Testing blog.  I have been trying to get into my blog for a couple of years.  Today I tried once again....and I am in!

Big Island, Hawaii Trip Day 9

Our day today consisted of packing up and starting our journey back home.  We were drop dead tired after our night hike last night but hope that will help us sleep on our flight.  Most of our pictures are landscape on the way.  We had a couple of places to stop but they didn't pan out to much.  We ended up at a cool grassy spot under a palm tree to eat our lunch, relax and reflect.  We both miss the girls and are now drawn to watching and interacting with children everywhere but at the same time it is hard to give up the time to ourselves.  Day 10 will be in flight - all night and all day.  

After seeing much of the island, although this is a dessert and
still not habitable, it has much more growth than much of the
landscape we have seen.

 Beautiful area.  Actual grass and trees, although extremely dry due to the constant wind.

Coffee bush

We stopped for an Italian treat.  Matt got canolli and said although it wasn't authentic it was still good.  I had a banana cinnamon strawberry swirl gelato.  If you've ever had gelato you know not to judge the flavor until you taste it.  It was delicious.

Even though it was closed for the entire time we were here we
still stopped at the Kona Temple.  It was peaceful just to sit on
the grounds.  A ward building next door and a view of the ocean!

We found this delicious cupcake place.  They only had 3 kinds of cupcake left for the day. Of course we had to try one of each.  Our favorite was Lilikoi or passion fruit.  Man I could have eaten 12 of those myself.  What a life - come in at 9, make cupcakes and sell them until gone and leave by 6 or when gone.  I would weigh 200 lbs in no time.

Big Island, Hawaii Trip Day 8

Our day started by helping this man with his papayas.  He had a flatbed truck filled with boxes of papayas and one of the straps broke and the boxes and so then papayas went all over the highway.  Hundreds of them everywhere.  Not one person stopped, mostly only slowed enough to drive over the fruit and squash it into the road.  When we stopped there were still the boxes impeding traffic so it must have happened just in front of us.  At one point one lady stopped, not to help mind you, but to tell us to get out of the road.  It was sad to watch, the man was looking at his profit margin probably shrinking to nothing and all people could think about was their drive being slowed by a few minutes.

We found this little island called coconut island.  If we lived a little closer it would be a perfect picnic spot and a place we would probably venture to frequently.  Busy yet peaceful.  We weren't hit by any coconuts but they have a little seed pod that looks like a small pinecone, the size of a grape, that would fall on us.   

Rainbow Falls from the ground this time

Other small falls on PeePee Street

We don't even know the name of this beach but it was the site of our afternoon nap.  It is a place frequented by honu (sea turtles) and surfers.  Matt wanted to make sure his survival skills were tuned so found a coconut he peeled and cracked open.  It was spoiled inside but he did manage to open it - which he said was the most important part.  Out in the ocean were sooooo many sea turtles.  It is hard to get a shot of them as they only come up for a brief moment to grab air and are then back down but it wasn't uncommon to see 5 heads or fins up at a time.  They were mostly smaller ones feeding on the sea weed, although we did see a few larger ones off coast a little more.  

This was a local fisherman casting his nets.

Surfer trying to stay up on the waves

So Sunday morning we found this group that is made of Hawaiian natives that will take you on a tour out to the current lava flows.  It is 4 1/2 mile walk over hardened lava, which is pretty rough terrain.  We booked the trip for tonight.  The experience was indescribable. The land we walked on was once inhabited by people living their way of life.  The lava flow has destroyed everything.  The land, which they still have to pay taxes on, is uninhabitable.  Even if you could build there the lava still threatens.  For now the people that own the land have gotten a group of them together that give tours out to the lava.  They are still in the beginning phases here but are trying to find a new way to live or at least make a living on this once beautiful, tropical but now devastated area.  

The hardened lava here looked like a sheet folded on itself.

Standing on the cliff at lava ocean entry

The heat was incredible

Lava flow on the land

We were about 5-8 feet away.

Some ocean entry shots

This is a short but good video of the sound of lava.  This is slow flowing lava called, Pahoehoe.  

Big Island, Hawaii Trip Day 7

So not as many pictures or things to report today.  We stayed in bed and just hung around the cottage most of the morning.  Took a nice long, hot bath.  Church was at 11am about a half an hour away so we ate lunch and then headed out.  It was fast and testimony meeting here today. For those of you unfamiliar with what that is, it is a once a month occurrence in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints when in place of the normal talks (or sermons) the members are given the chance to bear their own testimonies of Jesus Christ and aspects of the gospel they have found to be true due to life experiences and happenings.  It is normal within the LDS culture.  The wonderfully strange thing today was that everyone began their testimony here with "Aloha".  It means hello and goodbye in its most vague forms but it also is a way of expressing love.   In its deeper meaning it is being a part of all, and all being a part of me. When there is pain - it is my pain. When there is joy - it is also mine. I respect all that is as part of the Creator and part of me. I will not willfully harm anyone or anything. When food is needed I will take only my need and explain why it is being taken. The earth, the sky, the sea are mine to care for, to cherish and to protect. This is Hawaiian - this is Aloha!  At first it was just nice, people saying hello, then expressing love but soon it became evident it was more than that.  It is strange being among the people here.  When the whole congregation spoke Aloha back one could feel the spirit of the deeper meaning.  When a person from Hawaii says Aloha, they mean to be in unity and harmony with your real self, God, and mankind and you can feel it in their voice.  It is the strangest feeling to describe, yet when it is said you can feel it none the less.  It is a feeling of warmth and love.  The ward (congregation) was friendly and warm, inviting.  A great mixture of people and for the first time since we have been here we felt like they were all together like a family, working together to make life better.  

 After church we went back to the cottage and got a bite to eat and then back out to the National Park.

We stopped here yesterday and it looked so different.  There was a haze over everything yesterday that made it difficult to see.  It was eerie and lonely.  Matt says it is how he pictures hell to be.  Today it was different, sun shining and beautiful - but desolate.

Some ancient petroglyphs or carvings in the hardened lava found from the people of long ago.

Weird how this lava formed around in a circle

So after a while on a hike back from viewing the petroglyphs I started matching animals and such to the different lava formations much like we would clouds back in the states.  I thought this one looked like a lizard.  Matt kept telling me I needed some water but by the time we got back to the end of the trail even he was coming up with objects or animals for the strange lava formations.  We could especially imagine our younger girls having a blast running around the old lava flow shouting out, "look I see a ........., over here there is a ............"

This is an arc made from a lava flow that is being attacked by the sea - Holei Sea Arch

This is so strange to see.  The different types of lava right next to each other.  The hardened lava on the right looks like dirt that has been turned over but as you get closer you see it is hard rock that isn't at all little pieces but one enormous rock that has a crumbly looking top - really rough stuff.  I have been here 7 days now and the ever changing terrain is still most amazing and extraordinary.  One minute you are looking at rough rock, then smooth, then rough, then rain forest.  Just unbelievable.

Summit of Mount Kilauea

As it gets darker you can see the glow from the lava below.

Big Island, Hawaii Trip Day 6

Wow! Another incredible day.  I have to admit I have never been so scared in my entire life.  We took an hour ride in a no door helicopter.  Now I am not complaining by any means and I would probably do it again for the experience but....  YIKES!  First of all you have to know I am scared of heights, but only when I look directly down so thought I would be fine.  Well the wind was whipping through the back of the chopper desperately trying to pull me out, the turbulence was just like an airplane, I could not help looking straight down every time I looked out my side of the aircraft, I could feel the skin on my face being blown around like the sheets hanging to dry in a storm, and then if that wasn't scary enough pilot Pete kept banking the helicopter to go in a complete circle and I thought for sure every time that it was the end for me and I was going to be the next sacrifice to Pele the volcano god.  I am not sure why they had us go through an emergency training on water landing either because we spent most of our time over land.  Matt kept reminding me that we were like a paper weight in the air when over land - actually the last thing he said to me before we got on the chopper was, "Did you notice how they didn't show us the emergency procedure for a crash on land."  Nice calming moment!  Now it may sound like what I just did was complaining, I assure it was not - I was just really, completely and utterly terrified.  Matt on the other hand loved every moment as it brought back some of his favorite memories of the Marine Corps - helicopter rides always meant they were going to do something exciting.  The rest of the day we spent eating and wandering through Volcano National Park.  

Matt knew exactly what we were in for but at this point I was still clueless!

Have to say the views are breathtaking.

Current lava flow

Lava flowing into the ocean

Us with our pilot Pete.

The beautiful Rainbow Falls seen from the air

Our chopper with doors on (for us they were off)

A local favorite we were told we had to try called Loco Moco.
It is rice with some kind of meat on top followed by brown gravy
and a fried egg.  It is like their fast food here.  Interesting to say
the least.  I can see if you have been eating this since a child
how it would become a comfort food.  For us it can kind of be
described like Big Mac from McDonalds - haunts you the rest of
the day!  Matt had his with spam - they eat that here like we eat chicken.
Everything we ate today was Hawaiian - stopped at a road side stand
and had some of the best food either of us have ever eaten - Pit turned
 Kalbi ribs and Huli Chicken - out of this world and cheaper than anything
else we have eaten or bought at the grocery store.

Thurston Lava Tube

Me in the lava tube

We walked 4 miles total down to and then through this crater -
Kilauea Iki.
Steam vents were everywhere and at some point you could feel
the heat from the magma (underground lava)  below.  It was a cool
experience.  This time it was Matt who was freaked out.  He did not
enjoy walking where he knew lava was 300 feet or less below him
at all times.  He says a rational fear when compared to mine of the helicopter.

This is the volcano at night

Matt feeling the steam come from the vents

Love to all XOXOXO