Our Trip to Hawaii
Hi Everyone!
We got a wonderful excuse to go to Hawaii this year. Michael was to receive an award at the AIAA conference to be held in Waikiki in August. He was very fortunate to have his company, Insitu, send him to the conference to attend & accept his award! We decided that since he was already going to be there that we'd extend the time & spend a few days touring on our own. We took 3 days to go to the Big Island & have fun. The other 4 days were fun, but Michael had to go to "work" everyday, attending conference sessions. We got to have 3 meals a day together, which was new & we also found fun things to do once he got off "work." I just got to hang out during the day & enjoy a few days with no kids or housework. Ahhh, very nice!
On the Big Island, the original "Hawaii", we visited Volcanoes National Park; visited an Adventist church on Sabbath & found that all around the world we've got family; explored some hiking trails; and snorkeled in Kealekekua Bay & Kahaluu Beach.
Volcanoes National Park was amazing! We got to hike down into the Kilauea caldera & walk across what used to be a molten lake of lava in the 1920's. In the background of the pictures, you can see steam & sulfur fumes from the Halema'uma'u Crater in the distance. The current eruptions take place from a cinder/splatter cone called Pu'u O'o & the lava flows through are tube system to the ocean. We weren't allowed to approach the Halema'uam'u crater because the park had closed the trail due to the sulfur emissions. It was still amazing to be so close to an active volcano, one of the most active in the world. The experience was a dream come true for me! We saw all sorts of geologic features that I enjoyed: lava tubes, steam vents, Aa & Pahoehoe, etc...I was in my little geology nerd heaven! I would've loved to spend more time there, but we had to be off to find our way to the volcano viewing area for the night time "fireworks."
By evening, we made our way down to the area where the lava flow is flowing into the ocean. We actually drove over a lava flow that had destroyed the town of Kalapana in 1991. You could see that the people who had lost their homes to the lava were trying to start over again. There is a picture, in the montage, of a little mobile home that had been set up on the barren black lava. I suppose that there are some drawbacks to owning Hawaiian coastal real estate. At the volcano viewing area, there is an information shack & a "trail" marked on the lava flow, which you can follow to the coast. We hiked out over the lava flow to see the glow & occasional fireworks that occurs when the hot lava meets the cool ocean. It is much more visible at night & the county doesn't allow you to get very close, so if you're in the area, don't go until dusk, it's much more interesting after dark. We were about 1/2 mile away from the actual active lava flow, which was a little disappointing, but felt very safe! I think that if we ever get a chance to go back, a helicopter tour of the area would be well worth the money!
We really loved Kealekekua bay!! We kayaked across the bay which was a very scary, for me, especially when Michael asked if he could jump out, in the middle of the bay, to look at the dolphins underwater (you can die from such a man)! But, once we made it across the bay, we landed by the Captain Cook Monument & spent 4 hours snorkeling. It was fantastic snorkeling, like you jumped into someone's saltwater fishtank! The pictures don't even begin to do it justice & I recommend that if you go snorkeling, leave the underwater camera home, enjoy the experience & buy a few postcards or a fancy picture book of fishies for your souvenier. I've been snorkeling before on the Great Barrier Reef & in the Bay Islands, but I've never seen such diversity of fish! We swam through clouds of Yellow Tangs, which was thrilling! I think, if we weren't so white & afraid of burning, we would've spent the entire day out there. God was really merciful to us because, just when we reached the Cook Monument, the sky clouded over & protected us from a really painful experience. We snorkeled while wearing our quick-dry pants to protect our quite white legs. We were able to leave the bay with only a little burn on the small of our backs, for which I was grateful. If you're as white as we are, sunscreen doesn't really help even if applied every 15 mins. ( I know some of you will offer that tip. Tried it, and honestly it doesn't help me.)
Next, we drove over to Kona area & found Kahaluu Beach Park, also called Turtle Beach. We got to spend another hour there, before the sun set. We enjoyed seeing even more fish & some turtles too! The visibility of the water was bad, in comparison to Kealekekua Bay, but still way more fun than snorkeling in the Columbia River!
That night, we had to drive back across the island to make our flight over to Oahu. It was a long trip & thank God, we made it in time for our flight! If you're going to visit the Big Island, I recommend flying in to Hilo and staying on that side for a few days to visit the volcano. Then, spend a few days on Kona side & fly out of Kona, then you won't have to double back across the island in order to meet your flight.
We made it to our hotel on Oahu LATE that night. Suffice it to say, that I packed our 3 days vacation full of activities before we had to go to the conference. Michael was probably exhausted for his first day of meetings, but it was a very happy exhausted!
At the conference, Michael received an American Institute of Aeronautics & Astronautics Best Paper Award for his paper titled “Guidance and Control of an Autonomous Soaring Vehicle with Flight Test Results.” Of course, I'm very proud of him for all of his success in his autonomous soaring research, but we both thank God for all of the doors that have been opened to him. Michael has been very blessed throughout his career & he gives God all the glory!
After a day at the conference, Michael rented a surfboard & tried his hand at surfing. In his own words, "that's a lot harder than it looks!" He didn't get much time to try it, but he did stay out there way past sunset trying to get on his feet. I couldn't see him much of the time, but he says that he had one good run at it.
Early one morning, before he had to go to a conference, we went to Hanauma bay to do some more snorkeling. It is a nature reserve & a beautiful location to see turtles & fish. None of the reefs that we saw in Hawaii looked pristine, like the ones in the bay islands, but it is understandable since the tourists do a lot of treading on the coral due to their clumsiness. I'm sure that we looked like blundering idiots more than once. I had a lot of problems with the masks that we rented. I highly recommend buying your own mask & snorkel & making sure that they fit comfortably before you go on your adventures. The cost is the same & you save so much time & won't drown ;)
We were very glad to go home & see our little kiddos again. We missed them & found out that the saying is true "Mid pleasures and palaces though we may roam, Be it ever so humble, there's no place like home."
We got a wonderful excuse to go to Hawaii this year. Michael was to receive an award at the AIAA conference to be held in Waikiki in August. He was very fortunate to have his company, Insitu, send him to the conference to attend & accept his award! We decided that since he was already going to be there that we'd extend the time & spend a few days touring on our own. We took 3 days to go to the Big Island & have fun. The other 4 days were fun, but Michael had to go to "work" everyday, attending conference sessions. We got to have 3 meals a day together, which was new & we also found fun things to do once he got off "work." I just got to hang out during the day & enjoy a few days with no kids or housework. Ahhh, very nice!
On the Big Island, the original "Hawaii", we visited Volcanoes National Park; visited an Adventist church on Sabbath & found that all around the world we've got family; explored some hiking trails; and snorkeled in Kealekekua Bay & Kahaluu Beach.
Volcanoes National Park was amazing! We got to hike down into the Kilauea caldera & walk across what used to be a molten lake of lava in the 1920's. In the background of the pictures, you can see steam & sulfur fumes from the Halema'uma'u Crater in the distance. The current eruptions take place from a cinder/splatter cone called Pu'u O'o & the lava flows through are tube system to the ocean. We weren't allowed to approach the Halema'uam'u crater because the park had closed the trail due to the sulfur emissions. It was still amazing to be so close to an active volcano, one of the most active in the world. The experience was a dream come true for me! We saw all sorts of geologic features that I enjoyed: lava tubes, steam vents, Aa & Pahoehoe, etc...I was in my little geology nerd heaven! I would've loved to spend more time there, but we had to be off to find our way to the volcano viewing area for the night time "fireworks."
By evening, we made our way down to the area where the lava flow is flowing into the ocean. We actually drove over a lava flow that had destroyed the town of Kalapana in 1991. You could see that the people who had lost their homes to the lava were trying to start over again. There is a picture, in the montage, of a little mobile home that had been set up on the barren black lava. I suppose that there are some drawbacks to owning Hawaiian coastal real estate. At the volcano viewing area, there is an information shack & a "trail" marked on the lava flow, which you can follow to the coast. We hiked out over the lava flow to see the glow & occasional fireworks that occurs when the hot lava meets the cool ocean. It is much more visible at night & the county doesn't allow you to get very close, so if you're in the area, don't go until dusk, it's much more interesting after dark. We were about 1/2 mile away from the actual active lava flow, which was a little disappointing, but felt very safe! I think that if we ever get a chance to go back, a helicopter tour of the area would be well worth the money!
We really loved Kealekekua bay!! We kayaked across the bay which was a very scary, for me, especially when Michael asked if he could jump out, in the middle of the bay, to look at the dolphins underwater (you can die from such a man)! But, once we made it across the bay, we landed by the Captain Cook Monument & spent 4 hours snorkeling. It was fantastic snorkeling, like you jumped into someone's saltwater fishtank! The pictures don't even begin to do it justice & I recommend that if you go snorkeling, leave the underwater camera home, enjoy the experience & buy a few postcards or a fancy picture book of fishies for your souvenier. I've been snorkeling before on the Great Barrier Reef & in the Bay Islands, but I've never seen such diversity of fish! We swam through clouds of Yellow Tangs, which was thrilling! I think, if we weren't so white & afraid of burning, we would've spent the entire day out there. God was really merciful to us because, just when we reached the Cook Monument, the sky clouded over & protected us from a really painful experience. We snorkeled while wearing our quick-dry pants to protect our quite white legs. We were able to leave the bay with only a little burn on the small of our backs, for which I was grateful. If you're as white as we are, sunscreen doesn't really help even if applied every 15 mins. ( I know some of you will offer that tip. Tried it, and honestly it doesn't help me.)
Next, we drove over to Kona area & found Kahaluu Beach Park, also called Turtle Beach. We got to spend another hour there, before the sun set. We enjoyed seeing even more fish & some turtles too! The visibility of the water was bad, in comparison to Kealekekua Bay, but still way more fun than snorkeling in the Columbia River!
That night, we had to drive back across the island to make our flight over to Oahu. It was a long trip & thank God, we made it in time for our flight! If you're going to visit the Big Island, I recommend flying in to Hilo and staying on that side for a few days to visit the volcano. Then, spend a few days on Kona side & fly out of Kona, then you won't have to double back across the island in order to meet your flight.
We made it to our hotel on Oahu LATE that night. Suffice it to say, that I packed our 3 days vacation full of activities before we had to go to the conference. Michael was probably exhausted for his first day of meetings, but it was a very happy exhausted!
At the conference, Michael received an American Institute of Aeronautics & Astronautics Best Paper Award for his paper titled “Guidance and Control of an Autonomous Soaring Vehicle with Flight Test Results.” Of course, I'm very proud of him for all of his success in his autonomous soaring research, but we both thank God for all of the doors that have been opened to him. Michael has been very blessed throughout his career & he gives God all the glory!
After a day at the conference, Michael rented a surfboard & tried his hand at surfing. In his own words, "that's a lot harder than it looks!" He didn't get much time to try it, but he did stay out there way past sunset trying to get on his feet. I couldn't see him much of the time, but he says that he had one good run at it.
Early one morning, before he had to go to a conference, we went to Hanauma bay to do some more snorkeling. It is a nature reserve & a beautiful location to see turtles & fish. None of the reefs that we saw in Hawaii looked pristine, like the ones in the bay islands, but it is understandable since the tourists do a lot of treading on the coral due to their clumsiness. I'm sure that we looked like blundering idiots more than once. I had a lot of problems with the masks that we rented. I highly recommend buying your own mask & snorkel & making sure that they fit comfortably before you go on your adventures. The cost is the same & you save so much time & won't drown ;)
We were very glad to go home & see our little kiddos again. We missed them & found out that the saying is true "Mid pleasures and palaces though we may roam, Be it ever so humble, there's no place like home."
Comments