono and chips in the world. Then, we randomly stopped to watch some surfers take on some monster waves (and one woman with fake boobs frolicking in the surf) along Ali'i Drive.

The rest of this afternoon is being spent relaxing (read: Steve's taking a nap!) while we anticipate the arrival of the Turpens. (Their flight gets in late tonight.) Tomorrow we are planning to visit Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park.

Wow, the sky is clear up here!

We made it to the Mauna Kea Visitor Information Station without incident. (Well, the Jeep apparently tried to overheat a bit on our way up the access road, but since I didn't notice until after we'd stopped, I'm not counting that!)

On our way up, the sun was starting to set. Talk about beautiful (and a bit blinding, since the air was so clear). Of course, I was driving and there really weren't any pullouts, so you're going to have to take my word for it. (Or come here yourself to see it, which I highly recommend!)

The staff at the center was certainly ready for us (and all the other folks who came up tonight): they had 3 very large telescopes ready to show us the celestial sights--Venus, Saturn (complete with rings - wow!) and Jupiter with several moons. The best part was that we basically had the place to ourselves for at least 20 minutes, so the staff and volunteers were very willing to explain lots of stuff to the boys, who ate up all the attention. (One guy asked me if I homeschooled, when I was asking M what he knew about Venus and he was rattling off about 20 facts. I had to explain that, no, he just liked space.) They also had smaller telescopes that you could aim yourself.

Last night was an almost full moon, which apparently cut down on the number of stars we could see. So, we only saw about 20 constellations during the laser-pointer enhanced star tour.

I had worried a bit about how we might handle the 9,200-foot altitude after being in Hawaii for a couple of weeks (high point previously on the trip--about 2,500 feet), but everyone did great. And the crisp 59-degree weather was a nice break from 85 and humid. (Not that I am complaining, as I hear it's topping 100 regularly in Colorado right now. I just enjoy not sweating sometimes.)

David loved the idea that we were above an entire layer of clouds as we watched the moonrise. He thought it was ocean he was seeing from the patio area:

Another high point (and another thing I couldn't get on film, despite trying several times) was the moonbow we saw on our way down. It seemed to only have about 3 different shades of light, but it was very cool. There also was a corona around the nearly full moon, which I am learning (from my Google search for a similar moonbow picture to show you) may be called a moondog. Again, my camera hardly does it justice, but here it is:

Looking to the Skies

Well, the Lopers (Steve's parents, that is) have been dropped at the airport and should be well on their way home by now. Team Klida should be getting on their plane shortly, and we are getting ready to head up to the Visitor Information Station on Mauna Kea, the 13,796-foot high mountain where several world-class observatories are located. We can't go all the way to the summit because the boys are too young to deal with the altitude, but we will be at about 9,200 feet. It will be interesting to see how our bodies deal with that altitude, since the highest we've been in the past two weeks is about 2,500 feet.

At the visitor center, we will be able to check out the nighttime skies using one of their telescopes. If the weather is clear, the viewing tonight should be awesome. I don't know what kind of pictures I'll manage to get from this, but I am looking forward to it. I really think that M will enjoy it, as he has been interested in space since he was about 4 years old.

On a completely different topic, have I talked about the geckos here? Apparently, geckos (yes, like the insurance commercials) are considered good luck and are welcomed into Hawai'ian houses. There are at least a half-dozen geckos that we are sharing space with, ranging from the teeny one that likes to sun itself on the porch steps to the big guy that runs around near the fridge. Since they are cold-blooded, we don't see much of them early morning or late at night, but come afternoon they scrabble everywhere. Today I got some good closeup shots of one guy that decided to explore our table and another that was peeking at me from the kitchen curtain.

Overall, the geckos seem to be pretty harmless. They eat bugs and fruit and are pretty much afraid of people. At night, they click and chatter (sounding a bit like frogs), which is so much better than the rooster that crows whenever he feels the urge (like at 3 a.m.)! Of course, they do poop, so you find little black balls around the house. Erin was freaked out by them for most of her stay, but D loves seeing them.

Relaxing in the Tropics

We were going to go snorkeling today. We'd planned all week that we would go this morning, first thing, while the ocean was calm and the sun was a bit weaker. (I'm still a bit timid after scoring the killer sunburn.) But, when we awoke, it really didn't feel like a snorkeling day. Instead, it felt like a "hang out and do nothing" day. One of the true benefits of being here for a month is that we can have those at least once a week.

So, we took it easy. Reta & Ellis got back mid-morning from their trip to Kaua'i, so Steve picked them up from the airport. Joe & Erin went sea kayaking and snorkeling near Captain Cook, and they came back mid-afternoon. I did laundry. We hit Walmart and Safeway for the supply run. But mostly we vegged. I really like it here (to visit, not to live, but that's a post for closer to the end of the trip).

Last night we were able to go out AGAIN without our kids, this time with Erin & Joe. (Thank goodness for grandparents!) We hit the sunset bar, where we enjoyed pupus (appetizers) and Mai Tais, Big Island Ice Teas and Patriots, made up of Strawberry Daiquiri, Pina Colada and Blue Hawai'ian. (Amy, that pic's for you!) Sadly, there was a bit of rain, but we did get to see lots of fish just by peeking over the rail at our table.




Next, we went into "downtown" Kailua (there's not really a downtown, but a more touristy strip/boardwalk kind of area) and decided to eat at the Kona Inn. After enjoying the sunset at the bar, we grabbed a table for dinner. Steve & Joe both had this awesome ono (also called wahoo, for those of you at home) stuffed with a cream cheese and lobster mixture. It was incredibly rich (and so full of dairy that I would have been sick for a week. I got a bite, though!)

Steve's parents and the Klidas all leave tomorrow, leaving us sans houseguests for about a day. (The Turpens arrive Saturday night, fresh off their dive trip to Bonaire, near Venezuela.)

The 2nd Part of our Beautiful Day

Have I mentioned yet how awesome it is to have house guests while we're in Hawai'i? We were so lucky to have Steve's parents keep the boys for us while we explored the north and east parts of the island last week. Then, tonight, Joe & Erin offered to take the boys to dinner (to Bubba Gump's--yummy!) and watch them while Steve & I went on a sunset dinner cruise.

For those of you who have never been on something like this, I have one crucial piece of advice--don't take your kids. I was so relaxed, especially since it wasn't my kids about to roll through the spaces in the rails every 10 minutes. (There were only 2 kids, and they were little, and the crew even had to tell their parents to keep a hand on them. SO glad they weren't mine.) Oh yeah, the Mai Tais, Pink Pirates and Champagne probably helped a bit too!

Our cruise was on board the sailing catamaran Seasmoke, which apparently was quite the stuff for many a year. (If you sail, maybe you know. If not, you could look here.)

Being on the ocean while the sun was setting was incredible. And the service was awesome. I don't think I went more than 5 minutes without a drink in my hand (unless I wanted to--like when I needed that hand free to hold my dinner plate)!

After the cruise, we sat on the beach at A-Bay for awhile to finish enjoying the sunset (and to sober up for the drive home). It was so peaceful and enjoyable.

(Tonight's pictures are courtesy of Steve, who took both of them with his phone, since our camera battery was dead by this point.)

A Beautiful Day from Start to Finish

Steve & I visited Waipi'o Valley the last time we were on the Big Island -- almost 6 1/2 years ago, and it was definitely on our "must see again" list. Today we made it, with the Klidas accompanying us. (And thanks to Joe for the great family picture, above.)

The valley is at the bottom of a 900-foot descent down a 4WD road that's at a 25 percent grade. Steep doesn't begin to describe it. Then, once you're at the bottom, you need to navigate ruts and rocks for another quarter mile or so. From the top of the road, the valley is beautiful. From the bottom, it's spectacular. (Now, there are a few residents in the valley. Steve equated it to Ward. Those of you in Colorado will know exactly what we mean!)

In order to get to the cool part of the black sand beach, we needed to cross a stream that, the last time we were here, was about a foot across. Today it was much wider and much stronger. Thank goodness Joe & Erin were with us, because I am pretty sure I would be floating in the ocean with M or D about now, hoping for the Coast Guard to send a rescue boat soon!

We spent an hour or so enjoying the beach and watching the boys play in the surf. Too soon, it was time to wade back across the stream and head up from the valley. What an awesome place to be.



After leaving the valley, we decided it was time for a different kind of beach--Mauna Kea (or Kauna'oa). This beach is hidden at a closed resort (complete with dead grass golf course) in the Kohala Coast resort area. There are only 30 spaces allocated in the parking lot for beachbound cars, so you know you will not have a lot of company here. With the same type of white sand as Hapuna, but a ton less people, this beach gets my vote for my favorite white sand beach. I think Joe has some pictures of this beach on his blog (or maybe in his photo album - look around). My camera battery was dying at this point, so I didn't take any here.

"Don't Hate Me 'Cause You Ain't Me!"

That's the bumper sticker we saw on our way into dinner tonight. I think that sums up our trip -- having lots of fun, but missing our friends (well, the ones who didn't swing the trip this time).

This morning, the boys and I revisited the cool park we found last week. After that, it was time for a snack -- ice cream cones! I've never seen a child enjoy a cone as much as D did.

This afternoon, we explored Ali'i Drive, which is the main drag in Kailua-Kona. We wandered past all the historic sites (none of which we went into, since the kids were, well, being kids), shopped in a few tourist traps, and spent a few bucks at the Fun Factory. (Think Chuck E Cheese with a tourist trap spin -- every game was at least 50 cents, and the good ones were a dollar.)

For dinner, we chose LuLu's, which is basically a bar that's upstairs on Ali'i. Decent drinks and awesome appetizers, with a great view, except for a few power lines.

Sunset tonight took place during a downpour, so I just grabbed a quick shot from the porch. Since it wasn't anything great, I'll share a shot my father-in-law took on a beach in Kaua'i (another Hawai'ian island).