Hawaii Hike & Snorkel

We've come to the end of the Hawaii pictures... sad, but true.

In the guidebooks we repeatedly read that Kealakekua Bay was THE best snorkeling on the island of Hawaii. However, there was a "kayak moratorium" put in place in January of this year, making it extremely difficult to access the bay. The most straightforward way to get there was a 2 mile hike down to the bay along an old, overgrown 4-wheel drive road. It was about 1500 feet down...and back up :) and took us about an hour each way. We packed a lunch and some snorkel gear and made a day of it. It was probably our favorite day of the whole trip :)

Heading down. We're definitely not used to hiking DOWN before hiking up. It was an Alaska hike in reverse.

The snorkel cove.

Our "secret" spot where we dropped our gear.

The snorkeling was AMAZING!!

3 years ago: Cook with Steph and Liz #3

2 years ago: Korean Mandoo

1 year ago: Thai Beef Salad

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Another Hawaiian Sunset

There's definitely not a shortage of pictures from our trip to Hawaii... I just couldn't get enough of the sunsets! That's probably because we've been living in the Alaska darkness, aka winter. During the winter we're always at the office still when the sunsets. Boo. However, we have waaay more sunlight than we did even a month ago and I'm happy to report that it's light outside during my commute home.

Date Night

Outside our condo

"A Bay"

Beach Sunset

Dinner, right on the beach. Gorgeous views. And a drink menu on an iPad. Swanky.

Sunshine glow.

Great meal too!

Well, maybe a little small on the Ross portion but he supplemented at home :)

3 years ago: Wedding Shower

2 years ago: My Body Hurts

1 year ago: Weeknight Treat

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Volcano National Park

On our trip to the Big Island, we drove to the east side of the island to visit Volcano National Park . Here's a blurb from the National Park Service Website:

Volcanoes are also prodigious land builders - they have created the Hawaiian Island chain. Kīlauea and Mauna Loa, two of the world's most active volcanoes, are still adding to the island of Hawaiʻi. Mauna Loa is the most massive mountain on Earth occupying an estimated volume of 19,999 cubic miles. The current summit of Mauna Loa stands about 56,000 feet (17,000 m) above the depressed sea floor. This is more than 27,000 feet (8,230 m) higher than Mount Everest. In contrast to the explosive continental volcanoes, the more fluid and less gaseous eruptions of Kīlauea and Mauna Loa produce fiery fountains and rivers of molden lava. These flows, added layer upon layer, produced a barren volcanic landscape that served as a fountain for life. 

Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea are both located on the big island. Ross and I were surprised to learn that Mauna Loa is 56,000' from the sea floor- way taller than Mount Everest. We weren't able to see any active lava flows, just steam vents, but lava rocks definitely make for an interesting landscape.

This picture helps you understand the volcano connections among the different Hawaiian islands.

The lava rock sparkles in the sunshine, but it's BAD LUCK to take any off the island...

We took a path up to the top of a peak for a scenic overlook of the park. 

Who's that?! :)

We're a bit spoiled living in Alaska, which makes us a tough crowd when it comes to natural beauty. We are glad we visited the park, but it just didn't have the "WOW" factor that we were expecting based on reviews we'd read/heard about.

3 years ago: Let's Paint

2 years ago: Eklutna Lake

1 year ago: Material Girl

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Hawaii: Canoe House Restaurant

We enjoyed some fabulous sunset meals right on the beach while in Hawaii.  We went to the "Canoe House" near Mauna Lani resort for our first meal out. It was beautiful. Here are a couple pictures of the scenery...

The Canoe House Restaurant

 It takes "table with a view" to a new level!

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Madison Leigh Huebel

Madison Leigh Huebel was born on Sunday, 8lbs 4oz.  Rejoice!!

Adam and Danielle are gonna be great parents :)

3 years ago: Mr. Officer

2 years ago: North Slope

1 year ago: Quinoa, Spinach, & Mushroom Salad

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Island Exploration

It's a quasi long story, but Hertz upgraded us to a brand new 4x4 Jeep Wrangler on our Hawaii adventure. We were actually the first people to drive the car, so naturally we had to break in the 4 wheel drive and do some off-roading. Naturally...

A coast off the northern shore. Rough seas and so windy!

We had to drive down a pretty sketchy 1-way road for about 2 miles to get to the scenic overlook. Bumpity Bump Bump, scratch... Good thing it's not our car!

Top down.

The next day we went to Mauna Kea beach, which is supposed to be one of the best beaches on all of Hawaii. It really was beautiful; a nice half-moon shape, with crystal clear blue water, white sand, and the palm trees blowing in the wind. But oh, the WIND!! We literally got sand blasted on the day we went. We weren't able to us the beach chairs, which were for "paying hotel guests only", so we were subjected to a lot of sand. We were finding sand in our ears, nose, hair, etc for the next few days.

Mauna Kea Resort

3 years ago: Puppy, 3 ways

2 years ago: North Slope

1 year ago: Chicken Tortilla Soup

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