Big Island 2008
We made it to Hawaii and back despite two airlines folding (not ours thankfully). Connor and I had a wonderful time. We spent a lot of time at Hapuna Beach swimming with the honu (green sea turtles). They like to swim right by people for some reason, so we would just swim along with them. We also went kayaking out of Keauhou Bay and went snorkeling in Kealakekua Bay by the Captain Cook monument. We saw spinner dolphins showing off for some kayakers at Kealakekua Bay. They were breaching the water and doing flips in the air. We decided that next year, we will rent kayaks on our own and kayak the bay and see if we can get the same response.
We were also able to visit Volcanoes National Park and see Halemu'u crater spewing clouds of ash. Most of the park was closed because of the potentially hazardous fumes, but we were able to see the crater from afar. After spending some time at the park, we drove to the other side of the mountain and hiked across a lava field to see the where the lava is actively flowing into the ocean. We didn't actually see the lava, but you could see the steam rising out of the water in big plumes. It was quite the adventure. We had to drive across the lava field that covered the road in order to get to the viewing area. Of course there were many signs telling us of the danger we could expect. There was also a stray dog living in the lava field. When we were there, it was sunning itself on the lava. The police officers at the park told us that they had been trying to catch it for a while, but couldn't. It seems to like living there.
We left Thursday and got home Friday, but Mom and Dad stayed another day. They met with a real estate agent that is somehow related to us. They have been wanting to move to Hawaii for a while and found out some interesting facts about living on the Big Island. The agent told them that the most expensive place to live on the island is Hawi, on the northern part of the island; the least expensive areas are near Kona and south of Hilo. It's entirely possible that they will buy a house on the Big Island. It sounded like there plan is to buy a house before they plan to actually move and then have a property management company rent it out for them. If that happens, I'm thinking I'm going to have to rent the place out for a month and start inviting friends out to visit. Wouldn't that be fun?
The picture below was taken off of Anaehoomalu Bay in Waikoloa. We weren't staying at the fancy resorts there, but just stopped by for a vist and this great picture.
