Slackin' on Island time

Ok, ok, so, I haven't been updating the blog on my Hawaiian vacation. Time to get crackin', eh?

On Friday, we had a big adventure over on Kauai while exploring Waimea canyon. We drove to the top and stopped at several points along the way to see the "Mini grand canyon." It was absolutely beautiful!

Then, I had the bright idea of hiking a bit to see some falls. Unfortunately, after about a mile hike, we came to a couple of trails that branched off and....no sign as to which one led to the falls.

Hmmmmm.....

So, I made my best guess. And we hiked....and hiked....and then my wife stopped and said she'd wait for me.....and I hiked....and hiked....

I never did find the falls, but I did hike almost all the way to the next pull out. Doh! Oh, and did I mention that it started to rain? Yeah....

So, we hiked back to the car looking like drowned rats with nothing to show for our little adventure.

Fast forward to yesterday, and we're on the Big Island! We hooked up with Safari Helicopter tours for a 45 minute tour of the volcano, lava, lava falls, and waterfalls.

Now, this was a great adventure! We got to see some new surface lava flows, lava flowing into the sea, and a whole lot of waterfalls. It was really cool! Oh, also, it was in a freakin' HELICOPTER!!!! WOOOOT! We had a blast!

On Monday, we went to Volcano national park, the Southern most bakery in the U.S., and one of Hawaii's beautiful black sand beaches. It turned out to be quite a bit of driving.

While we're here on the Big Island, we're staying at Aaron's Cottages. We've enjoyed talking with Alan and Penne, the owners and petting their two beautiful Dalmations. It's nice to be away from the hustle and bustle of the city, but close enough to be just a few minutes away.

If you go to the Big Island, you have to go to Ken's House of Pancakes. Not only will you find local cuisine, but also local wildlife! Hey, you're in the "real" Hawaii now, Houle!

Alrighty, that's about it. I'll try to put together some sort of better thought out post tomorrow....or maybe not...Aloha!