Hawaii Part 3

Next stop, The Big Island!  On Sunday we made our way from Kauai to Kona to spend time with friends and do some more playing!  It was really interesting arriving in Kona because the landscape is drastically different than it is in Kauai.  The "garden island" as Kauai is also called, definitely lived up to that name, lush, beautiful, exotic.  First thought of Kona was, "this looks like the plains of eastern Colorado!?"  However, after spending more time on the island we thoroughly enjoyed it as well and came to think the landscape was quite beautiful in its own way.  The land is dark with black lava rocks and occasional plant peeking out and blooming among it.  Then, winding through the barren land as you head toward the ocean, you find amazing vegetation and beautiful beaches.  We saw so many beautiful sites.

The contrasting landscapes of The Big Island

The place we were blessed with to stay was called the Ohana Retreat. It was amazing as well.  Every morning Nate went out to the orchard and picked a variety of fruits for our breakfast.  He, especially,  LOVED all the fruits!  There were all different types of trees and plants - citrus, mango, banana, coconut, papaya, pineapple, soursop, jack fruit, chico, coffee, cacao (chocolate)...just to name a few! The gardener, a filipino man named Alvin, was very helpful in getting Nate LOTS of fruits to bring back to the rest of us. Memories of our time in the Philippines came flooding back with some of the fruits we ate.

Nate and Alvin getting into some sugar cane

Some of the plantation at the Ohana Retreat

We really enjoyed spending time with and meeting new friends while we were there as well.  And it was great for Nate to have some other guys to adventure with - I am not too fond of jumping off cliffs into unknown water - maybe I should just say I had NO desire to jump off any cliff, even if the water looked beautifully enticing!

So we spent some days with the group and some days off on our own. 

The adventures we had with the group were loads of fun! 

~Hiking to a waterfall - "just an easy hike really" - ended up to be a bit of a trek for those in flip flops!  With a few river crossings and drizzly rain through a beautiful rainforest, we came upon a huge waterfall.  Of course the guys jumped off some of the lower cliffs!

                           

Nate and Matt enjoying the waterfall to the fullest!

~Driving to South Point (the southern most point in the United States) and doing a bit of cliff jumping there as well.

On our way to South Point we came across a field of horses,
the site was so beautiful and they were so friendly,
coming right up to the fence when we stopped to shoot some pictures.

The green sand!

~4-Wheel driving to Green Sands Beach (yes, the sand was actually green!) - thanks for the fun in the jeep Melissa and Nathan!

~Exploring Volcano National Park - it was rainy and so cold when we got there and the low clouds didn't allow for very good views.  Then the clouds lifted and we saw some amazing sites.

Trying to warm ourselves with the steam from the volcano! It was rainy and cold!

A little more cliff jumping, an attempt to swim with the manta rays, and an attempt by Nate to surf...well, it all was loads of fun!

Nate taking the lead

On the days we were alone, you would find us in beach chairs, reading, sitting, soaking in the sun, relaxing, Nate did some snorkeling - it was wonderful! We found some incredible beaches that surprisingly were not all that busy.  One night we stayed until sunset and there was just one other lady on the beach where we were.

The last day we were there we found a beach that was fairly busy but still not too bad.  The travel book said that if you close your eyes and picture the perfect beach, this would be it!  It was really nice, the sand was so soft, the water calm.  Nate saw a turtle swim by...sounds a bit like paradise.  The one problem with that beach was there were a lot of kids and that made us really miss our babies! Thankfully we had had a marvelous time and we knew the kids were doing great with grandma and grandpa, but it was time for us to head back home to reality.

Never a dull moment though for us, you know we do like an adventure!  We arrived at the Kona airport about 1 1/2 hours before our flight and because we wanted to grab a bite to eat before we started our journey home.  However, because of our initial mix up at the beginning of our travels (missing our flight!) we encountered all sorts of problems along the way.  We waited for over an hour for them to get us checked in, Nate had to run between two airlines' counters trying to figure the problem out.  A very nice couple just looked over at me and I guess i had a look on my face that showed I was stresses.  The man gave me a hug and I burst into tears.  I didn't even realize I was so tense until he did that. They encouraged me that they were sure it would work out and we would make the flight and even offered for us to stay at their house in Cali when we arrived.  Finally the issue (whatever it was) got worked out and we started through a long security line with about 10 minutes to spare.  They eventually moved us to the front of the line and then escorted us through the airport to the plane, we were the last ones on but we made it!  The friendly couple that hugged me was on the plane too and were so excited to see us get on!

We had an interesting stay in the Oakland airport - our plane came in at 9:30pm and we didn't fly out until 5am, so we "slept" in the airport.  We were highly entertained by the international flight that came in at 12am and then I "enjoyed" my book the rest of the night while Nate dozed off and on.  Finally we got on our plane to Denver and arrived home around 11am to greet our wonderful kiddos and family.

As I look back on our entire time I just smile and think about how wonderful it was.  Yes, there were some hard parts but over all it was amazing, wonderful, beautiful, and inspiring.  I am so thankful for the time I got to spend with my love and ALL the adventures we had.