Hawaii Day 3 Thanksgiving!

Jonny made crepes for breakfast on Thanksgiving morning. Then we headed off on our own while everyone else went into Volcanoes National Park. Since we’d been there recently, and explored the park pretty well, we decided to go further south. Soon we found our way to a black sand beach, which was pretty cool.

We woke up to a rainbow!

The boys enjoyed the deck so much!

We started in the tide pools, and Mark immediately spotted a tiny worm thing that could only have been an eel. Over on the beach, the turtles came right in close to us. We could see 5 of them just under the surface, their green bodies standing out on the jet black sand. We only stayed for a little while because we wanted to continue south.

This beach is so picturesque with the palm trees along the edge.

It was a very unique black sand beach.

The eel Mark spotted.

The turtles were right in the waves at the edge of the beach.

We saw a bunch!

The black sand was awesome, but hot on the feet!

We had a great time!

The very most southern tip of America was just to the south, so we decided to drive out and see what it was like. Before we got that far, though, we stopped in a small town called Punalu’u for Hawaiian donuts called malasadas. We bought about a dozen, from sugar-coated, to fruit filled, with mango, strawberry, coconut, and cream being a few of the favorites. That was all we had for lunch, but we really enjoyed them. 

We were very far south!

We inhaled these malasadas!

Further down the coast, we were surprised at how interesting the southern point was. There were fisherman pulling up little silver fish on every cast. There was a massive blow hole, where the ocean thundered below. We walked over to some tide pools and saw little fish and crabs, and even a few larger fish, as large your foot, stranded in the shallow water. Best of all, the waves were crashing and the water was a perfect turquoise blue. You could stand on the edge of the cliff and look down at the fish in the perfectly clear water 30 feet below.

The water was beautiful.

We could see the fish even though the drop was really far!

A nice lady took our photo by the blowhole!

The Southernmost point of the United States.

We saw a bunch of crabs.

It was a fun place to explore.

We loved looking in the tide pools.

Dad climbed out by the big waves crashing in!

This tan beach is all coral. So that looks heavy, but it weighs as much as a pencil.

Good stop!

We could have turned around and driven back to Hilo, but we decided to go left and continue west across the south coast. The drive was long, and we eventually got close to Kona. There is a beach there that is really popular for snorkeling, and we’d never tried it. It was called Two-Step Beach, and it was by far the best snorkeling spot we’d ever seen. There was a place to sit almost like a couch to put on your flippers. As you did, yellow tangs swam right around your toes. Then you pushed off and instantly the water opened up below you. It was around 15 feet deep, and there were hundreds of bright yellow fish in swarms right under your nose. The water was calm and deep, and there were no currents. We saw even more fish than we’d seen at the other two snorkel spots, and there were a lot of varieties. In a few places, you’d look around and see hundreds of fish of dozens of different kinds atop the reef. Mom really enjoyed this spot, and Seth went out the deepest where the water dropped off to around 30 feet deep. We are convinced this was the best snorkeling spot in the world.

You could sit right on the edge before getting in.

Definitely the best snorkeling spot.

I put my phone in by my feet before I got in and there are three different fish in this pic.

So many yellow tangs!

Seth was an awesome snorkeler.

Seriously, so many!

It was a long drive back around the north side of the island to Hilo, but no one seemed to mind. We got back to Hilo around 5 o’clock, which was just in time to start heating the Thanksgiving feast. We’d ordered a bit of precooked food, including 2 turkeys, mashed potatoes and gravy, stuffing, kalua pork, cranberry sauce, and some pies and cheesecake we picked up at Costco. This was perfect, and everyone got plenty of food. 

Since this was still Tiffany's birthday celebration, we all did tribute videos for her, which we laughed and laughed at for the perfect end to Thanksgiving. 

This is the beach across from our house.

Seth and Mom walked over for a minute before dinner.

The cousins all ate outside! They loved it!

The adults enjoyed Thanksgiving inside with Mark since he is an adult now, too!

Celebrating Tiff was so fun!

Seth and Ray performed for all the kids for hours.

The whole Family! Happy Thanksgiving!

Hawaii Day 2

Everyone was up pretty early, and Grandpa made french toast for breakfast. The plan was to go to one of the beaches within two minutes of the house and snorkel, but the water was a little too rough. The boys did explore a little bit while Mom helped Grandpa cook. After breakfast, we rode up to Kaumana Caves, which are really lava tubes.

Seth and Audrey looking for fun things among the rocks.

Exploring the beach with cousins.

We really loved the view from the house balcony.

We weren’t too sure what to expect, but we started down the right tube with the Webbs in tow. It traveled about a hundred yards over rough strewn floor before it narrowed down. We could have squeezed down a little further, but we wanted to check out the left fork. This one went close to a half-mile, and had a little side tunnel that the kids enjoyed. Finally, we came to a window in the cave ceiling. Just beyond that, there was an exit passage. The exit sent you off into the jungle, and the best route back to the car was back through the cave.

Mom changing into her hiking shoes.

We had a great time at these caves.

The Webbs came with us to explore the caves.

Lava tubes are really open and round.

It was very dark inside the cave.

Mom loved this view back to the opening.

Dad helped Charlie explore.

It was a great adventure.

This was the far exit after a long walk through the second cave.

Our next stop was Rainbow Falls where we met up with the Pooles. We enjoyed the waterfall, but the kids enjoyed the massive banyan trees even more. They hung and swung and climbed and took a bunch of photos. This was the same place that Mom took a photo swinging on a vine on our first trip to Hawaii in 2011 before Seth was born.

It was so fun being in Hawaii with the kids again.

Rainbow Falls is so pretty!

We actually caught a rainbow at Rainbow Falls.

Family pic with Jonny!

The whole gang who came with us!

Seth climbed all over the banyan tree!

Mom explored with the cousins, too!

Mark had fun climbing.

Dax went pretty high!

Here's a better look at how big the tree is.

Back in Hilo, we went to the Queen’s Garden, which is a really pretty place downtown. We walked among the ponds and spotted a few fish. More exciting than that were the nenes nesting on the shore. We even walked across the bridge to Coconut Island, which is a tiny island off the coast of the Big Island. While we were crossing the bridge, Dad spotted a sea turtle, but it went under and only about half the group saw it. We waited for a while for it to surface, but it never came back up. Dad had to spot a second turtle on the island, this one much closer for everyone to get a good look.

We have a lot of fun together!

The three amigos! The twelve year old cousins.

The gardens were beautiful.

Mom and Dad are so happy in Hawaii!

Mark pondering in the gardens.

We loved all the little bridges and stepping stones.

Ben loves Dax so much!

Mom and Seth were just happy to be in the warm weather.

Nenes!

The sky was beautiful with the palm trees.

One of the turtles Dad spotted.

There are so many beautiful spots on Coconut Island.

We also loved finding lizards and geckos.

We split up for lunch, and we went for Hawaiian cuisine. Most of us had rice and chicken and pork, though Seth had breakfast, and Mark had a burger. That didn’t matter, because everyone ate really well, so we headed to the beach just across from the house called Richardson Ocean Park. Mom stayed on the shore and waited for the Ferlans to arrive, while Dad and the boys went snorkeling. This place was even better than yesterday's, and we saw so many fish, each more colorful than the last. We even tried to help Ray and Kate see a few fish, but they struggled with the gear. We weren’t sure if they saw any fish or just said they did so they could get out of the ocean!

We saw a mongoose family of 5 at the beach. 

James loved the black sand!

Waiting for the snorkelers.

We were in charge of dinner, so Mom made tacos while the kids broke into the games. After dinner, we even had cake and ice cream for Tiffany’s birthday. Then we turned in early, because at this time of year, the sun is up from around 6 am to about 5 pm. We decided we’d rather sleep while it’s dark and wake up early, mostly for more snorkeling!

The house had plenty of room for meals together. 

The adult men (minus grandpa)!

The kids loved eating outside!

Oldest and youngest cousins.