Hawaii -- Odds & Ends

Pu'uhonua o Honaunau National Historic Park
Do you notice any resemblance?
Walking through Lava Tree State Park.

Resting at Lava Tree State Park.

Picture with grandma at Akaka Falls State Park.
Waipio Valley


Mule drawn wagon ride in Waipio Valley
Our trusty mules.





Wild horse that lives in the valley.

Hawaii - Whale Watching

On this day we went whale watching outside of Kona with Captain Dan. I'm hoping to see whales up close. A whale can grow to the size of a school bus.

Hmmm....this boat sure looks like the boat Gilligan and the Skipper used on their 3 hour tour. I seem to remember that didn't turn out so well. Seated with a sea sick mommy on our ride out to the whales.

The whales out of curiousity came right up to our boat. This was exciting for everybody!

They swam around our boat, diving and surfacing. I liked it when they would swim under our boat and also when water would spray out of their spouts.

Kilauea Volcano

On this trip I got to see an active volcano and lava rocks for the first time. I was really looking forward to this.

I probably shouldn't have watched the short video at the visitor center before seeing Kilauea. It showed all the violent eruptions in the recent past in rapid succession. Upon leaving the visitor center, I didn't want to get out of the car at first. Here is a picture with mommy after I reluctantly agreed to leave the safety of the car.
Lava rock was EVERYWHERE!
Lava rock even blocked the road.
Walking on lava rock is fun and tricky. My gymnastics and yoga classes really helped with my balance when walking on the uneven and jagged rocks. At the end of our day, we had to walk a long way back to the car. It was getting dark fast!

Eating well. Very well!

One of the best things about being on vacation is eating whatever you want, when you want.

Just down the road from our "Hilo house" was Whats Shakin' Smoothies. They offer the best smoothies in the world, so it would be a crime to pass up a smoothie...right? Not to worry, we still found time for the flavored shave ice.

I'm not sure what I'm eating here, but it's a lot of food.

I think I ate too much.
This gentleman was sitting on a bench outside a Kona smoothie place. He seemed like a nice enough man, but didn't say much.

Cracking the yummy macadamia nuts with mommy before our Waipio Valley wagon ride.

Waiting patiently for the Portuguese malasadas (jelly filled donuts).

Let's end this post. Can't talk right now.

Let's Go Surfing

After watching the local surfers for a while, I decided to give surfing a try. It looked like a lot of fun. I grabbed my shortboard and headed down to the black sand beach.
My goal was modest, I'd put on a show for the babelini's with a couple of acid drops. More importantly, I would try to avoid getting "maytagged" or "bum trucked".



One of my fellow surfers getting maytagged.

Here I'm heading out to shred some gnarly waves. Hopefully, I won't look like a durfer.

Here daddy is scoopin' me out after some bum truckin'.

Feeling like a total butt crumb, but mommy and grandma still love me.

Another great day at the beach.

Big Island Hawaii - "The Beach"

You can only take so much of a Wisconsin winter before you have to get out of town. We decided to give Hawaii another crack. This time it's the Big Island.


The first thing I wanted to do after a long flight was to hug a palm tree.
The second thing I wanted to do was hit the beach.
Nice alternative to sunscreen.
My favorite thing to do at the beach is get slammed or as I say "biffed" by the big waves.


It's been a while since I've worn my sunglasses. Can you tell?