(no subject)
Greetings from freezing cold Minnesota! I'm back from Hawaii and thought I'd do a journal entry to tell you all about it. Since it's a long one, and there are pics, I'll be kind with an LJ cut.
First of all, it was a wonderful trip. The weather was great, it was good to see family, and Mark and I had a great time. Here are some of the highlights.
-The weather was wonderful! It was between 70 and 80 every day with sunny skies and a warm, gentle breeze. It never rained.
-The condo we stayed in was great. Very spacious with a nice large kitchen. And the greatest porch (or lani) that looked out onto a tree that birds frequented (helped by the seed we put out there!) and the golf course. We spent a lot of time reading on the porch and by the pool.
-Other fun activities that we did include going to the beach for the day, going on a snorkel cruise, going to Volcanoes National Park, driving around the whole island, touring a coffee farm, going to Kona Brewing Company, and cooking at home.
-The beach was a lot of fun, although I'm not a big fan of sand and we all got quite sunburned, despite sun screen! But we got to boogey board and play in the surf, and just read on the beach. It was lovely.
-The snorkel cruise was the highlight of the trip by far. We got to see whales, snorkel at two different places and see lots of beautiful fish, coral and sea turtles. We also got right into a bunch of sea caves and learned a lot about the history of Kona and Hawaii. That was my favorite part of the trip.
-The trip around the island was one of the things I really wanted to do, and I'm glad we did! It's amazing how many different climates Hawaii has...tropical rain forest, desert, farm land, grass land, snow-capped mountains, and lots of others. During that trip we went to Volcanoes National Park, which was really cool. We didn't get to see any active lava (it's accessible by air only right now), but seeing the old lava flows was really impressive. There's also an area where the lava is still causing steam and warming the ground. That was neat too.
-The coffee farm was quaint! The tour was very informal, but it was neat to see how it's all made and to see what a coffee plant looks like. Not what I would have expected. Mark came home with a pound of Kona coffee...he's enjoying it!
-The food situation was great. Mark and I cooked two nights, we went out a couple of times to some really excellent resturants, and the rest of the family cooked a few times as well. I just love how fresh the fish is there! I wish we could get good fresh fish like that.
The only downside to the trip was coming home...Mark and I had tickets from Kona to Honolulu, Honolulu to Phoenix, Phoenix to Minneapolis starting Friday night and getting to Minneapolis Saturday afternoon. We made our Kona flight just fine, but our next leg was canceled. So we ended up getting stuck in Honolulu for an extra day. Aw shucks...an extra day in Hawaii and getting put up for free at the Hilton Waikiki. Still, we lost a lot of sleep because of the flight cancellation and missed out and about a day of recovery time at home.
And now for some pics!
The sun setting behind a palm tree
Mauna Loa
Akaka Falls
Volcanoes National Park
A sea turtle
Protecting the shoreline at Place of Refuge
Me and Mark
There are of course A LOT more pictures (about 200 total), but these are a few of the highlights. If you want to see more, just let me know and I'll send them along via email.
On the whole, it was a wonderful trip and one that will be remembered for a long time to come. Now we are back to the usual routine...work, cold weather (it's been below 0 for at least a portion of the day every day for nearly 2 weeks), and winter time in Minnesota. I'm working this weekend, as is Mark. Got to pay for this vacation somehow!
Anyway, hope you are all well! Take care and stay warm!
First of all, it was a wonderful trip. The weather was great, it was good to see family, and Mark and I had a great time. Here are some of the highlights.
-The weather was wonderful! It was between 70 and 80 every day with sunny skies and a warm, gentle breeze. It never rained.
-The condo we stayed in was great. Very spacious with a nice large kitchen. And the greatest porch (or lani) that looked out onto a tree that birds frequented (helped by the seed we put out there!) and the golf course. We spent a lot of time reading on the porch and by the pool.
-Other fun activities that we did include going to the beach for the day, going on a snorkel cruise, going to Volcanoes National Park, driving around the whole island, touring a coffee farm, going to Kona Brewing Company, and cooking at home.
-The beach was a lot of fun, although I'm not a big fan of sand and we all got quite sunburned, despite sun screen! But we got to boogey board and play in the surf, and just read on the beach. It was lovely.
-The snorkel cruise was the highlight of the trip by far. We got to see whales, snorkel at two different places and see lots of beautiful fish, coral and sea turtles. We also got right into a bunch of sea caves and learned a lot about the history of Kona and Hawaii. That was my favorite part of the trip.
-The trip around the island was one of the things I really wanted to do, and I'm glad we did! It's amazing how many different climates Hawaii has...tropical rain forest, desert, farm land, grass land, snow-capped mountains, and lots of others. During that trip we went to Volcanoes National Park, which was really cool. We didn't get to see any active lava (it's accessible by air only right now), but seeing the old lava flows was really impressive. There's also an area where the lava is still causing steam and warming the ground. That was neat too.
-The coffee farm was quaint! The tour was very informal, but it was neat to see how it's all made and to see what a coffee plant looks like. Not what I would have expected. Mark came home with a pound of Kona coffee...he's enjoying it!
-The food situation was great. Mark and I cooked two nights, we went out a couple of times to some really excellent resturants, and the rest of the family cooked a few times as well. I just love how fresh the fish is there! I wish we could get good fresh fish like that.
The only downside to the trip was coming home...Mark and I had tickets from Kona to Honolulu, Honolulu to Phoenix, Phoenix to Minneapolis starting Friday night and getting to Minneapolis Saturday afternoon. We made our Kona flight just fine, but our next leg was canceled. So we ended up getting stuck in Honolulu for an extra day. Aw shucks...an extra day in Hawaii and getting put up for free at the Hilton Waikiki. Still, we lost a lot of sleep because of the flight cancellation and missed out and about a day of recovery time at home.
And now for some pics!
The sun setting behind a palm tree
Mauna Loa
Akaka Falls
Volcanoes National Park
A sea turtle
Protecting the shoreline at Place of Refuge
Me and Mark
There are of course A LOT more pictures (about 200 total), but these are a few of the highlights. If you want to see more, just let me know and I'll send them along via email.
On the whole, it was a wonderful trip and one that will be remembered for a long time to come. Now we are back to the usual routine...work, cold weather (it's been below 0 for at least a portion of the day every day for nearly 2 weeks), and winter time in Minnesota. I'm working this weekend, as is Mark. Got to pay for this vacation somehow!
Anyway, hope you are all well! Take care and stay warm!