My father-in-law decided he wanted to have a family reunion and gave us 3 choices on where to go. Hawaii won. Surprise!
We went to the Big Island, and the weather was beautiful. It rained/sprinkled most evenings, but it was still warm. There were 10 of us so we rented a house for the week. It was huge! There was a one-way road to get to it, and we felt like we were in Jurassic Park. Don't worry- no velociraptors attacked us.
The house is on 5 acres of land, and it is an avocado orchard. Avocados were everywhere! Yum :)
Some views of and from the house.
The Ricks boys! They are really good at keeping me entertained. I like 'em :)
We were told that there would probably be a gecko or two in the house, but not to touch them because they are supposed to bring good luck. They chirp really loud.
We got there late Saturday night, and then we went to church Sunday morning in Kona. It was fun to hear everyone start their talks/lessons with "Aloha!"
The next day we went "Flumin' da Ditch." First we had to ride to the ditch in a big truck.
We were also required to wear these flattering floaty things.
Then we flumed the ditch. It was used as an irrigation system for sugar plantations. Did you know it takes 500 gallons of water to get 1 pound of sugar? Well, it does. We kayaked over 2 miles and went through 10 tunnels.
Our guide's name was Hula, and when she found out that I was from Utah, (which eventually led to me telling her I was a Mormon), she told us that her dad is LDS. When we went through an acoustically sound tunnel she said, "Sing me one of your hymns!" So we were able to sing "We Thank Thee, O God, for a Prophet." It was pretty neat. Who knows? Maybe she'll join the church :)
After our ditch adventures we went to the beach and played in the water. The ocean is incredibly warm in Hawaii. It didn't take me 10 minutes of slowing inching in just to get all wet! It felt fabulous.
Tuesday was Josh's birthday, so I woke up early and decorated the living room with balloons and crepe paper.
We actually celebrated his birthday the Friday before we left. So he kind of had 2 birthdays.
His delicious birthday dinner.
To celebrate, we went parasailing! Okay, we would have gone anyway :) The captain gave us the option to have our legs dipped in the water at the end of our ride, and we told him that sounded fun. Well, after 10 seconds of being up in the air, we had a conversation that went like this:
Tara: Look! There's a shark!
Josh: Shhh... Don't try to scare me.
Tara: No really. Look!
Josh: Whoa...
Ya. We didn't want to be dipped anymore, but we had an 800 foot rope between us and the boat. We were glad the shark was swimming the opposite direction. We were also glad we watched shark week after that experience.
Parasailing was a lot more peaceful than we were expecting. It is so loud on the boat because of the motor and water, but it was quite calm up in the air.
After everyone had a turn to "fly," we went snorkeling. Here are just some of the fish and wildlife we saw.
Wednesday we hiked through a volcano crater. Josh was our tour guide, and Mike was kind enough to pose by it.
Although the lava isn't currently flowing, we saw some ash fall and create a large plume of smoke. We also hiked through this lava tube.
My father-in-law showing off that he is older than the rocks there :)
We got to spend the whole week with our beautiful niece, Jocelyn. She is a trooper. On the plane rides she hardly cried at all. She's definitely a keeper. Her father, Dave, likes to show us his many facial expressions.
I also realized on Wednesday that I couldn't find my driver's license. I almost had to stay in Hawaii longer because I thought they wouldn't let me on the plane. That would have been tragic, huh? :) Then I remembered that I had my social security card with me. Blessing? Yes. Well, we went to the airport the next day to figure out exactly what I would need to do. After talking to 3 different people and getting 3 different answers, we figured I should be fine with my SS card, credit card, and BYU ID card. Saturday came and the guy at security said I had exactly what I needed. He also said prescription medication would work as a form of ID. Who knew?
On Thursday we got up bright and early to go swimming with dolphins! The captain of the boat drove around the ocean until he found a large group of them. We weren't allowed to touch them because they are wild animals so they don't have doctors, but it was still really cool. Some of my brothers-in-law swam right next to dolphins. Since the dolphins chose not to swim right next to the boat for me, I didn't get super great pictures, but here is some of what I got.
Spinner Dolphins
Josh
Mike and Jake
Snorkel masks leave fun red marks :)
Dan with some pilot whales we saw on the way back, which are actually the second largest dolphin. What is the largest you ask? Orca whales.
After swimming with dolphins we headed to the beach to swim/boogie board/snorkel.
When we first got to Hawaii, we were taught the "shaka" sign that many Hawaiians use to greet each other.
Isn't she adorable?
On Friday we went to the Place of Refuge. "The only access to the pu'uhonua (temple of refuge) was by swimming across a bay known as the shark's den. If you managed to survive, the kahuna (priest) was required, under pain of death, to offer you sanctuary and absolve you of all wrong doing."
Quite the resemblance, eh?
These trees had some crazy roots.
It was fun spending time with Josh's family. They make good in-laws :) We had a fabulous time, and we would love to go back someday. 20th wedding anniversary maybe? We'll see what happens, I guess.
ALOHA!
