Hang loose, Hawai'i

Before we moved to California in June, my parents and grandparents had planned a 2-week vacation in Hawai'i.  Once we had made the decision to move our lives to Silicon Valley, I joked that if I wasn't working by September, Lou and I would come to Hawai'i for a visit.  Well, Nate was able to take time off, so we took off for a Hawaiian adventure - our first time to the BIG ISLAND - Friday through Tuesday.

We stayed in Kona and had a wonderful, relaxing time.  Louisa instantly re-bonded with her Belle Mere (my mom) which was no surprise.  The awesome surprise was the love that developed for my dad, her Papa.  They walked outside after dinner to find the moon and played silly games together.  Such a nice break for me!  She also holds a special place in her heart for my grandma, who taught her how to "throw kisses" this summer.

On Saturday I was showered with attention, as if I was going to have a hard time leaving my twenties behind.  We went on a short but steep hike to Pololu Valley Beach.  Our guide book described it this way: The beach itself is a nice wide expanse of fine black sand surrounded by sheer green cliffs and backed by high dunes dotted with pine trees. Yes, I agree. It was gorgeous.

A view from the top

Giving Nate extra-long arms with the wide-angle lens

After a nice lunch at Bamboo in Hawi, we headed back to Kona on a highway lined by black lava fields where visitors often stop with white rocks to design messages.  We didn't have any white rocks and I felt guilty using Nate's suggestion of rearranging someone else's message into our own, so we just drove on by.

Sunday morning we rented snorkles and saw some beautiful fish and one terrifying eel at Kahaluu Beach Park. My mom and grandparents stayed with a napping Loubear on the beach while I snorkled with Nate...yet another attempt to get over my silly fear of fish. I would say I was at my bravest that day.  Sunday afternoon we took a tour of the Kona Brewing Company and sadly learned that all of their bottled beer we had drank was brewed and bottled in Oregon. Apparently they just keg beer at the actual Kona Brewing Company.  That wasn't nearly enough for me to finally agree to let Nate start kegging his beer.

Monday, our last full day on the island, started off with a visit to Magic Sands beach, where we hoped to let Lou ride around on a boogie board.  Unfortunately the waves were surf-able, so too big for Louisa.  Instead, Nate dove around in the waves while Lou dipped her toes in.

Standing up to the waves

We re-grouped at the resort before heading to the south-east portion of the island for a visit to Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. Unfortunately there was no active flow during our visit, but it was still very cool to see the crater and the steam vents.

Nice of us to bring jackets for ourselves but not for Lou, huh?

The crater formed after the last eruption

So much fun with Belle Mere and Papa