Aloha

Our first trip to Hawaii has been awesome so far. We've spent time on both white and black sand beaches, seen two sides to Volcano National Park, Ken learned to surf - not terribly safe for a pregnant lady, we hiked to waterfalls and one of us jumped in, went to a jungle zoo, and I've eaten several chocolate covered macadamia nuts. We're having a great time and Bryoney absolutely loves the beach. I've burried her about 50 times. I think the highlight for Ken was hiking in to see some lava flowing into the ocean (a little treacherous for a sleepy 2-year-old and her less than balanced mommy in the dark). One of my favorite things is falling asleep to the sounds of the waves crashing outside our bedroom lanai.

Here are some pictures from the trip so far:

Bry starting the engines from LAX to Kona.

Trying to figure out where that snail went.

Kilauea Volcano . The steam is coming from the Halemu'uma'u crater (where Pele the goddess lives) withing the larger Kilauea caldera. It glowed bright red at night...amazing.

Hiking through the Thurston Lava Tube where lava flowed. This part is lit. Ken hiked the second half with a flashlight to the end. Bry and I waited where it was a little less spooky.

Bry after being burried while daddy learned to surf - he caught several waves and I was impressed.

Waipio Valley lookout

Kolekole Beach Park - Ken couldn't resist the rope swing; I did.

Akaka State Park with its 422 foot waterfall.

What Bry referred to as the "Jungle Zoo." The parrots actually said, "bye bye" to us on our way out.

Kilauea Volcano from the other side of the Big Island. The smoke is from the lava flowing into the ocean at sunset.

New black sand beach created by the lava flow.

Lava meeting the sea.

Ken got really close...almost too close for my comfort.