Big Island 2019

Calvin recently took a bike tour around the Big Island of Hawaii and I joined him for a week of relaxation afterward. This was not our first trip to Hawaii, so we weren't quite as anxious to see everything, but we had a few good side trips retracing Calvin's bike tour. We rented an older condo in Kona with a spectacular view of the balcony.

One might be content to spend a week just enjoying the view

But we managed to travel a little beyond the balcony.  One day we went north to visit Pu'ukohola Heieau which was the last large temple built by Kamehameha when he consolidated his kingship of all the islands.

Cannons were placed on the lower rock embankment around 1790, which marked the advancement from the stone age to the modern world for the Hawaiian culture.
We stopped at Spencer Beach, which is a perfectly lovely beach

but Calvin had camped there on his bike tour and discovered an even lovelier beach down the Ala Kahaki Trail.

Mau'umae Beach

Another day we went south and rented kayaks to paddle to the Captain Cook monument.  I forgot the underwater camera, so no sea pictures, but the water was so clear we could see the fish from the kayak.

After kayaking we toured the "Place of Refuge" where early Hawaiians who had broken the law could be forgiven if they could just get there before they were caught.

 And we made a side trip to visit the "Painted Church."

One day Calvin rode his bike north and I drove to explore some petroglyphs the same direction. The trail to the petroglyphs was through a spiky treed forest

and the up a dry path

 to a smooth lava flow that was just covered with stick figure petroglyphs.  The was a little variety, but most just looked like this.

After we got back together we circled inland to see a little of the famous green hills that you expect to find in Hawaii.

Another trip was to visit the volcano.  We stopped at the southern most bakery in the United States for lunch.

The recent eruptions have changed the crater, but it was hard to get a good photo of the crater because it is so big.

 So we took pictures of ourselves instead

We spent several delightful evenings enjoying dinner at local restaurants on the beach.

And we had one delightful lunch in the middle of a rainstorm.

There is a reason Hawaii is so green

Big Island of Hawaii 1986

We recently spent some time on the "big island" and it reminded me a little bit of the first time we visited in 1986.  Our kids were just 1, 3, 5 and 7 and we had not flown a lot as a family.  I am still eternally grateful to the man sitting in the row behind us who played "Go Fish" with Butch for almost the entire flight. It was our first trip to Hawaii and I had visions of a lush jungle paradise, so I was a little disappointed when the plane landed in the middle of a barren lava flow. 

Calvin and I were not sure if we would ever travel to Hawaii with the kids again, so we wanted to have the full island experience.  We logged over 1000 miles on the minivan that we rented that trip. As it turned out we made a few more trips to the islands, but this was the only trip to the big island with the whole family.

I've been scouring the old family photos and only came up with a few from that trip.  We seem to have more of Peter, but that might be because some of the other photos have found their way to new homes.  At any rate, here is our family on the big island in 1986.

and one last picture of Peter standing on a lava flow that was born the on the day and year of his birthday.

Easter Egg Hunt 2019

We never really had an Easter Egg Hunt tradition in our family when the kids were growing up.  Our Easter tradition was to go somewhere fun on Spring break. But I kind of like the concept of an Easter Egg Hunt, so we had one with the grandkids this year.  We had the good fortune to plan it for the only sunny day in what seems like months. We tried to let the younger kids get a little head start, but I realized after it was over that we hid a fair number of eggs above their line of sight, so they were still at a disadvantage.

Sylvan and Ingrid came a little early,looking cute in their Easter outfits, so when I decided to take them outside for a few picture, Sylvan grabbed the old digital camera that the grandkids use and took a few pictures of his own.

I didn't get great pictures, but Sylvan did a pretty good job for a three year old.  

These are his pictures.

After dinner we gathered all the kids-ready to go

Ingrid did a pretty good job for a first timer

Everyone waited patiently for Ingrid to find 5 eggs and then it pretty much turned into a free for all.

The light was beautiful, so I tried family pictures, but without much success.  The eggs were way too interesting.

We went inside and cracked open a bunch of plastic eggs.

Then the kids gathered themselves on the swing for one more photo op.

It is so fun having grandkids in town.

In the Jungle

While we were in Mexico we spent a little time exploring the jungles and Mayan Ruins, none of which are that exciting to a 3 year old and a 1 year old, but Sylvan and Ingrid were good sports.

We visited the Tulum ruins.  Calvin and I had been there a couple of times, but like all popular attractions, the popularity diminishes the enjoyment for me.  We took the bus and hired a guide so we could skip the lines.  The bus was fun...

but Sylvan was most impressed with the lizards

and the coati was cool too.

 The ruins provide a great backdrop for pictures, but the kids were getting a little tired.

Peter and Rachel tried to reproduce a picture they had taken on their honeymoon, but there were a lot of people in the picture.

 Calvin and I managed a smile, we didn't have to haul around cranky toddlers.

 Another day we went to a different Mayan ruin site  ...Muyil.  Dating from about 300 BC it is the oldest settlement near the coast. It is in a park-like jungle setting with only a few tourists and required more attempts at a family picture.

 This is the castle, the tallest structure in the area

The walk in the jungle was the best part.

After our jungle adventure I talked everyone into a trip to Tulum beach, which is one of my very favorite beaches.  It was windy and crowded, but I still love it.

Sylvan was a brave ocean adventurer

 and thought being tumbled by the waves was great fun...at least for a little while.

This was lunch at a beach palapa near our house

and this is on a shuttle bus to a different terminal on our way home...just a couple of commuters.

What a fun adventure!