What two reasons do you visit The Big Island of Hawaii for? Well, the answer should be easy.... 1)Fishing and 2)Volcano. Well on our first trip to Hawaii our finishing trip turned into an 8 hour guided boat ride and we didn't see the Volcano because it's recent large eruption was spewing too much sulfur, gas and ash. Are we disappointed though...absolutely not!!! We spend 7 days in the sun with not a single thought of work or studying, with the best company we could ask for and 2 great reason to go back!!
FISHING:
Chelsea had never seen Loren Olson as pumped as he was to go fishing. He practically stocked the captain in the days leading up to our fishing trip...He just wanted to make sure this captain knew he was serious about it! The fishing trip didn't turn out to be at all what we had expected. Kim and Loren's experience fishing in Maui was much different than it was this time. We happened to pick one the worst days to be out on the water...The forecast called for high winds, a small craft advisory and 10+ foot swells (on the water that is normally smooth as glass) on the day we went out. It turned out to be a loooong day.
We didn't catch a huge birthday Marlin for Loren but he did reel in a good looking Mahi Mahi (the one bite of the day). Everyone was excited until the deckhand knocked it off when he went to gaff it...
SNORKELING: We enjoyed several days of snorkeling at different beaches during our stay. Some of the best snorkeling was at Captain Cook Monument. We kayaked over to the monument, spent the afternoon snorkeling, and then enjoyed a picnic lunch.
We saw a couple sea turtles in Hawaii but we got a great close up view of one that was resting on the beach at Mahaiula Bay.
SOUTH POINT: The sign say's it all...
It was super windy but worth the stop.
HILO: We spent one day on the Hilo side of the island (the rainy, tropical side) where we visited a couple waterfalls, a cave, the Botantical Garden.
BEACH TIME: Some of our most relaxing days were simply beach days! Cody did a great job finding some amazing beaches. Since a lot of the island is volcantic rock, sandy beaches can be hard to come by.
PLACE OF REFUGE: This national park is one of Hawaii's most sacred historic places. We went on a self guided tour and explored the grounds.
KONA COFFEE: We learned a lot about Kona Coffee when we visited the Greenwell Coffee Farm. No pictures but we will remember the buzz!
OTHER: We stopped by the South Kona Fruit Stand where we ate lots of tropical fruits. We mostly cooked meals at our condo but got out a few times to try the local food, beer and ice cream. We enjoyed beautiful sunsets from the condo each night and celebrated Kim and Loren's birthdays.
We feel like we did a lot in the 7 days that we were there, but we still didn't see the whole island. We explored the west, east and south portions of the island but never made it up to the north point or to the Volcano. So, yes...we will be back someday!
