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See and Do in Hawaii

Christmas Day, 2006, was one of my most treasured Christmas Days. My husband and I surprised my parents with a trip to Hawaii!

My parents played a game involving incidents and facts about other family members. For each incorrect answer, they were given clues such as things that would keep one busy while awaiting a flight, or toss away cameras, etc. For each correct answer, they were given a letter of the alphabet to spell out “You’re going to Hawaii!”

This game took quite some time and built up a lot of anticipation from everyone in the room! When my parents at last unscrambled the letters to form that phrase, there was silence. Silence, and then….....a gasp, and a tiny scream, and then tears.

They were excited to learn that we would be going to the Big Island of Hawaii. We planned to stay on the west side (Waikoloa)of the island for 6 nights, and then on to the east side (Hilo area)for 3 nights.

When we initially arrived, the first thing we noticed, other than the beauty, was the sweet scent of the air. This intoxicating aroma stayed with us for our entire trip.

We booked a Waikoloa condo with a view of the golf course. We were a 5 minute walk from the Kings Shops, and a 10 min. walk from Anaehoomalu Bay. We spent many hours kayaking, swimming, or just lounging on the beach here.

We made many day trips from our condo to Waimea for groceries, a hike down the mountain to Black Sand Beach at Pololu Valley, Pu’uahonua o Honaunau for a little history lesson (and my first view of many sea turtles!), and of course to Kona where all the action happens!

We stopped at Waipio Valley on the way to the east side. This valley boasts the most incredible views! We didn’t have enough time for a guided ride down into the valley, but the view is still worth stopping here for.

We also stopped in Hawi and Kapa’au for shopping. These are great little towns with so much to offer artistically!

Even though, we were running short on time, we didn’t regret stopping at Laupahoehoe. Wow! We just loved it here! This is not a swimming beach unless you have a death wish. We took some great shots there of the waves crashing over the rocks. The beauty of this place overwhelmed me and I cried. My husband and I held each other and drank in this awesome scene.

We continued our drive to our rental house near Hilo. The house had lava rock cliffs for a fence and only the Pacific Ocean beyond that. It is amazing to wake up to that kind of view!

Rainbow Falls was on my list of places to visit. Gorgeous and green are my thoughts to describe this place. We also took a little drive further to see Boiling Pots, waterfall pouring into more waterfalls!

Of course we went to see the volcano. We hiked as far as safety would permit, and saw the result of the lava hitting the ocean. A huge plume of steam rising to the sky you could see for miles away. It was awesome to have experienced it from so far away, I just can’t imagine seeing it from the air. If I ever get to see this again, I would most definitely take a helicopter tour, or fixed wing tour over the flowing lava.

There are many places to stop for photo opportunities on the way down to the lava flows. We also toured the Thurston Lava Tube, and hiked around this area. The fog and the mist, along with the prehistoric type foliage, left us feeling as if we had travelled back in time.

Our family had the most amazing vacation of our lives. Having surprised my parents was a huge blessing to us. Remember that old saying that’s so cliche?...It’s better to give than receive? Well….it’s true.

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