T and A immortalized in the rock graffiti outside of Waikoloa!
Since the last time I wrote, we have been to Big Island, Hawai'i (well twice for T anyway) and Kaua'i once. After Alicia left us, we spent the second half of the vacation on Big Island with the 5 girls from school. We had Michelle, An, Bernice, and two of Michelle's sisters with us. It was a big group and we had rented a house to contain us all. It took two cars to chauffeur everyone around the altogether too large island. Michelle and I, being the only two above the age of 25 rented the cars and hence drove the cars. (We got a convertible!)
It was a whirlwind vacation. We saw the waterfalls in Hilo first. Rainbow falls, Pe'epe'e falls (Pronounced Peh-eh peh-eh not pee pee) and a few smaller ones including the boiling pots. After that, we drove to Hilo town and cruised around the Japanese park for a while. We also began spelling things with our bodies here as well. A practice that lasted the entire trip. After this we drove down to Puna where the people get hippier and the sand gets blacker. It gets blacker because it's the volcanic side of the island. We stopped at one such black sand beach and we found ourselves neck-deep in naked hippies. On the bright side, they made Tim feel very well endowed on the down side it was creepy when some naked old guys asked us if we were professional pot-rollers. then the bright side again! We saw spinner dolphins really close to shore, just jumping and having a blast in the blue waves.
Tim, An, Megan, Bernice, Jocelyn, Amy and Michelle's two sisters, Megan and Lauren.
We ended the night in the house and began the next day with a trip through Volcano National Park. we stopped at Halema'uma'u lookout, but unlike our last visit, we didn't get to go to the Jagger Museum due to the EXCESSIVE activity of Halema'uma'u and the sulfur dioxide it was pumping out. We did however, still see the Thurston Lava Tube and Kilaue'a Iki crater. But most excitingly, we saw the Chain of Craters Road. This road leads to the end where lava has knocked out the road way along the coast. We got to see the steam rising from the water as the lava entered (but as of yet, no lava). We then started back toward the park but stopped to see some old petroglyphs (or rock drawings).
The petroglyphs had great meaning to early Hawaiians. Hawaiians would bring the piko (belly button or umbilical cord) from a newborn baby down to this spot on Mauna Loa. Here they would chisel out a drawing, something about the moon, the spiritual guide, or simply a pattern with concentric circles and place the piko in it so that the manna of Mauna Loa would look after the baby.
Amy found a Honu!!!
The roomies hanging out at the Lava!
Lava flowing into the ocean...newest land in Hawai'i
After this we drove back down to Puna to do some lava-watching! At first we could see the lava far away flowing into the water, but as the sun went down, we began to see the glow getting closer and then realized that their had been a surface flow right by us the whole time! It was crazy! And of course, we wrote Hawaii'i with our bodies again!
We went to End of the World the next day and jumped off a large cliff into water. Tim's tattoo was deemed really cool by a local girl and everyone jumped (except Jocelyn and Megan). Haha...HoWeVeR! This was where Pele started to get back at us for the girls peeing on her. Tim got a shell in his finger (that he thought was a sea urchin, but it wasn't), Bernice fell and almost killed herself on some rocks before we even jumped and on the way back to the car, Michelle's sister fell and scraped herself all up! Since the End of the World is on the Kona side, we went to Kona that day to see some of the sites and then head north to Mauna Kea.
I swear this is ACTUALLY Saturn!!!
Mauna Kea was GORGEOUS! At the visitor center about 6 Miles up the mountain, they set up 30 centimeter telescopes aimed at various objects in the sky. One was focused on Saturn which was in Leo at the time. Another at the Orion Nebula and another at the Pleiades or Seven Sisters or Subaru if you are from Japan. I have never seen so many stars. In fact, we even saw the Milky WAY!!! I was stoked! I've never seen anything that cool in all my life. I was dumbstruck...it was cold, but very very awesome!
T and A at the Royal Hawaiian hotel in Waikiki!
Out for Amy's B-day!
When we got back from Big Island, Amy and Tim went to celebrate Amy's birthday by staying at the Royal Hawaiian Hotel. Anyone who has ever been to O'ahu has seen this pink hotel in Waikiki. It was a really cool place to stay and we got strawberries and champagne! We also met the girls out that night and had a nice dinner at the Cheesecake Factory. It was a pretty outrageous night! The next day we woke up and hung out on the beach after breakfast and then took the bus home to see Meg's parents! Meg and Jocelyn both had their parents out, but Meg's were at home and Jocelyn's were staying in town.
Bernice, Guy, Megan and Taylor on a Booze Cruise out of Waikiki!Meg's dad Guy and I had ourselves a rivalry war with Jerseys from our Rival teams of Red Sox/Yankees and Patriots/Giants. The competition did get out of hand every once in a while, but I think we all know who won! hahaha... Guy and Karen left after a week and so did Joc's parents, so we were back to our foursome for a bit, until Tim's parents came out a week later. They stayed for two weeks and during those two weeks, I'm pretty sure they saw every once of O'ahu and Big Island.
Unfortunately, into every life, a little rain must fall, as the proverb says. Amy's grandfather had a stroke the day after Tim's parents arrived on island. Of course Amy had to return home to be with family, but Tim and his parents had already purchased their tickets for Big Island. So Amy went home for the wake and the funeral, and the Fitzgibbon clan went to discover Big Island.
T and Mom going deep into the Thurston Lava Tube...Way past the lighted part.
On the Big Island, the Fitz's saw Kona first, since they were on that side, but they also paid a lot of visits to the entire Kona coast. They saw Captain Cook's monument (from afar) and went snorkeling at Hanalu'u Bay Beach Park. They also got a chance to see World's End, and the Heiau up in Kohala. Tim got to take them all along the north shore of Big Island, too. They went to Pololu Valley, Waimea and Waipi'o Valley and up to Akaka Falls. They, too saw the Lava in Puna, swam in the Hot pools and visited Volcano National Park only this time, they got to see the Jagger Museum since the wind was blowing the gasses away from the Museum. It was a really good visit that T had with his parents.
T and Mom at Waipi'o Lookout!
Double Rainbow on Waimea with Mom and Dad Fitz!
Back on the Meeting Place, O'ahu, Amy returned and it was back to work for a bit. Mom and Dad Fitz got a chance to roam alone to some places and then Amy and T took them to Waimea Bay and Waimea Falls that weekend. We kind of had a rough weekend to go to Wainea Falls as it was in the midst of a pretty bad drought. But it was a nice walk and we had a good time. We finished the rents visit with a Germaine's Luau like last year. It was a good time, good food and a good send off to them. The next day, Amy went to work and Tim took his parents to the airport to go home. It was a shortened send off, due to the stupid car making an awful smell and refusing to work properly, but it was a great two weeks with the family together a little bit.
The following Friday, the whole house joined 7 other teachers from the Leeward coast, Michelle, An, Bernice, Beth, Tine, Colleen, and Erin and one marine (sorry again Taylor) and went to the Garden Isle of Kaua'i for the long weekend (granted it was a self-made long weekend). On Kaua'i
again, we rented a house and this time three cars, the drivers again were the only ones old enough to avoid the 25 dollar/day surcharge for youth, Erin, Tim and Michelle.Amy, An, Tim, Michelle, Beth, Taylor, Megan, Bernice, Tine, Jocelyn, Erin and Colleen.
The only time T and A had been to Kaua'i they had only seen Waimea, Polihale and the south shore beaches, (which I've already described in a previous post) so this time, they tried to steer the group a little bit away from things they'd already seen. The first day was a Waimea Canyon Day (give yourself 10 points if you spotted the fact that I've said Waimea on all three Islands!), we saw the Canyon and then the South Shore through the Tree Tunnel. We saw the Spouting Horn and Lay out on Poipu Beach. After that, we headed back to the house.
The next day, we all split up. Two cars went Horseback Riding up in Princeville, and we went on a helicopter tour of the entire island, Amy, Tim, Jocelyn, Taylor and Megan. I can't even describe to you the feeling of flying over the Na Pali coast and seeing the canyon from the sky. The river that Amy and Tim kayaked on last year, we found out was used to film Indiana Jones when he was running from the cannibals to the water plane. We also saw the Waterfall from Jurassic Park. Anyway, we finished our trip to Kaua'i by going on a few excursions to a Hindu Monastery and then to a waterfall, while the
other girls went to the beach to chill....T and A IN A HELICOPTER!!
Waterfall from Jurassic Park
Car # 1 at Hanalei Elementary school, Riding some waves!
Needless to say it was a crazy Monday coming back to work, but it was a lot of fun while it lasted.
Until next time, when, hopefully I'm less forced to right about a whole month....
