Big Island: Day 3

It's technically the end of our fourth day, but due to several circumstances (one of those being a very busy day yesterday) I'm just now completing the post for day 3. At this point in our vacation, Ely and I are also questioning our sanity in taking a hyperactive 3 1/2 year old on a trip where nap time is not always possible...

Anyways, on Day 3 of our Big Island vacation we took a tour of the Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park. Seeing the volcano sites was our main motivation for choosing the Big Island, and it was definitely a very cool experience :-)

Our first stop was the Kilauea Iki Crater which  erupted and filled with lava in 1959. The crater is a mile long, 3000 feet across, and the floor is 400 feet below this overlook.

The smoke in the background of this picture is the hazardous fumes from the Halema'uma'u Crater (the red glow seen in the photos from the other night)

Lucas missed out on this family photo op because he was busy sleeping :-)

Our next stop was the Thurston Lava Tube (Nahuku).

Noah posing next to a small lava tube (he kept wanting to make "goggles" in all of the pictures *but I think he meant binoculars* because they use them in the jungle on Mickey Mouse Clubhouse :-)

 

At the entrance of the Thurston Lava Tube 

Inside the lava tube

We continued driving down Chain of Craters Road, which descends 3,700 feet to the coast and ends at a 2003 lava flow.

Some of the hardened lava that can be seen along the drive

The Pauahi Crater which erupted in 1973 and 1979

 It's 2000 feet long and about 300 feet deep

The view as we started the final descent on the Chain of Craters Road. The dark strips in the background are old lava flows.

If you look closely at this photo, you can see the old road that used to lead down to the coast...they had to build a new one when lava flowed over the old road :-)

Big Island: Day 2

Happy Mother's Day to our amazing mothers and grandmothers!!!

After the busy day yesterday, we kept today pretty low key and relaxed. After mass at a really cute (and tiny) church we found, we went to Kilauea Lodge for a Mother's Day lunch :-)

When we were getting ready to leave the cottage this morning, I heard Noah rustling around in our room and then he came out and told me, "I turned myself into a daddy!"

The highlight for today, especially according to Noah, was a trip to the bowling alley here at the Military Camp!

Lucas intently watching Noah bowl 

Bowling alley selfie :-)

We also drove back up to the crater tonight to see the lava again. This time we were a little more prepared with jackets and pants (it was 58 degrees outside) so we were able to stay a little longer and get a few more shots, although the pictures really don't do it justice!

Big Island: Day 1

We are taking our first vacation as a family of four!

We are on the island of Hawai'i (aka the Big Island) for the next week :-)

Currently, we are staying in a two bedroom cottage at the Kilauea Military Camp located in the Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park.

We arrived last night after dark, which made for the perfect viewing of the glowing lava at the Halema'uma'u Crater, just two miles from our cottage!

The kitchen and fireplace in our cottage

Luckily, our room has a king size bed because somehow both boys ended up in our bed this morning :-)

This morning we went on a guided tour of Hilo and some of the surrounding areas, and since we were the only people on the tour, it was very laid back (which was perfect with two little boys).

Lucas was a trooper during the van ride

Our first stop was 'Akaka Falls State Park where we took a paved trail through lush rainforest to see two waterfalls

For some reason, Noah kept saying we needed binoculars to go through the jungle (I'm guessing he got it from a cartoon...)

Kahuna Falls

'Akaka Falls (442-foot falls)

*in case you can't tell, this is a picture of a picture...but I am really going to try and post each day of our trip (in an effort to not end up posting these several months from now) and I don't have our computer to upload this photo yet :-)

Our next stop was Rainbow Falls, a powerful waterfall located a short distance above downtown Hilo on the Wailuku River

Our Noah monkey tried to swing the entire way down these stairs

 

Our next stop was at Big Island Candy (where they actually make cookies...very delicious cookies and dark chocolate covered brownies!!!)

Then it was on to Mauna Loa Macadamia Nut Factory!

Unfortunately, we didn't get to actually see them making any of their macadamia nut treats since it was the weekend, but we still got to sample several of their flavors!!!

We were also able to stop at the Hilo Farmer's Market where we purchased some tasty rambutan fruit!

Noah enjoying the peeled rambutan

After the tour, we hung out at the camp playground (where Noah enjoyed climbing on everything!)

Noah scaled this pole by himself (I don't know if I should be proud or very worried!)

Feeding Time

Lucas really enjoys getting to eat "real" food, however, it makes mealtime a little messier :-)

Feeding himself bananas!

He loves them!!!