I keep telling myself I'll be more on top of this blog so I don't have to write such long posts. But, here I am recapping my entire 4 months in Hawaii, yet again!
Where to start??
I made so many awesome friends and I had SO many visitors!
My best friend Lauren was my first visitor, she came for my birthday and it was the first time we've been on a solo trip since...ever? We had a blast! We went for a hike through the Volcano, deep sea fishing, watched sunsets, and at allllllll the shave ice. We also spent countless hours talking, laughing, and of course being completely ridiculous together!
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| Hiking through the Caldera |
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| Fishing refreshments |
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| Sunset on the Kona(west) side |
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| Fishing! We didn't catch anything so it was basically an expensive boat ride, but it was still so fun! |
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| Always order rainbow, and add vanilla soft serve to the middle. |
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Fairwinds snorkel tour to Kealakekua bay-It can't be missed!
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Next my dad came to visit! We met in Oahu and saw Pearl Harbor before he spent the week with me on the Big Island. Pearl Harbor was so incredible, we spent over 8 hours seeing it all. We loved Pearl Harbor and the sights on Ford Island, and the food... but other than that Oahu was just meh, just a big city. There are much more beautiful beaches and fun on other islands.
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| USS Arizona, so beautiful and powerful. |
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| USS Bowfin |
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| At the Pacific Aviation Museum |
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| Waiting to Board the USS Missouri |
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| USS Missouri- The Mighty Mo! |
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After the hike up to Diamond Head, what a beautiful view! Over 150 stairs, >2 miles just 3 months after a total knee replacement, What a beast!
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| In the old gun mounts atop Diamond Head |
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| Post hike Shave Ice |
After all the touristing I mad my dad eat every weird food possible!
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| All you can eat Korean BBQ |
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| MMMM, tasty he said-Acai Bowls |
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| Real Ramen, with 8$ pitchers of beer. |
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| We walked out to the active lava flow/ocean entry at Kalapana and I got this gem of a picture :) |
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| 8 mile bike ride to walk 4 miles to the lava. |
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| We found lava!!! |
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| Hiked through Volcanoes National Park |
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| Went to a star tour atop Mauna Kea |
Then the night before I dropped my dad at the airport we went snorkeling at night to see Manta Ray's. It was SO fun!! I've been diving with them twice since!
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| What a majestic view! |
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| Sunrise on the Fish pond |
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| My travel Ohana |
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| The Pili girls with Uncle Leimana |
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| Kaulapapa, the old Leper Colony. It was breathtaking! |
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| Hammock Camping with waves crashing-I've never slept so good! |
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| I learned to throw net! Watch out fishies! |
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| Lanai in the distance! |
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| Papohaku Beach-one of the longest in the world and Oh.so.gorgeous! |
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Practicing catching coconuts
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Next stop was Kauai, and it was my FAVORITE weekend yet!! We were only there two days but managed to squeeze in so much fun! We went on a Catamaran tour of the Napali coast, we snorkeled, ate and laughed SO much! The Napali coast is gorgeous and worth seeing! We went with
Blue Dolphin tours and would highly recommend it! The next day we went to Waimea canyon and went for a hike. Waimea Canyon is called the grand canyon of the south pacific, and it was unbelievable!
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| Kalapana Lava Entry |
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| Turtle at Kiholo Bay |
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| My dad with the DC-3 at the pacific aviation museum. |
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| Manta ray dive |
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| They would swoop right over your head!! |
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| Green sands-4WD or good shoes is a must, its a 3 mile walk in or you can pay a local 10$ each way |
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| With Friends at Green Sands |
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| Active lava flow hike |
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| The crew |
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| Would you like a Mallow? Pele does! |
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| Lava lake at the Nation Park |
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| view from my back door |
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| Sugar Flume hike |
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| Luckily we didn't get caught, but several people got tickets for trespassing the next week! |
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| Sea Arch at the National Park |
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| Kiluaea Iki lava lake hike |
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| Kiluaea Iki Hike |
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| Hapuna Beach |
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| Akaka Falls |
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| Waipio Valley! Another 4WD adventure, or you can walk the 2 mile super steep road in and out. |
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| Rainbow falls, right by my work! |
So many people have asked what to do and where to go since I've been here. My answer-Go to any of these places!! My favorite Island has been Kauai, hands down(but I haven't been to Maui yet-that's this weekend!).
You'll definitely need a car on the Big Island! There is too much to see, and the Island is BIG! So rent a car! I found a car on craiglist to rent and it was super cheap compared to the commercial rentals.
My favorite things on the Big Island are the Manta Ray night dive, we went with
Kona Dive Company and they were awesome,
Fairwinds snorkel tour to Kealakekuah Bay, and
Volcano National Park. At the national park; you can't miss the sea arch, Kiluaea Iki crater hike, and the view from the Jaggar Museum(this is where you see the glow of the Volcano-it's best after dark).
You can't miss the star tours on Mauna Kea, they're best at the new moon when there isn't much light in the sky! The star tours are done at the mid-way point at the observatory, but the sunset from the top is unbelievable!
If you really want to see a Luau, I've only been to one. It was at the Royal Kona Hotel, and I really liked it! It was a 78$ online special with all you can drink and eat. Pro-tip, call day of and reserve your tickets(ask for the online special price) then you can go to the beginning of the really really long line and pay! You don't have to wait in the line, that's for the people who have charged it to their room.
My favorite beaches are:
Hapuna on the Kona Side
Punalu'u black sand beach aka the turtle beach on the southern part(stop at the Punalu'u bakery while you're there for a Malasada, you won't regret it!)
Richardson's beach on the Hilo side, there isn't much sand on the Hilo side-what we have is at Richardson's. This is also a mecca for turtles-they love chilling in the tide pools at low tide.
Waipio Valley Beach is also really cool! Stop at Tex's for a Malasada on the way, they're delicious here too! Then Go to the Big Island Brewhaus in Waimea for a beer and burger, you'll be craving a beer if you walk it!
Kiholo Bay is a fun morning adventure. There's a plethora of sea turtles resting on the black sand, and swimming in the fresh ponds at the northern most part of the bay. They southern part of the bay is a camping area but you can park there and snorkel, the reef is super clear and beautiful!
I also really love Kalapana active lava flow(but it's really hard work-8 miles to the ocean entry and 10-12 to the active lava), a lot of the information says that the Kalapana ocean entry is only open from 3-9, but that is when the NPS rangers are there and can direct you to the active lava flow, but you can go at any time. We rent bikes from local vendors, and ride the 4 miles on a gravel road then walk to the lava, then ride back. It's best after dark! But is still cool during the day-just harder to find the active lava flow. You don't have to go out to the active lava, you can just watch it flow into the ocean, and this is at the 4 mile point.
My favorite Wednesday night activity is a little hippie fest called Uncle Roberts, you can eat anything you want, buy all sorts of fun souvenirs, and hippie dance the night away!
I'm sure I'll think of more, but I'll update as I do!
I only have 3 weeks left here and some friends are visiting for a week, then they are joining me on visiting my last island-Maui! I've always wanted to come to Hawaii and I'm so glad I was able to come and see it all! One thing Hawaii has confirmed is that I am a mountain gal! The beaches are gorgeous but dang if I don't miss the mountains and the desert. Maybe it's the length of the assignment or maybe it's island fever but I am SO ready to come home!!
I fly home October 9th. I plan on hunting with my dad the 15-20, taking a girls trip the end of October with my mom and sister, then going to NYC for a long weekend to visit my BFF before I leave for Africa. If you missed my Africa blog, read it
here! I leave the US November 11th for a trip to Spain with my friend Tiffany! I'll go directly from Spain to Douala, Cameroon and I'll be there from November 19-February 10th! I'm so excited! EEeeeeeek! Please pray for my travels and let's hang out before I leave!
